Taking Turns

Yes, I am using this post as an excuse to include another picture of our baby boy!

 With everything that is going on lately with the move, work, lodge, and other things, I was looking forward to going to the next doctor appointment to check on our baby. That’s right, I actually had a reason to look forward to a doctor appointment. With our scheduled checkup a little later in the evening, I left the office a little later than usual and called my wife during the commute. It has been, to say the least, a little chaotic for her lately as well and she too was looking forward to hearing our son’s rapid heartbeat.

In the past we have endured prolonged periods in the waiting room so as the first flakes of precipitation brushed across our cheeks we walked into the office a little early and settled in for what we expected to be another long evening. Thankfully we were wrong as before we could even get settled, and certainly to the displeasure of those who were already waiting, we were escorted back to an examining room. Once all the basic vitals were checked, it was time for my wife to lay down and let the baby take over the moment.

As many of you know and have experienced before, hearing your child’s happy heartbeat takes over the moment allowing for everything else that may be going on in your life to disappear for a brief moment. Last night it couldn’t have come at a better time as that one instant, that fleeting flutter of a moment, made much of the thoughts from the previous few days, weeks, and months disappear from our thoughts. It didn’t last long of course but it was enough to get us through the rest of the day and into the night.

In the end, our baby remains healthy and slightly ahead of schedule. That is really all that we want. It just happens to be a bonus that he is already starting to listen to us, sleeping when we need to sleep, and shifting into a different position when needed. Even if he didn’t do any of those things we would still love him just as much as we do now and that, our new reality as parents, continues to be what is getting us both through many tough moments lately. Essentially, baby is already helping to take care of us know before we have to start taking care of him.

And now we wait for the next appointment. While we just had the most recent checkup last night, we are already looking forward to the next one. Before long he will be here and that is when our lives will really change but, for now, we are enjoying the change that he has already had on our lives.

A Long Baby Appointment

Here is your obligatory baby photo for this post (old picture from 20 weeks).

For the past several months we have been seeing the doctor every four weeks to check in and make sure our son is on schedule. Last night was the last appointment in that particular schedule as we will now be heading to the doctor every two or three weeks until our son’s birthday. Thankfully, everything has checked out so far and he is developing close to what the doctor expects (he is actually a week ahead of schedule at this point).

However, while the baby is progressing as planned, the doctor was running late last night… very late. We both made our way to the office a little quicker than expected and checked in at the front desk about twenty five minutes early. Once a couple of seats opened up in the waiting room we settled in for the duration as given the mass of people in the office we knew there was no way that they would be running on time. Our appointment time came and went with little expectation as to when we would be seen.

Jeopardy kept us occupied for a little while but our patience began slowly degrading as Wheel of Fortune gradually killed our brain cells. By the time that show ended there were still a few of us fidgeting in the waiting room and what little patience was left quickly vanished once Dancing With The Stars came on. Honestly, I don’t know how people can watch that show. Fortunately, it wasn’t long after the dancing started when we heard my wife’s name being called and we moved as fast as we could to the examining room.

This change in scenery was met with more waiting as we could hear the doctor and nurses scurrying up and down the hallways like mice trying to escape from a trash can. This was accompanied by the sounds of heartbeats from the adjacent rooms. It was nearly 8:30 when the doctor finally opened the door, listened to the heart rate, took the usual measurements, and answered the couple of questions that we had for her. We discussed the net appointment and were on our way out having waited over two hours for a ten minute appointment.

It was a long night that followed a long day but it was well worth the wait as we were able to once again hear our son and watch him as he kicked wondering why he was being poked and prodded. Like many nights, that is what grounds us. But we also learned the important lesson to never again make a doctor appointment the week of Thanksgiving… I think even the baby was not happy about having to sit in the waiting room so long.

Great Way To End The Work Day

Here is our son beating up mommy!

Yesterday was a busy day at the office with various events and new projects that we have to prepare for. It is a long and sometimes stressful experience but also something that we can be proud of once everything comes to pass. As the long day wound down I slowly packed my bags, closed my computer, headed out the door, and off to my next appointment. These days, these appointment, are ones that I continue looking forward to as the weeks slowly drift by. It is time to check in on the baby.

My wife and I both arrived at the doctor’s office early and after catching up a bit on everything that is going on and discussing the questions that we wanted to ask the doctor we made our way through the doors, checked in, and sat in the waiting room. Every visit there seems to be a certain amount of excitement coupled with a slight hint of nervousness. It is safe to say that the worrying starts before the baby arrives.

It wasn’t long before we were escorted back into an examining room (amid glares from all the pregnant women who were sitting there when we first walked in). After a quick weight and blood pressure check it was time to hear one of the most calming, if not the most calming, sound that we have in our lives at this moment… our son’s heartbeat. It is a sound that fills the room (especially now that it is so much easier to find) and one that makes me look forward to the day when I will finally be able to hold him.

The tranquil moment passed as the nurse headed out the door and we waited for the doctor to appear. Again, a perfect time to make sure we had all our questions ready. The doctor came in, took some measurements, and let us know that our baby boy was perfectly healthy… all tests have come back negative, heart rate is normal, and the measurements are right where they need to be. Essentially, our kid is probably never going to be this ‘normal’ again.

Once we silently reveled in the god news of a quick moment, we began posing all of the questions that we have been reviewing for days. All of the ‘let’s just double check with the doctor’ type of questions. The doctor took her time, answered all of the questions that we had, and let us know about what we should expect during the next appointment in 4 weeks. I’m sure we will have more questions for the doctor upon our return but, for now, everything is progressing as it should and we are looking forward to meeting our happy and healthy (and VERY active) little boy.

Heartbeat

No, not that heartbeat!

We woke up this morning not having to go to work and no detailed schedule ahead of us but with plenty of things that needed to get done the first of which was to drive back home. After a quick breakfast in the lobby we packed everything up, got in the car, and slowly made our way from detour to detour the first of which was up the street from the hotel at Ollie’s Bargain Outlet in Shamokin Dam where we were able to again introduce my parents to someplace new. With a few bargains in our bags and water in hand, we made our way back to the highway so we could make some serious progress.

Having driven on I-80 earlier in the summer I knew we were about 2 ½ hours away from home but, with the only item on our calendar not scheduled until 6:30, we had plenty of time to stop again. This time we got out to stretch at Country Junction in Lehighton. While my wife and I had been their once before, this was again a new place for my parents. Sometimes it is the small interesting places that are the best to stop and stretch at in the middle of a long drive.

The rest of the drive was uneventful and uncongested and as we got closer to the final exit of our trip we made a split decision to go to a restaurant for lunch that we have ever been to, Avenue Kitchen in Villanova. While the food and service was good I couldn’t help but take note of the fact that the check for just lunch (and this was moderately priced for the Main Line) was more than what we spent for lunch and dinner combined the day before during our Knoebels adventure. However, we will be visiting this place again especially since they serve brunch every day until 4.

We got to my parents’ house by midafternoon with plenty of time for us to relax before heading over to the doctor’s office. While it was nice to sit down and just take a bit of time away from work for the day I found myself eager to do something while anticipating the appointment that evening. No surprise, we got to the office early and waited as patiently as we could to be seen. Without a doubt, while annoying, the waiting was well worth it as for the first time we heard the tiny (and fast) heartbeat of our child, a rhythm that we will not soon forget. And, while simple, it sounds much better than Don Johnson!