=O

Julie: "Now, 10 weeks is a little early, and we can't always find the heartbeat on doppler this week. So I don't want you to panic if we can't find it. It really is ok, nothing to be worried about."
She sticks the doppler wand on my tummy.
*whoosh whoosh*
"Hmm, that's you..."
She adjusts the wand.
*lub lub lub lub*
"That's you."
She moves the wand to the far side of my belly.
*lub lub lub lub*
"And that's still you..."
She slides the wand to the center and up a little.
*THUD-THUD THUD-THUD*
"There's baby."
Me: . . . !!!!!! *insert silent awe and wonder and amazement*

I cried. It was beautiful. Rick squeezed my leg. I know I probably said some really inadequate things about how neat it was, but really my brain was just soaking in the sound. I've heard moms talk about this moment over and over, and thought, "yeah, that would be really cool." But that doesn't even come close to describing the overwhelming.... EVERYTHING ... that hits you when you hear it and realize that is your baby; your very much alive little being swimming inside your body; that teensy thing who doesn't even weigh half an ounce yet has a fully-formed heart making that surprisingly loud thumping. I am in tears now just writing about it. So incredible.

Other than that, which is more than enough all by itself, my checkup was wonderful. Blood tests were lovely, will have to watch my thyroid (which mom says is exactly how she was). My cervix is healthy looking and a proper size. My nipples look great for breast feeding. My lungs and heart sound great, and all signs point to this being a normal, healthy pregnancy! Next appt. is the first week of Oct. and I'll be doing an early genetic screen the last week of Sept. to assess my risk of Down's. But since there are absolutely no occurrences of genetic problems - Down's, birth defects, nothing - in the family, I'm not terribly concerned. I doubt we'll do an amnio unless something comes up really funky. This screening is non-invasive. Finger prick blood test and an ultrasound. Done.

I am so incredibly happy. I feel like I'm gonna splode happiness all over everyone that gets near me. :D