The First Appointment

Wow!! What an incredible day yesterday! Amanda and I had our first appointment with the ObGyn...well, actually Amanda had her first appointment with the ObGyn...I was just the amazed and awe-struck bystander while she went through the initial examination. The overall outcome of the exam is that Amanda and the baby are doing just fine. Please note I said baby, not babies...meaning there is only one child on the way. That's just fine with me! I'd prefer to take this one step (and baby) at a time, thank you very much! Here are a couple of the ultrasound pictures. There are four others...if you're interested in seeing them, please let me know and I'd be glad to send them all to you:




As you would expect, it's rather difficult to pick out too many details this early in the pregnancy. It may help to know that the baby's head is pointed down toward the bottom of the pictures. The baby is 1.8 centimeters (or just under 3/4 of an inch) long in these pictures. The doctor made an excellent size approximation...the baby is about the size of a gummy bear right now. The highlight of the visit was being able to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. After hearing that, it took Amanda and me a long time to wipe the smiles off our faces! It's a very fast heartbeat compared to an adult (172 beats per minute)....and using the ultrasound wand, it sounds like rapid "whoosh"ing. It was amazing!!

The doctor has approximated the due date to be March 25th...which is pretty much in line with our initial thought of mid to late March. The next appointment will be in four weeks on September 14th. I'll keep everyone posted as events occur and situations arise, but if you have any specific questions, feel free to post 'em and I'll be happy to answer them! Y'all take care!