Week 12 To 13

Wednesday 12+0
Well today I reached the 12 week mark! It's quite a relief to reach this stage as chances of a miscarriage drop to something like 1% which I think is pretty good odds. My morning sickness definitely seems as though it's on the way out and my energy levels have increased, along with my breasts! Apparently it's perfectly normal to be feeling more human by this stage as the placenta would have taken over the hard work of nourishing the baby. It's amazing to think that at this point the baby is already fully formed with everything in the right place, just all in miniature! Even some of its organs are functioning on their own now, like the kidneys.

So, I have my scan tomorrow and with it brings a variety of mixed feelings. Excitement is ranking up there along with anxiety and nerves! I just want to get there and know my long awaited baby is healthy and well. Once I know it is then I can't wait to see "him" again! I'm hoping the little thing has a bit of energy and moves around for us and doesn't spend the scan asleep. I'll get an initial risk assessment for downs syndrome which may alter once the blood tests are back in a couple of weeks but at least we'll have an idea. Being a 3D scan apparently it could be possible to determine the sex of the baby tomorrow as long as it decides to cooperate. I won't hold my breath though, but it's exciting all the same!

I'll have a little listen to the heartbeat later tonight just for that extra peace of mind. Wish me luck!

Thursday 12+0 (again!)
Well, I'm just back from the scan and it was the most amazing experience ever! Our perfectly formed little baby was flipping around all over the place, waving it's arms about, covering its eyes. It was a job for the doctor to take the measurements because as soon as it was lined up ready it would flip off again! I can't believe how something so tiny can be so perfectly formed. The crown to rump length measured 4.88cm which put me at 12 weeks exactly, so I was only 1 day out on my original estimate. The doctor looked at all the soft markers for tell tale symptoms of abnormalities or downs syndrome and all were absolutely fine. The nuchal fold measured 0.106 cm which also puts the baby at very low risk for downs. I'll get an actual risk percentage early next week when the results of my blood sample is back. He measured the heart rate at 162bpm so it seems as though I've been doing a pretty accurate job with my doppler so far!

The scan itself was amazing. It lasted around 45 minutes and the doctor thoroughly explained all the various parts, what he was checking for etc. It was a mixture of 2D and 3D/4D so we got some amazing images. He's given us a DVD of the scan so I will upload some footage and images shortly. He then asked us if we wanted to know the sex which of course we were dying to know! He said he can't be 100% certain at this early stage but it looks very likely that we're having a little girl! He's going to rescan me at my 16 week appointment to double check the gender then. I really hope it is a little girl now as I'm kind of used to the idea already, but a boy would be most welcomed too!

So, what a day! I've never felt so much relief before and I'm still very emotional from the whole experience!


Here you can see both hands up next to the face and the umbilical cord coming down through the crossed legs and curling away from the body.


This is a slightly different view of the above image.


Full on side view from head to toe. The ears, eyes and nose are visible as well as the knees and feet.


In this image the baby has both hands raised in front of "her" face. If you look closely you can see a smile!


This is a "butterfly" view of the brain shown from the top looking down. It clearly shows the left and right sides.

Friday 12+1
I am still so emotional today. I found it hard to sleep last night as I think I was still buzzing with the excitement of seeing our "little lady" yesterday. The first thing I did this morning was look at the photos of her and it made me teary eyed all over again. I'm so in awe of her already and can't believe she's so perfectly formed even at 5cms! I'm wondering if it's crazy to love someone so much when you haven't even met them yet.....?!

Tuesday 12+5
I've been on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster since the scan. I found that I couldn't look at the scan pictures without crying. Obviously not because I'm sad, but still so amazed! My husband went away on a course yesterday for a few days and I had a very early start to the day - 5am to be exact! I don't know if I was just exhausted but yesterday the tears just kept flowing and I felt very low. I've also had morning sickeness back for the last 4 days which isn't helping. Again it's only at night. Anyway, today I feel way more positive. The sun is shining, I started the day with a lovely stroll on the beach with the dog and I'm off to acupuncture later for a bit of balancing and relaxation. I think it's good to be in the great outdoors as it certainly seems to lift the spirits!

Week 11 To 12

Well here I am, on Friday 23rd May, up to date at 11+2. Not long to go to the magical 12 week mark! I will now try and maintain the blog on a regular basis, adding to my posts every couple of days or when any significant event happens.

