Week Five / Six: Wednesday 13th February 2008

Wow, I think it still feels like a dream, but it’s certainly for real – Elwood was just where he/she needed to be yesterday and was doing well. After the 90 minute wait to get in to see the Prof, I was practically climbing the walls and trying not to scream. After all, I was surrounded by dozens and dozens of very heavily pregnant women counting down the last days of their pregnancy. I told Ash that it felt like each one of them was looking at me with a look that said “you don’t look pregnant, what are you doing here?” Of course, completely mental, but I wasn’t in the best frame of mind.

Regardless, almost two hours after our scheduled appointment, Ash and I finally met with the Prof and he turned on the ultrasound machine. I thought I was in for an internal as that was what the nurse had suggested; however he decided to give the external one a try first. And there, almost instantly was little Elwood. We didn’t wait long at all for him to find him/her, but then had our socks blown off when he said, "And there’s the heart beating away". When he first turned up the volume and we heard the heartbeat, I started laughing, which then of course made if difficult to hear. When we listened again, I looked up at Ash and I think he was in a state of disbelief, it was like, is this really happening? Then we took a good look at our embryo, not that there was much to see. There was a big black hole, and then a small glob of white in the middle. However it didn’t really matter, so long as it was pulsating along with the little heart going a mile a minute. I think the read was 119 beats a minute, which is just crazy!

Once we were given our first photo of Elwood, Ash and I then followed the Prof into his room for a bit of a quick chat. I asked about exercise, and was given the ok to return to the gym, so long as I didn’t push myself too hard, and didn’t do anything that was considered a “jerky” movement. Pleased to know I can run and box though, as I think another 33.5 weeks of walking around the park would have done my head in.

After telling mum and texting Ash’s family, I had to have a little nap when I got home. And let it all sink in. Ash sat down to dinner with me and said “you have another heart beating inside you” – it was nice to hear him speak about Elwood, as I think he has been a little cautious about getting too excited. The good news is, the Prof said we now have a 90% chance of making it to full term, and when we return in two weeks for the 8 week scan, provided everything is ok then, our chances increase to 95%. I think that’s just incredible, and feel a lot better about the next six weeks of waiting.