There was no way I was leaving my husband to go pack my stuff back at school. I would pay someone to do it for me if I had to. Thankfully, Steve and Hannah told me to consider it a wedding present. Calvin planned to get right back into the swing of work, he’d taken a lot of time off over the last few weeks. He said he didn’t feel right making everyone cover his shifts. After bribing him with a couple’s photo shoot with Mary, he also agreed to cut back on his days on the sales floor. It was one area he agreed to compromise on. His goals in life no longer revolved around being top salesman. He would take the mid-week shifts and let the new guys take the busier days, he would serve as their back up instead of it being the other way around.
Monday morning, I contacted the OB/GYN clinic I’d be referred to and got an appointment for Wednesday afternoon. It was the earliest ultrasound appointment they had and since I hadn’t experienced any signs of miscarrying, it was the best I could get.
By Tuesday night, I had almost caved to Calvin whining about wanting to tell everyone. Orgasms weren’t enough to make me give in. I was still puking once or twice a day and now my boobs were tender and swelling by the day. If this pregnancy wasn’t going to survive it was going to crush me, but I wasn’t willing to give up, no matter what.
Walking into the clinic Wednesday afternoon was nerve-wracking because technically, I had already had my first pregnancy appointment but this clinic was repeating the whole process. Pee in a cup, blood draw, naked from the waist down with a paper sheet covering me up; sitting with my heart trying to beat out of my chest. Having Cal by my side was the only thing keeping me from pacing, I hadn’t been running at all since I’d first found out about the pregnancy.
When a young woman came into the ultrasound room, I expected her to be a tech or something. I was shocked when she introduced herself as Dr. Donna. When Cal quickly questioned her age and ability, she clarified that she is actually much older than she looks. She joked that we could look at her driver’s license if we wanted. She guaranteed she was at least 15 years older than me. She was personable, which relaxed both of us and, given our experience thus far, it was exactly what we needed.
She told us, “I have already reviewed your patient file from Western State clinic. If you haven’t noticed, I asked my staff to treat you as a first-time pregnancy visit. Which means I would like to perform an internal ultrasound. At this stage in pregnancy it is often difficult to see the tiny bugger and an internal ultrasound is usually the most effective. Are you ready?”
We both nodded as Cal helped me lay back on the exam table. She then talked me through everything she was doing. This time, rather than looking away from the screen, neither Cal nor I could take our eyes off it. One of the first things that was different than the last one was the sound. It wasn’t until I heard the loud swishing sounds, that I realized our last one didn’t have any sound. Dr. Donna pulled me from my thoughts as she asked, “Do you hear that? That is the beautiful sound of your baby’s heart beat.”
It was only then that I pulled my eyes away from the screen to glance at her to make sure I heard her correctly. I then turned to look at my husband, who had tears rolling down his face faster than I could wipe away. Smiling at him caused my own tears to tip out. I couldn’t understand his mumbled words through his tears, but I spoke mine loud and clear, “Thank you Mom, thank you Dad, and Sophia, and Grandma, and Grandpa; I feel you guys, I know you’re up there helping me. Helping us.”
Dr. Donna quietly continued the ultrasound, clicking away and printing several black and white images for us to keep. She confirmed for us that our baby was growing just fine; estimated due date of August 25, 2017. We just found out extremely early that we were pregnant. She gave us the welcome to pregnancy packet: water bottle, What to Expect when Expecting, dos and don’ts for eating and exercise, and a million pamphlets about pregnancy. On our way out, she had us schedule our next appointment for a month out.
Giddy isn’t the right word for what either of us was feeling. Elated beyond anything I have ever felt before. I couldn’t help it, my hands instinctively went to my stomach. The most precious thing in my whole world rested there. Without words, Cal’s hand joined mine as he gently kissed the point of my shoulder and whispered, “You have given me more than I ever deserved. You are both my world, I will die trying to protect you both. Thank you, Sierra. Thank you for choosing me. I love you.”
We sat in the parking lot soaking in the news. I knew the next topic needed to be when and how we’d tell everyone. We knew that Hannah and Steve would be home Saturday. I figured we could wait until then to tell everyone. Of course, Cal wanted to shout it from the rooftop, but I quickly convinced him that if we waited it would give us time to have cool announcement gifts made. My man liked to shop, so it was fairly easy to convince him. He took me to a gourmet home and kitchen store, which had a baby section in the back that I quickly decided was going to be my favorite place to shop. They had the cutest, softest baby clothes and completely impractical baby stuff. Apparently, Cal didn’t care if it was practical, he wanted to be the first person to buy our baby something. He picked a beautiful yellow and gray fuzzy blanket. The saleswoman suggested we look in at the established items when she discovered what we were shopping for. They carry: coffee cups, picture frames, t-shirts, baby outfits; you name it they had it. So, just like that, we ordered each person their own coffee mug, personalized with their title, name, and established in August 2017.
Keeping Calvin’s mouth shut was tricky. Lots of sexual favors took place over the next three days. Surprisingly, blow jobs did not trigger bouts of puking. I still haven’t figured out what triggers that. It doesn’t matter if I eat or not, I’ve been puking at least once a day. Usually in the afternoon, which confuses me since it’s called morning sickness. Oh well, I am still looking at it as a sign of a strong pregnancy, which makes it all bearable.