Yesterday I had another listen to the babies heartbeat and found it very quickly and easily. I think the trick was to wait until I was absolutely desperate to go to the loo as your bladder pushes your uterus out of your pelvis more. The baby was measuring 160bpm and the placenta 80bpm. I don't think I'll ever get bored of listening to that sound! It's amazing to think there is this little life being created inside me and it has no idea I'm listening to it. Going by the heart rate theory it's looking like this little one may be a girl, but the jury is still out as I feel it's a boy!

I'm pleased to say nausea seems to be on the decline unless I get too hungry. I still can't face dinner most nights though. My new favourite food is a slice of wholemeal bread smothered in raspberry jam with a couple of slices of cheddar on the side! My energy levels seem to have increased a little so I'm wondering if I'll be entering my "blooming period" soon. Seem to be peeing like a racehorse though! I've also felt some mild stretching pains recently but I suppose that's only to be expected.

Oh, did I mention I'm booked in for a nuchal translucency scan on the 29th May. This is to measure the risk of downs syndrome and to look for other fetal abnormalities. I'm quite excited about seeing our baby again as the difference should be amazing. Of course, being the worry wart that I am, I'm also scared of getting there and being told something I don't want to hear.

I'm a little more relaxed though as I do have the reassurance of hearing the heartbeat so I know the baby is alive and well. I'll try and make a recording in the next couple of days and see if I can put it on here.

Sunday 11+4
I had a very disturbed nights sleep and think it was due to heartburn (my new symptom) and not being able to get comfortable in bed. At 4am I ended up getting a cushion and putting it under my tummy to support it while I slept. I think it did the trick as I slept soundly for 4 more hours. Finally, I think I can say my morning sickness seems to be on the way out. I'm not sure if I should be grateful for the break from it or worried that one of my early symptoms is disappearing! I suppose I should consider it normal at this stage as the hormones start to level off as the placenta takes over, and I did hear the heartbeat again yesterday! Nerves are starting to creep in though in anticipation of my scan on Thursday. Yesterday I was very tired most of the day and in a really crabby mood. You didn't want to be in the car when Chris was trying to give me advice on how to parallel park!

Week 10 To 11

My fetal doppler arrived at the end of this week and I couldn't wait to try it out! It's the Angel Sounds one where you can record the heartbeat onto your computer. I didn't want to expect too much though as they are meant from week 12. I lied on the sofa and put a good blob of Johnson baby oil gel on my lower abdomen and had a bit of a root around. I could hear the whoosh of the placenta which was a reassuring sound and knew the baby shouldn't be far away.

I thought I picked up the heartbeat really easily and was so excited until I counted it and realised it was mine! I was listening to my own pulse through the placenta. I moved the doppler to the left ever so slightly and picked up the unmistakable sound of the rapid heartbeat! I had a count and it was 168bpm! I was so thrilled and reassured to hear that sound and so so excited! Chris came home from work about 15 minutes later and I managed to find it pretty quickly for him to listen to. We both sat there grinning away in awe at the sound of our baby. I was 10+6 when I heard it.

The morning sickness is still very much in full swing this week, but right now I just don't care!

My tummy seemed to get huge this week, well for me anyway, and I had a bit of a clothing crisis. I'm usually pretty stylish and live in my skinny jeans but there was no way on earth they were going to do up. I think they missed by about an inch and a half. I didn't really want to invest in maternity clothes yet as I'm not that big but had to go shopping for some loose fitting bottoms. The jeans are now packed away in the wardrobe as something to aim for after I've had the baby. Doing my best in the chav stakes, loose joggers are now in full force, but at least I can breathe!

Below is a picture of my "bump" at 10+1. It seems a little large to me but I think a lot of it is still bloating and water retention rather than actual baby.

Week 9 To 10

Pregnancy symptoms are in full swing this week! Emotions are flying all over the place! I can cry at the drop of a hat. I've been going through a "I feel fat and ugly stage", not helped by the fact that my face seems rashy and I have bags under my eyes from extreme fatigue. The morning sickness hit a new high and the vomiting started. Not everyday thankfully but maybe every 3rd day. It seems to have shifted to the evenings though and from 7pm without fail I felt very very poorly. As a result I've been going to bed about 10pm and that's following an afternoon nap! The constipation seems a little better after the fibre introduction.

