First real kick

Last night we went out for a meal with friends at an Indian restaurant. Hayley ordered a very hot, spicy dish from the menu. When we got home, we were sitting on the sofa when she suddenly jumped. She had felt the first real kick from Bumper.

Hayley hasn't felt much up to now, less than Oliver at the same stage, so it was nice that he/she has started to make their presence felt, literally.

First scan of Bumpette

Bumpette: lying back, head to the right, legs to the left with knees up!

This morning Hayley had her first ultrasound scan of our new bump. It was actually a "nuchal translucency" scan which was part of a package of tests aimed at evaluating the likelihood of the baby having Downs Syndrome. These are not covered on the NHS so we had them done at the Bridgewater Hospital in Manchester at our own expense (£200 in case you are interested).

As Hayley is 36 now and will be 37 when the baby is born, her statistical chances of having a Downs baby are higher. Based on her age alone her odds are 1 in 183. However a much more accurate measure is obtained by a combination of blood tests and a scan to measure the thickness of a piece of skin at the back of the baby's neck. The resulting figure has an accuracy of over 90%.

The results were very clear. Based on the blood tests and scan her odds have been revised to 1 in 3656 for this pregnancy.

The sonographer kindly printed off a picture or two from the scan showing our new bump for the first time. On first seeing him/her Hayley's first response was "thank goodness there's only one in there!", as numerous people kept telling her she is having twins.

He/she didn't move around much and just lay on his/her back, occasionally inspecting his/her knees. This first struck me as a boy putting his feet up and taking it easy. Then again, perhaps a pampered princess taking things easy.

In reality it's much too early to be able to tell the sex of the baby yet.
The hospital also does what is known as a 4D scan, which is a high resolution scan undertaken at 28-32 weeks and which enables the baby's features in the womb to be seen very clearly. Isn't that cheating, not waiting until he/she is born? Still, can you blame us for being eager. Though I think we may have to look into this scan a little first before making a decision.

First midwife visit

Our midwife, who I shall refer to as "M" (in a rather 007-fashion), came to see us today. Back in the days when Oliver was "Bump" we had to go to the midwives, but now they come to us, for the first visit at least. Someone suggested to me that this was becuse they try to encourage more home births, though I saw no sign of that today and suspect it's not really the case in general.

Everything seems fine, but the fact Hayley hasn't lost all the weight from Oliver's pregnancy puts her in a slightly different position and means that (initially at least) she will consult with a doctor from time to time rather than just with the midwife. She was also a little alarmed at the increased possibility of gestational diabetes, but my feeling is that if during the second trimester she eats well and keeps as active as she is now, then she won't have a problem. So far she has actually LOST a little weight during the pregnancy rather than putting any on.

During M's visit Oliver sat with me watching Baby Van Gogh or we played with his cooker. After about 45 minutes the little chap stood up against the wall and his face took on the tell-tale expression of a little man doing a big poop! Well, when a little man's gotta go, a little man's gotta go!

We are delighted to announce...

We are delighted to announce that Hayley is expecting our second child. If all goes to plan, Oliver will have a baby brother or sister on the 3rd August 2007.

We told our families on Boxing Day. We couldn't really wait until after the first scan like we did with Oliver because Hayley is suffering terrbile "morning sickness", which would be better named "morning, noon and night sickness" in this case. So it's a bit of a giveaway.

So feel free to send your advice about how to deal with morning sickness!

(There are a few posts about this pregnancy that I kept hidden until now; they are tagged "number2".)

Dear Bumpette

Dear Bumpette,

In case you ever look back at this blog and think "blimey, all they thought about was Oliver and I was at least 2cm long by this stage!", I would like to re-assure you that we do talk about you and think about you a lot. In fact I have started to say hello to you occasionally through your Mummy's tummy. OK, so you probably don't yet have ears but this isn't going to stop me.

We are calling you bumpette because at the moment you are a very small bump and I suppose we are currently suspecting you will be a girl. Our only reason for this is Hayley's gut instinct and the fact that this pregnancy has already been a bit different to Oliver. Mummy hasn't felt very nauseous, well at least she didn't until last night when she thought she would throw up in the living room.

I have already started to imagine how you will get on with your big brother and wondered what names we should consider.

But to be honest, in this first trimester I think we are each keeping our daydreams largely to ourselves, as the danger of miscarriage is greatest during this time. THat is also one reason why my blogging hasn't really focussed on you yet little bumpette. But I promise that will all change!

So keep growing and hopefully we will see you clearly at the first scan in about 4 weeks time. Remember to give us a wave, or at least bob about a bit! And I promise we'll have a better name for you than "bumpette" by the time you arrive.

Love, Daddy.

Born to a smoke-free world?

England smoke ban to start 1 July

Today there has been much media coverage of the government announcement that the new laws requiring a smoking ban in all pubs and clubs will come into effect on the 1st July next year.

Hayley pointed out that if the pregnancy goes to term our new baby will be born into a world where people basically don't smoke in public places. I'm sure he/she will look back in disbelief at the idea we all had to sit around breathing in other people's smoke.

There goes the office!

Hayley and I have just done the pregnancy test and she is definitely pregnant!

We are both very excited and yet I feel very calm too, almost as if I knew this would happen. Well, I suppose that's a daft thing to say, after all we did make love at the right time for her to fall pregnant. But for the last couple of days she hasn't felt like she was going to "come on" which is odd for her.

And tonight as soon as I asked her about it she said she knew she was pregnant because she had all the same signs. To be honest from the moment she said that I was 90% sure she was right. You can use a test, but, as they say, "a woman knows". I felt my stomach flip over when she said that. After that it was all very run of the mill really: go out, get test, come home, have test, eat dinner. OK I'm being tongue in cheek but it just feels natural.

The only negative thing I've felt all night was the momentary realisation that our new house (assuming the damned lawyers exchange the contracts tomorrow!) has enough rooms for an office. Or at least it did until this news. Somehow I think that's a price worth paying.