Chapter 18
First thing Tuesday morning, I called Mr. Thomas, who had of course already heard what happened. He assured me that my job was safe and offered his sincerest condolences. He also insisted that I take the rest of the week off. What the hell? If I didn’t know better, I’d swear he had talked to Mychal.
Mychal took the day off to stay home with me.
Now, it’s Wednesday. He had a meeting first thing in the morning but, wants to pick me up for our appointment as opposed to just meeting there. I love how involved he already is.
He texts me to tell me he is on his way to pick me up. I cannot contain my excitement as I meet him outside. We arrive at our appointment about fifteen minutes early. I sign in and get started on my paperwork right away. The fact that Mychal is here proves to be helpful as I am filling out the family history information for his side. When the nurse calls my name, I still have not finished. She is quick to assure me I will have plenty of time to complete it before Dr. Mason joins us.
I pee in a cup, get weighed and, have all my vitals taken. Once the nurse has asked all the needed questions, she leaves us to finish and wait.
And we wait.
Waiting is not my forte. Mychal laughs at me as I impatiently swing my legs.
“What? I’m bored... and you, are not nice.” I pretend to pout.
“You are so cute. Being impatient isn’t going to get her in here any quicker.” He continues to laugh.
Dr. Mason softly knocks and enters the room, just as I’m looking for something to throw at him.
“Well, good morning, Piper.” She smiles at me before looking over to Mychal. “I’m guessing, this is the happy father-to-be?”
Mychal’s face lights up. “Yes, ma’am. I’m Mychal.”
“It’s good to meet you, Mychal.” She returns her attention to me.
“So, we had a positive test after all?” She inquires as she reviews my notes in her laptop.
“Yes.”
“I’m curious, why did you wait so long to retest.”
“I don’t know. I guess I was in denial. I was under a lot of stress, I thought that was why my period hadn’t come.”
“I see. Well, the good news is you’re here now. We need to get you started on your prenatal vitamins immediately. I’d also like to do an ultrasound.”
“Will we get those little pictures?”
“We should be able to get a few.” She smiles. “I need you to change into this gown while I go get the ultrasound machine.”
“Don’t I just need to raise my shirt, so you can move that thing around my stomach?”
“Um, no, that type of ultrasound is a couple months away yet. At this stage in your pregnancy, we need to do a transvaginal ultrasound.” The alarm must be clear on my face as she is quick to reassure me. “Don’t worry, it’s not as scary as it sounds. And Mychal can stay with you the entire time. Now, I’ll let you get changed and I’ll be right back.”
Once she’s out of the room, I remove my clothes and put on my fancy gown. Mychal moves his chair closer to the bed, grabbing my hand. I feel myself freaking out, my anxiety peaking. “I don’t know if I can do it.”
“What’s wrong, Baby?” He rubs his thumb over my knuckles, attempting to calm me.
“Mychal, that ultrasound, transvaginal… just the sound of it is freaking me out… not to mention the fact I had to take my clothes off.”
“Try to relax. I’m right here with you, I’m not going anywhere. It will be over before we know it, and we might get to see our baby.”
I lean back trying to calm my racing heart.
It does not take long for Dr. Mason to return, wheeling her equipment in on a cart. After going to the sink and washing her hands, she returns with gloves on. Holding up, what to me resembles a vibrator. “This is what will help us try to see your baby. While it will be uncomfortable, it shouldn’t hurt. I need you to put your feet up as if we were getting ready for a pap test, then try to relax as much as possible. Once I get an image of your baby, we will get some measurements and pictures for you.”
I do as she asks, feeling awkward and holding on to Mychal’s hand as tightly as I can. Once she preps the vibrator-looking thing, I feel her push it inside me. Feeling myself tense, I force myself to focus on why we are here, trying to relax. This is so embarrassing.
I try to ignore the foreign object that is being moved around inside me as I hear Dr. Mason tapping on the keyboard. A few moments later, she turns the monitor enough that the three of us can all see it. “Do you see this right here?” She asks using the mouse pointer to circle a specific area.
“Yeah.” I feel my excitement growing.
“That’s your baby.” She smiles, continuing to tap away on the keyboard. “I’m just going to get some measurements really quick.”
I look over to Mychal who is not moving his eyes from the monitor. He is captivated by the screen and he looks so happy.
I hear Dr. Mason click something on the machine and a strange noise fills the room.
“That is your baby’s heartbeat.”
“Really?” I say on barely a whisper. I am overcome with emotion. I savor the sound filling not only my ears, but my heart as well. I don’t even realize I am crying until I feel Mychal brush away my tears.
I see his own tears, as he leans in to kiss me, saying, “I love you.” Just loud enough for me to hear.
I could lie hear listening to that sound forever. Mychal, thinking more quickly than myself asks, “Dr. Mason, do you mind if I capture the sound with my phone before you turn it off, please?”
She seems more than happy to oblige us, even turning the volume up to assure he gets it clearly.
The ultrasound ends much too quickly. Before we know it, our baby’s heartbeat no longer fills the room and its image no longer fills the screen.
She said the baby is measuring perfectly. Taking into consideration, the first day of my last period and the date that Mychal and I believe we conceived, she estimates our due date to be June 23rd. She explained that we are considered seven weeks plus four days from gestation, but we are five weeks plus four days from conception. This is so confusing to me.
“So, I guess I just don’t get how we can be over seven weeks, if we didn’t conceive until two weeks after that.”
“I know it’s confusing; for what it’s worth, the seven weeks is just for medical purposes used to determine how far along a woman is when she doesn’t know when she conceived. We know that your baby is almost six weeks.” She smiles at me. “That means, I want to see you once a month, as long as there are no problems. And about fourteen weeks from now, we will do another ultrasound. At that time, should you choose, we may be able to determine your baby’s gender.”
After thanking her for everything, she tells us she sent the prescription for prenatal vitamins to my pharmacy, and I need to begin them right away. She gives me a list of recommended dos and don’ts before saying goodbye and leaving me to change.
The door no more than closes, and Mychal has me in his arms. “That was amazing. Seeing our baby, hearing it… makes everything all more real.”
“I know! Thank you for being here with me. I still can’t believe we have pictures of our little heart.”
“Our little heart?” He’s smiling at me with his hand on my stomach.
“Yeah.” I say, feeling my face turn red. “Your last name is Hartley, so the baby is our little heart… until we can give him or her a more proper name.”
“I love it.” He brushes his lips softly at my temple, then quietly says, “One day I hope your last name will be Hartley, as well.”