Vallentiny update number two: 20 weeks (aka alien dinosaur baby)

So it seems like Vallentiny had a bit of a growth spurt recently because, to me at least, the bump is looking a bit bigger.



On Wednesday I had my 20 week ultrasound. It went really well - brain, heart, kidneys, bladder, spine, hands, legs, stomach and everything else all looked good. We were very, very pleased, despite the fact that of course we couldn't really "see" much of anything our very nice ultrasound lady (nurse? doctor? technician?) was pointing out. We could see/understand the brain and heart (it was pretty cool to see the four chambers clearly), and of course the skeletal structure. Everything else was blobs and grey patches. She did a color overlay at a couple of angles to look at blood flow; to me it just looked like some kind of 70s experimental film. But she was pleased with what she saw, which is the important thing. She was really pleased with Vallentiny's feet. So get the baby sandals ready, people.

At the end, we did find out the gender, but we've decided to keep that information to ourselves. Our plan is to use both pronouns interchangeably, so if I refer to Vallentiny as "he" or "she," know that it's all part of the plan to try to keep that bit a surprise for everyone. I'll probably also keep using "it" for a time as well - "it" just still kind of fits. Especially while Vallentiny still looks like an alien.








I'm next booked in for an ultrasound at 32 weeks, on November 16th. We may still do one of those "4D" scans - we haven't really talked about it - but I guess that's typically done around 28-30 weeks.

I'm still not feeling any movement (that I can distinguish) and the ultrasound lady explained why. Apparently, the placenta is at the back, which means that it's in-between Vallentiny and my tummy, which of course is where you start to feel any movement. So Vallentiny's going to need to be a bit bigger (or really rambunctious) before I really start to feel anything. I wasn't concerned about it, but it was interesting to hear the explanation.

All's well with Team Vallentine!

Vallentiny update number one: 15-17 weeks.

So I'm going to just go ahead and play the pregnancy tiredness card right up front, which is the main reason why this is so late...

Everything's going well, though. I do have some energy back now that I'm into the second trimester, but definitely still feel run down, especially by the afternoon and definitely by the time I get home from work. I am showing a bit more, though it doesn't seem to show up on the picture very well.

A couple of weeks ago I had a visit with the consultant, who was just checking in but mainly to talk through Meniere's and pregnancy. We decided that I would come off the furosemide, which is relatively safe, but she recommended that if I could do with out it that it would be better. Since my Meniere's isn't that bad, I decided to stop taking it. I'm a bit dizzy a bit more often, I get the 'fullness' feeling from time to time, and my tinnitus is louder - but some of that could just be due to the pregnancy itself, rather than being off the medication. So all in all, everything's fine.

I've also had another appointment with my midwife since getting back. This time I met with a different midwife since "my" midwife (Louise) was on vacation, but the new lady (Joy? I think I've already forgotten) was super nice. We talked about travelling (in case Mark and I want to go away "one last time"), and going past the due date. Over here, they induce once you go 12 days over. So obviously the days of Mark's mum when they let you go practically a month are over (phew).

We also listened to Vallentiny's heartbeat. She said it's not always possible to hear on her equipment and this early on, but she found it, and we heard a kick as well. So it's all sounding good.

The other main thing we talked about was the variance in my due dates - the dating ultrasound I had over here originally put my date at January 14, but then my misremembering and the ultrasound I had in the States put my date at January 12. But she said to go with the January 14 date, so that's what we'll do.

But the thing I need to alert you all to is that my "new" due date is two days after the date you all (Hornucopia attendees) used for your predictions. So the big question is: do you want me to shift your predicted delivery date two days into the future, or keep it where it is?

Besides all that, nothing else exciting is going on. My next ultrasound is the 20 week scan on August 24th. I haven't felt any movement yet. A couple people I know start to feel some movement around this time, but the midwife and other sources tell me that kicks and things usually aren't felt until some time between 20 to 24 weeks.

Until then, I'll just keep eating and sleeping!