Tag Archives: Anomaly Scan

Nov 28 2013

20 Week Anomaly Scan: The Gender Reveal

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Yesterday we discovered if our house is set to be taken over by dinosaurs or dollies.

If you read this blog regularly, you’ll know I predicted long ago this would be a little girl. According to almost every old wives tale going, the results were equally conclusive…

Old Wives Tales Gender Prediction 20 Week Anomaly Scan: The Gender Reveal

Yet despite all the intuition and so-called evidence, we still secretly hoped there would be a dinky willy on the ultrasound screen. Of course, we both understand we are blessed with this second child and are delighted to be expecting (whatever the sex), but it would have been very sweet to have given Dexter a little brother. So we’d both got it into our heads we would be welcoming a little guy and have had several rows over names. I really liked Mason, Carson, and Anderson, and Craig had his heart set on Jake. We’d kept all Dexter’s old clothes and were hopeful we’d be rescuing them from the loft and re-homing them in the nursery shortly.

It therefore came as a bit of a shock when the sonographer informed us that this is, in fact…

A very healthy, and active little girl!

Introducing my Little Madam jpg 20 Week Anomaly Scan: The Gender Reveal

I cried a little bit. Not through disappointment, just utter shock. I think it was a short bust of fear about the unknown.

Having now told all the family, and had some quiet moments to let it sink in, I’m now really excited. If she is anything like Dexter, she’ll be beautiful, funny and independent. It’ll be so nice for both of our children to have a sibling of a different sex to play with and Craig and I will get to experience what it is like to parent one of each. She’ll be our very first daughter and we’re so blessed to have her.

We revealed the gender to Dexter by buying him a Baby Annabell Doll to play with. He’s already proving to be a very attentive big brother and has smothered her with cuddles and kisses. I have no idea if he understands the significance but it has reinforced his love of all things baby. He’s very careful with her and it’s lovely to see him sat so proudly with his hands around her shoulders.

Proud Big Brother Dexter 20 Week Anomaly Scan: The Gender Reveal

Although Annabell is very girly, one thing that is for certain is that our little madam won’t be decked out in pink, and is very unlikely to wear a tutu in public! I also give it a month before Craig is Googling chastity belts.

The only unwelcome thing we did discover, was that I’m carrying my placenta low. The sonographer had to do an internal exam to be absolutely sure and seemed a little happier upon doing so, but it isn’t a foregone conclusion that I’ll be safe to deliver our baby girl naturally.

We meet the consultant to have an initial chat this Friday. I was hoping we would be told we have a full range of options (including a home birth) open to us, but it seems this might not be as straightforward as we thought. As Dexter was born via emergency c-section, we always knew we were being slightly optimistic, but our midwife had gone some way in reassuring us that a VBAC might be possible. Oh well, when it comes down to it, we only want what is best for our daughter and for her to arrive into this world safely. Besides, less choice means less night-time deliberation and one less thing to argue about!

So sleep tight baby girl. Get big and strong and mummy and daddy will see you in a few weeks time.

 

 

 

Nov 18 2013

19 Weeks Pregnant - Alistair McGowan breaks into our home, and I get ranty about my neighbour

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I think it’s fair to say that pregnancy doesn’t agree with me. Every weekly update so far has been full of doom & gloom and this one will be no exception. So as I’m giving away a BabyWatch doppler on the blog at the moment, I sneakily asked for the entrants to leave me their number one pregnancy tip by way of a comment. The general consensus seems to be that I should rest as much as possible and try to enjoy it. Unfortunately I seem capable of neither.

The biggest problem this week has been sleeping. I’m not uncomfortable, I just struggle to relax and let my mind shut down. I’m only averaging 2-3 hours per night, and the little sleep I do manage is plagued by nightmares about people breaking into the house, Dexter being abducted, or Craig dying. These nightmares sometimes spill into the day resulting in mini day terrors. This means I can be sat on the bus and panicking that someone is wearing a IED, or something equally ridiculous. Clearly my inability to switch off is causing my mind to race. Couple this with my anxiety about completely mundane things and it seems all this is manifesting itself in my dreams - whether I’m awake or not.

Think I’m overreacting? Well if you weren’t before, you will do now.

On Saturday, Craig went to a 50th birthday party and I stayed home. At some ungodly hour in the morning, as I lay tossing and turning in bed in a state of exhaustion, Alistair McGowan entered my house. He crept up the stairs and I saw him plain-as-day stood on the top step decked in a white turtleneck. He didn’t do anything. He just stood there staring at me and Dexter before running back down the stairs, and out the front door. I was utterly terrified and had to call Craig and beg him to leave the party early. This is how ridiculous my life has become.

None of this is aided by my thankfully soon-to-be ex neighbour indulging in a bit of over-dramatics in the bedroom with her new boyfriend. I can’t work out if she’s blissfully ignorant that our terraced house means her bed is actually less than 3 foot away from ours, or she likes the thought of being heard. I’ve never met her other half but I already know so much about him thanks to their x-rated bedside ‘chats’. I’ve never been brave enough to mention this before but it seems insomnia breeds recklessness. I do hope by some freak coincidence she stumbles across this blog and saves me the embarrassment of having to confront her myself, if not for our sake, for the sake of whomever next moves in.

