Friday, June 6, 2008

Ultrasound Scenes

I had my last ultrasound visit a little over a week ago (at least the last official one anyway!) and all appears to be in order at this point... I've hit my 32nd week, folks, and my Little Bean is apparently already "in position" -- meaning, his/her little head is down below, bum is up in the air, and legs are curled underneath. Ready to go, when the time is right -- now it's all a question of patience! And we're talking probably eight more weeks of patience, unless my wee one wants to come into the world a little early -- which I wouldn't mind all that much, as long as it's not too early! I'm still feeling movements like crazy, at certain times of the day, and it's entertaining to try to figure out exactly what's going on in there: was that an an elbow? A kick? Yikes, I feel this strong pressure pushing up into my diaphragm, and the doctor told me that's probably when the little guy is pushing up on his bottom! This often seems to happen when I go to the movies, strangely enough, and I can't help but wonder if the baby's trying to tell me that it's TOO.LOUD.OUT.THERE! (All the sound resonating from the speakers and stuff...)

Then again, I've been thinking a lot about something one of my colleagues here at work told me: she said that in fact it's apparently pretty noisy in the womb, and that when the baby is born, he/she is used to lots of sound, sort of white noise, and that you don't necessarily have to be super-quiet when the baby is sleeping, because the baby kind of LIKES noise. She said that sometimes a hairdryer can help a newborn go back to sleep! An interesting thought, really... And one I actually observed at a cocktail party I attended last Sunday, where a three-week-old newborn slept soundly on the sofa while more than 20-30 people buzzed and chattered around him. It was pretty impressive.

Some of my most memorable moments from my ultrasound visits date back a few months, but I love bringing them to mind and I thought it might be a good idea to record them here, so I can come back and read and remember one day -- especially given my terrible memory in general! Early in my pregnancy, maybe somewhere around the 4th month, my boy sent me a text message as I was on my way to visit my OB/GYN; he couldn't go with me that day as he had to work. His message read: "You give her my cell phone number and she send me a texto saying if it's a girl or a guy" HA! He so wanted to know, right from the beginning, whereas I wanted it to be a surprise... And of course it was too soon at that point anyway, so I had to quickly type back that he was going to have to wait... He's so HILARIOUS sometimes, especially the way he phrases things. My boyfriend loves speaking English and learning new words, so anytime we watch movies together he's constantly asking me to explain things -- which can be cute and/or a pain in the butt, depending on how you look at it -- and whether I've ever seen the movie before myself!

So of course the day the echographe asked us if we wanted to know the sex, I shook my head vehemently, and my boy tapped the doctor on his shoulder from behind -- he held up two slips of paper on which he had scribbled the symbols for male and female; I scolded him and muttered that the doctor probably had his own way of doing things. But thank goodness the ultrasound doctor was such a good sport -- he chuckled, leaned back a bit, and once he figured out what my boy had drawn, he pointed to the one slip of paper... A huge smile spread across my boy's face, and from that moment on he looked like the cat that swallowed the canary. He was so PROUD of that secret! I of course thought he was going to give it away in a heartbeat, or at least tell his family, but he's tried pretty hard to keep it to himself -- aside from one little slip that I'm not convinced was unintentional. As a matter of fact, I'm still not sure if he slipped up or was trying to confuse me on purpose. So let's just say that I have an inkling, but I'm still not definitely sure! And most people think I'm crazy, but I've just always wanted my first baby to be a bit of a surprise.

Two months after that visit we went back to see this doctor again so he could take a bunch of official measurements to find out if everything was on track. As he went through all the necessary steps, he recorded notes on a file in front of him and took snapshots with the machine. He checked the baby's heartbeat, the blood flow, etc... As my baby stubbornly refused to turn around and show his/her face, the doctor had to push around on my belly a bit to get the baby to move. He managed to measure the baby's nose and upper lip in profile, and commented that the baby's size was just a little above average, explaining that if ten expectant moms had been in the waiting room, only three would have babies bigger than mine (how do you react to THAT?!). I think he was trying to reassure us, as so many people had been commenting on how small my belly seemed, and how small the baby "must" be if my belly isn't so big... But he said that this wasn't a true indicator of the baby's size. At this point, my boy leaned over again and asked, deadpan, but with a twinkle in his sye, "Well, are you able to tell if the baby's nose is above average in size?" I had to swallow back a guffaw -- my boy is extremely sensitive about his nose and has this fear that the baby will inherit it... Ah, talk about entertainment!

A few days ago, I woke up one morning to find my boy holding his hand on my belly. It was FAR too early to be awake -- we're talking crack-of-dawn before the sun is up early here -- and I was struggling to get another hour's worth of sleep. Half-awake, all of a sudden I felt a prominent kick in my belly and I said, "Hey, did you feel that?" And my boy said, "Are you kidding me? This little guy's been moving around like crazy for ages now! I don't know how you can SLEEP with all that activity going on inside of you!"

It was so cute, and my heart just melted... It's moments like these that I hope I'll remember forever.

14 comments:

PutYourFlareOn said...

It is so good of you to write them down because you know when the baby comes you will be very, very busy. I know you have heard this from everyone else. I tried to write down everything the first year, even the bad stuff because it's hard being a mama and somehow we have selective memory when it comes to certain stuff. But I wanted to remember everything and I am really glad I took time to type it out. Trust me, you will have late nights and sometimes sitting at the computer with the baby sleeping on your chest will happen. Probably more than you think.

