Lookin' For A Heartbeat!

We got it! This afternoon, we heard little Peanut's heartbeat at our 13 week checkup. Our appointment was at 4:15, but we didn't get to see Dr. Nakanishi until 5:45. Taylor was laying on the table and I was fuming mad. I am sure now that I was so upset because I was anxious to know our baby was okay. Taylor has been having such bad nausea, I wanted to make sure everything was tiptip for her and the pregnancy.

Dr. Nakanishi concurred that the fact Taylor has not gained any weight (in fact, she has lost 3 pounds since the last visit) is completely normal in the early parts of a pregnancy. She suggested if the weightloss continues or becomes drastic, only then do we need to worry. As for the nausea, it could let up tomorrow or not for another month. We won't know until it stops.

I was expecting a large machine like an ultrasound to hear the heartbeat, but instead Dr. Nakanishi pulled out a little machine the size of a cell phone or a walkie talkie. She put the gel on Taylor's stomach and my face was inches away from it. She searched around the lower stomach for what felt like minutes while we heard static and the occasionaly bleep or bloop. I heard several sounds I was convinced were the heartbeat but never repeated. In this "eternity" I began to feel nervous. Had we told everyone too soon? Was, God forbid, something wrong?

And then, the steady whoompf, whoompf, whoompf sound of our child's heartbeat. It was steady and I didn't register the sound at first. Then, the doctor moved the monitor a quarter of an inch to the left and the sound intensified. A loud, steady 160 beat per minute heartbeat of our Peanut. I felt the tears well in the back of my eyes and all the time waiting for this moment in frustration disappeared. I can still hear the sound in my mind and it is the most beautiful sound I have ever heard. Even as I write this, I am getting teary.

The doctor prescribed Reglan for Taylor. It is an anti-nausea medication that she can take up to three times a day. Dr. Nakanishi gave Taylor a 10 day supply. Hopefully, that won't be necessary.

The next appointment is April 11, and just a standard check up I do not need to attend. They will draw blood for the Down's Syndrome screening test then and give us the form for our ultrasound. That will be in the fifth month.

Until then, I will dream of the whoompf, whoompf, whoompf of the little Life inside Taylor. Our little Peanut has a strong heart.