Week 9, Day 2 (Yay! Found a midwife!)

Picture this: After one very good phone call, you meet your midwife in person for the first time, and the first words out of her mouth (right on the heels of the introductions & handshakes) are "I've got your blood test here and you are common".

So cool to start a first meeting off with a chuckle! What Robyn meant was that I am blood type O, Rhesus positive, and apparently that's a very standard type. It also means that Wayne's blood type (A positive, ie A+, the smart alec!) won't cause any rhesus problems for Tadpole. The test was 100% good news (well okay, 98% ... my iron levels need some work but we've already started that remedy). My immunity to Rubella is still valid after 30+ years, all my tests came back smack in the middle of the happy variables, and there's no sign of complications such as diabetes, cholesterol or high blood pressure.

Robyn gave me a monstrous pack of leaflets and booklets (and some vouchers too). These have helped fill in a lot of the 'what happens now and then' questions I had, plus a few more.

We talked about the nucal scan we're having on the 17th, and I've decided to go for the CVS sampling if the Foetal Unit are okay with that. They recommend it if they pick up a possible problem, but I'm hoping that even if the scan looks wonderful (and we all hope it does!), they will still allow me to have the CVS right then and there. That means I don't have to do the Amnio later on, and find out by week 13 whether or not Tadpole has any chromosomal problems. The full-on scan at week 18 will tell us everything else. So from my point of view, it's a chance to put my mind at rest early about some of the worst possible scenarios, and plenty of time to act IF something is horribly wrong.

In anticipation of the CVS I've cleared my work and social calendar from the 16th through to the 21st. A bit over the top, I agree, as they said "bed rest for two days" but there's nothing wrong with being ultra careful. I haven't gone through all this just to lose Tadpole from rushing back to work when I should have been a bit cautious. A CVS is invasive after all, and we all know how much I get stressed about nasty needly things. Note to self: stock up on some salacious whodunnits beforehand to take my mind off things!

So until we get the results of the CVS, we're still staying (excuse the pun) mum as much as possible. Well... that was the plan. Delighted future daddies (and some others) tend to forget this in their rush to broadcast it to the world.

Sidebar: Previously published paragraph has been deleted a day later because it was a case of rampant baby-making hormones that made me a bit over-sensitive and reactive. A good case of "do not attempt humour when thoroughly grouchy, Karlene!" Sorry folks.. normal transmission resumes..

Anyhoo, back to bubs and the vessel that lugs her about. Weight continues to hold firm, maybe even a little reduced. I can still fit my entire wardrobe, from the ribs down. Boob-support mechanisms however are failing miserably, and I'm down to one bra that almost fits and one crop top that is barely roomy enough to allow breath. Out of more than a dozen bras and the same number again of crop tops, this is disastrous!

So what is getting larger in the belly front is compensated for by the reduction of the rump and thighs. I can live with that (but I really look preggers now, much to Wayne's amusement). If the ratio shift holds steady, by the time Tadpole arrives I will have no thighs or ass left, and the thought of this makes me wonder how I will cope with the total shift of gravity.

I'm thinking a sack barrow might be in order.

Sickness still present, but I've discovered that making my 'before you get out of bed' snack plain jelly with no trimmings seems to take the edge off. Dry crackers didn't work, neither did a muesli bar, so yay for jelly.

Still no cravings, but I had a moment the other night when I inhaled a plate of macaroni when the thought crossed my mind that the utter devotion I felt at that moment to this plate of cheesy goodness might possibly qualify. The next day however, the thought of macaroni made me yawn, so it wasn't a lasting thing. Must have been a bit low on calcium that day.

The ever-present exhaustion shows no sign of relenting very much, but I can make it through a full ten hours now before sloping off for a wee nap. Still knackered, but more able to push through and muddle on a bit before caving in. Just don't ask me to form complex thought processes, okay? Like my name for example.