28 Weeks, Big Tummies, Marriage and 4D Scans!

Last week we hit twenty eight weeks pregnant and just twelve weeks to go until she is due. In true Eden style, it hasn’t been a week without drama.

Last week I had a scary couple of hours of no movement from little miss. I tried a cold drink and a bite to eat, but she still wasn’t moving very much at all. So, I gave the maternity helpline a call and they told me to go up to the Antenatal Day Unit for monitoring. I headed up there and, of course, as soon as they got her on the monitor it was DISCO TIME in my uterus. She was kicking and flipping around like a champ. I did say to the midwife that I felt like a bit of a prat for going up there, but she reassured me that I should ALWAYS go up if I feel that her movements are any different at all. So, that killed a few hours that day and made Amy and I have a small heart attack. But all’s well that ends well!

Yesterday, we had our 28w growth scan at the hospital. Everything was just fine, except for her tummy, which was measuring just above the 97th percentile. They basically said it’s not a huge deal, but I need to discuss it with my midwife at the next appointment (which is tomorrow). It’s likely that they will want me to do the three hour glucose tolerance test to rule out gestational diabetes and with a tummy that measures bigger than her head, they worry about a slightly higher chance of getting stuck if you opt for a vaginal birth. Eden is also very much breech at the moment, so if she doesn’t move, we won’t be going down the vaginal birth route anyway. So, the plan at the moment is to discuss with the midwife tomorrow, follow her instructions and then we have another growth scan at 34 weeks so we will see how she’s doing then and discuss exit options. Apart from the tummy, everything else is completely 100% normal and her tummy has always been on the bigger side, so part of me thinks it’s just how she is built.

Our local registry office

Today was a day we had very much been looking forward to. Amy and I have been in a civil partnership for just over five years, but as of last year you have been able to convert or “upgrade” to marriage by either having another ceremony if you wish, or by just signing a conversion certificate. The marriage then is considered to have been formed on the day your civil partnership was registered. Our original idea was to have the whole white wedding scenario, but since Eden has been in the picture that just didn’t seem like something we wanted to spend a tonne of money on. So today, we converted our civil partnership to marriage! It was just a paper signing exercise, but it’s lovely to know that Amy and I are now “married” and not “civil partnered” in the eyes of the law. Amy is also getting on to changing her surname, so that we will have the same surname on Eden’s birth certificate. The law in this country says that a lesbian couple must be married or in a civil partnership at the time of conception in order to both go on the birth certificate, so the conversion doesn’t affect this. We are still considered to be legally married since 2nd October 2010 and so can both so on Eden’s birth certificate. Yay for equality!

Today was also an exciting day because we had a 4D scan booked! I was really hoping that Eden would behave, but then her track record for scans isn’t go great so I wasn’t holding my breath! We returned to Apeekaboo Imaging, where we had had our gender scan back in July. I genuinely love this place. It’s always such a warm welcome and it feels so personal each time you go there. Considering our Baby Bond experience for our early scan, which wasn’t go great, this place is a breath of fresh air. We had opted for a 4D package in which we got to see our little lady in 4D and HD and got four prints to take home. I hadn’t prepared myself for exactly how fantastic this would be. Eden being the awkward little soul that she is, she was still very much breech and had managed to cover her face with her hands AND her feet. We persevered with wiggling, poking and dancing around and eventually she gave us a few little glimpses of her lovely little face.

It’s so very odd to see them in 4D because you almost don’t expect them to be quite so human like. During the time that we had our little window into her world, she gave us a little yawn and was poking her tongue out. Like Amy was saying, you almost assume that they learn those behaviours outside of the womb, but the fact that they are going on inside there even now is amazing. I have to admit I was pretty in awe!

Picking just four pictures was a chore in itself, but we got there in the end and they were
given to us in a pretty presentation bag. We also bought some frames for grandparents and for us to display them at home, as I was so impressed with the quality. I had worried about 3D/4D images as sometimes they have a habit of being a bit grainy and odd looking, but I guess we got her on a good day and she was just about willing to pose… with a tiny bit of encouragement. I was hoping she would escape inheriting my nose, but it looks like she very much got that passed on to her!

With only eleven and a bit weeks to go until she is due, we are drawing ever closer to meeting this little lady. Things are getting SERIOUS now and we will no doubt be discussing birth plans and such with the midwife at the next appointment. It’s all very scary – but good scary. Very good scary. It’s what we’ve wanted for so long and I’m so thrilled that we’re reaching this final stretch. Kind of makes the three years of trying to conceive worth it!

(Note – We paid for the scan and any extras with our own money and were not provided with any incentive for the mentions of Apeekaboo Imaging. All opinions are our own. We are not affiliated with Apeekaboo Imaging in any way.)