April 15, 2009

• Truly’ Fetus is a Long Little Girl

  “See these small folds?” the nurse asked, pointing out a little coffee-bean shape on the screen.    
  We nodded.
  “That’s a textbook girl,” she said.
  I turned to smile at Shaun,”a wee girl,” I said.
  He took my hand and squeezed it, a happy man with a daughter.

  Our modest little fetus was not as happy as we were at this discovery. She squiggled away from the tech for the rest of the ultrasound, refusing to participate. The nurse was literally chasing the little one around the womb with the camera; everywhere the nurse went, the fetus flipped over and away from the camera accordingly. She’s quite the acrobat.

  “Get that camera out of here,” the girl fetus said, “I’m not ready!”

  To give fetuses a clean bill of health, the doctor must see pictures that account for each limb, it’s spine, it’s face, and it’s heart. I have to go back in two weeks, hopefully with a more cooperative fetus, for the nurse to get snaps of it’s face and heart.

  They were able to give an approximate weight for the little thing, though. She is 14 oz, which—the doctor says—puts her in the 65th percentile of all fetuses that are as old as she is. This girl is growing into a long one, which only makes sense since I’m her mom. All six feet of me.

  Doctor says I’m a healthy lady, too. Blood pressure is still runner-healthy. I’ve gained a good pound and a half since last month. My belly is measuing a little small, but that’s okay since my body’s never done this before. Also, Tammy Lee’s Abs of Steel used to be a regular part of my workouts, so my stomach muscles are still working to hold and host the belly up.

  Everything is getting very real now. I’m enjoying the preggers more than I thought possible. I like having the liscence to put my health at the forefront—I have a built-in excuse for going to bed early, eating when I’m hungry, taking a small nap if I need it. Life usually forces me to ignore things like this, but the world bends over backwards for a pregnant lady, I’ve found. (Too bad we aren’t always so respectful of eachother’s bodies! Can you imagine how much better this country would be if we all had enough rest?!)

  Also, I’m able to visualize our little family. I suspect our daughter will be a dark eyed, heavy browed beauty. She’ll have a healthy sense of humor, she’ll be a happy smarty pants. I like this wee girl. She moves around alot now. I realized that any feeling I was having prior to late last week was just me stretching. Because when she moved, I thought: “Holy shit! What was that?” It’s so obviously somebody else. Creepy. But cool once you get used to it.

  On an unrelated note: if you’ve not had Edy’s Tart Honey Frozen Yogurt—preferably sandwiched between two gramcrackers—you’ve got to get on this. It is a truly beautiful thing.

  • 8:40 am
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