25 weeks pregnant…

Today I am 25 weeks pregnant exactly – that means only 16 weeks, 3 days to go, maximum!

I am feeling ok. Tired, but nothing to complain about really. I’m ok in the day, mainly, but am shattered by the evening and always falling asleep on the sofa. Hard to tell really how much of that is pregnancy, and how much is working and having two children!

Last week I went for a gestational diabetes test. Despite the two previous pregnancies, this was a first for me. I was told to have it because of family history – although it has never been flagged up before. It was a very simple process, in fact, I was quite looking forward to it as I got to visit the hospital’s relatively posh antenatal day unit, and spend two hours relaxing and reading a book – bit of a treat that! Basically, I had to fast from midnight the night before, go in at 8.30am to have a blood test, drink half a pint of sugary stuff and then relax for two hours before having another blood test. As expected the results came back normal. I don’t know how gestational diabetes works but if I hadn’t had it the past two times I would’ve been surprised to get it now. And it would’ve meant cutting back on the amount of sweets and chocolate I ate… total disaster!

While I was in the unit I had the third attempt at the 20 week scan, where the registrar and consultant tried again to look at this illusive ‘outlet pipe’ in baby’s heart. Can you believe that for the third time there she was, lying on her tummy curled up into the tightest ball you ever saw? The consultant reassured me that he doesn’t suspect any abnormality, but he simply cannot see what he needs to see when she is stubbornly in that position. So it will be attempt number four in four weeks from now!

All I can hope is that this baby is not as stubborn once she is actually born!

 

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It’s been a busy week…

It’s been all go this week with appointments here and there for both girlies.

On Monday, Isla had to visit the hospital to have her hips checked. This was a routine appointment for any babies who were breech late into the pregnancy – she was only breach up to 36 weeks and then turned, but I was still referred. We were literally in and out of the hospital in less than 5 minutes, consultant checked her over, said all was fine. She barely woke up!

Tuesday’s appointment was a bit more traumatic – Isla’s first jabs. I was dreading it! In reality it wasn’t too bad, the poor thing did cry, which was awful, but she got over it fairly quickly with a compensatory bottle in the waiting room afterwards and was fine for the rest of the day – if anything she just slept lots.

Yesterday (Thursday) was Lilly’s 2 and a half year check-up with the Health Visitor. Our old HV has retired, so we met our new one for the first time. She seems fine, and mentioned that she once had three children under three, so at least she has had children of her own so might talk some sense (occasionally!). Again, all was fine, she just asked me whether Lilly could count, recognise colours, name body parts, walk up and down stairs, that kind of thing. Yes, yes yes, was the answer. Lilly also demonstrated her more “willful” side by having a lie on the floor tantrum at the prospect of being measured against the height chart. Cue me climbing on there myself giving a demonstration (fail), attempt at distraction technique (fail), promise of trip to the park (fail) followed by threat of confiscating crayons (success!!) I was starting to sweat a bit at this live demonstration of my parenting skills while HV sat and “observed”. Was SO glad when Lilly piped up with a butter-wouldn’t-melt “Sorry mummy, I won’t do it again” and took herself over to the height chart good as gold (aaaand relax…). After all that palaver I noticed this morning that HV didn’t even write the height into Lilly’s red book – seem to recall it was about 99cm but I wasn’t taking that much notice!

Aside from all our appointments, yesterday morning I took Lilly swimming.  It has been a long time since she went (probably our last holiday to Center Parcs, which was November, I think) and it was just so strange to be swimming with a little girl and not a baby! Wearing her new waterwings, Lilly was able to float in the water just holding onto my hands, instead of needing to be held in a cuddle or around her waist. It has made me think about how I begin teaching her to swim. I managed to encourage her to kick her legs but not sure where we go from there? Anyway, she really loved the pool experience and said she wanted to stay “for ever and ever”! It took a chocolate button bribe (the ultimate bribe which is only used in the most desperate of situations) to get her out!

I was also very proud of her because half way through the swim she said: “I need a wee wee. We get out and go to the toilet, and then we get back in”. So that is exactly what we did, and Lilly went on the “big” toilet without needing her seat adapter or anything. What a good girl!

