Surrogacy

Part 10: Hearing the Heartbeat

The midwives advised there may be a chance we wouldn’t hear the heartbeat in the appointment but it was up to us if we wanted to give it a try so of course we did...

S: I never imagined I’d finally make it to the Baby Show which was obviously quite a big step for me. Em and one of our other best friends drove up there late morning and I felt pretty excited! Part of me did feel like a fraud because I wasn’t pregnant but I constantly have to remind myself it’s probably natural for me to feel that way and I am having a baby regardless!

E: It was actually really nice to go to the show without it being for work or needing to buy anything at all! It helped it was Sunday as it was a bit quieter! The nicest moments were seeing Soph try on a sling and get excited by bargains on bibs! Also her asking advice on prams and muslins etc. We even split the cost of a bumper box of eco friendly wipes… who knew a wipes purchase could be so exciting!!

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S: I really enjoyed looking at all the things I’ve never really looked at before. I loved the little independent stalls. We also had a look at the prams which I did find pretty overwhelming! So much choice how do you decide?! I’m not sure I was ready to look at the big stuff! Only a few purchases made but the experience meant a lot.

This was the first time I’d seen Em in a couple of weeks and our small bump was definitely there now which was so odd but I felt really proud aswell!

E: I have to say this has been the slowest part of the whole process as we didn’t have any appointments or scans for 4 weeks! That’s the same for any pregnancy but we’ve just been so used to having SOMETHING in the diary almost weekly!

S: Our 16 week midwife appointment was the first time I would meet our official midwife Geraldine and I had heard lots of amazing things about her. She was so very kind to us from the offset and was very mindful to see how I was feeling and ask my thoughts on things which I thought was lovely. I’m not sure why I expect anything else of people who have been so lovely up until now.

E: I was really excited about this one as I’d finally get to introduce S&J to Geraldine- the midwife who I had seen throughout my pregnancies with M&T. She has a special place in my heart as I didn’t know anyone who was pregnant with my first pregnancy and she was someone I came to trust implicitly and who educated and gave me all of the info I needed to decide on having M&T at home. So seeing her again in these circumstances was really special!

S: The midwives advised there may be a chance we wouldn’t hear the heartbeat in the appointment but it was up to us if we wanted to give it a try so of course we did. Initially the first midwife struggled to find it so Geraldine swooped in and there it was loud and clear! 145bmp sounding like a galloping horse! WOW just incredible and the reassurance we got from that was amazing.

E: I had Theo with me at this appointment so there we all were, me lying on the bed with him, Jack filming, Geraldine and a student midwife (Vicky) all huddled in this little room waiting for this little heartbeat to ring out over the Doppler. In Geraldine’s words, it was ‘perfect’ ❤️

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S: The next midwife check up is at 24 weeks but before then we have a private gender scan and 20 week NHS scan booked in so that is the next date we are focusing on. Come on halfway point!!!

Up next

Part 11: Blue or Pink…What do you think?!

I didn’t tell Jack where we were going until we were on our way to the scan! He was pretty shocked but knows I’m impatient so actually wasn’t surprised!

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