176. That’s the number of times my sweet baby’s
heart beats in one minute. It’s crazy to
think that something so small can have such a powerful heart already! She (I’m going to refer to the baby as a
she…much better than “it” J)
is only an inch long right now…about the size of a grape. I am 9 weeks and 2 days. The weeks are flying by!
I
had my first ultrasound yesterday.
Luckily, Clay was able to come with me to see our sweet baby for the
first time. My friends and family can
attest to the fact that I was an absolute nervous wreck before the
ultrasound. Besides a little nausea at
times, I didn’t really feel
pregnant. I know that’s normal in the
beginning, but when something is growing inside of you, you at least want to be
able to tell it’s there! We waited for
about 20 minutes and then the nurse came and took us back. Within minutes, I was on the table and a
picture of my baby was up on the big TV.
I can’t even describe the emotions that were rushing through my
mind. As soon as the baby popped up on
the screen and she said there’s the heart, I just lost it. All those worries just slipped away and I was
overcome with joy and awe. Tears
immediately started streaming down my cheeks and Clay squeezed my leg to let me
know he was there, as always.
I
always wondered what it would be like to hear your baby’s heart beat for the
first time. I can say it is like nothing
else you will ever experience. I
remember hearing my niece Zoey’s heart beat for the first time. Now I know how my sister felt. It all becomes real. I am growing a PERSON inside of me. How crazy is that?! I never thought I could love something so
much.
It
all started a couple months ago. Clay
and I walked up to the pool and sat one evening and started talking about when
we thought we would start trying to have kids.
As my friends know, I've been ready for a baby for so long, but with
school and moving around so much, the timing just never seemed right. I knew if I could at least wait until
March, the baby would be born after I
was finished with school, so any time after that was fair game for me…not so
much for Clay. He wasn't so sure about
having a baby yet but finally gave in and said we could start trying late
summer. When we got back into our
apartment, Clay was using our living room as a putting green. I said if I made the ball between the two
quarters, we would start trying sooner.
Well, of course I missed the first time.
How about 3 tries? I miss the 2nd
and made the 3rd. Then, we
did the quarter flip. I won, twice in a
row. Looks like we weren't going to have
to wait til the end of summer! Well, two
months later, here we are! I never
thought I’d be able to get pregnant so fast.
I always worried that I would have trouble.
God’s timing was so much better than mine
ever could have been. My due date is
January 7, so I’ll have my last month of pregnancy off from school to relax and
the first two months after she’s born to spend with her (or him) while I study
for NCLEX. Yes, being pregnant during
nursing school is going to be hard, but the majority will be during my 2nd
trimester which I hear isn't so bad. The
best part is that I feel so much more prepared for the pregnancy and what to
expect because of all the experiences I've gotten at Northside working in labor
and delivery. Also, I’m in my OB/Peds
rotation this summer…good timing, huh?
Besides
hearing our baby’s heart beat and seeing her for the first time, telling our
families and friends was one of our favorite things so far. Their reactions were all so different, and
each one was precious. That will be
another post…with videos. J
Thank
you all for taking this journey with us.
Please pray for a healthy mama, daddy, and baby!
