Baby Update
Just came back from Legaspi City where I had my regular check-up with my obgyne. 11 weeks and a day is the official age of the little creature inside my tummy. Since I was too sleepy to wake up early for my appointment, Gerry and I left Sorsogon at 12 noon and arrived shortly before 1 pm, slightly hungry and tired from the trip. The doctor did the usual routine - taking my weight (i lost a pound) and my blood pressure (normal). Then she tried to listen to the baby’s heartbeat using the Doppler apparatus something. (Doppler effect is something I learned in our Science subject back in grade school but I forgot all about it already. Something to do with soundwaves???) Anyway, after 3 mins of trying to get the heartbeat, she heard nothing. I was beginning to be anxious and nervous and afraid. Yeah, I really felt the redundancy. After 2 more minutes the doctor blurted "Busog ka ba?!" I replied, "Doc, hindi po." She again asked me, "Gutom ka?!" "Siguro po doc, bakit po?" I asked in return. She answered, "Ang ingay ng bituka mo!!!"
That made both of us laugh hard enough to pause for like 30 seconds. And then she continued trying to press my lower abdomen harder. Wala pa rin siyang marinig! Pero ako I was sure I can hear my own heart pounding hard and fast. Sobrang kabado na ko. She then suggested that I have an ultrasound again just so we can be sure.
And so I did. The next doctor who conducted the ultrasound cannot hear my baby’s heartbeat too. This really scared me to death. She then resorted to TVS, the more accurate ultrasound.
WHEW!!! What a relief! The baby is OK! Thank God, thank the heavens, thank you thank you thank you!!! When we showed the results to my obgyne, she was happy too. She even said "Praise God the baby developed!"
Then I suddenly remembered how careful she was during my first and second visits not to make me very expectant. Somehow, I can still feel her reluctance to be overly eager about the baby. She reminded me that mine is a high-risk pregnancy and really prone to miscarriage because of my irregular ovulation prior to the conception. I recalled when she said that I am really lucky I got pregnant with the weird ovaries that I have.
Everyday that my baby continues to develop, everyday that my baby’s heart continues to beat, every single day that he clings to my tummy is a miracle. This baby is our miracle. Maybe the only miracle I could ask for in my lifetime.