Love at First Sight

It wasn't long before news of our news had spread far and wide. My bulging belly was causing a bit of a stir out in public. No one actually said anything, but I could see people looking (a lot). My guess was that they were trying to figure out if we had some religious opposition to birth control. Hmmm, we were pretty normal looking. In any event pregnancy was in full swing, and our biggest concern was WHERE were we going to have this baby?

Our beloved midwife had recently stopped doing in-hospital births, leaving us with few options for the kind of birth I had enjoyed with our daughter. We searched far and wide (like a 100 mile radius) for other midwives offering the same services, without much luck. It seemed to us that given my increasingly short labors traveling 75 miles just wasn't going to be an option. So it was with much apprehension that I decided (however temporarily) on a large obstetrical practice with the hopes that I could just tell them how our birth was going to be.

At 14 weeks pregnant, off we went to our new doctor. The day was filled with apprehension for me. I had so dearly loved my midwife, and here I was about to meet one of 10 doctors who may or may not deliver our baby. The only consolation was that we did have an ultrasound scheduled before our appointment with the doctor. Getting a sneak peak at our little peanut six weeks earlier than we would have with the midwife was VERY exciting.

So, there we were, lights off, belly bare and ready to go. The tech was so sweet, and in no time there was our baby up on 3 screens. We watched in delight as he flipped and flopped. The tech took her measurements, and all but confirmed that we were having a boy. He was measuring perfect, and healthy. His little heart flickered in his chest at 150 times a minute, he kicked and punched and rolled around showing off his gymnastic skills for us to see.

I just can't explain the relief that comes from a healthy ultrasound. Knowing that our baby boy was safe and healthy and growing right on (or just ahead of) schedule was peace of mind for us like no other. At this point our biggest concerns about our baby were what to name him, and what color to paint his room.