Our 20 week scan

I promised a little more detail on our 20 week scan so here's pretty much what happened. We were booked in at 10am on Thursday 2nd April, a date that definitely feels like it had been on the calendar for so so long and took its time in coming round. But of course it finally did and off we went, crazy excited to hopefully find out if our little Squishy was a boy or a girl.

We had to wait around for quite a while this time to be seen which is always a little bit annoying but I'm sure it probably wasn't even as long as it seemed we were just super impatient and over excited! Once we finally got into our ultrasound room we were told by the lovely sonographer that she would try to get all the measurements and checks that she needed out of the way & then talk us through everything.

Unfortunately for us Squishy definitely had other ideas and would not co-operate at all so it was tricky to get a look at all the body parts that they needed to check, in particular her little heart. Where most babies are lying on their back for ultrasounds (as you usually see in the pictures, above for example) our little madam was lying on her tummy restricting the view of her heart.

Our sonographer did really well given the circumstances & managed to get nearly all the details. Squishy's length, weight, diameter, head, hands, feet, kidneys etc are all present and well which was such a relief to hear. I don't know if all expectant parents feel like this but it was definitely always at the back of my mind that we wouldn't know whether Squishy was entirely healthy until our 20 week anomaly scan. Obviously this is only from what they can tell so far and touch wood everything is looking great with Squishy's development at this stage so hopefully it will continue.

Then our sonographer had me trying everything to try and get Squishy to change positions. I was jumping up and down, jiggling my belly around, she sent me off for a wee, she made me drink something cold and fizzy....but no joy! Our little girl definitely seems to have inherited her daddy's stubbornness and would not budge. 

Somehow even though Squishy was shy on the day our sonographer still managed to sneak a peek in between her legs and confirm we were expecting a little girl!! I'm truly amazed that they can see details like that so clearly when I didn't have a clue what I was looking at. This honestly was the weirdest but best moment when she told us. I was absolutely convinced that we were having a boy so I was a little shellshocked I think, but in such a good way. 

We really didn't mind what sex Squishy turned out to be as long as she or he was healthy, that was the main thing on our minds and I'm such a girly girl so having our own little princess to dress in pink & pick out hairbands and tights for is a dream!

As we didn't managed to get a good look at Squishy's little heart the sonographer recommended that we come back for a rescan at 23 weeks just to double check everything was okay. I think maybe because G has a slight heart murmur this is something they wanted to be particularly cautious with as well. She did really reassure us that everything looked fine and she had seen all four chambers of the heart and each valve but all in picky little bits where Squishy kept moving and restricting her view so they would be happier if they could review all aspects of the heart in one clean sweep next time.

So last week I trotted back to the hospital on my own for our rescan. Unfortunately as G had just started a new job he couldn't get the day off but we figured he  probably wouldn't be missing much. To be honest we were right, I was pretty much in and out. The sonographer this time round first of all checked Squishy's heart which is exactly as it should be thankfully and she was very happy. She then checked all Squishy's other measurements again just to make sure she was progressing nicely since we were seen three weeks ago and everything is looking just fine. All of Squishy's measurements are average on the scale apart from the diameter of her tummy funnily enough which is right up high on the scale! Haha bless her!

The sonographer doubled checked for me and it definitely seems like Squishy is still a girl! Not that we were expecting a change of course but it's good to get a second opinion especially considering how awkward Squish was being first time round. Plus our house is full of far too many pink items for any late changes now!!

Funnily enough she hadn't actually moved at all so is still on her tummy in the breach position but they reassured me that was nothing to worry about at this stage and Squishy still has plenty of time to change position. Thankfully our sonographer at the second appointment got lucky and managed to complete all the checks she needed to.

They're estimating Squishy weighs 1lb 5oz already which is crazy! The fact that we've reached this point and Squishy is already that size and technically a viable baby now and not just a diddy foetus has definitely made this seem far more real.

Have you had a 20 week anomaly scan recently? I'd love to hear about your experiences!

