Week Twelve: Wednesday 26th March 2008

Anxiety, anxiety, anxiety calls, with the twelve week scan just hours away. I think I have done an excellent job of remaining calm over the last couple of weeks, and being busy at work has left me little time to contemplate. But now it is oh so close, my stomach has turned and I can barely think straight. Last night I started imagining the worst which I know I shouldn’t do, but at 4am in the morning, who’s to say what is reasonable.

Ash and I have had a lot to celebrate this past weekend, with him being offered the position of Marketing and Communications Manager at Parramatta Leagues. For Eels fans such as ourselves this is really a dream come true, although while I sit here planning just how close Ash can get me to Nathan Hindmarsh and Co, he is just so pleased to be leaving his current role. We celebrated on Thursday with dinner at our favourite Lebanese restaurant, and I couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. The great news is, he only needs to work three more weeks, as we have leave booked for a week in a month’s time, so he finishes up on an annual leave week!

Well somehow, I now need to drink 750ml and keep it in there for an hour before this scan, so that’s where my concentration is going. Will save some space for an update following this afternoon – fingers (and everything else) crossed…

Well, surely the most severe form of torture should be making a person fill their bladder to capacity and then watch them squirm. On the drive to the hospital, I was particularly cranky and just wishing the time away. But that was nothing compared to arriving right on time at half three and then being forced to wait another 20 minutes until they were ready for me. By this time I was pacing the tiny waiting room, positive that if they didn’t call me in the next 30 seconds, I was going to bathroom anyway! Of course as soon as I jumped up on the bed, the sonographer told me I was too full and needed to empty out!

Despite all the pain, the actual experience was amazing. Our baby really looked like a baby, and we saw arms, hands, legs, feet, the spine, and the heart beating away. It’s easy to forget what’s going on inside my belly until you see everything up on the ultrasound. Even then, it’s still a bit surreal. After a blood test following the scan, we were then given the news that the baby’s chances of being affected by a chromosomal abnormality are significantly small and are very little cause for concern. Now we can share our news wih everyone - hooray!