11 Week Scan

I waited all day in anticipation, and watched the minutes tick painfully by until it was finally time to leave. My husband picked me up from work early, and we ate a quick lunch before we drove to the hospital. We parked in our usual lot, and walked the familiar path to the Reproductive Unit of Edinburgh Royal Hospital. After entering the automatic double doors, for the first time I didn't have to turn left to go into the infertility clinic. This time, I turned right, into the area with all the expectant mothers, into the area of hope and happiness and joy. I have to admit, there were times when I never thought I'd get here.

Today was the day that most newly pregnant women wait for - the first REAL ultrasound! Of course, I cheated and payed for one early at 8 weeks, but that little ball of cells with a beating heart was oceans away from what I saw today. 

A real, wriggling, spinning, kicking, waving baby!

Ultrasound at 8 weeks - look at that tiny blob!

Ultrasound at 11 weeks - head, arms, legs, fingers and toes! 65cm and all measurements good!

As I sat there in the scan room, my stomach covered with cold ultrasound gel and my full bladder being pushed upon my an ultrasound wand, I couldn't stop giggling. That was our little baby! And that tiny baby was moving every which way! The technicians couldn't manage to get a good picture for ages because every time they thought they caught it, the baby would move again. S/he spun in circles, somersaulting around, covering his/her face with those little hands. It is amazing that at this point the baby is only the size of a lime and I'm not even showing yet - but there is so much life and movement there! I reached out to grab Paul's hand; this was our little person that we would be taking care of in 6ish short months. It felt some incredible I couldn't believe it was actually happening to me. 

Since my last update here I have felt, well, completely and utterly exhausted. Sometimes I feel like I need a nap at 10am. My nausea is (finally!) letting up a bit (sometimes) and I dry heave and gag less often now. Still there are many things that set me off (like the inside of my fridge!) and I'm still crying at everything and getting angry at the smallest things, but otherwise I'm A-OK. I've got the one thing that means the most to me, and I'm protecting it inside of me. More than anything, I can't wait to share the good news with my friends and family back home - only 5 days until I arrive and it couldn't come any sooner!

Well look at that, it's bed time again. I feel like all I do is sleep, work, sleep, work. But this precious part of my life when I carry my first child won't last forever so I am going to enjoy and be grateful for every day that I have.