The OB gave me an ultrasound, she said the quality isn't great because its not meant to check for any blood clots but my in depth scan on the 14th will provide a good overview.  She said that if there was a haematoma and it was particularly bad she would be able to see dark shadows next to the placenta.  She couldn't, so that provides some relief.  She did go on to say that I shouldn't be having cramping and regular braxtons this early on and if we couldn't detect a reason now, she anticipated we would find the problem later on in pregnancy.  I just wanted to know what the chances were of me continuing the pregnancy.  She said that as there is no bleeding and the baby has a good strong heartbeat, we should have a clear run.  I'll be so glad when we reach 20 weeks onwards.  My pregnancy is treated like an actual baby and they do what they can to save him/her. Whereas at only 16/17 weeks along, I'm still miscarriage material and there's an attitude of a shrug and 'nothing we do can' if I start to lose my baby.  It goes back to that whole argument, when is a life actually a life?  For me its the moment the egg is fertilised.  Steve would argue that its when the stem cells start to specialise.  Still early on.  For people that want to abort, they'll say it isn't a life at all until you're passed 24 weeks, and some people even think its not until the baby takes its first breath when its born.  All I know is that when I miscarried in the first trimester with my first, I felt like I had lost a baby and I grieved.  If I lose a baby this far along, I will be beyond devastated.  But I can't think like that right now, I have to stay positive.  Still not feeling the baby move really doesn't help.  Although I look fatter in the belly, face and arse (!), I don't really look pregnant.  Its a far cry from my previous pregnancies.

Anyway, today its still raining and miserable and I LOVE it!  Reminds me of home.  I just wish it was coming into Christmas.  In my enthusiasm for this change of weather I've suggested we all take a walk.  It reminds me of chilly, dark winter days taking a walked along the Avon in Stratford upon Avon.  Bundling up, having cold noses and then stopping at a warm pub for a beer.  Ahhh, bliss.