Three months to go!

Baby Jade being camera shy! (26 weeks)

Baby Jade yawning :D (26 weeks)

I can't believe that in less than three months I will have a baby in my arms! The time has flown past!!

When I was suffering my way through the first trimester I thought it would never end - endless moments of being sick and sleeping, sore breasts, food aversions, more sleeping :o) I had wondered if the angels had abandoned me as nothing helped to relieve the symptoms until finally the angels did reward me with a GP that gave me anti-sickness tablets. Finally I was able to sleep all night without worrying about being sick as soon as I got up in the morning. The tablets didn't cure the sickness completely though, but at least gradually it reduced from 10+ times a day to only once or twice a week, and then once a week and then finally I stopped being sick!! I took ginger tablets to help me to wean myself off the Avomine, as my midwife was concerned that I shouldn't take them in the second trimester, and the night when I finally didn't take a ginger tablet either and waking up nausea free in the morning was a day to celebrate!! :D (I was at a festival at the time and murray mints were the celebration!).

I don't quite know what happened to the second trimester. I think that by the time the sickness stopped I was already halfway through my second trimester. I remember going for the 19 week scan at the hospital with a VERY full bladder (nearly wet myself on the table when the sonographer pressed too hard!), we had to move to another room as the scanner we were using wasn't giving enough detail of the heart. So off I waddled to the room next door (not much else you can do with a full bladder!) followed by hubby and the sonographer, got covered in the cold gel again and finally we saw our baby on the monitor.
WOW! That's all I can say really. I was absolutely amazed by how clearly you could see all four chambers of the heart, with the blood being pumped in and out of it! Out of this world! Then we saw the baby's spine and you could literally count all the vertebrae in the spine - it was that clear. This baby only about five inches long with a heart the size of your thumbnail and the spine and the ribs glowing on the screen. This was one techno piece I would love to have in my spare room! :D

We asked gingerly if the sonographer knew what the sex was and he said he was 90% certain that it is a girl, and that he was pretty sure it was. Hubby had the tissues ready, but I felt a bit self conscious crying in front of the sonographer and I was still trying to hold on to my bladder contents :o) but I was so chuffed and happy that I was right, as I felt that I had known it was a girl all along. We saw her move (she has the longest legs!) and doing somersaults is her favourite form of exercise (that and kicking my bladder!). Finally I was allowed to visit the little girls room (never known relief like it!) and promptly burst into tears! I'm having a little girl! I can buy pretty dresses and bows for her hair! Jade is finally here!

The only other major thing I remember from the second trimester was the fact that finally I had a bump! I now looked pregnant and had people - complete strangers - smiling at me in the street :D Now, that is a strange feeling - it seems a rare occurence nowadays for people to actually look at each other never mind smile at someone else they don't know, but it seems that as soon as it is noticeable that you have the miracle of life growing inside your abdomen - it just brings out the best in people and they can't help but go 'ahhhhh' :D
I have had people come up to me on the platform waiting for a train, to ask the usual three questions: 1) When is it due? 2) Is it your first? 3) Do you know what you are having? (the last one always makes me want to say 'well, we tried for a baby - but we think it may be an elephant instead - good to be different!' but thankfully I hold back on that comment! lol!).
As I'm not a person that is used to being smiled at, it often takes me a second to realise that it's really the bump they're smiling at and not really me, but hey if it cheers them up then my work is done :D And I do pat my belly in pride as I realise that this is my creation (and hubby's of course!) and that carrying this little being is a miracle and I feel very thankful that she chose me to be her mummy :D

The turn of the third trimester was celebrated by a visit to another sonographer but not an NHS one. No, unfortunately we had to pay for this visit (they get these free in Australia!!) but it was worth the money. We booked ourselves in for a 4D scan. This is where you get to see your baby in 3D but apparently because it is recording the movements it is known as 4D instead (I get lost further than that). Although, unfortunately baby Jade decided not to co-operate for the majority of the scan and the first pic we got was of her with her hands and feet in front of her face! She was very active in the car on the way - and then chose the exact moment we got to the scanning place to take a nap! (I see her character is forming already - along with her personality!). So there I was, lying on this couch (which surprisingly wasn't as comfortable as the NHS ones) and we were prodding my belly, and shaking it - then I had to empty my bladder and then we tried again - but no, she wasn't budging! The sonographer was about to stop and reschedule the appointment when I suddenly remembered 'Tic Tacs! Pass me the Tic Tacs!!' We're not entirely sure why, but Jade kicks like mad when I eat the peppermint Tic Tacs, so I thought this might do the trick and wake her up. Well, it worked, and we got a picture of her sticking her tongue out in protest! After that she decided to stay awake, though not always in the best position (she's going to be stubborn like her mummy!). The sonographer got her measurements: 24cm long (head to bottom), head circumference 11.5cm, head width 9cm (!!!! She's still got three months to go! How much bigger is her head going to get? - try not to panic ;D) and estimated that her weight was about 2lb 5 oz :D They also decided that her due date was end November not mid December, which hubby and I thought was quite funny as we had a feeling she would be born way before her due date anyway - but we will see what happens.

We ended up with 18 mins of footage of Jade kicking, smiling (yes they do smile before they are born!) and yawning plus 59 photos of her with her hand in front of her face (has done that in every scan) or clutching her toes :D Her face is so clear and I love that we can see what she looks like before she is born :D You can see her little button nose, and little feet and hands - really amazing! Ok, I won't bore you with all 59 photos :D so I've added a few at the top of this post to give you a taster!

Cool huh? :D But then I am biased :D