August 09, 2004
Race and the heartbeat
Last Saturday we got to see Mark, Race, and Vonna. After a nice dinner, we all came to our house to hang out and play games. During a slow moment, I called Race into the computer room. I started up the mp3 file of the baby's heartbeat.
Pam: Race, can you tell what that is?
Race: (cocking his head to the side and listening a moment) Gunshots?
Pam: No. What else goes, "thumpTHUMP thumpTHUMP thumpTHUMP?"
Race: I don't know.
(I pulled him on to my lap and repeated "thumpTHUMP thumpTHUMP thumpTHUMP" while gently patting him on the chest.)
Race: (gasp) A HEARTBEAT!
Pam: Yes! Now do you know who's heartbeat it is?
Race: (shakes his head 'no')
Pam: It's my baby's heartbeat, in here. (I touched my belly.)
Race: (twisting on my lap to place his hand on my belly.) Let me see if I can feel it!
Pam: Oh, no, it's too soon for that.
Race: (shaking head again) No, I can feel it!
(Thus satisfied he hopped off my lap and started wiggling Dale's mouse.)
Race: So, what was that game Dale was showing me earlier?
August 06, 2004
heartbeat!
Today's appointment went well. Misty (the nurse) said I appear to be right on schedule for the January 22nd due date. My vitals were fine and the nurse was able to easily pick up the baby's heartbeat with the Doppler. Dale was able to get a recording. Actually, he got two, using our digital recorder and our digital camera.
If you're interested, I've uploaded the heartbeat recording as an mp3 file (1.09mb). It's a little over a minute long. The mp3 file will probably play through your browser for you, but if you want to save the file, right-click on the link, choose "Save File As", then specify where to save it to.
The whole appointment went rather quickly. At check out, we made an appointment in 8 weeks to see Dr. Litzinger again. (My appointments will usually alternate between Dr. Litzinger and her nurse, Misty.) Then we went upstairs to make the 20 week ultrasound appointment (Thursday, Sept. 2) though I won't really be 20 weeks until the following Saturday. Immediately after that ultrasound, I'll go down one floor for another appointment with Misty.
If we're lucky, we'll learn the baby's sex in just under one month!
August 04, 2004
Two ultrasound stories
The First Story
When Dale and I were in Houston last weekend, we showed the latest ultrasound photos to his aunt, uncle, and six year old cousin. Mark and Vonna (especially Vonna) cooed over the images (just like I do) and tried very hard to point out the baby parts to Race.
Vonna: There's the head and body and legs. Can you see the baby, Race?
Race: ...no...
Mark: OK, here's the face. See this is the nose, and this is the mouth. Can you see the face?
Race: (getting excited) It looks like a cobra!
we laugh and switch to a different image
Race: (pointing at the baby's head) Yeah, see, it looks like a cobra head rising out of the water!
To me, the images of the baby are so clear. To a highly imaginative six year old, apparently it's not the same.
The Second Story
Sunday evening I talked on the phone with my mother. She told me about getting a really good discounted price on a handmade, gold-leafed, Swarovski-crystal-decorated picture frame. (We're talking $90 instead of $300+.) She said its basic color is a pretty green and she decided she'd use it to hold a picture of her first grandchild.
After she got home from work that day, she told my father about purchasing the frame. She said he surprised her by bugging her to show him the frame. When she finally pulled it out, he ran into his office and returned carrying a print-out he'd made of one of the ultrasound images.
Mom: (laughing) Oh, Brian! Not one of those!
Dad: Why not?
Mom: Well... it's too big. It won't fit.
Dad: We can trim it.
I believe at that point, my Dad started folding the paper down to a size that would fit in the frame. Mom went on to tell me that Dad's printer isn't that great, and you could barely tell what the image was.
Mom: You could see the words and this fan shape, but inside it was just light and dark blobs. On the screen, you can tell what it is. On that, you couldn't tell what anything was.
I find that story so sweet, it makes me tear up whenever I think about it. I hope Mom lets him keep an ultrasound picture in the frame until the baby is born and we can get some real photos.