Rebekah and I made a trip to the hospital today for her first ultrasound. This was only our second appointment to see a midwife and the first time we got a glimpse of our baby. There's no denying it now: she's definitely pregnant. I suppose I've been in denial. I mean, maybe Rebekah's upset stomach was from something else, right? And pregnancy tests aren't 100% accurate.... But all that went away today as I watched a baby appear on the ultrasound monitor.
As the midwife moved the ultrasound transducer across Rebekah's abdomen, parts of the baby jumped into view.
There are two hands,
the midwife said with a deep Norwegian accent. And two feet.
Our baby has two hands and two feet?
I asked Rebekah. That's normal, right?
I added with a grin.
The midwife moved the transducer around for a while, taking measurements, pointing out different parts of the baby, and printing sonograms. She stopped when she located the heart and let us watch as the four chambers pumped in their perfect pattern. The baby was clearly moving around the whole time, though Rebekah didn't feel anything (and hasn't yet).
Unfortunately, the baby isn't far enough along to determine its sex. The midwife we saw in mid-May (the one who will be performing the birth) estimated the due date for early December and scheduled the ultrasound based on that information. Using the measurements she took, the midwife we saw today estimated the due date to be December 16th. The baby's sex can usually be determined after the sixteenth week, so we were just a bit too early.
I figure it's a good thing that pregnancies last nine months: it gives me a decent amount of time to get used to the idea of being a dad. By the time Rebekah goes into labor, I should be all set.
This sonogram is a profile of our baby. The baby's head is on the right, facing down. The spine is clearly visible on top heading from the head all the way to the left. The black area in the baby on the left is the baby's stomach. I've added a couple more sonograms to our gallery, too.
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clarifications
"I figure it's a good thing that pregnancies last nine months: it gives me a decent amount of time to get used to the idea of being a dad. By the time Rebekah goes into labor, I should be all set."
Many women who have been pregnant will tell you that pregnancy is TEN months (40 weeks). Best bet is simply to agree with them. WORST bet is to tell them it could be worse, they could be an elephant (which is pregnant for 2 years... not to mention it has to give birth to a baby elephant). Despite this being an attempt to cheer said pregnant woman, it is still best not to be seen (even incorrectly) as comparing your now-pregnant spouse with an elephant in any way. Trust me.
"Our baby has two hands and two feet?" I asked Rebekah. "That's normal, right?" I added with a grin."
It largely depends on where the two feet and hands are, but yes :-)
Congrats on the positive reviews! Now get some sleep! You'll need it!
It almost sounds like you're
It almost sounds like you're commenting from experience, Timothy. ;)
Good Thing
Thankfully, with so much excitment, said pregnant woman, ME, needs no cheering. Thankfully, for Tim, I think I can say I have not been incredibly emotional but relatively even-tempered so there hasn't much need to placate me by agreeing with everything I say. Now I just need to be taken care of by getting me food when it's been too long since I last ate and I start to feel nauseated.
Ya know, despite good intentions, TjL, you aren't very good at cheering a pregnant woman. ;-) Thankfully, I'm not worry my child's limbs could be on wrong and as I said, I'm pretty even-tempered. Now I just look forward to hearing, "and s/he's got 10 fingers and 10 toes [all in the right places]."
Performing
Oh, and I think I'll be doing most of the performing during birth, not my midwife. :-)
Yeah, I was thinking about re
Yeah, I was thinking about rewording that, but I couldn't think of anything better.
Numbers
> "Our baby has two hands and two feet?" I asked Rebekah.
> "That's normal, right?" I added with a grin.
Well, I don't know about you Americans, but over here in Europe, that's the amount most people prefer, yes.
\\//
"I figure it's a good thing t
"I figure it's a good thing that pregnancies last nine months: it gives me a decent amount of time to get used to the idea of being a dad."
*coughs* umm...tim...in case you've forgotten, Helen, Angie, and I have been calling you Dad for a few years now! and, if you want a different spin on the situatian, you've already mastered the "dissaproving Tim, look", now you just have to change the name to the "dissaproving dad, look" so you're a step ahead of the parenting game :-)
Being called "Dad" and being
Being called "Dad" and being a dad are so totally different. :P
Yes, this is true...but the r
Yes, this is true...but the reason we always called you dad was because you acted like one. So, I know you'll do well at this parenting thing because helen, angie, and I have already given you years of practice...what with all our maturity an' all :-P
btw,
you won't be Dad. you'll be Daddy. those're different, too. anyway, i, for one, am totally excited! (i believe this is due to the fact that i will have no responsibility to and no lost sleep because of this child, but i still have the option of enjoying him/her.) (psa: it'd be a lot easier to begin on my "cool aunt helen" path if you guys'd move back stateside.) i know you are, too, even though you probably have some worry mixed in there, as all fathers immediately do, for some reason. but let me give you a tip: if it is a girl, when she reaches, oh, say 22, you should let the worrying slide at least a little bit. *cough* not that i speak from the other side of that or anything...
and, for old times' sake, "QUACK!"
worry
I'll definitley try to let go of worry in general. I don't want to be like the parents my 23yr old friend who financially must live at home but her parents treat her like she's still in high school. Besides, my parents have been letting me make my own decisions and don't worry too much for some time now. :-)
Ideally, Daddys become Dads
Ideally, Daddys become Dads. Anyway, I'll keep that in mind.
Then again, maybe I shouldn't have written that. For all I know, my daughter will come to me in 22 years and point me to this comment. Doh.
Yes, Daddy's do become Dad's.
Yes, Daddy's do become Dad's...for those awkward (sp?) teen years when the daughter no longer wants to be seen with said dad in public due to the embarassment factor. But, i can say with some authority, the Dad will eventually become Daddy again, right around the college years. However, beware of the Daddy, because it generally means the daughter wants something. :-) Whether you're feeling it or not, I have faith that you will be a great daddy and a great dad, too!
:)
:)
have i taught you nothing?!
i cannot believe you BOTH just slaughtered your posts with misplaced apostrophes. ugh.
anyway, i "here, here" jax's comment. (note how the comment BELONGS to jax, and that's why she gets an apostrophe.) (really, i didn't mean for this whole comment to turn into "grammar lessons with saddened helen".) and as much as you do need to beware the use of "daddy", you should also learn to brush off the "dad", as it's often said with a note of exasperation. but don't worry - that'll just mean your (possibly) daughter has come to realize that you're a human, too. and an old one, at that. :D i love my daddy. your kid will love his/hers, too.
See what happens when I'm not
See what happens when I'm not around you, Helen. :P
Thank you for the kind words mixed in there somewhere.