This week I discovered I had a yeast infection though and it had spread to my bladder. I think this explains the reason behind the shooting pains I had last week. Luckily a one off pill was all I needed to kick it in to touch. I have to watch my intake of refined sugars.

In terms of feelings, this was a pretty miserable week where I felt at my lowest point.

Week 8 To 9

Oh my God! This week was very bad for morning sickness and tiredness. I had absolutely zero appetite and had to force food in to me. I found I had a bit of a taste for seafood sticks and cream cheese triangles. Together of course! When I call it morning sickness that is not a true reflection. It is really all day and all night sickness. It seems the only real escape I had from it was when I was asleep. I don't think I managed one complete meal in this entire week. I'd eat a few bites and need a rest. The evening meal was the worst as I was so tired by this point that I barely had the energy to put my food in my mouth and chew! Needless to say my husband got to finish most of my meals this week.

My breasts took on a world of their own this week too! I had a lot of painful twinges in them and realised that none of my bras could really contain them! Of course Chris thought they were great, but there was no way in the world he'd be allowed near them at this sensitive stage!

Oh, the glamorous side of pregnancy really started to kick in too with constipation! I thought at one point my stomach would explode as it had been a fair while since visiting the bathroom. It is so uncomfortable but I think the increased progesterone is to blame. Although I've really gone off the taste of milk I forced myself back on to bran flakes in the morning just to try for a it of regularity.

I've also had some sharp shooting pains in my lower abdomen this week. They feel like they start at my cervix and go right up through me. I'm not sure if it's stretching pains, something to do with the constipation or whether I have a urinary infection. I did a wee sample at the doctors just to check for any nasties.

I bit the bullet and ordered a fetal doppler this week. It's a listening device for the babies heartbeat. They say you can hear it from 12 weeks but as I'm very slim I'm thinking I may have a good chance of hearing it earlier. It was only 20 quid from Hong Kong. I got it on ebay and can't wait for its arrival!

Week 7 to 8

This was an exciting week as we had the viability scan. It was also worrying too as I was fearing the worst! I had a transvaginal ultrasound and can't explain the feeling when we were shown the tiniest little blob on the screen. In the middle was a little flicker which is the heartbeat! The doctor was able to use the doppler and measure the babies heart rate, so we got to listen to it as well. I think I was grinning like the village idiot at this stage!

The babies heart rate measured 121bpm and it's crown to rump length was 5.3mm. So tiny! The doctor dated me at 6 and a half to 7 weeks, not bad considering I thought I was 7+1. The baby was nestled in the top right of my uterus and we could see the shadow of the placenta. I have included a copy of my scan taken that day. I'm not too sure what the two images on the left are but the top right is the embryo and the bottom right is the position in the uterus. The shadowy area to the left is the placenta.



The only slight problem found was with my corpus luteum. The corpus luteum is the leftover follicle from the egg after it has burst out and is what is responsible for providing progesterone in the early stages of pregnancy before the placenta takes over. It appeared as though mine had had a haemorrhage and the doctor was worried about the effects on my progesterone levels. It's progesterone which helps to sustain the pregnancy and stops the uterus contracting and expelling the embryo. To prevent this from happening I was prescribed 200mg per day of natural progesterone to keep my levels up. This was to be continued until week 10.

Now, I don't know if it was the extra progesterone to thank for this but the extreme tiredness kicked in this week! It's hard to explain but it is just a sheer exhaustion and I felt like I'd been hit by a truck! You fight to keep your eyes open and you're yawning all day long. With the tiredness comes the nausea. They seem to go hand in hand! By this point I was feeling pretty ropey most of the day.

Week 6 To 7

Well, the morning sickness kicked in! I never thought I'd be so relieved to be feeling sick all the time though! They say it's a good sign and it means you have high levels of hormones running through your body. I tried all the traditional remedies. Ginger nut biscuits, crackers, lemonade, wearing travel sickness bands, ginger. To be honest, by the end of this week I was sick to death of ginger biscuits and crackers and haven't eaten another one since!

The bloating got worse and my breasts started to increase in size. My nipple seemed to spread out and I noticed little bumps around them. The tiredness also started to kick in.

Week 5 to 6

It is such a huge relief to get through that first week! When you move into week 5 you actually start believing that you're in with a good chance. Of course knicker watch continues and I still remember how my hand would shake every time I looked at the tissue after I'd had a wee!

