Midwives and other news

On Tuesday we went to see the midwife for the first time. First of all she gave me a bag full of freebies - magazines, creams, baby bonnet, bootees etc. Even pregnancy has become commercialised! Then she asked us loads of questions about our medical histories, any hereditary stuff and the pregnancy so far. She came to the same due date as I did - 21st June - but said it could be a week off either way because I had no idea of the length of my cycles. She also weighed me, took my blood pressure (all fine) and tested my urine for diabetes and something else. Then came the moment we'd been waiting for - an ultrasound scan! She put some gel on my tummy, started scanning and then grumbled, flicked some switches and generally looked displeased. The stupid ultrasound machine had decided to pack it in! She was very apologetic, tried to find the heart beat with a dop-tone thingie, but the foetus was too small. Then she felt with her hands and said she could feel the foetus clearly (oh really? why can't I??) and it was quite high above my pelvic bone, indicating that I could perhaps be further along than I thought. All in all, a disappointing end to an exciting appointment.

Coming Thursday I'm going to a medical centre to have my dating scan and I'm counting the days! I'm really hoping R can make it too - if he's swamped at work it will be nigh on impossible, but this is the kind of thing you really want to do together. I'm terrified they will tell me there's nothing there and the whole pregnancy is a figment of my rather colourful imagination. Apparently I will have similar fears throughout the pregnancy...something to look forward to!

Last weekend we told our two best friends and they were both so incredibly pleased for us. R's best friend recently became a dad himself and I think he's glad he will have someone to share his experiences with. My best friend, S, has two kids of her own and is already giving me loads of advice. She laughed at me when I told her about all my fears and worries - the indignity! She then explained it was because it was all so recognisable and she told me about some of her own ludicrous fears. I feel it has forged an even closer bond between us and I'm looking forward to sharing all my experiences with her over the next months.

And how am I doing? Knackered, mostly. I fell asleep at about 8 pm last night, which was good as we went to R's brother's birthday party afterwards and of course, I was to be the designated driver and I needed the energy. I'm having quite a bit of lower back pain which is apparently related to the fact that my uterus tilts backwards. The sore/big boob thing is going through a little dip at the moment, which makes sleeping much easier, but brings with it more worries. The last couple of days I've felt quite sick in the afternoon, which isn't particularly pleasant but strangely soothing.

5 more days till my dating scan...