This day I love.......: scan

Before Christmas March seemed an eternity away. In my mind I was having a baby in 2016, which may sound silly but it was all happening next year. We are now at next year and I have hit panic stations. 9 weeks to go, is no time at all. I do not think I am quite ready yet. There are still things to finish in the nursery and I have to pack my hospital bag.

Thing 3 is still measuring 2 weeks ahead and I am beginning to feel it all in my lower back. This week Braxton Hicks have started and they have started really strong. I hardly noticed them with the girls but for some reason they are really strong this time around.

I have been so thankful for my dream genii this week. I have needed the extra support at night to keep my pelvis in line and the support for my bump. I am still in pain but seem to be coping better. Perhaps it is because I am allowing my body time to recover from the running and walking I did, or perhaps it is due to Thing 3 moving positions, but whatever it maybe I seem to be having more good days than bad.

Having said the above the pain maybe coming and going but the tiredness seems to have returned in full force. My energy feels depleted by mid afternoon and I do not think the cold dark mornings are helping. My legs have swollen again, but they seem to do this in pregnancy. We did have a scan done at the end of 30 weeks and it was so wonderful to see Thing 3. I cannot stop looking at the photos

I need to sort a car seat for Thing 3, yes I realise I have left it rather late. I have a couple I am looking at the moment, the Kiddy Evo Luna fix, Jane Matrix and Cybex cloud Q. All have the ability to lie flat in the car, which is something I would love the car seat to be able to do. I am also looking at pushchairs as I would love to start running again, as soon as I get the all clear, and would therefore love a pushchair I can take Thing 3 running with me. Ideally a pushchair that will also be able to handle the school run and handle daily routine.

I am looking forward to finishing the nursery in the next week or so and packing my hospital bag. I cannot quite believe we are now down to single figures and there are only 9 weeks to go until we meet Thing 3!

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Regular readers will know my passion for learning. I am currently in the process of 2 diplomas, both in very different fields and both come with coursework and assignments. Printing out pages of assignments plus notes can become quite costly. Even without these courses as a household we still do a lot of printing.

I love printing photos of the girls. I also enjoy finding activities online and printing these for the girls also. Needless to say we are a busy household and high technology users. We try where ever possible though to watch the costs, so when Epson got in touch and said they could reduce our printing costs by 70% I was very keen to discover more.

The Epson ET-2500 is a 3 in 1 ink jet printer, which uses an eco tank and not ink cartridges. It comes with enough ink to print up to 4,000 pages in black and 6,500 pages in colour which is around 2 years of printing.

The Epson ET-2500 comes with everything you need to set up and start using, with the exception of paper. It has a small footprint for the amount of functionality within it. The Epson ET-2500 is able to print, scan and copy. I was a little worried at first when I saw the CD in the box for install, as my laptop does not have a CD drive, but thankfully the whole set up can be done via an online link.

There are no ink cartridges in the Epson ET-2500, and instead uses an eco tank which you fill with ink. I found this a little messy the first time I did this but on subsequent colours got more efficient at filling the tanks.

After filling the eco tanks the Epson ET-2500 the rest of the install process takes place on the computer. Everything seemed to be done automatically and I needed no knowledge of our WiFi or any detailed computer knowledge. Simply follow the on screen instructions.

I was quite surprised at how fast set up was, I needed nothing but my computer and the printer no extra cables.

Once I had set the printer up I downloaded the Epson app onto my smartphone. The app has a very simple layout to it making it user friendly. From here I can print direct from my phone, which is something I absolutely love. No need to scroll back through and find that photo, I can print direct.

As the Epson is WiFi enabled I can also print from anywhere in the house, or even outside the house. There is the ability to store documents in the cloud and print when you get home or to print directly from anywhere. My husband has been taking full advantage of this feature by sending me random messages via the printer, whilst he is at work.

Overall I have been very impressed with the Epson ET-2500. I love that there is the option to scan and copy as well as print. It takes both paper and photo paper meaning no need for a separate photo printer and with its WiFi capability I can print from anywhere at great quality and at less cost.

Thank you to Epson for sending the ET-2500, all words are my own opinion

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My New Year so far can be summed up in 1 photo

I do not know what has happened recently but I feel like a walking zombie. My energy levels have just disappeared. After doing something small, like getting dressed, all I want to do is sleep.

We spent New Year Day at my parents house, and I would love to tell you what happened but I fell asleep. Dinner was lovely the rest of the day is a blur. The girls didn't seem to mind as they were off having fun with Grandma and Grandad. I would love to tell you what happened on the 2nd but after helping the girls put on some fancy dress costumes and watch their show I fell asleep

Daddy played some games with them and watched some films.

On Sunday we got up early as we had a very special appointment to keep. My eldest has not been able to come with me to any of my scans as they are always whilst she is at school. My youngest however has been to all of them. We decided that it would be nice to book a private scan so my eldest could see baby, and of course help with the sibling bonding.

The girls were incredibly excited to see baby. It took them a little while to work out what they were looking at but once the scan was switched to 4D, the girls were amazed. They saw baby wave, wiggle its fingers and even put a foot in front of the screen. Baby was very well behaved, although after a little while decided enough was enough and put both hands and a foot in front of their face and would not move.

