Not your average New Years Eve

15th December 2018; the day our lives changed. The day we found out that we were going to be parents. That amazing date will forever be cemented in my memory.

Little did we know that New Years Eve just a few weeks later would also become an important date although it is actually one we would both rather forget.

I had already been feeling the affects of the dreaded morning sickness which funnily enough should have been called ‘nauseous all day and sick all evening’ although that phrase doesn’t have the same ring to it. I had also been struggling to sleep and the constant running to the loo at work was tiring me out.

We always watch the fireworks at midnight snuggled up on the sofa with a bottle of Champagne. We had the same night planned obviously minus the Champagne... a glass of lemonade would have to do instead. I knew that there was no way I was going to see 12 o’clock without having a nap; up until that point I thought it a success if I made it to 9pm.

I had a lovely 2 hour nap waking up around 6pm and was excited to celebrate the last few hours of 2019 however, our excitement slowly turned to horror when I realised that I was bleeding heavily. Our first reaction as it would be for anyone in that position especially at only 6 weeks pregnant was to instantly think the worst. After calling 111 and then speaking to a GP, we were told to go to A&E at our local hospital in the hopes of seeing a Consultant on the Early Pregnancy Unit. Whilst I completely fell apart and could barely stop crying,, my wonderful Mr N was strong and calm and got me dressed so we could leave for the hospital straight away.

After a long 2 hour wait in A&E and surviving my first ever blood test (not knowing at that point how many of those were to come), we were transferred to the Early Pregnancy Unit where we had a further wait to see a Consultant. Unfortunately, the Consultant on duty that night was not only rude and dismissive but totally unsympathetic. His words will live with me forever; “You may have miscarried; you may not have miscarried I have no way of knowing. Just wait two weeks and do a pregnancy test”. That was it. We left the hospital that night feeling completely numb and not knowing what to think. We made it home by 11pm and watched the fireworks at midnight. I sobbed as we entered 2019 not knowing whether or not our pregnancy had ended.

New Year’s Day 2019 we felt completely lost. I decided that there was no way I could possibly wait two weeks to find out our fate… I don’t know many people who could so I looked into private scans. After much research, we found there was a Window to the Womb a 30 minute drive from us and we were lucky enough to get an appointment the following day on 2 January 2019.

We spent the day wandering aimlessly around the house counting down till 4pm. It seemed like the longest day ever but in no time at all we were finally sat on the sofa with the Manager of the Window to the Womb telling her of our experience. She couldn’t have been nicer to us.

She led us into the room, we met the Sonographer and after some searching… he found a heartbeat.