The Dating Scan – Round Two

So I’ve told you about our first scan appointment, also known as the dating scan. We were very anxious at the scan, as I think most first-time parents probably are, but all went well and we were super happy.

However, we were only 11 weeks pregnant, when we thought we were closer to 12 and the midwife struggled to get the images she wanted to check all was normal, as the little thing kept wriggling around. So we were asked to come back nearly 2 weeks later and have another scan, just to be sure. 

The Dating Scan – Round Two

When we were told they couldn’t quite get all the readings they wanted to at the first scan, we were quite worried, but the midwife assured us this was just a procedure and they weren’t concerned about anything, they just had to tick-a-box really. So our worry quickly turned to excitement, as we would get to meet our little bean again in a couple of weeks’ time!

So when it came to the morning of our second, first appointment (if that makes sense!), we were bubbling with excitement at the anticipation of seeing the amazing sights again. This time round, it was nice to arrive at the hospital, not feeling anxious and concerned. Instead, we couldn’t wait to get back in there!

We were called in to the scanning room and I was asked to lie on the table again, just like the first time round.

Just lie back and enjoy watching

The midwife turned the screen straight round this time, so I could see and asked me to “just lie back and enjoy watching”, which we certainly did. It was such a privilege to see the little one again and it was wriggling around just like at the first scan. We could see arms and legs and a perfect outline of its little body and the midwife was able to do the checks that she couldn’t do the first time round. This was checking that the baby’s abdomen looked “smooth” and no hernias were evident. Luckily we were assured that everything looked absolutely as would be expected at this stage, which made us smile even more.

Screening options

We opted not to have the ‘combined test’, which would mean screening for likelihood of Down’s Syndrome, as it wasn’t important to us and wouldn’t change our decision on continuing with our pregnancy – so that was the end of our scan. We asked for a couple more photos (costing us £3.50 this time – bargain!), as we were so surprised how much the foetus had grown in just under 2 weeks.

So from what started as a bit of an anxious first scan, to a wonderful second dating scan, we got to meet our little bean again!

Has anyone else out there been asked to come back for a second dating scan? How did it go?