All of this has left me feeling decidedly flat (which is laughable really as you couldn’t get anymore convex than me right now). I barely have the energy to parent Dexter, and I’m very jittery. Tiredness sees me doing very strange things like crying when I have a cuddle with Dexter, or heading for my bed mid conversation with Craig. I actually burst into tears when watching Joey Essex on I’m a Celebrity last night as I felt sorry for his parents! Nothing I do seems to make any sense.

The only person who can give me the reassurance I need right now is my Craig, but for him it’s like living with someone who should be committed to an asylum. I’m not depressed as such, just constantly alternating between pawing over him, or throwing my toys out of the pram.

This pregnancy just doesn’t seem to have registered with him as much as the last one. I had to practically drag him into the bedroom to listen to the baby’s heartbeat on our new doppler, and we won’t spontaneously talk about him / her like we did when I was this far gone with Dexter. The only time he’ll ask me about the baby is when he catches sight of me grimacing when I sit up awkwardly and accidentally treat baby to an abdominal crunch.

It’s not his fault - I think I’m just feeling very guilty about this pregnancy and projecting this onto him. I feel like I’m just getting on with daily life and parenting Dexter rather than talking about / making plan for this baby. With Dexter, at 19 weeks pregnant, I had the nursery set-up and was simply waiting on the gender scan before adding all the finishing touches. With this pregnancy I’ve spent all day being sick, crying and having the occasional bout of IBS - it only serves to increase my anxiety that the gender won’t be the only thing I discover at next week’s anomaly scan.

So that’s it. I’m off to Google some relaxation tips. I clearly need to!

 

Nov 12 2013

18 Weeks Pregnant - Eek! I Felt a Kick!!!

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Quite unbelievably I’m now 18 weeks pregnant. I just can’t believe I’m almost midway through. With Dexter, pregnancy definitely consumed me. Every conversation, dream or decision was unconsciously linked back to the baby in my tummy. This time around, I can honestly say there are entire days when I completely forget I’m pregnant. It’s the visual prompts that will snap me back to reality - the Pregnacare tablets by the kettle, or the What to Expect app on my iPhone, catching a glimpse of my disappearing waistline in the mirror etc.

Dexter is definitely a great distraction from mulling over every little twinge. His little personality is so infectious, and he seems to manage something new everyday - it’s easy to lose yourself in parenting him, and not looking ahead to when I’ll be responsible for two babies. We’re also in the middle of moving house so I’m living among boxes and chaos. As there’s so much to organise, it’s this that’s at the forefront of my mind at the moment. When we’re in our new home I can finally start nesting and preparing for this baby.

Capture1 18 Weeks Pregnant Eek! I Felt a Kick!!!

The new house!

Baby at 18 Weeks

I’ve heard it said that you’re likely to feel kicks sooner the second time around. With Dexter, I was able to say with certainty I’d felt a kick around week 22, with this pregnancy, I’ve been feeling somersaults and flips for a few weeks now, and on Saturday I felt the first thump of a tiny foot just below my belly button. This little foot cannot be much bigger than a Barbie doll’s, but I definitely felt it. Since then, I’ve been far greater attuned to any movement, and baby continues to wriggle around in there. It’s definitely a reassuring development as my anxiety continues to be a problem.

Baby is, hopefully, now the size of a sweet potato (approx 12cm) and growing at pace. The most important thing to note is that his or hers sex organs are now distinct and recognisable. Our gender scan is just a matter of days away now, and I’m very excited. I’ve wavered back and forth between thinking this baby is a boy or a girl, and it will be a genuine surprise when we find out. With Dexter, my intuition told me all along he was a boy so the scan merely confirmed it. Of course, we’ll be delighted either way so long as baby is healthy, but I must admit I am nervous at the prospect of having a little girl. I think this is simply because I’ve reassured myself that I’m a good mother to Dexter (and really enjoy it) so I’m a little scared of the unknown.

baby development 18 weeks pregnant 18 Weeks Pregnant Eek! I Felt a Kick!!!

Me at 18 Weeks

My own weight seems to have slowed down these past two weeks and there’s not too much to note in terms of my bump. Craig did point out that my belly is much harder than it was with Dexter so I’m trying not to think too deeply about what this could mean.

My hair and nails are growing faster and thicker which is not without its irony as I couldn’t feel any less attractive at the moment. Although the flu-like symptoms are beginning to taper off, I’m still exhausted and really value my naps in the day.

There are a few new symptoms to report. I’m smelling phantom smoke at night and am continually seeking it out in the early morning. I’m also up at 4.32am every morning without fail which I assume means this is a likely feed time for the new baby. Finally, I’m very short-tempered (I’m blaming this on the pregnancy rather than admit I’m like this most of the time). Craig’s coping well with it and managing to laugh it off but I can go from happy to moody in less than 60 seconds.

So What’s Next?

Shortly after the anomaly scan, we’ll meet the consultant for the first time. This appointment is also playing heavily on my mind. I’ve been forewarned by my midwife that the consultant will want to know my thoughts on a VBAC, and will, in all likelihood, suggest I should attempt it. I’m sure you’ll hear lots of musings from me over the next few weeks on this very subject.

So that’s enough from me… these updates are getting longer and longer! If you’re pregnant and would like to win an ultra sensitive doppler to listen to baby’s heartbeat, stick with me over the next few days as there’s a very exciting competition on its way…

 

pixel 18 Weeks Pregnant Eek! I Felt a Kick!!!