Maternity Clothes and the Beloved Dr S

I bought a few pieces of maternity clothing today. A few pair of shorts and some belly shirts. I haven't taken the tags off yet. That's too big of a step so far. I have yet to locate affordable belly undies so I've had to content myself with buying my usual panties in the next size up. At least it doesn't cut off my circulation at the groin. At this early stage I am already so swollen that sitting on the toity for more than a minute has my right leg going numb. Then the shooting pains and tingles start. It's really rather difficult to pee when you have to balance on a narrow seat with one leg stuck straight out in front!

I took The Youngest over to visit The Other Mommy and then set out with The Oldest for Dr S's office. I'd been telling her for a week that she and I were going on a special field trip, just she and I. She was thinking Magic Mountain or Lego Land and I kept telling her that it wasn't anything wildly fun like that, and that it was right here in town, so not to get her hopes up. It was going to be special, just not a wildly fun and exciting thing.

I pulled into the medical complex and she asked "This is where we're going? But you don't work here anymore." I say yes, we're going in to that building over there, and no I don't work here anymore. We get all the way into the doctors office waiting room and sit down. There are baby related magazines everywhere, but she still hasn't caught on. She asks a few more questions. Are you dying? No. Are you sick? No. Why are we here? You'll see in a little while.

Then a lady comes out with a long strip of ultra-sound prints. The Oldest looks at the prints and recognition sets in. She's seen these fuzzy black and white photo strips before. She turns to me all squinty eyed and proclaims, "You are sneaky! You are very, very sneaky!" But there's a smile trying to break through that accusing look!

The gal calls us in before there are any more questions from The Oldest. I drop my drawers and hop onto the table and the tech gets right to work smearing my belly with goo and sliding the probe around. I show The Oldest what to look for on the big LCD screen above the exam table, describing body parts of her newly discovered baby brother or sister. The tech puts audio up so she can hear the heartbeat with the jumping yellow line. She's looking at the screen and I am looking at her. I think she's going to cry. Her eyes are all watery and about to spill over. Instead, she lays her cheek next to mine and says simply, "Oh Mommy!"

Then Dr S comes in and he tries very hard to see the nuchal fold behind the baby's neck. He can't get it because the baby is active but will not turn to show the space. We discuss the test and I opt not to have it because the accuracy isn't that good. I'd planned on having an amnio anyway, so why wait weeks in fear for false results. I should have been alarmed that he was so intent on getting the baby to move. He repeatedly bounced the probe on my belly trying to get him to move. Then he'd go on to something else, describe what he was looking at for the The Oldest, and then go back to try to see that nuchal space again. I think my beloved Dr S already suspected that there was a secret Our Newest was hiding. He said the heart rate was just fine and that there was no immediate concern for the baby's well being. I've had only a minor weight gain. He says he wants the stitch placed within two weeks and the amnio done in four weeks. It's sooner rather than later, but he said we want to proceed with the utmost caution and he feels sooner is best. I'll be 14 1/2 weeks for the stitch, 16 1/2 weeks for the amnio.

We left with pictures of the baby and drove through McDonald's for ice cream cones. She has more questions. Does Daddy know about this? Who else knows? Are you excited? I can't believe you're pregnant Mom! I knew it! I just knew it. You lied to me! So I pull over into a parking spot and explain about losing Hannah. I tell her quite honestly that we didn't want her to know about this baby in case he or she didn't make it. She's satisfied with the answer and goes on to say several more times, "I just can't believe you're pregnant!" We went to pick up The Youngest and got home right as The Dear Daddy was getting home. Of course she was anxious to show The Dear Daddy the pictures, but she also wanted to keep our little secret from the Youngest for a little while. She was just about to bust before she got to show them to him!