This weekend I hardly felt the baby move at all, and recently he's been incredibly active. The last time there was a slow down in fetal movements, it's because Zoe was busying dying. Yesterday I felt no movements at all from lunch onwards.

I have a baby monitor (more of a glorified stethescope than a proper Doppler machine) and I've been trying to use it to listen to the baby (to keep sane and keep dead baby thoughts at bay). While I've yet to hear the heartbeat on it, sometimes I'm able to pick up the sounds of the baby kicking. However, when I used it last night, I heard nothing at all.

I tried very hard not to panic, but didn't manage it. Then I started to feel what might have been mild contractions (for me they always start as lower back ache). By this morning, I'd still felt no movement (and usually I get a few kicks through the night). I didn't sleep very well last night, worrying about it all, and I cried so much this morning (out of fear) I threw up (sorry if that's too much info). Needless to say, I became convinced that the baby had died and I was already in first stage labour. As far as I was concerned, it was just a matter of confirming my suspicions.

Fortunately, today was my 22 week scan, so I didn't need to book an emergency appointment or rush off to the hospital. Waiting till 10.30am was a trial though - especially trying to teach my matrics about implantation and embryo development for their Human Reproduction chapters!

I raised my concerns with the sonographer as soon as I could, who immediately checked the heart - and I promptly burst into tears because his heart was pumping strongly. What a beautiful sight and sound! She did a full APS check (which focusses on the placental health) as well as the usual anatomy checks, and we got the all clear.

Of course, this is exactly what happened with Zoe (almost to a T), and 24hrs later she was dead. I have peace though, that he's not going to be dead tomorrow. I talked to the sonographer about why I couldn't feel him move. My placenta is on the front wall of the uterus, and covers pretty much the entire front of my tummy. This means that unless he kicks really hard, and in the direction of my bladder or lungs, I probably won't feel it. Also, she reminded me that boys are less active in utero than girls are. Since I've had 2 girls, I'm expecting there to be more movement, and there won't be. She also mentioned that because of the placenta being where it is, it will be difficult to hear anything in utero unless I have a proper Doppler machine, hence why I was struggling to hear his movements. Her words reassured me and I feel a lot calmer about everything now.

Of course, I'm sure I'll have another panic attack between now and the induction date, but I am grateful to be past this one. Thanks to everyone who saw my FB/ Twitter status and either sms'd or posted a comment in their concern - I really appreciate it.

The other news is that our due date has been moved forward again. I'm now due on the 1st July, so induction will probably be on Wed 3 June. I will post photos of today's scan soon, and some clips from the video.