We went for our second sonogram on Halloween. Definitely more of a treat than a trick! The first sonogram didn't yield any pictures, and was just to confirm that the bean was in my uterus where it belonged and not floating somewhere in my abdomen, or, God forbid, in my only fallopian tube. We got that confirmation, but that was all, because it was too soon to see anything else.
This time, there was a little more to see. Not, much, but there it was: the all important heart beat. It was absolutely amazing to see that little flutter on the screen; the still pictures just don't capture it. Nor do they capture the utter joy and relief that Mike and I felt when we saw it. This little bean is alive and beating in there. What a miracle.
We headed off to New Mexico today, to see my folks, and Keri and Sean, and the Albuquerque Balloon Fest. Mike and I went back and forth over whether to tell the family about the pregnancy this soon. Obviously, we wanted our parents to be the first to know. But it just seems so early! We had decided that the rule of thumb should be to only tell the people we would want to have supporting us if we have a miscarriage (God forbid!). And we didn't want to tell around DC until after my January raise kicks in. And to me, it was important to tell people in person, to the extent possible, because I wanted to see the looks on their faces. We had already decided to visit Tampa for Mom's birthday at the end of October, so I arranged to see my parents the following weekend. But we realized the secret would be hard to keep this weekend, especially since I was throwing up and had suddenly become a picky eater. My original vote had been to tell my parents in New Mexico, then tell Mike's when we went to Tampa a few weeks later, but Mike felt it was more important to tell them as close to simultaneously as possible, and I could see his point.
So, we called the Wasyliks from the airport on our way out of town. Mike sprung the news to his Mom just beautifully: "Oh, and by the way, what do you want your grandchild to call you??" We could hear Mom practically jumping up and down. As always, Dad was more reserved; his granchild is apparantly going to call him "Congratulations" if he has his way. It felt so good to share the secret.
We told my folks at dinner that night, over Mexican food. The topic of conversation turned to vacation time, and I asked my Mom if she had enough vacation to take a large hunk of June off. Why? Well, to come meet your grandchild! Keri's half of the table missed the big news at first; we had to repeat it. And explain to little Sean.
We swore them all to secrecy, though -- we wanted to tell Denny and Katie and my grandmother and the rest of the family ourselves.
There wasn't all that much to see (they didn't even bother giving us a printout), but what a relief to see that the little embryo was in my uterus, not anywhere it oughtn't be. It was too early for a heartbeat, but there was a fetal pole and yolk sac, which is the best we can hope for at this stage. All clear to travel. It made things a little more real, that's for sure!
Because we had our trip to New Mexico scheduled, and because Dr. M. said to come in as soon as I knew I was pregnant, we went to see him today. The nurse was a little surprised -- she couldn't understand why we were bothering to come in so early on! -- but Dr. M. was absolutely great. He brought Mike and I into his office, introduced himself to Mike, and talked with us for about 20 minutes. He didn't make me feel like an obsessive loon for coming in so early, especially when I explained about the scheduled trip. To play it safe, he got us fit in to have an ultrasound first thing tomorrow morning to ensure that the baby is in the uterus where it belongs, and has not taken up residence in my only fallopen tube or some other place where it doesn't belong and could cause a danger to me or my future fertility. Wish us luck there. Mike, God bless him, got to witness his very first pelvic exam. He was a trooper.
I've started throwing up in the morning, and feeling nausea all day. My secretary has already figured it out; she confronted me as I walked into my office with yet another can of ginger ale. My response: "If I say yes, will you help me stem the tide of the rumor mill until I am ready to tell?" She giddily agreed.
I am taking this sickness as a positive thing. Logically, I know that one can of course have a perfectly healthy pregnancy without being sick. Call me crazy, but I like the physical sign that my hormones are changing the way they are supposed to be. I will gladly be as sick as sick can be if it means a healthy baby in 9 months!