"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

Ah, the most beautiful sound in the world to my ears. "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...", strong, steady, and sounding healthy.

Brian met me at the OB/GYN's office for a 4:00 pm appointment on Wednesday (1/6/10). He took an hour out of his study time "just in case" we were able to hear the heartbeat today. :) Good move, hubby.

Overall it was a quickie appoinment. We went in, did the usual routine with the "sample" they need, were led to an exam room and waited for Dr. Smith to come in to see us. Dr. Smith came in, asked how I was feeling, etc. I told him that lately I've been very tired and have had a few dizzy spells. He told me this was normal and that likely it was a mix of the pregnancy and starting my new (much more active) job.

I've also been getting a dull, muscle strain type pain on my right side next to my navel. After some research, and talking to some formerly preggo friends, it sounds like it's "round ligament pain." Something that I can look forward to throughout the pregnancy. Apparently it can get pretty intense for some people. For me it's just been uncomfortable, but it seems to go away after resting for a bit.

Anyway, back to the appointment. Dr. Smith whipped out the old doppler and said something to the effect of, "Well, if your baby is at all cooperative, we'll be able to hear his or her heartbeat!" He placed the doppler on my lower abdomen, and after a little bit of searching, we heard the strong and steady heartbeat of our little baby Trumpatori.

I'm not going to lie, I got a bit teary-eyed. I looked over at Brian and it seemed to really affect him, too. It was a wonderful and beautiful moment for both of us. I couldn't stop smiling for a good 5 minutes or so.

We didn't ask about the heart rate-- we've heard some old wives' tales about fetal heartrate relating to gender, but it doesn't seem to hold up and we'd rather wait to get a postive gender prediction a little later on.

The next appointment is the NT screening. It's in a week and a half and will entail some bloodwood and an ultrasound to measure the thickness of the back of the baby's neck. The purpose of this is to give us an idea of the probability of some chromosomal abnormalities. The doctor told us that we're "low risk" and that it's not absolutely necessary, but Brian and I have decided that it's in our (and our child's) best interest to know what we might have to plan for. We'll love our baby regardless-- we just want to be prepared for anything (or, as prepared as we can at this point).

I'll keep you posted!