Rice, Rice, Baby

I was planning on listening to that song while I wrote this post, but it's late, and Monica's asleep, so I'll just have to play it in my head.

Monica went to the doctor today for an ultrasound, and fortunately I was able to get away from work a little early to join her. We got to see our "baby" for the first time today. I put baby in quotes, because right now it's apparently about the size of a grain of rice. But it's heart just started beating within the last day or so, and while the heart rate is somewhat slow at 120 bpm, they weren't worried too much because it was fast enough, and it will only get faster (as high as 160 bpm apparently.) And even though we were basically looking at some dots, blurs, and flickers in an overall blurry image, it was still cool to see life within the womb. It made things seem that much more "real."

The technician couldn't say much, and we'll have to wait until early next week to get the official word from Monica's doctor, but she (the technician) thought that Monica was about 6 or so weeks pregnant, because the baby was still in the "grain of rice" phase and hadn't entered into the "peanut" phase that occurs around 8 weeks or so. She said that the baby's heart might not have even started beating until today; it was that early.

Apparently she wasn't supposed to show or tell us anything (or even let me in the room), since we were in a satellite office of St. Mary's hospital, and not at Monica's actual doctor (thanks to our WONDERFUL insurance), but when she realized we had to be there for insurance purposes, she softened up a bit, and was able to show both of us what our little one looked like (insofar as a rice grain sized blur looks like much of anything on a computer screen.) It was still neat to see though.

We didn't get any fun pictures, for various reason, but the tech told us to insist that we actually go to St. Mary's hospital for the next ultrasound (since it's right next to where I work), and they would be able to give us some sonogram pictures to keep.

That's about it for now. I'd write more, but I'm really tired, and I can't think straight, so I'm going to wrap this up. I'll post more updates as they become available. Have a great Friday! Peace.

A Better Idea

Well, due to a scheduling SNAFU, Monica ended up being able to keep her first doctor's appointment today. The doctor said that she thinks Monica is about 10 - 11 weeks pregnant, which would make her due date somewhere around the winter solstice (December 21st), 3 days after my birthday. So maybe I'll end up sharing my birthday with our first born, but who knows.

On Thursday Monica will go for another ultrasound, which should give us a better idea of how far along the pregnancy has actually progressed, and hopefully narrow down the birth window a bit more. Beyond that, we don't know much else at the moment. Monica is stoked though, let me tell you! The doctor's visit today made everything seem more "real"; solidified the reality that we're going to have a baby! She was SO excited, she came home and passed out on the couch, after a dinner of leftovers from yesterday's cookout. She's been really tired lately, as her hormone levels are changing and her body is adjusting to it's new occupant, but she also left our house around 6 AM this morning, to drive to Duluth for Home Depot training (which it turned out she WASN'T schedule for), so she made that whole drive, and left the house that early for nothing. But, as previously mentioned, it enabled her to keep her doctor's appointment, so all's well that ends well.

I guess that's about it for now. I've been really sleepy myself lately, and have found myself in the bathroom more frequently than usual. It's one of the wonderful gifts I have...being extremely empathic to those I'm close to. I sometimes feel the things that are happening to them, like I was experiencing them personally. It's going to be a LONG pregnancy, full of potential nausea for both of us! But at least I can explain the cravings easily...does anyone ELSE want donuts??? *g*

Stay tuned. More information will be available as we find it out. Thanks for stopping by.

Our First Baby Books

This book was given to us by Kate, Monica's sister. A mother, and an expectant mother. It will be wonderful for tracking all the important moments in our baby's life. Thanks, Kate! :)

Kate recommended that I get this book. It's for Monica to track her own journey through her pregnancy, from the appearance of her baby belly to the disappearance of her feet (look at the book's cover!) Flipping through it quickly, it seems like a great book that will be both informative and amusing to fill out.

I'm sure these are but the first of MANY books to follow, since we are definitely a reading family! If you have any suggestions of books we should read, just let us know. And if WE come across any good books for expecting mothers, I'll be sure to post them on this blog.

Thanks everyone, and have a great rest of the week. :)

A Rough Start

Yesterday was a rough day.

Having just found out last week that Monica is indeed pregnant, yesterday's scheduled doctor visit should have been a breeze; a calming measure for a mom-to-be. Unfortunately, the majority of yesterday was anything but comforting.

We arrived at the doctor's office early, knowing full well that there would be paperwork to fill out since it was our first visit. Everything proceeded routinely until the receptionist, after looking over Monica's paperwork, called her back up to the desk and informed her that the doctor she was supposed to see that day didn't deliver babies for a hospital that takes our [crappy] insurance [Aetna.] Monica, being rather emotional and high-strung already, asked the lady if the doctor could still see her, and informed her that we would pick a different doctor if necessary.

Now I'm not entirely sure what the receptionist said to Monica, and I'm sure it wasn't meant to come across in a mean or condescending manner, but it was all Monica's already frazzled nerves could handle. Without going into details, since it's pointless to dwell on now, let's just say that Monica was "less than happy", and that we proceeded to "vacate the doctor's office in an abrupt and aggressive manner." [I just love euphemisms, don't you?]