I had also been thinking about taking Isla swimming. I was too scared to take Lilly on my own when she was a baby because I worried about all the logistics. But lately I had been thinking “what was I worried about, it can’t be that hard”. But having a quick glance around yesterday I realised why I had been reluctant. What do you do with the baby while you are getting dressed? How can you carry a baby and operate a locker, let alone put all your stuff in or out. There are only two “family” cubicles, the others are the size of a kitchen cupboard. If somebody’s using the family ones, where do you go? And, how do you get in and out of a pool on your own while carrying a baby? I continue to have a lot of respect for those mums and dads who do complete this amazing feat on their own week in week out – think I am still not quite brave enough and Isla’s first swim will have to wait for a few weeks until we are at Center Parcs again.

And, on the sleep front, Lilly has been a little better the last two nights. She has only had one or two small wakeups, although she has started getting up at about 5am, which isn’t too great. And, two nights out of the last three Isla has been asleep for the night by 8pm, which has given us a couple of more relaxing evenings to ourselves. Great!

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Encouraging signs?

Well, here we are at 40+6 and baby has not made her appearance yet!

Yesterday, Tony, Lilly and I went to Chester Zoo for a family outing. We thought we’d try some tempting of fate, and go as far away from the hospital as we dared! (However, as we now have the hospital bag and notes etc in the back of the car permanently, it wasn’t much of a risk I suppose!)

It was a scorching hot day, and the zoo, although busy, wasn’t too hectic. We’ve taken Lilly to the zoo about 5 times in her life so far, and each time she has been more and more enthusiastic (going from “very underwhelmed” on her first visit!!). We told her on Monday we were going to the zoo, so on Tuesday morning she was playing with her Noah’s Ark animals and telling us she wanted to see the elephants!

We did indeed see the elephants, and Lilly also enjoyed the monkeys – best of all though the chimps – we happened to be in their house when they were fed – basically the keeper throws barrels full of fruit and veg through a grill at the top – and it was brilliant watching them all getting really excited about their food and then scoffing it down… Lilly was fascinated! She also liked the giraffes but wasn’t so keen on the penguins this time – there is a viewing window where you can see them swimming underwater but I think she thought they were gigantic fish and found them a bit worrying!

Anyway, it was a very hot day and we did a fair bit of walking, which I wasn’t sure if i’d be up to but managed ok in the end.

On the way home from the zoo I started to be aware of these period pain type feelings coming every so often – not particularly close together and not particularly in any order. I didn’t say anything to Tony until later on that afternoon when we were sitting at home and I realised that these pains were still coming regularly – not hugely strongly and not very close together – but still with that contraction-like style of building up and fading slowly away.

Tony’s face was classic. “Oh my god”, he said. Then: “It’s the England game tomorrow”.

We started to make a note of how often they were coming. At first it was every 25 mins, then 30 mins, then 35. Then 10. Then 10 again. Then 8! Then 10 again. Some where definite contraction type feelings, some were less pronounced, leaving me unsure as to whether they “counted” or not.

We carried on timing them until the end of Big Brother at 11pm then we went to bed. It took me a little while to get to sleep, mainly because of my mind being too awake, rather than any pain or discomfort. Before we went to sleep I said to Tony that I thought I would more likely have a good night’s sleep and wake up tomorrow with no contractions at all…

… and that is exactly what happened!!

Today so far (it is 2pm) i’ve had a few aches and the occasional pain a little bit like last night, but not as strong. But the contractions have not started up again yet.

It could have been “false labour”, or it could be my body gearing up to do something more constructive soon. I hope it’s the latter. Last time, with Lilly, I had contractions at 10 mins apart all night, then dozed off about 6am and when I woke up they had gone. I had nothing all day and then the contractions suddenly came back, much more strongly, at 5pm that night. So hopefully the same will be true here!

Lilly’s at nursery today, so Tony and I have been for a nice lunch followed by a walk around the local area to see if that might kick-start things. If all else fails, I have a consultant appointment tomorrow morning which will include a sweep so hopefully that might get things started if they haven’t already.

And, as the England game kicks off in an hour, I’d say it’s a safe bet that Tony’s not going to miss it, after all!

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One week to go til “Extra Time”

Well, as the World Cup started today it would be appropriate to say we are now 39 weeks pregnant, approaching the end and considering the possibility of extra time added on!

I am due next Thursday, but no signs yet that this baby wants to make a timely / slightly early appearance.

I had my appointment with the consultant this week, nothing much new to report apart from she seemed friendly enough and quite positive about the idea of a VBAC. In fact, at one point, I felt like she was almost trying to sell me on the idea – I’m one step ahead of you there, Mrs Consultant!!

