Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
A Bit of a Scare...
Well, today was the much awaited second appointment. The information packet provided by the doctor's office, as well as the Pregnancy Week by Week book Rachel is reading said that this would be the visit where we would first hear our child's heartbeat. I've been looking forward to it for weeks! I even figured out how to upload audio to blog entries so that I could record the heartbeat and put it on here for the world to hear! That was the plan anyway...
We got to the doctor's office just before our scheduled appointment. There were some nerves this time, but not nearly as many as there were before the first visit. There haven't been any complications that we've seen so we haven't been too worried. After a few minutes we were called back and led to an exam room (strangely enough, the very same room as last month). As we waited on the Doctor to come back I got my voice recorder ready on my mp3 player to catch all of the excitement just like I'd played it out 100 times in my mind. The doctor came in and got right to work. She pulled out her microphone and prepped Rachel's belly. She fired up the mic and started moving it around on Rachel's stomach. There was lots of feedback...but there was no heartbeat. I quit fumbling with my mp3 player and started paying closer attention. After a few more seconds, the Doctor called for the ultrasound machine. She said the baby was probably just positioned so that the microphone couldn't pick up the heartbeat, but she wanted to make sure.
In came the ultrasound machine. The next ultrasound isn't scheduled until the 20th week when we're supposed to find out if it's a boy or a girl, so I started to get a little concerned, but I wasn't too worked up. The doctor again prepped Rachel's belly with the ultrasound gel and started moving the wand around. After what seemed like forever (but was more like a couple of minutes)...again,there was no baby. At this point, worried would be an understatement. The Doctor remained calm, but we could see the concern as she gazed at the fuzzy black and white nothingness on the screen. Rachel asked, "Is this normal?", to which the doc responded, "I'm not going to say anything until I know for sure". At that, my heart jumped directly into my throat. Fifteen minutes ago I was planning out how best to display the recorded heartbeat of my unborn child on our blog, and now I'm wondering how I need to respond for Rachel if we've lost our baby. At this point, afraid would be a severe understatement.
The doctor said she was going to try an internal ultrasound. We obviously agreed, both extremely anxious about the situation as it stood. The doctor started the ultrasound process and a few seconds later, my heart returned safely to it's intended location in my chest.
There on the very same screen which moments ago displayed fear in black and white fuzz, was our baby, kicked back, already hiding from Mom and Dad. The doctor explained that the baby was sitting just far enough back that the heart monitor and initial ultrasound couldn't reach it. She then said the words I so wanted to hear, "Everything looks good. I don't see anything at all here to be concerned about. It just looks like you've got a turkey on your hands."
SO, everything is as it should be (Praise God!!!) but the visit was much more eventful that either of us would have preferred. And to our Little One, DON'T EVER HIDE FROM YOUR PARENTS! You scared us half to death!
"You are my HIDING PLACE;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Selah
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will councel you and watch over you."
-Psalm 31:7-8
We got to the doctor's office just before our scheduled appointment. There were some nerves this time, but not nearly as many as there were before the first visit. There haven't been any complications that we've seen so we haven't been too worried. After a few minutes we were called back and led to an exam room (strangely enough, the very same room as last month). As we waited on the Doctor to come back I got my voice recorder ready on my mp3 player to catch all of the excitement just like I'd played it out 100 times in my mind. The doctor came in and got right to work. She pulled out her microphone and prepped Rachel's belly. She fired up the mic and started moving it around on Rachel's stomach. There was lots of feedback...but there was no heartbeat. I quit fumbling with my mp3 player and started paying closer attention. After a few more seconds, the Doctor called for the ultrasound machine. She said the baby was probably just positioned so that the microphone couldn't pick up the heartbeat, but she wanted to make sure.
