My first scan

 I had my first scan on the 19th March, I booked an early reassurance scan at a private medical centre called Scan Assure costing £65 and in my opinion worth every penny. The scan was brilliant, the sonographer was so friendly and even stayed behind late one evening to fit me in. She said my weight would not be a major problem in what they could see. She explained that there are always going to be factors as to why an ultrasound scan can be difficult, weight can be one but she also explained sometimes very fit women don't get good scans as it's difficult to get a good picture due to the muscle. Other times it can just be a factor of where the baby is and how much it is moving. She also located my ovaries and apparently they move around a lot which freaked me out as I assumed they just stayed in  one place so every since I can just imagine my ovaries have a little dance!

The sonographer had no problems locating the pregnancy as it was in just the right place. The baby was measuring 9 weeks 3 days which ties exactly with my dates. My due date for now is the 19th October (3 days after my birthday) The sonographer also said it had a very strong heartbeat, she got me to hold my breathe and I could see it flickering very fast on the screen, it was amazing.

Below are the pictures that I got from the scan, she printed out three for me and also gave me a disk with 5 pictures on.

This picture shows the pregnancy and the little fetus , the dark black thing at the top is my bladder.

This one shows the sonographer measuring the baby. Where the cross is that is the babies head.

This is probably the best picture I have, if you look closely you can see two white marks sticking out from the baby, this is the start of the arms and legs which at the time were just little nubs.

So at 9 weeks the baby is still an embryo and becomes a fetus in week 10. The baby measures around 2.3cm and weighs less than 2g. The eyelids are completly fused over the eyes and it won't open them until 26 weeks. The essential body parts are all there so it's just a matter of them growing now

Midwife Appointment

I had my midwife appointment on the 19th March which went well. My midwife is lovely or at least I like her at the moment I can go off people quickly. She asked me lots of questions about my medical history and family's medical history; took my blood pressure; gave me the bounty pack and sent me off to have my bloods done. I had blood tests for all of the following:

• Blood group and rhesus 
• Full blood count
• Hepatitis B
• HIV
• MSSU (urine test for infection)
• Rubella
• Sickle Cell
• Syphilis
• Thalassaemia

Due to my BMI being above 30 I will have to see a consultant as well as a midwife, meaning I am shared cared at the moment.

My blood pressure was 130/70, I'm not sure what a perfect blood pressure is but the British Heart Foundation says it should be below 140/85 which it is. 

I'm not sure if this happens at all NHS trusts but I was given my notes to take away and I have to remember them for every appointment and scan that I have. After properly going through the information I've noticed that midwife said that she discussed the benefits of breastfeeding with me which she didn't and also that she discussed antenatal classes with me which again she didn't. I already have my own thoughts on these, but would have been nice to talk them through with her. 

Overall, I was happy with my appointment I wasn't lectured on my weight or made to feel bad about being a high risk pregnancy. I am also glad that I chose Warrington General as the place to have my baby it really is a lot nicer than the other hospitals that are near me. 

Check out my friends blog :-)

Just a quick post to check out my friend's blog about his experiences of becoming a Dad. His wife is due in August. Robert has hemiplegia ( no use of a an upper limb) which is his left arm which will present him with some challenges. Check out Rob's blog here