Pregnant Fox, Week 13 - The Scan

foxinsocks

So I originally rang the hospital about 2 weeks after the lil blue line, and got put through to Obstetrics, where i was told I could have an appointment at 9:50 on a friday morning, to check in, have some blood tests, and an ultrasound scan... On that day i was going to be 13 weeks pregnant.

So, the morning came, Noel and I set off from Navan, to Drogheda, and in due time arrived at the hospital, where we couldnt get parking, except in the next county, eventually, so we parked, and arrived in the relevant hallway of the hospital at 10am... 10 minutes late... this was to be our downfall. You see, unbeknownst to me, if you go public, these appointments are not 'appointments' in the traditional sense of the word, they are in fact 'clinic times', and being 10 minutes late, put us last in the queue. Because APPARANTLY ALL THE OTHER PEOPLE KNEW THIS and had arrived early...

SO we sat, and we sat, and we sat, and eventually we were called in to answer a loads of questions regarding marital status, place of work, etc... then we were told to go wait in another hallway for the midwife, and the blood tests. I was also told that because i was only 13 weeks pregnant, I would need to have a full bladder for the scan. So i duly filled up on water while we waited.

The midwife asked me for a urine sample, expecting me to produce it from my handbag apparantly, leaving me to wail 'no one told me i had to bring one!' Im sure all the other women had known about it though... So she handed me a little pisspot, and asked me to fill it, and i could drop it down after the scan... Blood tests done, we were sent upstairs to sit in yet another hallway, to wait for the scan. We arrived there at about 11am. There werent enough chairs, and as i seemed to be the least pregnant of all the women there, i stood for a bit, then i got tired, and sat on the floor for a bit. Then one of the expectant fathers taking up the seats realised I was sitting on the floor, and kindly stood to allow me sit. So, sit I did. I dont know if any of you have sat in hospital chairs for any length of time, but they are extreeeeemely uncomfortable, and bear in mind, my bladder had been full since about 10:30. There were about 8 other women there, and for some reason, the first of these wasnt called until about 12... All this time, i had been petrified to go to the toilet, just in case i was called next, and put on the bed, and scanned, only to be sent home in shame for not having a full bladder... So i sat, getting more and more desperate for a pee, and eventually, getting hungry, and thirsty... Eventually I sent Nog off for a sandwich, and some water, while i sat, just in case they called my name while I was away from the hallway. One by one the other women were called in for their scans, while i still sat, shifting uncomfortably... Finally, Noel and I were alone in the hall, knowing that we were next to be called.

I lay down on the bed, and braced myself for the ice cold gel to be landed on my tummy, but it appears they've actually become human about that, and keep the gel in a warmer, aint modern medicine grand? At this stage, i'd like to point out that i still didnt really believe that I was pregnant, until she placed the scanner on my tummy, and there was a BABY on the screen! My eyes filled with tears, and Noel grabbed my hand, cos he could see what a wuss i was being. The midwife slid round my not noticeable bump, and pointed out hands and fingers, and legs and feet, and the spine, and we could see the heart beating.... It was the most amazing experience of my life to date... I was honestly amazed at how much it looked like a tiny human being, and it was clapping, hands together, and apart at different stages of the scan.

It was over all too fast, and we were sent away with 2 blurry pictures of some black and white blob like thing , but it was worth the hours of sitting with an overfull bladder, and worth all the weeks of tiredness, and worth every bad thing that ever happened ever, just to see the inch long baby. One important difference between my attitude before and after the scan was i stopped calling the baby 'it' and began calling the baby 'he' or sometimes 'she'. I still call him the Evil Spawn of Nog though

After the scan i RAN for the nearest toilet, and TOTALLY forgot about the fact that i was supposed to be filling the pisspot the midwife had given me earlier, so we had to go find water, and sit and wait till i could go again...

Fox_in_Socks

Thanx 4 The Fish

I think that the scanners in England must be of a better standard than here in Ireland. Sj hade her scan done in Southampton and the pics were all of the standard below. They did however have to be paid for there because so many people request snaps. We bought 5 and all of them were brilliant.

We did have a similar experience as regards the full bladder too. Sj was told when making her appointment that a full bladder was necessary and so she did not wee all morning and as none of the mid-wives seemed to be able to see men, even if Sj had have let me leave her on her own there, none of the nurses would have told me where the toilets were anyway. The relief when we got out of there and split up to find the respective toilets was very evident.

First time we saw the baby was great, and we were all geared up to find out the sex but in the excitement of seeing the little guy for the first time we forgot to ask. (forgot to ask the second time too - hard to think of anything else when drinking in the sights of your baby swimming around in there, Sj is convinced that he blew us a kiss too, and TBH it does appear that way in one of the scan photos)

When we were in Southampton it was queue up, give your name and that was it. When we went for our first scan in C'bar, we could have been forgiven for thinking we had walked in on a session of the Spanish Inquisition. Question after question about planned, unplanned, contraception type, have any of your parents had xyz disease or mental disorder.

Only a couple of weeks to go now, amazing how quick we can grow up

M