Vallentiny update number three: 32 weeks.

Also note the new glasses!

I had a midwife visit last Friday, and an ultrasound on Wednesday.

The midwife visit went well. I had had my anti-D injection last time, plus some blood taken for tests, so I got the results back from those. All was fine, and I'm not anaemic, which is all good.

By the way, the anti-D injection was fine. It was a bit uncomfortable because there was a decent amount of fluid to go in, but I chatted with the midwife through it (we talked about boots, naturally), so was fairly relaxed and it didn't hurt. I followed mom's advice of applying a cold compress after, so didn't have any soreness or bruising.

The midwife did the regular belly measurement and prodding, plus we listened to Vallentiny's heartbeat which was strong and regular. Measurements are all normal, and since last time Vallentiny has moved into a head down position.

At the ultrasound on Wednesday, I first had a scan by a midwife who is training to be a sonographer. She was fine, though I think still gaining experience and confidence in her own abilities (she kept saying, quietly to herself and somewhat sadly, "they make it look so EASY"). She took measurements of the head (which she had a bit of trouble with, since Vallentiny's head was way down), the belly and the femur. Then the established sonographer (who was the same one we had last time) came in and did it all again to check the trainee's work, which was pretty good. All three of her measurements came out a little larger than the experienced sonographer's, but it was all within a millimetre or two, everyone was happy with that. Again, everything was bang in the middle of average, so all is looking good.

After experiencing the trainee sonographer, it was insane how fast and assured the experienced sonographer was. She really did only take about ten seconds to get in position and take a picture, which she then measured. It was very impressive.

We saw a quick glimpse of Vallentiny's face, which looked like every other sonogram baby face, but it was nice to see. It is a lot harder to see what's going on at 32 weeks since everything is really squished up together. The trainee midwife did manage to get one picture of Vallentiny's profile.

Vallentiny at 32 weeks

She also was able to tell us that Vallentiny's estimated weight is 4 lbs 8 ounces (2.044 kg). I think that might be a little above average at this point of time, which of course is encouraging, yet slightly dismaying, if Vallentiny continues on an upward trend.

Mom and Dad's recent visit means that we're a bit more prepared in terms of the necessities, like diapers, wipes and all that good stuff. We also now have a pack 'n' play, (with the bassinet and "newborn napper" attachment) which means that Vallentiny will have someplace to sleep other than a drawer! Vallentiny is very grateful for Pa and Mimi.

As for the day-to-day, I'm feeling a lot more of Vallentiny's movements, which of course is expected. I have also started seeing more visible movement, though I've also realized that Vallentiny is like those ghosts in Super Mario that freeze when you look at them, but then start moving around as soon as your back is turned. I'll feel a lot of movement but as soon as I look down to see it, or call someone else's attention to it, Vallentiny freezes. Mark has been able to feel movement regularly though, which is nice.

So all is well. I have my next appointment with the midwife on December 2nd, and I think in the meantime we're going to look into taking a tour of the delivery units at the hospital. We also have our antenatal classes which also run over two Saturdays in December. We only really have the car seat left to get, and the rest we'll buy once we know what kinds of things we really need and want.

All that I really need to do at this moment, it seems, is sleep as much as possible!