"I Can Feel Your Heartbeat"

On Wednesday I went to UNC for my first appointment with the OB-GYN. I met with a nurse who I LOVED! She was so nice and listened carefully to everything I had to say. I gave them more blood (what are they doing with all of this blood? I think my doctors may really be Cullens in disguise...) and got a tour of the facilities. I was able to see where my doctor appointments would be and where I would be actually having this baby. It was great.

Just as I was leaving, the nurse asked if I had a few minutes. She said that although I was only there for an introductory visit, she had time to take a listen for the baby's heartbeat, if I wanted. At that moment, I may or may not have told her that I loved her. I hopped up on the table, she put some goop on my belly, and we listened.... and listened.... and listened. All we could hear was my stupid heartbeat at 75 beats per minute. We couldn't hear the baby. She told me not to freak out. She said that at 14 weeks, my uterus is huge and the baby is small. She said sometimes the baby is in a position that makes the heartbeat hard to find.

I smiled, nodded, and thanked her for trying. Internally, I was absolutely freaking out. I was wishing she hadn't offered to let me hear the heartbeat. Ugh. It was a bad feeling.

I was able to keep it together because I had a secret. I knew that in just a few days I would be receiving my very own “Elite HearTones Baby Doppler w/ Digital Display” delivered right to my door. This little device is designed to allow parents-to-be to listen to their baby’s heartbeat in the comfort of their own home. We got ours on Friday:

It didn’t take long to find our little baby’s heartbeat (all 12 times we have done it...). I can't describe the piece of mind that this little investment has given me. It is so cool to hear that heart beating. It is so fast! 160 BPM. I have heard that there is an old wives’ tale that a faster beat means it’s a girl. I’ll go with that.

4th grade parenting advice of the day: “Block off corners (but not with bubble wrap because it’s fun to pop, and once it is popped, it is not so helpful).”

Here is the cheesy Partridge Family song for which this particular blog post was named: