Monday, March 30, 2009

Tomorrow

... we have our 19-week scan. The one where you see everything in lots of detail, where they measure and check all the baby's bits and pieces.

I am looking forward to having another sneak peek at the little one. The first time (the 12-week scan) was so very cool, because I obviously hadn't felt any sensation (other than a constant desire to chuck) and it affirmed that, hey, there's a baby in there. A baby!

But with the 19-week ultrasound comes a bit of anxiety: what if not all is well? I'm trying to take the view that all's been well so far, and that it's pointless worrying about something that may or may not happen.

With E I was much more worried about what the scan might show. I found out as an adult, when I had the first xray of my back done, that I have spina bifida occulta (basically I have holes in 3 vertebrae - but cartilege covers them, unlike with spina bifida, so it doesn't present any problem to me at all). These days I understand more about spina bifida occulta - it's extremely common, and unlikely to be passed on genetically. I am also a great stickler for folate.

Before I had E I took a super-strong dose, just in case. I know that recent stories in the media warned against taking too much folate (even taking a folate tablet and ingesting food with folate in it), but I don't think it had any adverse impact on me or E.

So, tomorrow, we will see how bub's spine is looking. Perfect, I hope.

And the gender?

We'll leave that. It'll be nice to have a surprise on delivery day.

5 comments:

Super Sarah said...

Good luck tomorrow, its always stressful when something so precious is at stake. Let us know how you get on and well done for not finding out the sex, I am super, super, super excited now to find out, the anticipation has been delicious!

M said...

Good luck for tomorrow!

Unknown said...

Thinking of you x

Jess said...

Oooh, how exciting!

I took massive (10x the usual dose)during my second pregnancy - I'm epileptic and the meds I am on can cause neural tube disorders - but the higher dose didn't bother R at all!

You're almost half-done - can you believe it???

kurrabikid said...

Days - my folate dose with E was a 10x tablet, too. I think 5mg! I've only taken the recommended amount this time, I guess because I feel confident that E was fine ... anyhow, today I will be making sure the ultrasound person has an extra good look at the vertebrae.