I had my twenty week anomoly scan and associated medical appointments at the hospital on 9 December (with a return visit on 14 December). Mum and Dad came with me since S was staying up in London for a couple of days for meetings. It was lovely for Mum to be able to come into the scan with me as my one accompanying adult, although I did feel a bit mean leaving Dad in the waiting room. The anomoly scan can take a while, and I was in for about half an hour whilst the two ultrasound midwives (who both share my name!) measured and checked every part of baby... except for the bits that baby refused to show off, despite all our best efforts. I announced at the beginning of the scan that we didn't want to find out the baby's gender, and asked that we be told to close our eyes when we got to that bit of the scan. However, it turned out that there was no risk whatsoever of finding out since baby was tucked down low in my womb, in a breech position, curled up like a little hedgehog. This meant that we couldn't see the very lowest part of the spine (important to see in order to check for spina bifida). Baby also had a hand over his/her face, which meant that we couldn't see the lip in order to check for a cleft lip/palate. We decided that I should go off for my other appointments and then come back for another go to see if my little passenger had moved into a better position.
First I saw Dr I, who went through my numbers and discussed tweaking doses a bit here and there - especially background insulin. We agreed that my requirements seem to be taking off, and he told me that I can be a little more aggressive with my doses. Recently I seem to have been in a pattern of testing and correcting more than I'd like, and of course, with Christmas coming up I'm going to have to be at the top of my game anyway, given all the naughty food temptations which will be coming my way!! Dr I also dialated my pupils in order to check my eyes for retinopathy. At this point he ducked out for a few minutes whilst one of the Obstetricians popped in to see how things were going. She was surprised at how upbeat I sounded, saying that most ladies tend to complain of feeling tired and run down at this point in pregnancy. Although I have been tired things have gone pretty smoothly for me so far, so I actually feel pretty lucky, all things considered. We then talked a little about what comes next for me in terms of my care - she walked me through the typical care plan for pregnant ladies with pre-existing diabetes and then explained that based on the results of my ultrasound I'd be having growth scans every four weeks starting from 24 weeks. This is good news, since if there was anything to worry about in the scan I'd be down for fortnightly scans instead. At this point she swapped again with Dr I, who checked the back of my eyes. He could see evidence of one or two tiny microhaemmorhages in my right eye, but said they were nothing to worry about - especially given where they were located. We agreed that I'd come back for my next diabetes and obstetrics checks along with my 24 week scan, in early January (Thursday 6th), and in the meantime he ordered a bunch of blood tests (not quite the full works, but most of them!) S, the diabetes midwife took my bloods for me, and then it was off to see the ultrasound ladies for a second time to see if baby was co-operating. The second scan was much shorter, and we managed to tick off the upper lip, but still no luck with the lower spine. At this point I was free to go, although feeling a little tender along my bikini line from all the prodding and poking. I booked to come back to the hospital on Tuesday 14 December, and then headed out to lunch with my parents.
Here are the results of the (first two) scans (which all fell within the normal ranges):
Biparetal Diameter: 47.2mm
Head Circumference: 183.7mm
Posterier Ventricle: Transcerebellar Diameter: 20.1 mm
Nuchal fold thickness: 4.4mm
Abdominal Circumference: 152.8mm
Femur length: 33.2mm
Heart action present, Fetal movements visible, Presentation Breech.
Amniotic fluid: normal.
Cord: 3 vessels.
Placenta: Anterior clear of os.
Heart: 4 chamber view normal.
The following were visualised and appear normal: head, brain, face, neck and skin, abdominal wall, gastro-intestinal tract, kidneys and bladder, extremities, skeleton.
All in all it was pretty amazing. We even saw 10 little fingers!
Here are a couple of pics:
When I went back for the third bit of the scan on Tuesday 14th baby was still curled up in a little ball, and still in a somewhat awkward position, but the good news is that we were able to see the lower spine and the skin covering it. All is fine - the little heart was beating, the baby was moving, and baby's mum is just delighted!
I finally rang up for the results of my blood tests this afternoon. I'm amazed to say that my HbA1C was 6.6% - hurrah! It sounds like my thyroid function might be drifting a little though - so that's one to discuss at the next appointment. I was told early on that I'm borderline for an underactive thyroid, so it's not a total surprise. Everything else was apparently fine, so I'm looking forwards to a more detailed discussion of my bloods when I go back in January.
Things get even busier for us tomorrow, with S's parents arriving for a few days visit. They're staying with us until Christmas morning, when we head off for a few days to see my parents. The way things have worked out this year we'll be having three Christmas dinners in a row - Christmas Eve with the in-laws at our place, Christmas Day with my aunt, and then on Boxing Day we'll all descend on Mum and Dad's. That's a lot of turkey! We've had a few inches of snow in Bristol, so everything's looking very Christmassy indeed. Mum and Dad have also had snow in Berkshire, and S's parents have apparently had a foot or more in South Wales. Fingers crossed that they can travel to Bristol safely.
Merry Christmas to all!
I'll sign off with the obligatory fruit and veg update...
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