Yesterday I had my 25 week midwife appointment – yet another new midwife! It seems that although I am under one particular midwife she is rarely there, infact the twice I saw a midwife in my last pregnancy neither time did I see her, and now I have been three times in this pregnancy and I only saw her at my 8 week appointment!

This time I was seen by both a midwife and student midwife. While the midwife was reading through my notes the student midwife checked my urine and blood pressure and then asked me to lie on the bed so she could measure baby and listen to his heart. At this point she started poking my belly (quite hard – I would never dare press that hard in fear of poking him in the face!!) and announced that she had just felt a limb up the top above my belly button. She measured from there to (after prodding me hard in the crotch) my pubic bone and measured me at 28 weeks… (I’m only 25) She then felt round the side and said she was feeling his back and then she tried to listen to his heartbeat. After a couple of attempts the midwife swept in and took over the prodding announcing that his feet were up the top and that his head was down in my pelvis (the same position he was in at the scan) she measured me and got me to measure at 24 weeks (I think I will wait for the growth scan to see how big he actually is because it seems a bit of an inaccurate science measuring from a point they aren’t sure about!) The midwife then had the same amount of difficulty as the student midwife in finding the heartbeat – I wasn’t particularly concerned, I had felt him move just before I set off to the appointment and they seemed to just be poking it in one place and removing it rather than trying a whole area as every other midwife has. Eventually she found it and his heart was beating approx 148bpm.

My belly button has started to pop out recently and the skin around my piercing has been going a bit red – I assume where it is stretching. I have started cleaning it daily and it doesn’t seem to be infected, I just think that the skin ripped and it is now healing. The midwife picked up on the fact it was red and told me that if it gets any worse I will need antibiotics.

After they had done prodding my stomach they asked if I had any questions to which I asked how I should know if he was moving enough and was told that if I don’t feel 12 distinct movements in 10 hours to see someone. Now that seems a really small amount of movements! He can easily do that in 10 minutes! I don’t think I will be paying any attention to that advice and will be concentrating on what he normally does, and as normal, worrying if he doesn’t move for 5 minutes!

Then while making small talk the student midwife asked if this was my first pregnancy. I hate being asked this question, not because I don’t want to talk about it but because I hate making people feel awkward. I told her that no I lost my first pregnancy at 21 weeks so this was my second and she went really sheepish after that. It’s a standard question that lots of people ask, and I am not ashamed to tell the truth, it just ends conversations really quickly and makes the person who asked the question feel really awkward. I suppose it’s the same whoever died, asking someone about a particular family member when they are dead is also awkward, but I suppose maybe a bit more socially accepted as likely to be the case.

They then told me to book my next midwife appointment at 28 weeks so that is now booked in for 22 May. I’m pretty sure my life is ruled by appointments at the moment, and it seems midwife appointments are approximately every three weeks now and with scans every 4 and the occasional blood test I suppose I’d better get a move on with organising a shopping list – I’m sure time is about to start flying!!