The Dating Scan - Friday 18th March 2011

Probably one of the most exciting medical appointments of this pregnancy so far was my dating scan which was at 8:30am on Friday 18th March 2011 at Norwest Medical Imaging. Whilst exciting, this scan didn't go without a little bit of drama - mainly due to the 'preparation' required.

To ensure clear images can be obtained by the sonographer, you have to attend with a full bladder... the instructions are as follows:-

"This is achieved by emptying your bladder 2 hours before your appointment and then immediately drinking 600ml of water. Do not empty your bladder again before the procedure."

Now this is all very well and good but try throwing a little morning sickness into the mix and this 'preparation' can be challenging to say the least! No sooner had I started to drink my 600ml of water then it came straight back out again - unbelievable!

We got to the appointment on time - Adam came with me for moral support - and were soon called into the room with the sonographer - I explained that I had had a challenging morning with regards to keeping the required water down & my bladder full - and she said we'd have to see how we went but that I may be sent back out to the waiting room to drink more - oh no - as if I wasn't feeling sick enough already!!

Luckily for me she gave it a shot and was able to find our little peanut - that's literally how big Baby Read was at this stage - straight away - it was such an amazing moment! I got quite teary!!

Then she started doing all the required measurements - crown to rump (as the baby tends to be a bit curled up until it grows more) - and she ended up placing us a day further ahead than we thought - moving the due date from 03/11/2011 to 02/11/2011.

Here is a pic of our blob - the crosses are where they take the CRL measurements from:-

Next up she measured the heart beat which was also pretty amazing - I had to lie as still as I possibly could so she could get a clear recording. Baby Read's heart was beating at 133 beats per minute which is an excellent rate for a 7 week old bub I am assured. Babies hearts beat much faster than adults as they are still developing and are not as fully advanced and connected to all the other things that effect the heart rate at that stage.

It was an amazing appointment for me - poor Adam couldn't see much because the sonographer was in the way - and I was able to pic up all the films later that day which I am sure I will bore you with at some point... I wonder if I can bring them home in my suitcase in July?!

My overall feeling in relation to the scan was, however, that it was so great to actually see that there was really something 'living' in me - sometimes you forget because you feel so normal - and to actually see it with your own eyes and the little flicker of the heartbeat - like an aeroplane's lights going across a night sky - was such an experience - I'll never forget it!