Baby Sam is due in December!

having a baby

Saturday, June 21, 2008

A Brief Cardiac Episode

So yesterday I went to the OB for my fourteen-week checkup. The very first thing they always do after getting my urine and vitals is check the baby's heartbeat using the Doppler. Well, I lay there for what seemed like an ETERNITY as the nurse probed and prodded my belly with the machine. She didn't miss a spot; she covered every inch of my upper and lower abdomen SEVERAL TIMES, and still...NO HEARTBEAT. She tapped the machine against her palm and tried again. Finally, after at least five minutes and a lot of grimacing and head-shaking, she said, "I can't find it. Nothing. But I hate this machine...let me go find another one."

So again I lay there for another infinite amount of time while I waited for her to go do whatever it was she was going to do. I just KNEW she was going to get my doctor so he could be the one to break the devastating news. But when she came back, she was still alone and she did have another Doppler.

"How far along are you again?" she asked.

"Fourteen weeks."

"You're just at that weird stage where the baby could be anywhere in there--really high or really low. Let's try again. Can you pull the top of your shorts down a little farther?"

This time she probed what seemed like the top of my thigh, but sure enough, PAY DIRT. A good, strong 155 bpm heartbeat. I have never been so scared and then so relieved in all my life. WHEW.

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