The Peanut

I had my first ultrasound this morning. I was excited and anxious all at once. All I wanted to know was after this journey, was it in the right place and did it have a heartbeat. Those were the only things that really mattered to me at that point.

My husband came with me. It was a great moment for both of us. When the assistant showed us to the room, she told me to undress from the waist down. Pretty normal I guess, but not really to my husband. "What are they going to do?" I replied, "I have no idea. I've never done this before." I've been to my usual appointments, but this was not like any of those. This was for all the peanuts.

As I lay on the table, I cannot recall what was going through my mind. I didn't know what to think or expect. I also never understood the paper robes/cloths they gave you to wear. My doctor came into the room and I think that was when I thought, "is my bladder empty" or "here we go."

As she sat down, she used the ultrasound wand and the husband and I watched the monitor. There it was. I couldn't believe it. In the right place and everything! She told me to lie still so we could listen to the heartbeat. When we heard it, we finally understood when we would hear our friends talk about hearing that heartbeat for the very first time. We too were experiencing that moment. The husband thought it sounded like a train; I thought Celo Green was in there beat-boxing. About 1 inch big and had a beat per minute (BPM) of 177. The husband and I looked at one another when she told us. That's around the BPM of our greyhound! But there it was, in all it's glory!



I was at a loss for words when we left. We scheduled the next appointment and we were on our way. As I write this, I don't think that I've stopped shaking. It was one of my most happiest moments.