On Christmas Eve, we had our 20 week scan. It was the best Christmas present ever knowing all was well with the baby. We didn’t find out the sex – we want a surprise…although we were tempted!

It was a mad experience seeing the baby on the screen and actually seeing bones and organs. I can’t really put it into words – it was absolutely unreal. It’s rare that I sit with an open mouth, completely transfixed by something; however, the sight of our little baby wriggling around on the screen properly blew my mind. I have done a lot of stuff in life, good and bad. I like to think I’m pretty worldly wise, but the feeling I got when I saw the baby was something I have never, ever, ever felt before. Amazing.

The sonographer was brilliant. She talked us through all of the measurements and things she was doing. It was so reassuring that she really knew every little detail. I was amazed at the bones forming and how human the baby now looks. I must admit when she first started scanning, all I could see was the spinal cord and I had a slight heart palpitation when the baby looked like Alien. I was waiting for Sigourney Weaver to burst in (share that one with the wife, but chuckled to myself). It’s mental to see the baby’s facial features forming; what really got me though, was the movements.

We have a wriggler. I could feel our little one moving a bit before the scan. I wasn’t sure though. My wife definitely could and seeing the movements on the screen made her realise she wasn’t going mad!

Over the last week, we have noticed how much more the baby is moving around. As a dad (to be), I feel a bit weird sometimes as I miss little things and movements and I really don’t want to. It sounds soft, but little things like the baby moving around feel huge to me. That said, I might be going crazy, but we think the baby knows when I’m touching my wife’s tummy. I always get the baby wriggling around. Somehow, and I don’t know how, I get a roll or a prod or a wiggle within 30 seconds of touching. It makes me really feel a part of it.

One of my biggest dad fears is the baby not knowing me as much…I’m not sure why. These movements make me feel really a part of it. Between these and the 20 week scan, stuff is starting to feel real!!