My next appointment isn’t until 7 days overdue – so very much hoping I don’t get that far. But if I do, consultant says they’ll only want me to go 10 days over before trying to induce me. More details on what that will involve will be discussed at the next appointment, if baby hasn’t come naturally by then. I’m not totally against the idea of induction, as I think by 10 days over I’ll be well and truly ready to meet this baby. I just hope that baby can do the business and make her own way to the exit before then.

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37 weeks pregnant and VBAC plans move on

Well, i’ve been meaning to give an update on my VBAC situation for a week or so now, but unfortunately have been pretty busy with Lilly and her chicken pox - which is on the way out now, thank goodness.

Well, first off, we went to see the Supervisor of Midwives at the hospital last week. All in all it was a really helpful experience. She had had a read through my notes from the last labour and shed a bit more light on what happened and why. (My birth story – although it is an epic – is here in case you’re interested).

The main new pieces of information she gave me were as follows. Basically, re the failure to progress, I was stuck at 4cm for the best part of at least 6 hours. We went into hospital at around midnight, I was 3cm dilated. By the time I had my c-section, which was 11am the next day, I was still only 4cm. I can’t help but think the lack of mobility (because of the monitoring and the epidural) won’t have helped that, but to be fair, they can’t be the only reason.

When we went into hospital, at 3cm dilated, the monitor was showing the baby was already a little distressed – her heartrate was dipping with each contraction, but then recovering again. This could have been due to many reasons – even something as daft as her squeezing the cord with each contraction. Because they did not know why, they let me continue in the hope that I would progress quickly before the distress got any more pronounced. Unfortunately, the opposite happened, and the distress worsened at a much quicker pace than the dilation progressed. Therefore, a section was inevitable. And I suppose when the registrar was overenthusiastically breaking my waters very early on without warning me what he was going to go, and when they were hooking me up the drip to speed up my contractions, they were trying to get me to deliver before the distress got worse. Again, this is something I have never had explained to me, and makes me feel a little happier about what happened when and why.

The Supervisor of Midwives put forward a theory – which I’m not quite sure I accept to be honest – that perhaps my pelvis was too small and therefore the baby was never gonna come out naturally. She said there was swelling on the baby’s head, so she had obviously been pressing down on my cervix very hard, but it wasn’t opening enough to let her through. This again was news to us, as we were told at the time that the blood tests taken from the baby’s head at the time had come back “fine”. The first registrar I saw in this pregnancy – who had also read my notes – had suggested that this failture to progress might have been because Lilly’s head was turned slightly in the wrong direction, therefore she wasn’t pressing directly on my cervix and therefore it wasn’t dilating as it should have been. In my totally uneducated opinion, this sounds a more plausable option. I don’t think my pelvis should be particularly small – in fact, I’ll feel very ripped off if I have some kind of unnaturally small pelvis – if I did I’d expect to be a size 6 or something, but I can assure you I am anything but! Also, I kind of think that surely you’d only know if your pelvis was too small if you had dilated to 10cms but then the baby got stuck?!

I asked about how much mobility I can have with the continuous monitoring. She said I can sit on a ball, on a chair, on a stool etc, or sit upright in bed. I don’t have to be lying down. But she said I will have to make some kind of agreement as to how much, and how often, I am monitored with my consultant, who I’m yet to see.

Apparently my consultant – she is a woman (which I am pleased about) and she herself has just returned from maternity leave (which I am also pleased about – she has had a baby herself!) which is why I haven’t seen her in person yet. The Supervisor of Midwives said she is “pro-vbac” so we’ll wait to see what she says. I have another appointment on the 8th of June, and the midwife said she’d make sure I see my actual consultant, and that she’ll also try to come to the appointment as well, now that she knows my case.

The Supervisor of Midwives was positive, but she was also cautious. She really was telling me that my last c-section did happen for a reason, it was unavoidable. Yes, there were things that they could have done better, like communication with us to help us understand what was happening and why. But the outcome was probably pretty inevitable. In a way though, that helps me to come to terms with it and understand it. For a long time after Lilly was born I just couldn’t accept what had happened and why. I felt like it was all unneccessary and needn’t have happened that way. Now, after speaking to people about what actually happened, and why, and weirdly enough, watching One Born Every Minute (a scarily real-life documentary about life on a normal labour ward) I’ve come to realise that these things happen, they’re unavoidable and they happen for a reason. I feel a lot less strongly about the way Lilly was born. I’ve accepted it. I hope this one will be different, but if it isn’t, it isn’t.

