Thursday 21 October 2010

So much going on

Wow, so much has happened in the last few weeks. And it hasn't all been great...
First, I started spotting. I had this with my last pregnancy so I wasn't all that worried, but I still went to the Dr just to get an ultrasound. The u/s showed that baby was fine and had a strong heartbeat, but they also found a small haematoma which would have caused the bleeding. Because of this, I'm still classed "threatened miscarriage" and they gave me all the leaflets for this. That actually threw me a bit -when I had the early scan with Teddy, they just said everything looked fine and that was that. Now I still worry a bit that something might happen. On the other hand though, baby measured big for dates (almost a week ahead) which I guess is a good thing - it shows that baby is developing nicely and not lagging behind. It was very weird to see baby on the ultrasound. It made me realise that actually there is a baby in there. That I will (hopefully) have another baby soon. It still feels a bit odd and unreal!
Later that day, things got even worse. My father-in-law had been admitted to hospital a week previously due to heart complaints and fluid retention; and they couldn't diagnose what was going on. That day, he was transferred to another hospital and given the diagnosis of Amyloidosis; and eight hours to live. M got into his car and drove straight to the hospital when his mum phoned him with these news; but when he arrived his dad had already passed away. We were all beyond shocked, it happened so quickly and unexpectedly. M is absolutely distraught, who can blame him, and I'm very upset too. I loved my FIL - he was a great man, very warm and funny and we just got along really well. He was a great Grandad for Teddy; they shared their enthusiasm for tractors and would often go out for a tractor ride when we were visiting. Teddy adored him; when we got there he would shout "Dahn-dad!" and run straight past his grandmother to see him.
In a way I'm happy that Teddy doesn't really understand this yet, as it saves him the pain; but I'm also sad that he will be growing up without his Grandad and probably won't have many memories of him.
we cancelled our planned trip to see my family and stayed the weekend with my mother-in-law. It was very difficult, for obvious reasons, but also very nice that so many people came along and all the family came to help and support each other.
Because we're now not away this week, I will be able to take part in our "girls' night out" on Saturday which I'm really looking forward to. It will be a change from the sadness that surrounds us so much at the moment; and we only ever go out about 2 or 3 times a year. I think I might also "tell" the girls on Saturday - it seems a good opportunity - although part of me is still paranoid about telling too soon and I might go for my 12 week scan in two weeks and find that something has happened. I guess I 'll have to see how I feel that day!

Thursday 7 October 2010

Appointment!

So just when I'd decided I'd ring my Doctors surgery tomorrow as I hadn't heard from a midwife, I get a phone call. It's my new midwife! Unfortunately though she's going on holiday from tomorrow - and the week after, I'll be away on holiday - and the week after that, I can't do the Thursday as that's my only work day. So eventually we agreed on having the appointment on 30 October. I'll be nearly 11 weeks by then!
While I know that nothing really happens in the early weeks of the pregnancy anyway, I'm still a bit disappointed to have to wait so long. I was really looking forward to having this appointment soon, if only to break up the wait for the NT scan; and to finally get my official maternity notes! At the moment I still sometimes feel like a fake, like I'm not really pregnant because I haven't got any paperwork saying I am. Silly, I know.
Oh well, at least now I've got a date and I know that I haven't been forgotten about. And it's only three weeks away, really. And hopefully I'll get my ultrasound appointment in the post soon, too, then I've really got something to look forward to!