Week 12: A REAL baby with a monster claw

Had our first "real" scan today (the one with the shrimp was too early), and it looks like a real baby now!! Hurrah, we are not having a shrimp. He/She moved around like crazy and showed off his/her headstanding skills etc. Absolutely amazing! This little thing is inside me? Just six cm long, but complete with two legs, two arms, two brain halfs (yep, we could even see the two sides of the brain...), a tiny little nose, and a monster claw (must be a sign of a strong personality!).

Probably the cutest six cm baby in the world!

Now they are doing the tests, and we will have the risk analysis in about a week. I am stupidly nervous about this, just want to know that everything is ok - or at least that the odds are on our side. You never know for sure. Another challenge for control freaks like me and the H. Fingers crossed there aren't any nasty surprises in my blood. Yep - the vampires struck again today; needed more blood they said.

Yeah right. The Queen vampire must have been hungry.

Week 10: The NHS is run by vampires!

Had our first midwife appointment today including an ultrasound scan. We thought we were having a baby, but we really are having a shrimp! About 3 cm long shrimp. Amazing. Also found out we are one week less than we thought so can’t do any of the dreaded tests this week.... Have to wait another two weeks.

The H is convinced that vampires are running the hospitals in England... they took four containers of blood for me, and he reckons that 75% of that goes straight to the vampire queen.

I do hope they are not planning to keep our little vampire shrimp when it's born?

Vampires or not, very sweet and competent midwifes. Very impressed. Also, a fairly new hospital wing that doesn't feel like the 3rd world (like any other NHS experience I have had during my 9 years in blighty) and best news of all, I don't have to go back to my awful GP in that dirty looking house with the most stupid receptionist of all times... they can send me to a local health centre in between hospital visits. Y ippey! It can only be better!!

Week 8: Dehydrated Vampire...

I am very lucky because so far (knock on wood) I haven't had to throw up. I am feeling constantly nauseus though. Especially triggered by smells like scented candles, fried food, garbage, smokers, alcohol smelling husbands.....

However, I now know that I never knew what tiredness was before. I know we hear about this from pregnant women (not to mention new parents... I guess this is just a boot camp to get ready...) all the time, but it IS quite mindblowing. Read in "the book" (I got this book that tells you week by week what happens) that there would normally be 3% of my blood stream going to my uterus, when pregnant that increases to 25%..... wow. Even though everything in the body speeds up now, blood moves quicker, metabolism is higher etc (although I know I will be big as a house anyways) that has got to be exhausting, all that blood travelling through to the little shrimp. He/She is also extraordinarily thirsty... i am constantly dehydrated and need to fill up on water every two minutes.

I think the shrimp must be a very dehydrated vampire....