Baby Emily in 3D

Today was the day we'd been looking forward to for a few weeks. My little sister J decided to treat us to one of the new 3d baby scans that are available privately. I had told her about them and said how awesome it would be to have a DVD of the baby for her to watch when she grows up, and she decided that it would be her gift to the baby. (And no, I wasn't hinting!) So today we drove down to Dublin to see our newest little person.

Ultrasound Dimensions clinic in Dublin offers a 3d baby scanning package for almost half the price that is usually paid in Belfast.

The scan itself took about 40 minutes - you certainly get your money's worth. Baby Emily (100% definitely a girl now!) was lying with both her legs and arms across her face, so getting to see her at the start was a bit of a challenge. However, we did get her to move her legs down for a good 20 minutes before curling back up to sleep. She sleeps almost completely folded in half, sucking at her feet and legs, with the placenta as a nice comfy soft pillow.

During her awake moments it was amazing to see her face in so much detail. She has the same shaped chin that Barney had, and looks just like he did at birth. She has the same Frondigoun 'duckie lips' (as we call them in our family) that all my kids had. We saw her yawn several times, suck at her bottom lip, smile and open one eye at us. The still images look kind of spooky, but the moving images on the DVD are totally mind blowing.

The 3d experience we paid for is called a 'bonding scan'. It includes the 30 - 40 minute 2d and 3d scan, a 15 - 20 minute DVD (which comes with tear inducing music) of baby's scan session, 2 black and white 2d scan prints (the sort you get at the hospital usually), a selection of colour prints, and a cdrom of all 20 - 40 images taken during the session. The lady performing the scan was lovely, and went out of her way to try to get good images. Emily was lying in an awkward position so I spent much of the time lying on my side. But there was a big wide screen TV of the scan session for me to watch whilst Daddy and the kids watched the computer screen.

It was a great experience for the children. No doubt it will help them bond with her and to look forward to her arrival. Barney was a bit impatient during the session (the 2 hour car ride had something to do with that) but he has enjoyed looking at the photos at home. He was delighted to be told by the scanner that she was definitely a girl. He just doesn't want a boy at all. At the end of the session when she handed me the photos that she'd printing I almost burst into tears. It was just so amazing to see our unborn child's face. She looked so peaceful and serene in there, totally protected from the world.

When we got home we put the DVD on and both Dan and I were almost in tears throughout it. (The music really helps with the tears, I'm telling you). I am trying to work out how to upload the DVD onto the internet so that people can see it. I think I might have to film 3 or 4 minutes of it on my camera and upload it that way. But what an awesome experience this was. Totally worth every penny (thanks again J!) I'd recommend it to anyone who is expecting their own little bundle of joy.

You can see all the photos of the scan that I've uploaded by clicking here.