I'm in love

Pic 1: Profile
Pic 2: Yawning and rubbing eyes
Pic 3: Tiny crossed over baby feet (2.85cm long)

Baby is measuring right on track, and was very well behaved in the scan, even opening up hands so we could count fingers. This was the big anomaly scan so the technician checked heart (amazing how it went from a flicker on the screen to now being able to see each of the 4 chambers), spine, brain, eyes (we even saw the lens through its shut eyelids), kidneys, bladder, stomach, lips (sooooo cute!) and counted fingers and toes.
Joops was so cute, stretching, yawning, swallowing amniotic fluid (we even saw the little tongue moving), rubbing eyes, stretching legs etc etc. It was a miracle. I, of course, cried all the way through.

We said we didn't want to know the sex, but towards the end I asked the technician to check for us to to make sure everything looks normal down there. We covered our eyes and she had a quick look and said everything looks perfect. Weird to think she knows the sex and we don't. And it was SO tempting to take a sneaky look...
My SIL is convinced she can tell the sex from these scans but I don't see how? What do you guys think? Any guesses???

And to finish off a really great day, my brother and SIL had their anomaly scan and they are having a healthy little girl!!!! I am so, so thrilled!

~Sabine~

P.S. Thanks for all your lovely comments on the previous post. Still think I look awful though ;)

P.P.S. That was my last scan on the NHS - are they crazy?!?!!! From now on, just some midwife appointments and dopplers. We are going to go for a 4D scan at around 30 weeks we think because there is no way I can go through the next 20 weeks with no scan! As if 8 wasn't bad enough!

One more sleep...

...Until we see Joopy.

Looks like I just may have survived the 8 week wait from hell. Lucky for me I look like a house so I know something's going on in there (clearly the baby is in the growing business right now):

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If I look like this at 19 weeks - well - I think I may get huge)

Also, hubby felt baba move through my belly properly for the first time last night - amazing! His face made me want to cry. A hell of a lot of things make me want to cry lately...

I have decided to be brave and post some pics just so you can see for yourselves the full extent. This has taken lots of courage so please be gentle with me ;)

First pic - 6 weeks, second pic - 18 weeks

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(awful pictures - my apologies - not feeling my most glamorous right now. Fat. Very fat. Tired. Have I mentioned I'm tired? Must be all this super growing going on)

I can't believe I just posted these pictures...... moving right along....

Besides for baby growing, there has actually been so much going on.
Firstly, work has become almost unbearable. They hate me because I'm pregnant. Sounds dramatic but I swear it's true. The MD stopped greeting me after he found out. And not ONE person has said congratulations to me. Not one. My boss sighs and puts her head in her hands every time I have a midwife appointment. And makes me stay late. And keeps refusing my holidays even though I'm entitled to take 19 still before my maternity leave. I knew they wouldn't be thrilled obviously, but I didn't expect just how un-thrilled they'd be. They act like I duped them or something, when in fact I've been with the company for 4 years (albeit in a different department) and have damn well earned every minute of leave.

The good news is we finally managed to book a holiday and are off to Greece for a week next week for a very needed holiday. My hubby is about to pass out from the stress, so Greece, here we come.

Also, his work have agreed for him to work in the South African office. So if we want to relocate we can. The question is - do we?!?! We just don't know what to do and are so, so torn. This needs it's own post when I can muster the energy.

And one last thing: we have decided not to find out the sex at tomorrow's scan. We want the surprise. Most people think we are nuts. I hope we don't accidentally see anything we shouldn't on the scan tomorrow....

Please pray for us that all is well tomorrow, and that Joopy is healthy.

Till tomorrow....

~Sabine~