had my booking in appointment

[Ruth Walker]

Well, at 19 weeks and 4 days, I have today had my booking in appointment with the midwife. Heard baby's heartbeat, although she couldn't tell what rate it was as she couldn't pick up the sound of it without also picking up the sound of my heartbeat from the placenta.

Despite gaining 10lbs in weight, due to all the food I've had to keep eating to stop being sick at work, my BMI was 24, which is apparently in the normal range, as was blood pressure at 110/60. So all looking good so far.

I annoyed the midwife by declining a rubela blood test (given I had rubella as a child, was vaccinated against it aged 11 and have been given blood tests for it twice which have shown I am immune, what would possibly be the point of wasting NHS time with it again?).

She also pulled a face when I said I hadn't bothered with any screening tests, because although I thought it would be very hard living with a child with Down Syndrome, I thought it would be harder for me to live with knowing I'd had a termination for Downs. In fact, it is this site that has changed my attitude to that (when pregnant with Sam I had an amniocentesis and would have terminated if the results had been bad). But reading the regrets of Tina (Easton) over her situation, made me realise I would probably feel the same as her, and then more recently Neicey had posted a very positive message about life with her son who has DS and both of those posts made me think harder about what I really felt. I have to say I feel much happier and more relaxed for NOT having any tests this time.

My next midwife appointment is in two months time - they certainly relax back the appointments for the second child, don't they, or maybe it is just NHS cutbacks, but I am sure I had to go in more frequently last time!

Having worried for a day a few weeks back about my possible exposure to 'slapcheek' I put it out of my mind so successfully I forgot to mention it to the midwife at my appointment. She is so dopey, I don't think she would have been interested anyway, so not much lost there, I suspect!

xxx