Outside in the car, I tried to calm Monica down, letting her know that I would go back in and talk to the receptionist, to see if there was anyway that the doctor COULD see her that day, even if it was only the one time. The receptionist told me that if the doctor's office was going to assume responsibility for the pregnancy, that the same doctor would have to work with Monica throughout the entire time she was pregnant, and since the doctor she was scheduled to visit didn't deliver at the hospital Monica has selected for the birth, it would be better if we saw the other doctor that they'd given us a name and number for.

Now I can understand that the doctor's office was just trying to cover it's own @ss, but they could have given Monica more detailed information over the phone, when she set the appointment up, alerting her to the fact that the doctor she was scheduling an appointment with would not be available to deliver her baby in her chosen hospital, because he didn't perform deliveries there, and that the hospitals where he DID work, didn't take our form of insurance. Those 2 simple facts would have prevented so much unnecessary stress and frustration!

Anyway, rather annoyed myself at this point, I walked back out to the car to inform a rather distraught Monica that we were going to get her checked out today, even if it meant a visit to the emergency room at St. Mary's.

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I guess I should take a moment to explain some of the back story that preceded this situation.

Monica has been having sharp, stabbing pains in her lower abdomen, and she was worried that something was wrong. Having a history of medical problems on both sides of her family, and basically being told that the chances of her ever getting pregnant were one in a million, it's understandable that the sudden appearance of sharp pains in her abdomen, so soon after learning that she WAS in fact pregnant, lead to some rather worried thoughts, to put it mildly. It was of utmost importance to Monica that she get checked out ASAP, to make sure that nothing was wrong with her. That's the one thing that Monica has always wanted to be - a mother - and she had resigned herself to the fact that it would probably never happen. Now, suddenly she had been given this miraculous gift, her heart's desire, and she wants to do everything she can to make sure this baby is okay! So that's what lead us to the doctor's office yesterday...

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Anyway, I hopped back in the car, made sure that Monica was strapped in (her seatbelt, you twist!), and we headed back toward St. Mary's hospital.

We were supposed to go visit Monica's dad and step-mom yesterday afternoon, and give them the good news, but we knew that if we checked into the ER, that we'd probably miss our dinner date with them. It was more important to make sure everything was okay though, so Monica checked in, saw the Triage nurse fairly quickly, and then we joined the multitude of others in the waiting room. She called her dad and let him know that we probably wouldn't make it for dinner, which was disappointing, but then she gave him the great news and dinner was instantly forgotten. Everyone knows that we've been trying to have a baby since we've been married, over 7 years ago; and everyone knew that there was a slim chance that we ever would, so news like this was an unexpected but extremely welcome surprise! After an animated conversation with her dad, Monica and I settled in for our LONG wait in the St. Mary's ER waiting room [aptly named.]

After a few hours had passed, during which time my boss called to see if I could come in to work, since he'd forgotten to schedule anyone for the ImPress evening shift, they finally called us into the back. Then took blood, did an ultrasound and various other tests and exams, and basically kept us around for another 3 or 4 hours waiting for everything to be finished, and the results to come back.

Final prognosis - Yes, Monica is indeed pregnant (we knew that already); it was too early in the pregnancy to tell exactly how far along she was (but there guess was about 6 weeks or less); everything seems to be okay, but Monica has to schedule a visit with the OB/GYN within the next couple of days, so they can check her out more thoroughly and give her a better idea of what's what.

All that for $50, six hours of our time, and a validated $5 parking fee (which was nice, because the last time I was at that hospital the stupid machine at the gate took $5 of mine, refused to let me out, and made me use my debit card (paying a 2nd time) to get the gate open!) But you can't put a price on peace of mind, and that's what was most important to me...the fact that Monica now knew everything was okay; that the the pains were probably just normal pregnancy pains; and that the pregnancy appeared to be proceeding as normal. THAT, as they say, is priceless.

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So all in all, although yesterday was a very stressful and emotional day for all of us, in the end things turned out okay. After we left the hospital, Monica and I went for a "celebratory" meal at Fatz on Lexington Road, and then came home to relax for a while before bed. This is just the START of the pregnancy, so I'm quite certain things will only get crazier and more chaotic from here, but God willing, in under a year we'll be the proud parents of our first born child (or children. Who knows! *grin*)

Introductions & Expectations

For those of you who've never read any of my other blogs (and there are several of them), let me take a moment to introduce myself.

My name is Matt Fulkes, and I am a 34 year old new father-to-be. After years of trying unsuccessfully to have a baby, my wife and I have suddenly found ourselves the recipients of wonderful news. Monica is pregnant, against all odds and expectations. It truly is a MIRACLE, and one that was completely unexpected, but joyously welcome!

This blog will serve as my personal journal through the pregnancy toward first-time fatherhood. I will record events and circumstances that become important to us, and provide frequent updates on the progress of the pregnancy. I must warn you though; I have a propensity to ramble and be long winded, so many of these blog posts will run long. I try to interject humor and subtle sarcasm throughout my writing though, so hopefully you will all be entertained at the same time!

I welcome any expecting, new, or veteran parents to comment on this blog, and offer any advice that they may have been told, or have picked up along the way. I'm sure we're going to need all the help we can get!

This blog will expand and mature as the days go by, and I have more events, pictures, information, and sources to add to it. So be patient, I'm just getting started! :)

Thanks for stopping by, and I look forward to sharing this wonderful journey with you all.

Peace.