Our beautiful baby scans...

Here we go then, just a few pics from the recent scans, first up our baby at 6 weeks and 4 days measuring 6.6mm in length and we see a tiny heart beating (and that's about it)-

At 9 weeks and 1 day, our baby has grown to 21.6mm...still very tiny, but having almost tripled it's length in just 3 weeks.

Then at 12 weeks...we finally see the familiar shape of a baby on the brand new flat screen TVs in the scan room ...With a wonderful sonographer taking lots of time to describe everything and confirm the baby is all OK. At this stage, the baby is 58mm (Crown to rump) and my dates are moved a little forward (meaning we are due a January baby)!

Then here we are today...officially half way through the pregnancy and Fink can again have a insight into the pregnancy and witness some of the kicking that is happening all the time. This little one is very, very active making it hard for the sonographer to get all the measurements. She has to wobble my tummy lots, poke, prod and get the little one to roll over to get everything she needed. Technology has improved so much so Thomas was scanned, we got to see the eye sockets, lenses, face, lips, chambers of the heart, arteries, liver, kidneys...just amazing!

A hand and a leg (responsible for all the kicking)...


An arm....

...and the big question...did we find out the gender? No...we've been through so much and really don't mind as long as it's a healthy baby (and a nice surprise)...However, I couldn't help asking the sonographer if we did want to know would she be able to tell us...her response..."Oh yes, I know what you are having" but even then we didn't cave in and ask. Now, I'm analysing every part of our conversation and trying to see if she gave us any clues...but we'll have to wait till January to find out for sure!

At the end of the scan, we came out so very happy at how amazing this whole experience is... we are going to be a mummy and a daddy again and it's so incredible to be responsible for this little life. We celebrated by going to "Next" and buying our first piece of baby clothing...just so they have something new to wear when they are born! A very, very exciting, happy day!

MJ at Week 20 from Flyingpops

2 weeks ago (week 18) I felt MJ move.. it was very light, like a butterfly at first but as the weeks have gone on, its more pronounced and can even hurt sometimes.  On Easter Monday, MJ was tickling me, something that I found very entertaining and just sat in the chair laughing to myself.  I had just finished hovering and eating an easter egg, so maybe he was reacting to the loud noise and  sugar rush (poor thing).  He stopped when I stood up to drive to mums for dinner.  Fink puts his hand on my belly more now and I really want him to be able to feel the movement.  Fink felt the pulse the other day, although I’m sure he thinks I’m crazy every night when I say ... quick...MJ is really kicking, and grab his hand... only for him to feel absolutely nothing!  Last night I discovered that MJ has started reacting to Fink's voice, so if he talks loudly,MJ will give me a little kick – as if saying hello to his daddy... What does MJ like?  Popcorn, chocolate and ice cream... guaranteed to give me a few minutes of entertainment!  Although, I am beginning to get different feelings, So i’m wondering if some are hiccups and some are kicks.... I think its the hiccups that tickle me!

Today is the second scan.. something i’m very excited about, but also very emotional and scared.  The excitement comes from getting to see MJ, I can’t wait and he is so active now that it should be good to see him on screen.  In fact, maybe I should have a naughty lunch so he is really active and they can’t measure and i’ll have to go back!?!?  Then comes the anxiety.. it dawned on my earlier this week reading a forum on www.bounty.com that this scan is a medical examination and so  they are checking for abnormalities and running tests.  I’m really hoping it’s ok, but can’t stop moments of doubt, tears and some genuine uneasiness filter through.  I have developed such a strong bond with MJ and feel an immense love, even though I have not met him yet.  They say a mummy is born the moment she falls pregnant, and I have to agree.  My entire life is now about MJ, whats best for him, providing protection and a stable happy home to bring him up.

Pictures and an update later... i'm just doing a little work from home before heading off to the hospital at 3.40

- update - 

just back from hospital... were there for just under 2 hours and MJ is camera shy... they got most of the measurements and everything is exactly as it should be - heart beating, brain ok, etc etc however they couldn't get 1 measurement and so we have to go back in 2 weeks... no problem as I can't wait to see MJ again... the only downside is that we didn't get any pictures as he was facing my spine (so no chance of seeing the gender either, not that we were going to find out!)... off to Brighton for Fish and Chips and Fink deserves a cold beer on the seafront, so see you later

Pregnancy - Twenty Weeks

So, a little landmark has been reached, Flyingpops is now *20* weeks pregnant with "MJ" (this is officially the *half-way* stage)...the sickness that was such a problem at the start of pregnancy is now an extremely rare occurrence (hurrah!), the nagging tiredness has also vanished (Flyingpops first daytime nap in weeks was a 30 minute stint yesterday afternoon), and the moods seem to have largely stabilized too (what a relief)...

The baby is now surprisingly large, looking in the baby book (that we *still* haven't returned to the library) reveals it's about the same size (end to end) as a PSP (good analogy eh?), upcoming developments are things like difficulty breathing for mum (as the baby starts to push upwards on the lungs) and it's also around now that the baby starts to follow regular sleep patterns (meaning Flyingpops and MJ will be able to wake each other up)...I am also *supposed* to be able to hear the heart beat with the help of a cardboard tube, however I couldn't even pick up *Flyingpops* heartbeat, let alone MJ's when we had a try over the weekend...Anyway, the second (and last) ultrasound scan is scheduled for this Friday, this is the one where we may (or may not) be able to tell the gender...neither of us particularly want to know one way or the other, but for some odd reason right from the start, Flyingpops has been referring to MJ as a male...and it would be interesting to know if her instincts have been right... ;)

The Ultrasound scan pictures

So here we go, these are the first pictures of the baby, they were snapped by the nurse that was performing the ultrasound scan (for diagnostic purposes) although quite how from what she saw she could judge the due date with such a degree of confidence is quite beyond me...these pictures are also, in fact, the last look we are going to get until the end of April when the second (and final) scan takes place...

I'm not being mean, but whenever any other proud parent-to-be has enthusiastically thrust their scan pictures under my nose, I have rather struggled to actually pick the baby from the static, nodding and smiling (regardless) when a completely randomly shaped blob was introduced to me as their neck/arm/head...so I was rather surprised how clear these pictures are, needing very little in the way of explaination (or is that just me)? ;)

...this also counts (sort of) as the first photograph I have taken of the baby (as no scanner was to hand)... ;)

So there we are - Internet, meet MJ... ;)