One thing which came out of it was this. If I walk into the hospital in labour this time, and i’m put on that monitor, and it shows the same problem trace with the heart rate dipping with each contraction, the wisest option is to ask for a section there and then.

But I still believe that no two labours are the same, and I live in hope that this one might be a bit more straightforward and that maybe I can still achieve the vbac I really want. If I can’t do it this time, I’ll never do it.

Oh, and in other news – baby has turned! I saw the midwife at 36 weeks and she confirmed it. Great relief!

I am now stepping up the raspberry leaf tea and hoping that baby is gearing up for a successful entrance into the world!

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Back to square one in the VBAC stakes…

Well, went to see the consultant again today for 28 week bloods and general checkup. Feel like i’ve taken a massive step backwards in my quest for a VBAC.

Last time I went to see the (a) consultant, i came away feeling really positive. Because of the nature of Lilly’s birth (continuous monitoring leading meaning I had to stay lying on the bed, leading to failure to progress, fetal distress and emergency c-section), I explained to him that my main fears were not being able to remain mobile and the same thing happening again. He had thoroughly read my notes and told me that, although I would need continous monitoring, this need not start until about 5-6cm dilated, and that the hospital was hoping to have wireless monitors by June, which would allow me to remain mobile whilst being monitored.

But, oh no, when I went today that all went up in a puff of smoke.

This doctor practically laughed when I asked if they had the wireless monitors yet, and made me feel like i’d just invented something fit for Tomorrow’s World. Upshot is, no, the wireless monitors won’t be in place.

He said I’d need continous monitoring and that I’d have to stay on the bed for this. I asked whether there would be any way I could maintain a bit of mobility – even sitting on a birthing ball right next to the monitor? – he said no, not possible.

All in all total conflict to what last consultant told me three months ago.

Out of interest, i thought I’d ask him how long they’d “let” me go overdue, to see what he’d say. I know the hospital policy is supposed to be 14 days. Last consultant told me 15-20 days to give me the maximum chance of a VBAC (which i did think sounded quite long!). This one was pretty non-committal but hinted at only 10 days.

He doesn’t want me back at the hospital til 39 weeks – which, as it is on a Tuesday actually works out as two days before my due date, so pretty much full term.

I came away from it all feeling like i wanted to cry, to be honest.

Surely the quickest way to a repeat performance of failure to progress is to lie on my back waiting for things to not happen? If I’m made to stay on the bed I can’t help but feel an emergency section is once again more than likely.

What’s especially frustrating is that you get a totally different opinion depending on who you see. There is no basic hospital policy about labouring naturally after a previous c-section. So, what’s the point in seeing a consultant? In reality, it comes down to who is on shift the day you’re in labour.

It’s left me feeling pretty deflated. I feel like I’m going to have to fight a battle to get something approaching the birth I want, but I’m going to have to fight it whilst I’m in labour, rather than having the bones of a plan agreed in advance. I know birth rarely conforms to a plan (ha! Nobody knows that more than me!) and I know that a healthy mum and baby are the most important thing at the end of it all, but I don’t want to be left feeling that I’ve had another section that could have been avoided if only things had been handled differently.

I also asked him about my failed epidural top up last time, which lead to my section having to be carried out under general anaesthetic. At the VERY LEAST, this time I’d like to be actually concious when my baby comes into the world, thanks very much.

Basically, my questions were whether there was a reason for the epidural failure last time – could it happen again? How could it be avoided? If I manage to labour without an epidural (which I’m hoping to do, at least until the later stages), and then a section becomes neccessary in a hurry, what anaesthetic will they use? Can I have anything put in place (canula or whatever it’s called) just in case, so that if an epidural or spinal block is needed in a hurry, that would help? He rambled on a bit but basically said no, there’s nothing I can do to help, every emergency is different.

Now I need to try and take stock and build myself back up to positivity again. Not sure what my plan of action is really. At the least it is to hope for a helpful and sympathetic consultant on the day. And also to do some more research to try and arm myself with a few facts for the fight ahead.

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Had my first consultant appointment today

It went quite well. A lot better than it did in my dream last night, in which I went for my appointment, ended up running away from the consultant in tears and begging for a midwife lead delivery!

The doctor I saw (didn’t catch his name, think he is a registrar) seemed really nice. I hope he’s there on the day, he seemed quite jovial and reasonable.

