18 weeks and scan

At the beginning of last week I received my appointment for my second scan,  I had anticipated it being a couple of weeks away as I would only be 18 weeks on the Wednesday.  However the appointment was in fact for the Friday 4th November.  I decided to contact the hospital in case it was a mistake.  I explained my dates to the receptionist for the x-ray department but she simply said if I had been sent an appointment it must be right and asked if I could attend.  I said I could and then rang dad of 3 to let him know the time of the appointment so he could take time off work.  

So Friday morning we set off an hour before the appointment for the hospital which is just under an hours drive away.  We had to find the general office when we arrived so that we could get a receipt for scan pictures and then we made our way to the x-ray department. 

When we got there there was a sign apologising for delays but some of the equipment in one of the rooms had broken down.  I looked at dad of 3 and said “we could be here a while”.  However when I checked in with reception I was asked to take a seat and two minutes later we were being called and taken round to a room.  I felt a bit guilty having more or less just walked in and being seen straight away as the waiting room was full and getting fuller by the minute.  

We were asked to take a seat again and the lady went into the scanning room.  I could hear three voices saying “she’s only 18 plus 2, why have we sent for her its too early”!  I looked at dad of three and asked if he had heard what I had, he nodded but said “Just wait and see”.  We were then called into the scanning room where the sonographer and assistants asked me to confirm my dates, name, address etc.  They asked when I had seen the consultant and had my first scan and I explained it had only been the Wednesday before and that I had thought it was too early for the anomaly scan when the appointment had arrived but that when I rang the department I was told to attend as it couldn’t have been a mistake.  The sonographer explained that the guidelines they follow for anomaly  scans was 18 weeks plus 5 days so I was a few days short of that.  I was asked to take a seat again.  I couldn’t believe it, I had known it was too early when the appointment had come but because the hospital had assured me it was right and to attend we had, I had even cancelled Rowan’s speech therapy session that day so we could attend.  Dad of 3 could see I was upset and told me not to panic and to wait to see what happened next.  After five minutes we were called back into the room and told that the mistake had been theirs and as we had travelled so far to attend they would go ahead with the scan and see what measurements they could do but I was to be prepared to have to come back as some of the checks on baby’s heart would not be able to be carried out.  I thanked the sonographer and we got ready to start the scan.  


The sonographer was really helpful explaining everything that could be seen on the screen and the parts of the baby.  It was amazing to see how much baby had developed in just over the week since our first scan.  When the sanographer took measurements from baby’s leg and thigh bone the measurements were consistently coming out at 17 weeks plus 6, so two days less than my dates.  The sonographer explained that dates were correct within 5 days either way and not to worry as my due date would not be changed.  Baby’s head was right in my pelvis and it proved very difficult to get baby to move so that she could get the measurements that were needed.  Baby was kicking and moving around a lot and I could feel the kicks.  Rowan was fascinated with seeing baby again and kept saying “baby” every time he recognised the baby.  The sonographer explained it was pointless trying to look for the sex as baby was not co-operating and moving around far to much.  The sonographer decided it was pointless trying to complete the scan now as I was below the guidelines they worked too but she managed to get four fantastic pictures of baby which were so clear.  The assistant very kindly said we could have the pictures for free due to the mistake with the scan and told me to keep the receipt for when I was called back in a few weeks time.  Again we were asked to take a seat and told they would sort out an appointment for me.  We were asked if we could attend on the 25th November for the scan to take place, we said that was great and thanked the staff for being so nice.  

                                                              

So at least we got to see baby again even if we weren’t able to find out baby’s sex, fingers crossed we can at the next appointment,  I will be 21 weeks plus 2 then so baby will also be bigger and almost at the cut off point for the guidelines the hospital work to for anomaly scans.  Baby obviously is enjoying keeping us guessing for now.