Second confirmation scan

This afternoon was my second confirmation scan. I was so nervous about this scan, I tried to keep busy all morning but wound up just jumping from one thing to another and not accomplishing anything!

By the time Tony came home from work at midday I'd worked myself up into a mess. I'd straightened my hair but then cried because it had started to rain and that was going to make my hair frizz. Then I panicked and worried even more until I had a headache and was feeling like I was going to be sick. (I completely different type of nausea to my morning sickness).

We got to my FS's office 25 minutes early so I had time to visit the loo and wander slowly through the coffee shop downstairs. And then we waited. And waited. I can never pick it, the days I'm running late Dr S is either running early or right on time but the days I'm early he's running late.

We went in and he did the scan. I was surprised because it was an abdominal scan not transvaginal! First time in my life I've ever been grateful for having a tilted pelvis which made the scan so much easier.

I think I held my breath for the first few minutes of the scan. It was easy to see the baby shaped blob floating around but I couldn't see the heartbeat. Dr S was pointing out the bright lines which are the limbs and all I could think was "stop talking about the limbs, show me the heartbeat!"

Then, after taking a few measurements he zoomed in and pointed out the heartbeat and I started to breathe again. He hit a button and suddenly we could not only see the heartbeat but hear it. Best sound in the world.

Baby is still measuring right on track and the heart rate was 171 beats per minute. We got a few more print outs to add to our collection, Dr S took my blood pressure and then sat down to discuss the serious stuff.

He gave us our options about the first diagnostic testing. We could skip it all together, do the more traditional NT blood test and scan or the much more expensive Harmony blood test. For this test we're low risk, there's no history of Down Syndrome in either of our families, nor is there any history of the other trisomys that they test for. I'm under 35 and I've never had a miscarriage or been pregnant with a child with Down Syndrome. So we've decided to do the NT scan. He gave me the referral and the ultrasound clinic is actually only a street away from my house which is nice and close!

He also strongly recommended I get a flu shot, he likes all his expectant mothers to have one once they get past the 9 week mark (and they're free for pregnant women) but because I've already been in hospital with pnuemonia and I was 9 weeks today, he wanted me to have it done this week and before school starts back.

He also let us know that if we wanted to stay with him as our OB or swap to another OB I'd have to go back to the GP and get a pregnancy referral. I knew my GP was working late tonight so after going home for a snack we went to the GP.

I love our GP, I hate that she now works at a drop in medical centre so there's no appointments you just rock up and wait. But she is so thorough and nice. Our fertility referral also runs out this month so I could hear the concern in her voice at the start when I asked for another referral to see Dr S. But once she heard it was for pregnancy and not infertility her face broke out in a giant smile and she congratulated us.

She also gave me my flu shot. The second she tore open the alcohol swab my stomach tensed up, the smell of the swab made me brace for the sting to be in my stomach not my arm. The sting of the flu shot was nothing compared to the sting of the orgaultran. IVF has left it's mark on me, I wasn't prepared for a flu shot to make me flash back to my morning FSH and Orgalutran shots.

I've got a few weeks of no appointments, then in week 12 it's the NT scan and blood test. Week 13 is my first official OB appointment with Dr S. We meet with his midwife first and she'll go over all our hospital information and forms, then go onto our appointment with him.

In week 14 I have to book in with the hospital and also book the antenatal classes. We won't attend the classes until around week 28-32 but they fill up fast.

This is all happening, I still find it hard to believe that it's real.