So on Monday, Owen and I made the recurring - every 4 weeks - trip to the doctor's office. This visit seemed to carry much more significance than the first visit. At the first visit, we were there so the doctor could tell us that we were indeed with child. This visit was to tell us that we were still with said child.

To say I was nervous was the understatement of the century. My nervousness stemmed from this image in my head from our first visit, that I just couldn't shake, and I don't think I'll ever forget...

...You see, as we sat waiting for our turn during the first visit, many people shuffled in and out. Some women alone, just there doing their thing, and some with their significant others there for the same reason we were.

As we sat there for literally hours (my doc was busy bringing babies into the world), one couple caught my eye as their name was called. They had that same nervous, but yet excited look about the possibilities of what would come to them once they went through that door. Obviously younger and new to the process, the boy followed the girl almost reluctantly through the door when her name was called.

As they disappeared, I sat there nervously, knowing that soon I would make the same walk, with my "boy" following closely, yet reluctantly behind, full of the same nervous energy. What I didn't know is that my time for that walk would be further delayed and this couple would soon cross my path in a very different way.

About 30 minutes after they first went through that door, they emerged again. Only this time, that nervous look of the girl had been replaced by a look of profound sadness. As she rushed through the waiting room, tears streamed down her already red, tear stained face. The boy, still following reluctantly, had a look of sadness and fear the likes of which I've not seen before. It was obvious what their trip behind that door told them.

So there we sat, waiting for our turn at the second visit, and this image is rolling through my brain. No matter what distraction tactics I tried, it wouldn't go away. I still think about that couple, and wonder how that experience changed them.

As my name was called, we both jumped up, gathered our belongings - we brought a lot to keep us busy! - and went through that door. We were led into a room, and shortly thereafter, the doctor visited. After a brief visit, she pulled out the sonogram machine and placed it on my belly.
Let me back up - before she put the sonogram on my belly, she warned me that 'it could take a while to find the heartbeat, so don't get scared" - so she put the sonogram on my belly, and immediately we heard our little "thumper!"

An indescribable joy came over me as I looked up at Owen. With tears in my eyes I started my trademark hysterical laughter, forcing the doctor to stop while I composed myself! Once I was composed, she again placed the sonogram on my belly to find "thumper" and the machine calculated the heart rate.

153 beats per minute. I'm told that's fast, and our little "boy" could actually be a girl according to the old wives tale, though she said it's still to early to tell for sure! We will have to wait 8 more weeks for that!

Here's a little about what the little "thumper" is up to this week:

Having grown bigger than a plum, he is now the size of a...PEACH!
He is forming teeth and vocal cords... their non-functional phase! He is approaching normal proportions, with a head now only one third the size of the body. Intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy. (Much more convenient.)

Fingerprints have formed on his tiny fingertips, his veins and organs are clearly visible through his still-thin skin, and his body is starting to catch up with his head — which makes up just a third of his body size now. Although if our "he" is a "she," she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries.

I'm still feeling great, just a nagging pain in my behind...which the doctor assured me would only get worse! And if I can't stand it, I can go to physical therapy, but other than that, there's not much that can be done about it.

I guess I can deal with a little pain for the joy that will soon follow!

Labels: Baby P