We were brought in by lets-call-her Nicola who's the second substitute midwife we've seen out of two substitute midwives. She was very nice and asked Erin how she was and caught up with the pregnancy with a few questions as well as studying Erin's records book. She then took Erin through her blood test results which all look normal, negative or healthy - this is normal, positive and healthy.
I just smiled and nodded. It really did feel like a spectator sport. I felt a little out of sorts in the midwife's room as, even though I'm quite an active researcher on pregnancy, try to be a hands on dad-to-be, and the midwife was professional and friendly, it all seemed nothing to do with me. I was a spare part. A simple smiler and nodder. I'm not complaining. Erin is the one doing all the hard work. But have any other dads-to-be reading this felt this way?
Erin's record book was filled in with the blood test results and then it was time for her to hop on the bed and get measured. A lot of people have commented how Erin is hardly showing and that was a bit of a concern of ours before we went into the clinic. However, when Erin was measured, she was 21 cms from the top of her bump to her pelvic bone which is a perfect measurement - it's 1 cm for every week.
We also heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time. The choo-choo audio from my grandad's collection of British Rail Sounds Of Train Stations vinyls were brought back to me as the baby's 158 heart-rate boomed around the room. It was emotionally staggering. (Don't ask about the British Rail Sound Of Train Stations vinyls. They entertained a 4 year Jay but luckily didn't leave any lasting trainspotter scares.)
Erin's 21 weeks and a day now and we booked ourselves in 10 weeks ago. Last time we took a bunch of questions which were answered easily with astounding reassurance and we left proudly bouncing all the way to the coffee shop where we reflected on what had happened. However, the 10 weeks since seeing the midwife has been a long time to dwell on other worries and another list of question were drawn up on Tuesday night.
They were nothing that hadn't been asked before so we asked them and they were answered:
The right side of Erin's bump seems to be bigger, is this normal?
Babies often start lying on the right but will move over as it gets bigger as more organs are on that side. It'll get more central.
How do you stop heartburn?
There's a natural acid build up during pregnancy. Eat little but often and also milk before bedtime could work to reduce the acid build up.
Can we call an ambulance if we think things are going too fast on the day, especially as the waters could break in the Christmas period?
Yes, but they prefer you not to. If it's an emergency it's all right. Call around for taxis before the big day as some taxis don't take you when the waters have broken.
There were more but I'll save you those.
At the end, again, we walked out with an excited jump in our step. Tomorrow's the scan.
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