He started off by saying he had reviewed my notes, and said there was no reason why I couldn’t go for a VBAC this time. He said he thought it sounded like with Lilly’s birth, she maybe had her head turned slightly to one side, so was not pressing as hard as she could have been on my cervix, which explains the failure to progress more quickly. He said there was no reason why this should happen a second time. I must admit, this is the first time i’ve heard this explanation, so i’ve no idea how he’s come to it, or whether its right, but I suppose it explains things. Perhaps this would also have given the impression of a distressed baby? I’m not sure, i’ll have to research that one…

I asked about fetal monitoring – this is really my main concern, as I think it was at the heart of lots of the things which went wrong last time. I asked whether I could have intermittent monitoring to allow me to be more mobile during labour. He said that, because of the risk of uterine scar rupture I will have to have continuous monitoring. However, he said that the hopsital are hoping to get wireless monitors, possibly by June, which would just stick onto my tummy and allow me to move around and stay active… that would be brilliant! I told him I really, really don’t want a monitor on the baby’s head unless it’s neccessary – last time the registrar tried FOUR times to put a monitor on her head, only to discover each time that the probe thingie didn’t work…. grrrrrrrrrrr. He was noncommittal about this, but i’d like to see them come near me on the day with that suggestion! Anyway, he then conceeded that perhaps I could be allowed to get to 5-6cm with intermittent monitoring before being hooked up (although hopefully wirelessly) for continuous monitoring in the later stages. That seems like a fair compromise, I’m going to hang on to that one for future reference I think!

I also asked about induction. Lilly was 10 days overdue and we seem to have history of overdue babies in our family, so it’s something I’m bracing myself for again. He said they would prefer me to go into labour naturally (me too!) and said they’d let me go “15 to 20 days” overdue… I was a bit shocked to hear that, as I thought they’d say 14 days then book in for an elective section. I can’t really believe that’s right, but anyway, it was good that there was no talk of elective sections at this stage.

He then tried to listen to the baby’s heartbeat – made a bit of a pig’s ear of it and couldn’t find it for ages. I wasn’t worried though, as I could feel the baby moving, and i’ve felt lots of movements over the past few days so I know he or she is in there, alive and kicking! He said he’d do an ultrasound instead – brilliant news, chance to see bubba again - but they had to send for it from the labour ward, and in the time it took to get it, he had found the heartbeat anyway. But never mind, the heartbeat sounded nice and strong, and he said all was fine.

The final thing I said to him is that I didn’t want lots of interventions this time, as last time they had been painful and contributed to an overall pretty horrible experience. He said: “We want to give you a much nicer time this time”, which has given me a bit of reassurance – just hope he’s right.

So, all went quite well. At least, until I got in the car to drive home and the stupid thing died on me in the middle lane of a busy three-lane carriageway. No hazard lights, no nothing. Got out and called the police, roadside assitance, father in law etc etc to rescue me, then tried really hard not to cry (not easy with all these hormones). It was amazing to see the amount of people (all men) who felt the need to shout obscenities at me from the comfort of their cars. Helpful comments including: “Put your hazards on, stupid b***” (yes, if I could do that, don’t you think I would?!) and, brilliantly “You’re a s*** driver” – I’m not actually trying to drive at the moment, mate, i’m standing on the side of the road freezing to death! And, for the record, I did not break down on purpose!!

Anyway, a nice policeman came and rescued me (as soon as he arrived i burst into tears!) and rolled the car out of the road. Then, a little while later father in law came and rescued me, got the car going again and we drove home.

But oh! How it restores your faith in human kind……. season of goodwill anyone?!?!?

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Saw bubba!

Yay! 12 week scan today was all fine… saw little bubs kicking and waving away!

It was all over so quickly, and although we did get a short but clear look at baby, the picture isn’t very clear (nowhere near as clear as Lilly’s 12 week scan).

We saw the legs kicking and we clearly saw a whole hand… and baby seems to have a really round belly! Best thing of all though, was seeing that little heart beating away ten to the dozen!

They also confirmed my dates, which puts my due date one day later than just going from my LMP, which I’m glad about because that’s one extra day before they start trying to mess about persuading me to have an induction or planned section. It could make all the difference!

I must say though that the scan hurt ! the sonographer pressed so hard on my belly! I mean, I know the whole “having a baby” thing gets much more painful eventually !! but still!

Last night I had another nightmare about the birth – I’m hoping this isn’t going to become a big issue as time goes on. When pregnant with Lilly I don’t think I had a single dream about the birth, not a bad one at least, and I was never anxious about it. I just had faith that, if I was determined to do it and didn’t worry about it too much, then it would all happen to plan. But obviously, it didn’t. So I suppose this time around, the birth is now my main focus.

