Baby keepsakes …. A scan album

I’m not a pretty pregnant mom. I don’t get the glow and the neat bump, nor do I shine or look like a super model for Living and Loving.

No, I turn into lady frump as every part of me grows to accommodate the little life forming inside of me.

While it’s a miracle and well worth looking like a swamp monster for 9 months, it’s not pretty to record.

So, one of my prized possessions and favourite keepsake of my pregnancy with Hamish is my scan album.

I took a handmade book I found at a charity shop that was perfect to paste scan images into.

And from our very first scan with Kirsten from Tummy Time, I kept a monthly record of his growth.

I had found Kirsten’s business on a Google search and it was quite far from where we stayed but there was something welcoming about her advert, the reviews on her page and her very first message to me as we discussed baby loss.

So, at 12 weeks we set off for our first scan. I remember being nervous and as an older mom very anxious about Hamishs health and growth.

The little room for the scan was warm and I was immediately at ease as we were greeted like old friends.

A few moments later I had beautiful scan images of my little bean and had booked our next visit.

Our next visit was in April, two weeks later, for a gender reveal. I was holding thumbs for that girl and Brent was super excited when we saw our future ” soccer star”

Of course this visit didn’t go all that smoothly and we had to wait for Hamish to wake up and let us get his picture. Kirsten was super patient and advised us to go grab some hot chocolate to wake lazy bones and then we could try again.

My favourite image is this one of him sucking his thumb.

In May he was 23 weeks old when we had our next scan and we were finally able to do the first 4D scan.

To a mom of 6 previous kiddies, not once did I image just how emotional this would make me.

I had my children in the time of fuzzy 2D ultrasounds and we saw them between 16 and 20 weeks.

I had never seen a teeny tiny human who was so real or so beautiful.

For me these visits helped Brent bond with a baby that I was really doing all the bonding with. Although excited, it was only really after these images that Hamish became real to him ….

No longer known as the baby but by his name.

At our June visit he was 26 weeks old and that squishiness was just too adorable.

I used this image as a thank you card at his baby shower.

In July, we visited at 31 weeks. By now we could see just how snug my old uterus was for Hamish as he squished himself up.

I loved these last few scans. He was a real little boy.

I remember looking fondly at these images as I got into my nesting phase and prepared his space.

In August I had a scan at the hospital we had booked for delivery, so we held off our visit to Kristen.

The scan was quick, impersonal and for a private hospital not at all the service I expected. We were rushed through the process and we left both annoyed and with images that were no where near the quality we had come to expect from 4D scans.

It was with great excitement and sadness I booked our last scan with Kristen for 3 September. 29 days before Hamish was born.

He was 36 weeks old.

In 4 short weeks we would meet our little boy.

Our healthy little boy was born in the early hours of the 22 September.

When I look back, his album of love started long before his birth.

His first photos were at 12 weeks and this special album is my reminder of the emotions and events leading up to his birth day.

Inside I have used card and images from his baby shower gift bags.

Our journey did not stop there.

Two months later Hamish got to meet his first photographer and the woman who kept his mom sane with her warmth, knowledge and gentleness.

I also have a value set of scans on cd and can listen to his heartbeat and one day show him what he looked like inside mommy’s tummy.

But for me the most wonderful privilege of knowing Kristen is that I was able to refer my oldest son to her to do a scan for my glambaby.

As I prepared his little scrapbook, I never once thought it would grow to mean so much to me.

A perfect visual reminder of my pregnancy and his growth.

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