If you're enjoying our pregnancy updates I'd love you to follow our story either here or on Bloglovin

XOXO

Bump update - 21 & 22 weeks

I seem to have got rather carried away with life these last two weeks and missed out on a whole update so I thought it'd be best to lump these two together.

Bump

I don't think my bump has changed massively over the last fortnight. I've definitely becoming more confident with it though. We went out to a friends 30th birthday party last Friday and I happily wore something tight fitting to show it off rather than cover up like I would have a few weeks ago. I also managed in heels for the evening with no problems at all which I was pleased about.

 

What have we been up to? 

This week we painted Squishy's bedroom which was very exciting! Just a plain magnolia as we only rent our house and aren't allowed to do anything too crazy but it's freshened it up loads and looks so much nicer already. Once I've finished with the room adding all the little pink touches it will be amazing I'm sure.
We also went to the South East Baby & Toddler show yesterday so I will do a post all about that at some point this week.

Weight/Cravings

I've put on another pound and a half taking me to 202.5lbs now. 9.5lbs weight gain in total since finding out I was pregnant which is definitely making me nervous considering I'm sure the worst is yet to come! Eeeek!
I've definitely been craving more sweet stuff again - I know they say this happens with girls but I never really believed it. Plus I had a super sweet tooth even before I was pregnant so it's hard to tell whether its really got worse or not.

 

Symptoms/Movement

In my 21st week I was suffering quite badly with heartburn for a few days in a row. Something that luckily I hadn't experienced up until now. Thankfully a couple of spoonfuls of Gaviscon seem to sort it right out and it doesn't hang around for too long so lets hope things stay that way.
Typically just days after turning down a surgeon appointment as I hadn't been suffering, didn't want surgery whilst pregnant and felt like I was wasting everybody's time - the gallstone attacks have come back with a vengeance! It really isn't very fun at all! Nothing in particular seems to trigger it, it's totally random and there is nothing I can do or take to ease the pain until my gallbladder decides to stop having spasms all on its own :( the only thing I've found to help is a really hot hot water bottle and not moving or eating until the pain stops - which is sometimes 13 hours. I've had 2 attacks over the last week but they were so bad I had to call in sick for work but before that I hadn't had one since January so fingers crossed they don't start becoming more regular.
Squishy's movements are so so lovely to feel now. Still slightly strange but lovely all the same. It's reassuring feeling our little girl kicking away. We can't wait for the movements to get strong enough for G to feel from the outside now - hopefully it won't be too much longer because G is definitely getting impatient!

Mood

Generally I'm feeling super excited and happy. I'm getting impatient and just want to meet our little Squish now! God knows how I'm going to cope waiting 18 more weeks!! I was in Squishy's room sorting out all her little clothes last night and got a little bit overwhelmed and emotional. It's all seeming much more real now

Baby's gender

Still a little girl :) To be honest I'm not expecting this to change anytime soon! haha...it better not anyway the amount of pink stuff in our house now!

Appointments

I had my 20 week check-up with a new midwife last week, so actually at 21 weeks, but I'm so pleased I took the gamble and went to a new clinic to see a new midwife because she was lovely and totally set my mind at ease. My blood pressure came back normal again so that's looking much better. I got my MAT B1 form to send off to work so again that's making everything seem more real now. It seems crazy thinking about going onto actual maternity leave - I keep thinking that is miles off yet! We also listening to Squishy's heartbeat again which is really strong and sounding good and the midwife had a good feel around my belly and says little lady is a good size, which seems crazy to me because when I poke away I can't even feel her at all! Let alone how big she is!!

Shopping

Again the shopping is pretty much off the scale! This little madam has SO much stuff now it's not true. We're seriously not buying another single piece of clothing...you are my witnesses!
I was however waiting for the Asda Baby & Toddler event which started online Saturday and in-stores Monday so we picked up a few bargains. Obviously going to a baby show as well I was tempted into buying things that definitely weren't essential but cute all the same so I'll include them in a post soon for you to see.

I think that's about all for this week. If you're enjoying our pregnancy updates I'd love you to follow our story either here or on Bloglovin'

Are you around the 20 week mark? I'd love to hear from fellow August mummy-to-be's

 

XOXO