My Little Fang

So, as I creep toward the end of the nerve-wracking first trimester, I have a host of good news to report. First of all, the baby has a heartbeat. Detected somewhat early, at 9 weeks and 2 days, it was quite possibly the coolest thing I've ever heard. Swoosh swoosh, swoosh swoosh, swoosh swoosh... 165 beats per minute, which is apparently just right for this phase of pregnancy. And interestingly, my midwife unthinkingly referred to the baby as "she." Now we've got another eight weeks before we get to have THAT ultrasound, but I have just been assuming that I am having a boy. Suddenly though, through a slip of the tongue, I feel like I've got options. And somehow, that's very exciting to me.

Now, upon hearing that heartbeat, all of my resolve to not have an early (and many would say unnecessary) ultrasound flew out the window. Dammit, I wanted to see that baby! Thus, at 10 weeks and 1 day, my trusty friend J and I made our way to Advanced Medical Imaging, where a very friendly ultrasound technician smeared my belly with goo and revealed to us that indeed, there's a baby in my belly. (And happily, I do mean a baby. Singular. This is a good thing. I'm finally feeling excited about being pregnant again, but twins might have pressed it...)

The baby has arms. The baby has legs. The baby has a heartbeat. As we watched, the baby kicked and floated around. It was really, amazingly, beautifully crazy.

However, to dampen somewhat this maternal bliss, I must also report that the baby is pinching at my uterus in a somewhat uncomfortable fashion. In fact, I can't shake the feeling that the baby has somehow grown a large tooth, and is gnawing away at my uterine lining. While I know logically that what's in there is this:



(Yup, that's my baby!)

I feel like the kid might actually resemble this:



So that's my story. I've got either a baby or a fanged creature hanging out in my midsection, and I'm feeling pretty good about it!

In other news, I'm happy to report that I'm no longer quite as nauseous, and thus, will endeavor to be a better blogger, updating you, my breathless audience, on every minute development. Oh I know you're excited...