BABY: The 12 Week Scan

Our 12 Week Scan Photo

Nothing could have prepared us for seeing our little tiny baby on screen for the first time. I had a lot of worries in the weeks running up to the scan. What if we haven't got a baby in there? What if the ultrasound person says I'm too chubby to get a decent picture? Chris was very reassuring during this time and said it would be fine, but when it came to the scan day we were both a combination of excitement and a bag of nerves.

Sitting in the waiting room we both passed the time by creating daft stories for people who walked past us. Half an hour later than our actual planned appointment a lovely lady called us in and got me settled into the dimly lit room. She explained what we should be seeing today and really put us at ease. I will always be thankful for this cheerful and calming lady. You hear of these horror stories where people feel like they are being reprimanded, but in our case we got ourselves a good-un!

After handing her my notes, and confirming we were having the combined screening test, I plonked myself onto the large chair and as she lowered the chair I had visions of being at the dreaded dentist. Thankfully this was a lot less traumatic than my dental experiences. I lowered my leggings, pulled up my top and had some tissue folded over my leggings. Next came the cold, slimy goo and suddenly I had a small hard scanner on my lower tummy. There was a slight pressure, but not enough to make me feel uncomfortable.

Then the screen came to life! There was this tiny little being doing multiple somersaults right in front of our eyes! We both seemed to simultaneously exclaim, "WOW" at the same time and were mesmerised by what we were seeing. As the lady waited for our baby to stay still (the baby was very active!), she finally was able to zoom in and take many measurements for our screening test, my hand gripping hold of Chris' hand tightly. The lady said all measurements were looking good and would get a letter the following week if things were fine or a phonecall in the next few days if they needed to take further tests. She was pretty confident we would receive a letter confirming that we were at a lower risk of Down's Syndrome, which we did.

Then came the dating part of the scan where our due date was worked out. We had provisionally been given a due date of 18th August 2015 from our midwife. With the measurements on screen, this was changed to 20th August 2015. A real summer baby! 

We then saw a nurse who took some bloods from me, which I'm so glad I don't have a problem with. Up until the pregnancy I regularly donated blood throughout the year. After buying a couple of scan photos we were soon on our way back home walking on cloud nine. At this point, we were happy to tell our siblings as well as close friends and relatives. Finally we could share our happiness with them and talk more openly about all things baby. We weren't ready to announce it to the rest of the world yet, so a decision was made to wait until the 20 week scan for that milestone.

Did you have any worries running up to your first scan? Was your experience everything you thought it would be and more? Let me know and comment below..