Thump Thump

At my midwife appointment today, I had a chance to hear the baby's heartbeat!  It was such a sweet experience.  Hearing the heartbeat was such a strong reassurance for me, too, that everything is still growing the way it is supposed to be.  Experiences like that help me argue against the thoughts of "Is this really happening?" that I still have so often.   

My midwife, Jennifer, is really wonderful (http://awomansplacechicago.com/index.html).  She makes me feel completely comfortable and is totally patient with all my new-mom concerns.  An appointment with Jennifer is a complete 180 from my previous appointments with ob/gyns in Chicago- she actually schedules herself for at least a half hour with every patient, and today's appointment was a full hour so we would have time to talk about the new pregnancy and, as she put it, spend some important time bonding (I have never once heard an ob/gyn say that!).  At the end of every visit, she hugs me goodbye in a way that feels sincere and natural.  Perhaps most importantly, at today's visit, I received the number for the "Bat phone," as Jennifer called it- her personal cell phone number, available to me 24 hours a day.  As grateful as I am for it, I hope I don't need to use it until November!

Jennifer said everything looks great!  I have my next appointment June 2 at 16 weeks.  The appointment after that one will be a big one- my 20 week ultrasound, when we'll find out whether our little kiddo is a boy or a girl.  Now that we've decided to find out, I can't wait.  It feels a bit like cheating to me still, but I'm sure I'll get over that by week 20!  After that, I'll have to find a new reason to not buy baby clothes...  I just realized that by week 20, I should be able to feel the baby kicking already.  I'm really looking forward to regular signs the baby is doing well- alive and kicking.  It has to feel real then, right?