I did have a pregnancy test available but of course when I needed to collect a sample I could not go!

Mid morning finally produced sample for testing and this evening we did an extra 2 tests, all saying

I would not let myself think that there was any possibility that we might see that because of last time am so cautious but as soon as I saw it - I knew what it was and then when our wonderful Doctor ".. you can see the heartbeat..."

That was it the tears welled up and I began to cry but tried not to because you need to have stay still so that they can get the best pictures from the scan.

Okay well here Baby is if you look closely at the top left there are 2 small markers showing where the Baby is. The big round circle shape is the yolk and the rest of the black bloby area is the amniotic sac.

Mark says:

The Baby is 1.5mm

The amniotic sac is 11mm ( from 4mm last week)

From this and the dates of the tests etc, they have placed the baby at
6 weeks.

This should mean that it could be due on 18th / 19th January (a couple of days before my birthday!)

All very exciting, strange, scary and wonderful - not much more to say
(probably getting up at 5am to go to the hospital does not suit me)

At the beginning of the scan the doctor said that she would measure the Baby before it started moving about.

Once measured the wriggles began. Heart beat seen although it is less obvious now because it is a much smaller part in proportion to the rest of the body.

The whole body moved today totally mesmerizing.

The Baby is now being cared for by the placenta and now has the offical title 'foetus'.

Today the Baby has grown to 40mm. We saw the heartbeating.

Mark and the scanner saw the Baby's fingers (I was looking but I cannot say hand on heart that I was able to identify 'fingers').

Baby was sucking its thumb. Baby did a lot of wriggling and Baby's arms and legs have grown a lot longer.

We could see very clearly legs with knees kicking out their little feet.

Baby is sucking hs / her thumb in this picture!

I could not help myself and exclaimed excitedly "Ahhhhh!..." everytime the Baby did anything, it was soooo cute.

Last Saint Mary's scan next week as Baby will be 12 weeks then and have to 'graduate' to the sole care of our local hospital.

There is a slight difference of opinion regarding due dates Saint Mary's 18th January and local hospital say 21st of January which is Mark's Birthday!

This is a copy from the original that is in the hospital records, as stated above we don't have any originals from this hospital visit due to poor images.

Baby was asleep this time but we saw our Baby's heart beating and did slightly flex back and move arms and legs a little. We could see the Baby's spine and we were shown the Baby's brain inside the skull.

This is our final Saint Mary's scan but still have the usual appointments.

Same picture dark and light version...

Here is another scan photo that you need to look really, really closely to make anything out. I've rotated the image so that the Baby is upright and is showing a side profile, look for a nose (clearest feature of the scan) forhead and lips.

Our 3D / 4D Scan

In the city there is a hospital where you can have 3D / 4D Scans done. For a 1 off fee anybody can go and have a scan done as well as seeing Baby with the 2D scan scanner and 3D / 4D scanner you get to take home, a video or the 3D / 4D scan images and 2D scan print outs. The hospital only offer it between 26-27 weeks as that is when you get the best images. Our plan was we would go and have the scan done and Mark was going to bring the video home and convert it to digital and save it onto a DVD. At out local hospital only 1 adult is allowed to accompany the mother and any of Baby's siblings. So the opportunity to share the moving images of Baby with family and friends was a chance for Mark to experience modern technology was too much to resist.

We always understood that trying for a 3D / 4D Scan would not mean that we would be able to take it for granted that we would actually be able to take anything home because already we had had 2 2D scans where Baby / my body have conspired against us and we have come away diappointed that we did not have any scan photos to share. So to say that we were taing nothing for granted is true.

When we had the scan done it began with the 2D scan images and straight away there was a vast difference in the amount of detail that the 2D scan at this hospital could display. (we had had a scan both before and since in our local hospital and there is a huge difference). Before our eyes was Baby looking like a Baby previously I could not identify whether or not I was looking at a head, tummy or bottom cheek! Even when the scanner was focusing on 1 specific area, we could identify the different part of Baby's body. We saw arms and fingers and legs with feet and toes. It was fantastic.

Baby had hiccups! Reading that Baby might have hiccups at specific weeks of development is not the same as seeing Baby having them. Baby liked arching his or her back but the most amazing part for us was when Baby yawned. aaahhhh So very, very cute.

The 3D / 4D aspect of the scan was not so clear and I was asked to go and drink some water and walk around and pop back in 5 minutes time. It was at this point Baby decided that he / she had had enough and moved his / her head away and even curled knees up towards his / her face. At this point the scanner said that we were going to be unlucky and have no 3D / 4D scan video to take home. We were told that we would not be charged for the scan as we did not get the 3D / 4D scan video to take home. When I asked if we could have our 2D scan picies ahe said that she had not printed out any!

So we left gutted, we always knew it was a bit of a long shot and Baby had been so good and yet we still had come away with no scan photographs. I can't really explain properly how we felt, it was absolutly fantastic seeing our Baby hiccup and yawn but to have such clear images and still not be able to show anything to others after - well we felt gutted. The 3D / 4D scan video seemed irrelivent, we just wanted the 2D images and could not.

It is a pity that we have not got such high tech scanners at our local hospital (not including the 3D / 4D scanning machines but even better if they were). I have been really closely monitored and can't fault their care for Baby & I, just a pity that the funds are just not there. Parents can ask to have 2D scan pictures to take home at the beginning of the scan and each image costs £3. We don't regret having the other scan done but we were very upset afterwards but also overwhelmed by seeing Baby so clearly - nothing can ever take away the fact that we saw Baby hiccup and yawn but it is a huge disappointment that the person doing the scan for us did not press 'print' even once.

The couple before us had brought 1 set of grandparents and their 1 year old daughter. We saw them all go in and come out and be given a video and what looked like at least 8 2D photographs. If we ever get that far in the future maybe we will remember to bring family with us and to say before even getting on the bed... "Please, Please, Please print out any good images, even if it is a toe, if it is a part of Baby we would love at least 1 picie".