First trimester down.

Today was one of the biggest days of the pregnancy so far, the dating scan.  Luckily we found out that the first date we were given was bang-on.  This means we are 12 weeks and 4 days now and due on the 14th of October (10 days before my birthday), but I'll come back to the scan.

It's been a big week overall, on Monday we took delivery of the tumble dryer (courtesy of the mother-in-law).  Sad as it may be, this was a very exciting event and one which was a vital step in preparing to be the laundrette for babies that we are due to become mid-October.

Anyway today was the big day, we had been looking forward to for weeks.  We made sure to turn up at the hospital 10 minutes early, as instructed, and mazed our way around the hospital until we reached the ultrasound department.  We were a little alarmed that it was so busy, but much to the dismay of the waiting throng we got called in, just after I got told off for trying to snoop at people's personal details (when in actual fact I was merely interested in the nice thank you cards that people had sent to the maternity unit, that were displayed on the wall).

Baby pulling the classic "nicky-nicky-na-na" pose.
We think it might have been aimed at the radiographer.

The radiologist (I hope that's the right nomenclature) promptly sat Annie on the bed and I took a seat of my own.  So the nurse squirts the nice cold gel on Annie's belly and sets about the scan.  She promptly finds the baby, just chilling...upside down.  She kindly informed us that this is normal and the baby looks very healthy but that it needs to be horizontal or at very least vertical in the normal position in order to measure the neck for the Downs Syndrome test.

We were informed that if the baby didn't wake up and move into the correct position quick smart that we would need another appointment to get the test done.  Luckily the nurse was very patient and there are a number of techniques that can encourage the baby to move around.  The first was a nice little dance, the nurse tried again, the baby didn't move.  The second was to empty the bladder, the nurse tried again, the baby didn't move.  The third was to pop off and get a coffee, the nurse tried again, the baby didn't move.  When I say didn't move, I mean didn't move into position, the baby did wriggle.

The baby shortly before "cap-sizing" into headstand position.

Eventually after one particularly energetic jig the baby moved into a horizontal position, balancing on an 'A' shape in the uterus.  This was the opportunity to get the required measurement and just before she could get the image and do so, the baby did a sort of repeated kangaroo-kick motion and powered itself back into the upside-down position.  We thought we had it once again when the baby was coaxed into moving around, only to tilt backwards in a move that resembled the sinking of The Titanic and ended up upside-down again.

Anyway to cut a long story short the persistent nurse eventually got the required measurement and told us it was very good.  The next step was the dreaded blood test.  Annie dealt with it in her stride and the nurse administering the blood test was much chattier than the last one, which made the process a little easier.  Unfortunately she was only able to drain a piddly amount of blood but it turned out to be just enough.

It was really magical to see such a perfectly formed tiny little person in there.  It was amazing to see its little hand waving at us and its nose (which is already looking like mine - a bit worrying) and tiny feet.  Being on a little bit of a baby high we trekked off to further research prams at Babies R' Us.  There were quite a few prams to get hands-on with, most of which were completely terrible, however we did really like the B-Smart 3.  We also bought our first baby item (admittedly we couldn't wait until after the scan and made the purchase last weekend).  It's a gorgeous little Very Hungry Caterpillar jacket, which was on sale in Sainsbury's.

All-in-all there's been a lot of excitement, and of course there's much more to look forward to.