THERE'S A BABY IN THERE

On Monday (the 27th), after what seemed like the absolute longest week of my life, Frank and I went back to the OB to see how the kid was a-cookin. We had a kind of funny conversation before hand about him having to watch me get examined AND get a pap-smear. It ended like this:


"Are you ready for this?"
"Mmm--No."


So we get to the office, I pee in a cup again, I rest my sleepy head on Frank in the waiting room (it's 1:45), and eventually we make it to the exam room. I have my blood pressure and weight measured, and the ultrasound machine is wheeled into the room. I complain to the nurse about having to get my cervix invaded, and then ask if the machine is here already so we can see the baby first. "No, you get your pap first, then you get to see the baby." Darn.


Frank makes some comment about dangling a carrot, and I laugh in a way that says "oh, you be quiet".  I whimper through the pap like a champ, and then finally, the feature presentation can begin.


The doctor invites Frank to come over next to me, so he can see the screen, and then he preps what I have referred to in my head as "the magic wand".


MYTH: Ultrasound is a rated PG activity, in which cold jelly is put on mommy's belly while the wand goes over it, revealing baby's features.
FACT: We continue laughing as I point to the wand sitting on the ultrasound stand. It looks like this:

 "You know where that's goin'."
The nurse laughs, and reassures that not the whole thing will go "in there"
It is, however, covered with a condom AND lube, just to separate it from any phallic imagery.


Needless to say, it's kind of strange at first, but as soon as the pictures start on the screen I cooperate fully, moving my legs and shifting as asked so that things that should be seen, can be seen. Before you know it, something has appeared before our eyes that is absolutely gripping our attention.


It's not a dot, or a blob, or a sea-monkey--it's our little, itty-bitty, Polly Pocket-sized baby, with a little head, a little body, and a little heartbeat that we can easily see. It is, breathtaking. Part of me still thinks that they must have nabbed an image from someone else's little embryo, it just doesn't seem possible--but it guess it has to be, or they wouldn't have had me schedule six other appointments already. And I will say the baby in motion was even a bit more defined than the picture-- it's a cute little button.


The doctor confirms one healthy pregnancy, with a normal heartbeat of 158 beats per minute, which we could actually hear through the machine when I held my breath. We got pictures printed of our 8-week old "little peanut", and then we were sent back into the world, our heads clouded with awe and excitement.


There is no better feeling than hearing the words "normal and healthy", at least I suppose there won't be until we hear the words "it's a boy", or "it's a girl".

By the way, I labeled what was identified for us as the yolk sac, because it confused us, and I figured I'd just help everyone out.