Every scan we have had so far baby has a hand by its head, this does worry me slightly for delivery. I did check and apparently it is not attached so baby can move it should they desire. Obviously it is a comfy position to be in. The girls loved seeing baby. We all think baby looks like Daddy and it would appear they currently have no hair. Also like Daddy. Current estimated weight of baby is 3lbs8oz which means they are predicted to weigh around 8lbs at birth.

We still do not know if Thing3 is a boy or girl, all we know is that so far baby seems happy. Fingers crossed things keep progressing as they should.

I am now counting down the days until our next scan at 36weeks. Not long to go until I see that gorgeous face again.

This day I love a New Year and a sneak peak

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I was really nervous before the scan. I had not felt any movements of Thing 3 and was fearing the worst. Even more the winter coat that I could not zip up I can now zip up and was having mad panics that my bump was shrinking.

I had to pick up my youngest from nursery before the scan and my friend accompanied me, as my husband was unable to. I arrived at the hospital and just felt sick, after stopping at the shop for some snacks I made my way to ultra sound.

I was scanned by two ladies, one who had only been working in ultrasound for 5 weeks. I would not have know as she did such a professional job. She was calm and put me at ease straight away. The other sonographer was training her and helped her if she needed it, not that she needed much. I was pleased to see Thing 3 kicking away, and discovered that my placenta is anterior, like it was with my eldest, which perhaps explains why I cannot feel much.

Thing 3 had everything in the right place and the right number of things too. The sonographer commented that it looked like Thing 3 was running a marathon which made me laugh. I love that Thing 3 is a little runner bean.

The big question is did I find out if Thing 3 is a boy or a girl?

Well Thing 3 had other ideas and decided to wiggle around and bounce so much that no I don't know if Thing 3 is a boy or a girl. Thing 3 obviously wants to keep this as a surprise and whilst I am really wanting to find out I guess I have to wait a bit longer. Half way there I guess.

After the scan I had to see the consultant. My hospital has a personalised growth chart which means that the measurements of Thing 3 are plotted against my height, weight and BMI so we know if Thing 3 is growing according to my body. My eldest was born on the 80 centile and my youngest 91 centile according to my personalised growth chart. However in my head at 8lbs and 8lbs7oz they are average sized babies, but according to my body and what they should be they are very large babies.

The consultant has concerns because babies traditionally speaking get bigger, and so if I continue on this trend it would be a 100centile baby which is apparently very dangerous. Trust me the thought of pushing anything bigger than my youngest has me scared too.

I am now under consultant care to monitor the growth of Thing 3. I am a little worried as it is out of my control. I can neither make Thing 3 grow any faster or any slower. I do not feel any bigger than I did with the girls and am a little unsure as to what I can do to help Thing 3. I have to have a test at 28 weeks to monitor how my pancreas and liver are performing, and a sugar test.

Along with this I have to have a scan at 36 weeks. It will be at this point if they decide to deliver Thing 3 early. I am a little frightened by this prospect but nothing I can do to change the outcome. I shall just have to keep everything crossed until then.

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Nothing is more exciting as a soon-to-be parent than that first twenty week ultrasound. The excitement begins to build the moment the appointment is scheduled. It is typically the first clear view of your budding baby and the first opportunity to discover the gender, if you wish to do so. What could be better than seeing your little one for the first time?

Baby Schofield decided to give his soon-to-be parents more than just a gender reveal in his ultrasound picture. Paul Schofield, 31, and Cheryl Stevenson, 32, arrived at Saint Mary’s Hospital in Manchester, England for their customary twenty week checkup. During the checkup, an ultrasound had been scheduled to check on the progress of their baby’s development. The comprehensive scan takes measurements, checks fluid levels, and bone growth on the developing baby inside the mother’s womb. Schofield said that the midwife at Saint Mary’s was extremely thorough, getting a range of 360 degree images. Towards the end of the scan, the midwife asked the couple if they wanted to know the sex of the baby.

Once the couple agreed to a gender reveal, the active baby moved into a balled position, placing his face downwards and away from the ultrasound and preventing the midwife from getting a good quality picture. “We were gutted,” stated Schofield. Despite efforts to obtain a good shot of Baby Schofield, the midwife was unable to and stated that she would have to wrap up the ultrasound. At that very moment, the unborn baby thrust his hand out and gave his eager parents a clear thumbs-up. According to Schofield’s accounts, they all burst into a fit of laughter.

The midwife informed the happy couple that she had never seen such a straightforward and clear gesture from an unborn baby during an ultrasound before. Several members of the nursing staff made the same confession when they were shown the unbelievable ultrasound photograph. The joyful parents took the thumbs-up as an indication that their growing baby must be having fun in there. Schofield claimed, “That it was a unique experience… that brought a great deal of happiness to our day.”

While Baby Schofield is currently taking the internet by storm with his candid affirmation, he is hardly the first baby to be caught on camera having a blast in the womb. Leighton Hargreaves and Amy Cregg enjoyed a snapshot of their son, Leo, presenting a blatant smile during their 4D ultrasound. John and Charlotte Steel were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of their unborn child rocking back and forth, laughing, during their twenty week ultrasound. Babies across the world have been giving parents a sneak peek into their personalities with the aid of ultrasound technology for over twenty years now.

Thanks to the popularity of social media, the happy parents can now easily share that sneak peek with the world.

This post was written for This Day I Love by Glenn Josephik. Glenn is an account representative and the marketing coordinator at MedCorp LLC, the industry leader and premier business source for used portable ultrasound systems. You can follow Glenn Josephik on Google+.

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