Sneak Previews (Ultrasound scans in pregnancy)

I have had 4 scans over my pregnancy; 2 private and 2 NHS.

Each time has been I must say nerve racking (since finding out I was pregnant I have been extremely nervous something would go wrong, every scan made me question... would this be the day somethings wrong!) and each one has been without sounding too cliche, magical, and thankfully they have been fine.

Our first scan we had to date the pregnancy; due to my irregular cycle I was not able to date from this. For this we went to a private clinic (Babybond & Ultrasound Direct - we had a great experience with this clinic). We simply couldn't wait for the 12week scan, I had the next available midwife appointment in 3 weeks time, and then would have to wait to be given a scan date. 

For me this was one of the most surreal moments, dated at approximately 7 weeks what we could see was minimal. Our baby looked like a little bean. We were also lucky enough to be able to hear the heartbeat. It was incredible to think that, that little bean with a heartbeat... was going to grow into our baby.

The 12 week scan, (which I had at 13weeks). I must say we did have about an hours wait after our time slot, again adding to my nerves! But our little baby was in perfect position, for us to really get to see how much he/she had grown. In 5 weeks our little bean, was a baby, with little legs, arms and a button nose.

20 week scan, a slightly trickier scan, our naughty baby had decided to become camera shy and was lay in a position which meant the sonographer couldn't see clearly enough to do the checks needed. After being sent out for a walk and a drink for 30mins we headed back in to see if this had encouraged our baby to turn around. it had slightly so with some hard work from the sonographer and myself moving in numerous positions, we got the thumbs up on all the checks!

3D/4D scan, from 20 weeks to 40 weeks without seeing our baby seemed like a huge wait! So we chose to go for a 3D/4D scan, I did a bit of research from friends who had, had scans as well as reading some online reviews... I chose to go to Ultrasound Now, a friend of mine had been to Ultrasound Now in her area and she was very pleased with hers. 

I chose a package which came with a disc of photos, a video of the entire scan, 4 colour prints and some black and white images. Perhaps slightly excessive, but there weren't too many packages to choose from, the main reason for this choice was they include another appointment if your baby is in an awkward position. Our baby wasn't in the clearest position but after a few different positions and a few minutes spent like this... 

We got some amazing images of our baby. As we haven't found out the sex, the sonographer stayed predominately at the top end. The sonographer also carries out some health checks on the baby's growth which is another reassuring part of the extra scan. 

I'm not one to tear up, but being handed these photos, was one moment that did get me. I have watched the video of the scan numerous times, (4 on the day we had the scan). Personally I couldn't recommend this more; though they are expensive so I suggest shopping around for the exact package you want, I have also seen some packages come up on voucher websites such as wowcher and groupon.

How have you found your scan experiences? Would you recommend the 3D/4D scans?