I have my first consultant appointment on December 29 and I need to try and get some reassurance then.

But, that aside, an amazing day and sooooooo great to see this little tyke wiggling away! June the 17th, here we come…

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10 weeks, three days pregnant

Well, we’ve reached double figures!

I am still feeling a bit “car sick” every day. It last all day and fades in the evening time. I think it might be slightly less than a week ago, so hopefully it’s starting to go away as all the books promise. My boobs are now very tender for the first time this pregnancy too.

Went out shopping for maternity jeans today – my belly is pretty big already and although I can still squeeze into my jeans I don’t really like to in case I’m putting pressure on my tum. I tried on three pairs in Next and then swapped the ones I wanted for a size smaller as they felt a bit loose. When I got them home, I realised I’d picked up a different style…. grrrrrrr…. these ones make me feel like Kris Kross cos they fall down when I walk!! So, back to square one on that front.

Aside from the pregnancy, we’ve had news on T’s job. He works as a courier driver for a fairly small local company. The run he currently does, a cheque clearance one for a big bank, is going as his company have lost the contract. He’s been lucky as they want to keep him on and he has been spared redundancy for the second time. But his new run involves working 3pm until midnight every day – which means we won’t be seeing much of each other during the week, and we’re having to totally rethink all our childcare arrangements. Currently, Tony goes to work at 5.30am (which admittedly wasn’t great either!), I get Lilly up and drop her off at nursery on my way to work. Tony finishes work at lunchtime and has a couple of hours to himself before picking her up at about 3pm. As of next week, he’ll be dropping her off at nursery late morning, I’ll be finishing work early everyday to pick her up from nursery around 5pm and doing the bedtime routine by myself.

Neither of us are looking forward to this, and I think it’s going to be pretty lonely in the evenings once Lilly’s gone to bed, but at least he still has a job. Which is something we can only be greatful for in the current climate. And we’re taking heart in the fact that it won’t be forever – all being well I’ll be on maternity leave in six months time, so even if he hasn’t found anything else by then, at least we’ll have all day together with our babies.

Now we’re looking forward to the 12 week scan – only a week and a half to go – although I feel so nervous about it, I think i’ll be a wreck! I just want to know everything’s all right.

Oh, and I had my first slightly sleepless night last night thinking about the birth. I’d been having a conversation with T’s mum yesterday about Lilly’s birth and how unhappy I was with the way the consultant handled things. When I woke up last night about 3am to go to the toilet, my mind started racing about what would happen this time and I couldn’t get back to sleep for about an hour. I hope this isn’t a sign of things to come…

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First appointment at hospital

Today I had what you’d probably call my “proper” booking in appointment with the midwife at the hospital.

I actually was expecting a consultant appointment, and a midwife appointment (cos that’s what it said on the letter) but actually it was only with the midwife.

It was all pretty routine, updating my details and taking a few notes about Lilly’s birth. We talked very briefly about me wanting a VBAC but she said the consultant is the person who’ll really talk about that with me. She had a quick scan over my labour notes and said the reason had been put down as “fetal distress” and “failture to progress”, and she said that those reasons meant it shouldn’t be a problem if I want to “try again”.

I agreed to all the blood tests, but I’m not having the triple test / quad test which screens for likelihood of Down’s Syndrome. I did have it last time, and it all came back fine, but last year my friend had a really horrible experience after coming back high risk. She had to agonise over whether or not to have the amniocentisis procedure (which carries a risk of miscarriage but will tell you 100% if your baby has Down’s). While my poor friend was making up her mind I spent a lot of time thinking about it and what I would do if I were in her position.

In my first pregnancy, I just said yes to every test going and never worried about anything. But since then, I’ve learnt that those triple tests are pretty inaccurate, and can give you a worryingly high risk factor when, in fact, your baby is just fine. It’s really a matter of personal choice but I really don’t think I could risk an amnio and the possibility of miscarrying a healthy baby, or the even worse option of getting rid of a baby just because it had Down’s. So the test really isn’t of any interest to me. I hope and pray that my baby will be fine, of course, but I could never get rid of it if it wasn’t. So, that’s why I’ve made my decision. Hubby was a bit unsure at first but I think he now understands my reasons and is supportive of them.

Incidentally, my friend did have her amnio, her baby was unaffected and the test results were clear.

Anyway, I had my other blood tests and got my bounty pack, and that was it. Roll on two weeks and the 12 week scan!

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