Amanda´s prenatal appointment

Dear Readers,

The story I have posted today was written four years ago just after The Splashy moved to Sweet Berry Valley.

They shared the big news of Amanda´s pregnancy with their new friends, The Neptunes, the day they treated them for lunch at their Seaside Restaurant.

Let´s pretend time stood still after this picture to see what happened shortly after this day.

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It was a bright and sunny morning in Sweet Berry Valley. Amanda and Glenn Splashy enjoyed their walk to the Cottage Hospital.Both were very excited! Amanda had  a prenatal appointment with Doctor Murdoch.

Cassandra Macavity ,who just happened to pass by the hospital,noticed Amanda´s bulging belly.

"AMANDA! She asked in a surprised tone: Are you expecting a baby?"
"I am indeed! Five months pregnant and I feel like I´m going to explode".
"Congratulations! You must be thrilled!"
"We are ecstatic!.It´s our first baby!
As a mother of six children, five by birth and one by adoption Cassandra knew that feeling quite well.

After chatting for a while about the joy and challenges of raising a large family,Cassandra wished the Splashy´s all the best.
"Hope your pregnancy goes smoothly!".
All of a sudden, Amanda and Glenn yelled to warn Cassandra when they saw Skimble and Snowy trying to get off their stroller.
"Oh!Watch out!The babies are about to fall!

"These two are always getting into mischief!

You see… even though I love them with all my heart, sometimes they drive me nuts!. That´s just how kids are. Wait till you have your own!" 

When they were finally waving good-bye, Glenn said jokingly:

"Pizza will be a regular visitor to our home once the baby is born.Your pizza delivery service will come in very handy when we have our hands full changing nappies and preparing bottles."

"Sure! Cassandra laughed out loud. Just give us a call and you´ll have a tasty pizza right at your doorstep or any other thing you need!"."We´ll be glad to be of some help!

"Look out!" Skimble is acting up again!" Glenn exclaimed.

When Cassandra turned back to reprimand Skimble, she was glad to meet her good friend Kitty Cat-Wood with her newborn twins and her daughter Tabitha.

Newborns, babies and expectant mothers...It seemed Sweet Berry Valley was having another baby boom.

Once inside the hospital, Doctor Murdoch greeted the Splashy and made them feel at ease immediately. Amanda was very excited but a bit apprehensive at the same time.
"Don´t you think my belly is too big,Doc?.I can´t see my feet.I can´t even see my toes!"
"You have a little one growing in your tummy.It´s completely normal,Amanda".
"Let´s have a head-to-toe check up."

"Step on the scale, please". The scale said she had gained a great amount of weight." 

When Doctor Murdoch noticed the worried look on Amanda´s face, he tried to reassure her. "It´s natural to put on weight when you´re expecting!" Just make sure you eat healthily". Amanda wondered if her craving for cinnamon rolls from the watermill bakery would fit into a healthy diet. She admitted she had way too many for the past few weeks. 

Clarice meassured Amanda´s blood pressure which was at a healthy level.

Then she also took a blood sample for a blood test. 
"Relax your arm.It´ll just be a little pinch".
It didn´t hurt but Amanda preferred not to look. 

When the check up was done, Doctor Murdoch´s words made Amanda feel overjoyed and relieved.
"Everything is perfect, Amanda! I´ve just listened to your baby´s heartbeat and your little one has a very strong heart."

Clarice told Amanda about the "Mother´s Class".

"Would you like to join? We´ll talk about pregnancy, baby care and you´ll learn some breathing techniques and exercises which will make a big difference to your baby´s birth"
Amanda thought these classes would be very useful to answer all her first-time mom´s questions and ease some of her worries.

Finally,Doctor Murdoch handed Amanda a prescription.
"You should take folic acid and iron supplements during your pregnancy".
"Is there a pharmacy in the village?"Glenn inquired.
"Not as such, but the Country Market has a licence to supply medicines.You can buy these tablets there."

Just before leaving, Glenn had a question for Doctor Murdoch. 
"Just out of curiosity Doc,is it true that there is a kind of machine that creates a picture of the baby before birth ?. I´ve heard something about it but I find it hard to believe".
"It´s true, Glenn! The ultrasound machine,a very useful procedure for monitoring the baby´s development.High- tech, Glenn! High-tech!. It will take a few years until it arrives to Sweet Berry Valley, but it will eventually.I know there is one in the Central Hospital of Sylvania, in Town, just in case you´re interested.You can also find out your baby´s gender but I suppose you don´t care much about it, am I right?

The truth is Amanda and Glenn couldn´t care less whether their baby was a boy or a girl.They were happy enough to know their little one was fine and had a strong heart beat! That was a good sign!
They trusted Doctor Murdoch completely.He was a very good professional with extensive experience in delivering babies. One of the first things they noticed, when they moved to Sweet Berry Valley, was that there were lots of kids and most of them were born with the help of Doctor Murdoch and his kind nurse Clarice Periwinkle.
They knew they were in good hands.

Amanda and Glenn left the hospital and headed to the Country Market in order to buy the supplements prescribed by the doctor.

By the way,have you noticed Amanda´s wide smile?
I can tell you for sure that she couldn´t be more proud! And the same goes for Glenn!
Their baby was happily growing in Amanda´s  belly. There was no doubt about it!

To be continued...in a few days.

And that´s all for today. Hope you enjoyed accompanying the Splashys to this important appointment for them.