I'm so excited for you! I hope I will get to see you before baby bean makes his/her appearance. if not then I hope I will most definitely get to meet baby bloom and mama?!

Jennifer said...

I'm so glad things are going so well. reading your post brings back the excitement and anticipation of those days right before Paul arrived! You're getting so close!

The Inside Skinny Girl said...

A word (from a non-Mom) about the baby being able to sleep through noise: this is correct and most babies, especially the newborns, will be able to sleep through nearly anything at least in the beginning, and from what other mothers have told me and from what I've witnessed, it's seems better NOT to get them too accustomed to a silent environment for sleeping because there will always be noises "out there". I think the ones who can sleep through anything tend to be calmer and less nervous kids, too. So don't feel you need to "shhhh" yourselves when the baby needs to sleep.

Eight weeks (give or take) to go... how excited you both must be. I'll be in NJ (getting hitched!) when your big day happens but will be watching your blog for announcements. Big hugs to you in the meantime!

Marianne said...

Wow that is SO sweet, he sounds like a very lovely man indeed. So nice to hear nice stories about pregnancy as it's something I worry about feeling very weird when the time comes. Good luck with these last few weeks x M

Megan said...

how funny. Have a great last couple of weeks! I was born a month early (mainly because my mom picked up the dog a few days before) Ah well. I came out a little yellow (jaundice) but it was okay.
I wouldn't be able to stand not knowing if my partner did. And I wouldn't be able to keep it a secret if I knew and he didn't!

y.Wendy.y said...

Reading about your pregnancy and those special moments makes me feel all squidgy inside. I don't often think back to my pregnancies but when I do, I remember it exactly as you describe.

Anonymous said...

That's really interesting about the baby and noise, I didn't know that. I remember reading once Courtney Love talking about how Frances Bean would have been hearing all these muffled guitar riffs in the womb...

I was smiling reading about your boyfriend's way of finding out the sex, very funny and well done on him for not giving it away, I would never be able to keep such a secret!

screamish said...

32 weeks???? how did THAT happen?

you must be sooo excited....

ashtanga en cevennes said...

meep! Oh gosh, that made me cry...

The Late Bloomer said...

Hi Aimée! Thanks so much for your sweet comment. You know, I've been so impatient to get out to your café, and if all goes well I hope to make it either later this week or next week. Originally I was hoping to make it with Jenn C. tomorrow, but as it turns out it isn't the best day for her, so we're going to try to reschedule for next week sometime. I have so much to think about in the weeks to come, and to be honest with you, I'm a bit frustrated with myself and my boy for not having planned things out better, but I'm hoping all will work out for the best! We're a bit unprepared, but we're excited -- so here's hoping that we'll pull things together in the end! As much as possible anyway...

I'm also planning on going to K&K's picnic this Saturday, if all goes well, so I'm hoping to catch up with everyone there!

Jennifer, how are things on your end? I need to drop you an e-mail -- I owe SO MANY e-mails, and that's something else I hope to catch up on while at home on maternity leave. Starting tomorrow! Are you guys heading back to the U.S. really soon? I want to get something in the mail to you before you leave!

Lisa, thanks for your words of encouragement too. I know your big day is fast approaching, and I can only imagine how happy and excited you must feel! I'm of course following all your developments on your blog as well, so we'll mutually keep in touch!

Marianne, thanks for your comment -- my boyfriend can be adorable at times, of course (otherwise what would I be doing with him, right?! ;-)). But like all men, he also sometimes drives me crazy!! The last couple days have been a bit frustrating, but I'm trying to focus on the positive. I know, like Aimée said, that we sometimes have selective memory, but at the same time, I don't want to note down too many of the tough moments in our relationship, because as aware I am of reality, I'm also trying to look to the future with as much positive optimism as possible!

Megan, I figured it was only fair to let my boyfriend experience the pregnancy as he wanted to, and not to insist on anything or force him to wait -- it's his first child too, and I wanted him to be as excited as I am! Which he is. The fact that we're experiencing it differently isn't necessarily a bad thing, and I hope in fact it will help us to grow together. He helps me to see a lot of the brighter sides when I'm feeling low or negative. And he was just so excited to find out the sex! Whereas somehow I just always wanted it to be a surprise. A very personal thing, I guess!

Wendy, you're BACK again! So happy to see you around. Thanks for coming by to see me. I need to stop in and leave you some comment love too! Don't worry -- I'll be by soon...

R, yeah the noise thing surprised me too -- but trust me, I have SO MUCH to learn! And again, I'm hoping these last few weeks at home will give me an opportunity to dig deeper in my reading, as well as just to relax. And do some housecleaning too. I haven't been "nesting" as much as I think I should!!

Screamish, "excited" yes I think -- but also REALLY nervous!!

Joy S., I owe you an e-mail too -- I promise to get on it ASAP! And yes, my boy can be a cutie, thank goodness. Helps me forget those tough moments!

Unknown said...

Hey - congrats!!! That's so exciting! My little one just made an appearance 2 weeks ago! Get lots of sleep now as well as quality time with your other half!

Riana Lagarde said...

soon you will have that bundle of love in your arms (and yes, the hairdryer, vacuum and tv on snow worked great to get baby to sleep at the begining and walking around in a sling) i am so excited for you!!! hang in there, it will go so quickly!

Linda said...

My daughter in law just had her fourth baby. While she was pregnant with him, the other three were doing their thing, mainly be very noisy. The baby would jump or kick if the noise level got too high but now that he is born, he sleeps through everything. I am amazed. His big brother was screaming about something and the baby didn't even move.

leon's life said...
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