David Currie

We went in to Winchester hospital yesterday afternoon where Christine was due to be induced. One prostaglandin tablet later and after hours of monitoring (don’t believe a midwife when she says “just another five minutes”!) the contractions were coming along nice and regularly when I left late last night. The pain was starting to kick in a little for Christine, probably not helped by the screams from the neighbouring labour ward! She was due another monitoring session this morning and, given that at half six in the morning I’ve just had a call asking me to come in (after getting some breakfast otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this) then I guess things are still moving along nicely.

Sadly I had to miss the first RR10 of the season but it was in a good cause: baby first aid. Just over an hour’s worth from the Red Cross covering CPR, the recovery position and, particularly important for babies, choking. Let’s just hope we never have to put it in to use!

We had our first antenatal class today. As I’m often away during the week we’d picked an NCT class taking place on two Saturday’s and just one weekday evening. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately depending on your point of view!) only two other couples have signed up so one of the Saturday sessions has been cancelled. As a consequence we covered everything from the first stage of labour through to changing nappies in the one day. (The contents of my doll’s nappy seemed to be particularly yellow and crumbly!) The instructor wasn’t nearly as biased as we had been led to expect from the NCT. What was a shame though is that, given that these classes are meant to be a chance to meet other couples in the same situation, the other two pairs are not particularly local.

242The baby had its twenty week scan today and was particularly active which, unfortunately, wasn’t conducive to good images. All the right bits seemed to be there and in the right places though. It was fascinating to see the heart in cross section and be able to watch the four cavities pumping away. Unfortunately the baby was being a little coy and had its legs together so no news on whether it’s a boy or a girl.

232Had an uneventful journey back from Austria although the M3 was pretty hairy in the torrential rain. Made it home in time to accompany Christine to the Royal Hampshire Hospital in Winchester for her dating scan. The ultrasound produced some very clear pictures. The baby appeared to be resting its head on one arm and it was good to see that it already appears to be practising running! The hospital is currently training its staff to perform nuchal fold testing (already on offer in Southampton and which NICE recommends all hospitals provide by April 2007) and, as a thank you, we got a free selection of pictures to take away.

As Christine has broken the news over on her blog, I’m assuming it’s okay for me to do the same here. We’re expecting a baby, due in May next year, so expect things to get a little gooey round here if not a bit pooey and sickey!

The annual bout of games at the Ashton family reunion passed this weekend without any bloodshed – possibly due to the inclusion of rather more board games than usual. We were staying in The Floatel, Northwich, whose dubious claim to fame is being the only floating hotel in the UK. This seemed to mean nice views of the river but at the expense of the odd damp patch on the floor! Many thanks to Andy and Marina for organising.