What having a 4D Ultrasound Scan meant to me

I already had a son and I really wanted a girl. I only wanted 2 children so it mattered to me a great deal that my next child was a girl.
I went for my 12 and 20 weeks 2D scans and unfortunately the sonographer wasn’t able to tell me anything about the sex of the baby. She suggested going for 3D scan as the 4D scans weren’t as popular at that time but having researched it on the internet I found a clinic about 20 miles from where I lived that did 4D scans. I contacted them and made an appointment for a scan to be done at 26 weeks.
The wait was unreal. It felt like forever. My stomach was getting bigger and bigger and my baby was constantly moving about and I used to talk to my baby telling it that I would be finding out soon if it was a girl or a boy. I just couldn’t wait.
Eventually I was 26 weeks pregnant and the day arrived for my 4D scan. The clinic had already told me that I didn’t need to drink the 1 litre of water that you had to with a 2D scans and that your bladder could be near to empty, this was a relief as I was struggling with holding my water and going to the loo every hour as it was. I was convinced that my baby was sat on my bladder!
I arrived at the clinic and was instantly amazed at the lovely comfortable surrounding, it was so clean and fresh and I was made to feel really welcome. I was even offered a drink which is something that never happens at your regular NHS hospitals.
The sonographer was amazing and talked me through what would be happening. I got myself comfortable on the bed and the scan started. By this point I was so excited that I thought I would burst! My baby could obviously detect my excitement as it was moving all over the place. The sonographer told me to relax as the baby was moving around too much and she wasn’t able to get a good image.
We all settled down and the sonographer turned the screen around to show me my baby. She told me that it was a girl and I could see her as plain as day on the screen. She wasn’t yawning or anything but her hands were up near her face. I could see the umbilical cord and everything, it was so magical. I just burst into tears! The sonographer assured me that this was a common reaction but I wasn’t convinced!
I was having a baby girl! I was overjoyed and just couldn’t stop marvelling at my baby on the screen. I could see her eyes, her nose , her fingers, her arms… it was amazing. I felt as though I had met my baby early and without a doubt I was captivated.
I was given a cd of the scan which showed the whole 20 minutes of my scan. I downloaded this to my facebook /youtube as soon as I got home and mailed it over to my friends and relatives. No one had really heard of 4D scans and just couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
I lost count the number of times I watched that CD. Even to this day I will never forget the first time that I saw my beautiful baby daughter. It was the best £150 I ever spent.
Lilly was born on 6th June 2010 weighing 8lb 6oz. She was amazing from the first time I saw her and continues to amaze me everyday. If I ever did have another child I would not hesitate to have another 4D scan. I know that you can get them done between 26 and 30 weeks and I may even be tempted to have 2 done, but I did say I only wanted two children, but, never say never!
B Barraclough