In came the ultrasound machine. The next ultrasound isn't scheduled until the 20th week when we're supposed to find out if it's a boy or a girl, so I started to get a little concerned, but I wasn't too worked up. The doctor again prepped Rachel's belly with the ultrasound gel and started moving the wand around. After what seemed like forever (but was more like a couple of minutes)...again,there was no baby. At this point, worried would be an understatement. The Doctor remained calm, but we could see the concern as she gazed at the fuzzy black and white nothingness on the screen. Rachel asked, "Is this normal?", to which the doc responded, "I'm not going to say anything until I know for sure". At that, my heart jumped directly into my throat. Fifteen minutes ago I was planning out how best to display the recorded heartbeat of my unborn child on our blog, and now I'm wondering how I need to respond for Rachel if we've lost our baby. At this point, afraid would be a severe understatement.
The doctor said she was going to try an internal ultrasound. We obviously agreed, both extremely anxious about the situation as it stood. The doctor started the ultrasound process and a few seconds later, my heart returned safely to it's intended location in my chest.
There on the very same screen which moments ago displayed fear in black and white fuzz, was our baby, kicked back, already hiding from Mom and Dad. The doctor explained that the baby was sitting just far enough back that the heart monitor and initial ultrasound couldn't reach it. She then said the words I so wanted to hear, "Everything looks good. I don't see anything at all here to be concerned about. It just looks like you've got a turkey on your hands."
SO, everything is as it should be (Praise God!!!) but the visit was much more eventful that either of us would have preferred. And to our Little One, DON'T EVER HIDE FROM YOUR PARENTS! You scared us half to death!
"You are my HIDING PLACE;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Selah
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will councel you and watch over you."
-Psalm 31:7-8
Monday, February 1, 2010
My first picture! 2-1-10
Today we went to the doctor for our first actual "doctor's visit". I must admit, there was some nervousness on our part in anticipation of the visit. Early in a pregnancy a lot can go wrong. While the results of the blood test were very encouraging, we still wanted to make sure that the baby had arrived at the correct location and was developing properly. We arrived at the doctor's office REALLY early, but went on in to the waiting room and got signed in. To our surprise, they took us back quickly, did the necessary lab work, then showed us to our exam room. After a couple of minutes of waiting the doctor came in, answered some general questions, gave some advice, then wheeled in the ultrasound machine. After they fired it up and started the process it didn't take long to find the little tike. It was as if she turned a corner and boom, there it was! We saw a head and faint limbs and clearly watched our little baby's heart beating (A close-up will follow). It's amazing to think that our first child already has a beating heart. It's even more amazing to think that we met out first child this afternoon. We haven't spoken yet; shoot, we don't even know if it's a boy or girl, but there was our firstborn; already growing, fully depending on us, it's parents.
After the ultrasound, the doctor said that everything looked great, and that there is nothing that she would be concerned about from what she has seen. WHAT A RELIEF! Praise God! We left the doctor's office, two proud parents-to-be with the first picture ever taken of our pride and joy (...and promptly took it to Wal-Mart, where Josh made copies for the whole family). God is good!
"13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well."
-Psalm 139:13-14
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Bun + Oven = ?
Yep, you guessed it...We're Pregnant!!! We found out last Saturday (Jan. 2nd) that we are expecting our first child! We didn't trust the first test, or the second...but the third started to help the reality sink in. As you can imagine, we are absolutely thrilled and Josh has not stopped smiling in almost two weeks! We got the results of Rachel's preliminary blood work back today and the nurse said that everything looks good (praise God!) so we've set up our first actual doctor's appointment in a few weeks. They said at that point, we should be able to hear a heartbeat!
We've created this blog as a means to keep all of our family and friends updated as we go through doctors appointments, ultrasounds, classes and a number of other experiences we're sure to encounter! We are thrilled you've chosen to be a part of this journey with us, and we ask for your prayers for continued health for Rachel and our baby, as well as wisdom for Josh and Rachel as we prepare ourselves for parenthood. We'll try to update regularly and keep you informed. God Bless!
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