The First Ultrasound

One of the many frustrating waits during pregnancy is the wait for your first doctor's appointment. You have all the symptoms, you've taken at least one test, but it doesn't really feel official until someone in a white coat has signed off on the fact that you're actually expecting. So as soon as you "pass" your pregnancy test, you excitedly call up the doctor's office only to be told that "We don't see patients until they are at least eight weeks along."

I know that there are medically valid reasons for this--if something were to go wrong at this stage there's nothing they can do. When it's your first pregnancy though, it can be a little unsettling to go through the first two months of pregnancy without any medical guidance at all.

When the big day finally arrived I was crazy with excitement. I found out that my medical practice does an ultrasound at the first appointment, so I knew I'd get to see my baby right then. I wasn't expecting to see much more than a blob on the screen, so I was really surprised to see that I could see head, body, arms, legs, and a heartbeat! He was moving around like crazy in there too which I was shocked to see so early. The images they sent home with us were pretty blurry, but seeing it live was clearer than I expected it to be.

Seeing him move and hearing the heartbeat, it made it seem very real. I was relieved to see how vital he was!