I went back to Edinburgh on Monday for my 20-week scan. Not knowing how quickly I would be able to sort out healthcare in France, and not wanting to miss out on any scans I decided this was the best option. Unfortunately Andy couldn't join me but my mum decided last-minute that she would catch the train to Edinburgh and come with me to the hospital, which made it so much more exciting. Mum had never seen an ultrasound scan before and she thought it was magical. Forget all those fuzzy black and white static images that people gleefully show you when they announce the news: for most of us it's difficult to tell on these blurry pictures what's a head, what's leg and what's just background smudge. Here's the latest snapshot of Baby Buckley:
If you can spot the baby's outstretched arm lolling up by its head and just glimpse a hand on the other side then you get full marks.
When you see it all moving around on screen it's something else. Unlike the 12-week scan - where ultrasound technicians are only interested in three things: 1) How many of them are in there? 2) Does it have a heartbeat? and 3) How long is it? - the 20-week scan is a whole lot more detailed. In the UK, unless there are any unexpected problems/queries, it's the last time you'll see your baby before you give birth and I wasn't quite prepared for how much they need to check. They start with the head and move gradually down the body: measure head circumference, check size and shape of brain, check for two eyes and - amazingly - check the lenses on the eyes, check the nose and lips and look to see if the palate is intact, check the spine and make sure there is skin running all the way along the back of it (if there isn't this could be a sign of spina bifida or a similar spinal defect), look for two arms and two hands (difficult when the baby is lying back casually resting on/hiding one of its arms) check the heart and make sure the ventricles are coming off it in the right direction, look at the intestines, check the kidneys... skirt quickly over its privates if you don't want to know the sex (we don't) and carry on down to the legs. Are there two of them? Are the feet coming off at the right angle? What length is its femur (3cm, since you ask)? How many toes? The list goes on... Thankfully everything was present and correct, and although the baby didn't fancy cooperating and refused to pose for proper pictures, it was pretty special.
On the outside, things are starting to become evident too. I seem to be a bit of a slow grower, because every time I tell something that I'm pregnant (enceinte) they look down at my belly and back up at me as if to say, 'Are you sure...?' But at 20 weeks I now have a growing bump - and it's not all pain au chocolats.
I went for my first visit with the local doctor in France last week. She prodded me, weighed me, took my blood pressure and announced that everything was parfait. Unlike the UK, I will continue to see her - rather than a midwife - every month throughout my pregnancy. In December and January I'll have appointments at the local hospital, including a final scan at 8 months. And also unlike the UK, I'll be paying for the privilege each time: 30 euros for each doctor appointment, 100 euros for a scan and as for the birth... well, that could be quite expensive, depending on how it all turns out. Let's hope for a quick, no-fuss, in and out in 3 hours birth, shall we?
It's definitely an exciting time. The baby now kicks and squirms and somersaults throughout the day, and with a bit of patience Andy was lucky enough to feel one of them the other evening. Mum has presented me with yet more knitwear for its wardrobe - including a very precious loan from my sister, a cardigan knitted by my late grandma - and we've ordered the pram, car seat etc etc. Looks like we really are having a baby.
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