We are back at Dr Cooper's office for the first time in 8 weeks, we are here for our 20-week scan, making me halfway through this pregnancy. It's amazing how fast the time seems to be going in, I've really just been trying to enjoy it because I know the further along I get the more uncomfortable I'm going to be. Both Franky and I have agreed that we do not want to know the sex of the baby, we want a surprise on the day of the birth. At the end of the day, as long as the little one is healthy, that's all that matters to us.
Dr Cooper enters her office and instructs me to lay on top of the exam table so she can start her examination.
"Okay, well you're measuring perfect for 20 weeks Bridget, you're 20cm and we should find you are one centimetre for every week you have been pregnant. I'm now going to use the Doppler to find the baby's heart rate, anything between 110 to 160bpm is completely fine." Dr Cooper squeezes a small amount of gel on my stomach and moves it around until the room fills with the sound of our baby's heartbeat.
"I don't think I'll ever tire from hearing that sound, Gidge, oh look it's come down to 147bpm, that's good, right Doc?"
"Yes, that is perfect, Bridget have you felt any movement yet?" I look at Franky with concern upon hearing the question, this has been slightly worrying me since I was 16 weeks and Franky had said I should be starting to feel some flutters, I've either missed them happening or the baby has decided to remain shy.
"Umm, no Dr Cooper, that was something we were actually going to ask, I mean I'm five months now, is it possible I've mistaken them for something else or just missed them? Or could this be a sign something is wrong?"
"Well, I wouldn't be too concerned right now, the limb muscles are only starting to form and develop so it is definitely possible you are feeling the movements but registering them as things like gas or your digestion of food. We are performing an ultrasound today anyway so I'll keep an eye on the limbs to see if I note any movement on the monitor. Now let me get the machine over so we can start."
I can see Franky is so excited by this, especially since it's been 12 weeks since we last actually saw the baby, it was more or less just a white blob last time but the ultrasound today will show us fingers and toes and even some facial features.
"Right, if you look at the screen, there is your baby, this here is the back, if we follow up the spine, there is baby's head, now if I turn the wand ever so slightly, ah yes there we go, say hi to your baby ladies, there's the nose, then those are the lips – almost looks like a little pout right now" Oh My God the Doctor is not wrong, I swear I have seen the exact expression on Franky's face before!
"Those are the eyes, now I'll zoom out and take some photos of the entire face and head" I'm crying now, our little baby looks so perfect, the little button nose has a resemblance to Franky's as well. I turn away from the screen to look at my wife who is fairing slightly better than me emotionally, but not by much.
"I hope Peanut looks like you darling, I honestly think I can already see similarities." Franky starts laughing at the slight ridiculousness of what I'm saying.
"Gidge, how can you already tell Peanut looks like me?"
"I guess it's just wishful thinking, my love." My eyes start to well up with more tears. Franky reaches for my hand and rubs circles with her thumb over my palm.
"Here are the baby's arms, hands and then fingers, Bridget, I'm just going to press down a bit to see if baby reacts, okay?" I nod at Dr Cooper, Franky and I watch the screen closely to observe what is going on. Wait, that looked like the arm changed position slightly, I didn't feel anything but the image on the screen moved.
"Well the baby definitely reacted and moved an arm, my conclusion would be the internals kicks and punches are still very light, give it another week or two and even Franky should start to feel something on the outside."
"Well fingers crossed, we are both very eager to experience the movements. What about measurements, Doc? Is the baby on track with length and weight?"
"Yes Franky, baby looks to be about 10 inches long and I would give an approximate weight of 11 ounces – so yes looking great. If I remember correctly, you both don't want to know the sex?"
"No, we would like to be surprised when the baby is born, so many people seem to already know before the birth these days we thought it would be nice to have the anticipation. As long as Peanut is healthy." I say, happy to know that from all the information we just received, Peanut is very healthy.
Dr Cooper gives us some photos of the baby, the close ups of the face are by far the best, I'll be digging out the few baby photos we have around the house of Franky and comparing them when we get home.
As we leave the Dr's office Franky asks if I want to go for a walk or anything before we head home, but it's almost zero out, July in Melbourne is the coldest month of the year so instead I suggest we just go home and have a nice cosy day in and watch a movie, Franky seems to also think that is the better option.