I booked any early viability scan with my fertility doctor for reassurance. The date was set for 24th April when I'll be 7 weeks and 1 day. The purpose of the scan was to check that all was in the right place and developing as it should be. By 7 weeks you should be able to see a heartbeat if the pregnancy is a good one.

Symptom wise during this week I got increasingly sensitive nipples and breasts and also a lot of bloating. No sign yet of morning sickness.

Week 4 To 5

This weeks is what is officially known as "knicker watch!" Any lady who has been pregnant will know what I mean. You are constantly running to the loo and checking for signs of blood. I forget how many rolls of toilet paper I went through during this week. Also a relatively common early pregnancy symptom is increased vaginal discharge. Trust me, whenever you start to feel slightly "damp" down there your heart jumps into your mouth while you dash off to investigate.

I think this is one of the most nerve wracking weeks as something like half of all non viable pregnancies are lost within this first week. As far as symptoms went, I really didn't feel any different in this week. I had slightly sensitive nipples but nothing major. I decided to keep up with acupuncture for relaxation and inner calm, and also the chinese doctor assured me she could help out with combating the worst of the pregnancy symptoms.

Our Trying To Conceive Journey

My husband Chris and I started trying for a baby on my 32nd birthday. He is a few years younger than me, well 6 and a half to be exact, and wasn't really ready to have a baby before that point. I was aware of my ticking biological clock and thought it was maybe time to crack on with it, so to speak! Like most people I assume you had sex, got pregnant, had a baby. Simple enough stuff! Well, were we in for a bit of a shock!

After trying unsuccessfully for a year, and yes we were doing everything right, we went to see a fertility specialist to see if he could shed any light on our problem. We went the day of my 33rd birthday and I remember being nervous but a little excited as I thought he may have a couple of quick fix remedies up his sleeve.

It was on that day I discovered I had PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome). To cut a long story short after numerous tests for both of us we were told we were unlikely to conceive naturally. A bit of a shock to the system I have to say as it's never something you expect to hear. We finally got underway with fertility treatment, some of it very invasive, in September and after five months of massive let downs and disappointments we decided it was time to take a break. It really does get quite soul destroying getting your hopes up month after month only to have them dashed again. I was also fed up of feeling like the psycho bitch from hell with all these artificial hormones rushing through my body!

We went away on holiday in February and that month I came off all my fertility medication and went back on to a natural cycle. When we returned from holiday we made the decision to start IVF in June '08. To get my body ready for the treatment in the beginning of March I decided to undergo a course of acupuncture for a bit of rebalancing and relaxation. Chris also had a few treatments to send some positive energy to his man bits!

It was nearing the end of my cycle and to be honest I thought there is no way on earth that I could be pregnant that month as I didn't have a single symptom. We went to see the chinese doctor on Thursday 3rd April and she said my pulse had changed! When we questioned her as to what that could mean she said I could be pregnant or just expecting my period. Of course I had a little bit of excitement that night wondering could I be?! So, on the Friday morning I peed in my plastic cup, left it to cool to room temperature while I walked our dog. When I got back I dipped in a Tesco home pregnancy test and waited. After two minutes I glanced at the test expecting to see the usual snowy white window and to my complete shock there was a second line! It was faint but definitely there. You could have scraped me off the floor! I was shaking and in tears as this was our 22nd month of TTC and finally it looked like we'd cracked it!

I called Chris at work and he was as amazed as me. I decided to retest on the Sunday morning just to check that the line was getting stronger and that things were moving in the right direction. To my delight the second line came up really quickly and was a lovely strong line. Chris got it waved under his nose to wake him up! Finally I started to believe I was pregnant!

Below are pictures of the tests. The first one you can just about make out the line. The second one was the much stronger test taken 2 days later.

A Little About Me

Hi, I thought I would start by introducing myself. I'm Ellie, 33 going on 34, and at the time of writing this post I am 11 weeks and 2 days pregnant. Trust me, the 2 days make all the difference! My estimated due date is 10th December 2008, although my husband is hoping that the baby makes an early appearance on his birthday, 8th December.

I have decided to write this blog as a kind of journal, more for myself, about my journey through pregnancy. As I have started a little late in my journey, I'll start by recapping over major events of the last couple of months from finding out I was pregnant up to now. From then on I will maintain this blog on a regular basis.