Ok so we’ve survived the initial hormonal onslaught and
changes. The mammary glands have settled
down or we’ve been so accustomed to the incessant ache and growth that we
hardly notice, and then it’s time to attend the first scan filled with
excitement or trepidation or both.
The excitement: Ooooh I can’t wait to see MY baby!
The panic:
Is the baby still there?
Is the baby ok?
What if the
scan shows it has two heads and no limbs???!!!!
We wait in an overflowing waiting room shocked that the
whole world seems to be having babies at the same time and then your name’s called
incorrectly (unless of course you’re called Jane Smith).
Undressed and donning the most unflattering piece of cloth
the hospital tries to pretty up with flowers that lost their colour in millions
of washes, we lie prostrate on the hardest padded bed trying not to rip the
white paper. The Sonographer then
applies lashings of freezing jelly by squirting it onto the bump and an equally
freezing monitor is pressed onto you (often far too hard for comfort) and
voila….there it is…. baby in all its black and white, distorted glory.
It’s now that we’re secretly grateful that the picture’s
explained because the head could easily be mistaken to be the bum particularly
when different sides are shown. Then to
put our worried minds at rest the heartbeat’s shown. Now this thumping mass is beating so fast
you’d think the baby had just done a Zumba dance class, which immediately
causes panic again until eased by the words of the professional stating “It’s a
healthy heart beat.” Phew!
Armed with the black and white photo of the oversize headed,
squashed limbed stranger with pouting lips we’re gripped with the reality that
a real, live someone has taken official, unquestionable residence in our body
and for most of us it feels goooood!
This picture which if we’re really honest is virtually identical
to the millions of other baby scan pictures somehow has an identity that only a
parent and those closely connected to the parent can attest to.
This is My Baby yet to be given its birth name as the first scan can’t
usually detect the gender. So baby My is
forced into the faces of anyone who moves, yet stood or sat still enough to be
subjected to the glory of the inside of our womb and we’re satisfied. Now the evidence exists, we are parents. It’s real!
We have the proof! Baby My is
there and we can’t wait to meet him or her, but for now baby My’s scan picture and
the growing lump in your tummy will suffice.
Let’s meet again on the: I’m about to have the baby blog.
LB xxx
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