On Wednesday, we saw our baby for the first time.

Because I still breastfeed Alex, my system is slightly muddled up still so was completely unsure of dates. I thought I was around the ten to twelve week mark. I’ve got a bump already, and just ‘felt’ quite pregnant, so was excited to find out a due date. I also felt extremely nervous. With Harrison and Alex I just assumed it was all going to be ok. This time I felt much more anxious. What if there was no baby?

Harrison stayed with his uncle and auntie whilst we went to the hospital but Alex is still so clingy we thought it best to take him with us. We were seen spot on my appointment time (that’s a first!) which was good because I had drank so much liquid I was on the verge of wetting myself!

We went into the room. I lay down and they started looking for baby. Nothing was showing. They could see the sac, but nothing else. At this point my heart felt like it was breaking. They looked around for a while. After what seemed the longest minute of my life they finally spotted something, but said they needed to do an internal scan. They got the wand out and off they went in search of the baby! Finally, this gorgeous little alien shape appeared on the screen, accompanied by the soundtrack of a lovely strong heartbeat!

On the date of the scan, I was 8+6 weeks. Baby is still very tiny which is why it couldn’t be seen very clearly externally. However, so far all looks ok, and I have a rough due date of December 11th. I have to go back at the end of May for another scan when I’m 12 weeks, just to confirm dates.

Both Graham and I were surprised to find out I was much earlier than we thought, so will be interesting to see when we have the next scan if the dates have changed.

In terms of how I feel – not too bad! I’ve had no sickness at all. I’m really tired all the time, but we are night weaning Alex so lots of disturbed nights. I’m going to bed nice and early to try and get a few hours unbroken sleep in. I feel quite drained throughout the day, which I know is common but I’m prone to anaemia so will keep an eye on it.

I’m having some serious mental cravings already (I didn’t ever have them this early with the boys!). I want chocolate and pineapple most of the time. Chocolate covered pineapple would be my idea of heaven right about now. The other morning I woke up wanting apple pie. I don’t even like apple pie!! We’ve been messing about with some gender predictors, which I know are all old wives tales, but interestingly, sweet cravings are an sign you’re going to have a girl, and the Chinese gender tests also say girl. Who knows? Being our last baby and having already been blessed with two gorgeous boys a girl would be lovely, but at the end of the day, like all parents, I just want a healthy baby, whether it is another beautiful boy or a gorgeous little girl.