POSITIVE Parenting - Journey to motherhood

I had my first ultrasound at six weeks, when my baby was a mere white throbbing spot on the monitor. You couldn't hear anything, but there it was, in plain view for my husband and me to see. The heartbeat clocked at 174 beats per minute. This indicated a strong little thing whose odds of surviving had shot up to some 95 per cent by the mere fact that we could see the pulsation. It was a happy evening.

D-day was yet to come. The embryonic stage would not be over until the end of week 11, so the next five weeks trickled by amid excitement and nervousness. Nothing prepared me for how relieved I felt when I heard that resounding 'thud, thud' coming from my doctor's sonograph. Our baby was very much alive and, by this time, we could detect the beginnings of human-like formation. I thought that seeing the baby would be the biggest deal, but it was hearing the loud noise, which indicated life, that really got me choked up.

A living being

Those of you who've had this experience know exactly what I'm talking about. It's another indication that you are, indeed, pregnant, and that there is a living being growing inside of you. You are responsible for the continuing survival of this child.

However, the worry never stops. Appointments with your obstetrician are typically scheduled for every four weeks until you're nearing the end of your pregnancy, when they will probably be bimonthly, and then weekly as birth is imminent! Each time you will most likely feel a small trepidation, or possibly butterflies in your stomach, until Doc takes that little contraption called a Doplar and rests it on your swollen belly, so that he or she can confirm that the baby's heartbeat is as it should be. Hearing it gets me every time!

As I approached the halfway point of my pregnancy, I was due for another ultrasound. I opted to have a 3D scan, as my husband and I were curious to know the sex of our baby. It's not that the 2D one would not be good enough, but I'd heard that the 3D gives the doctor a clearer view of the baby's development. I went to the Women's Place in St Andrew, where they call it 4D (movement is the fourth dimension).

A real person in there

When I saw the little vertebrae and the ribs of my child, I couldn't believe it. You can see every one of these bones. As for the images of the face, and the legs and arms. It's a real person in there! You can hardly believe the detail that already exists at such a tender age. Even the four chambers of the heart can be made out, but this human's life support is not the only thing you can see moving. Our baby did a complete flip over, while we were watching, from its back to its front, and then brought its hands up to cover its head. As if it was saying, 'Leave me alone here. Can't you see I'm trying to sleep? You do this anymore and I'll wake you up all the time once I'm born!' I bet!

Up to this point, the sound was switched off, so I asked the doctor if I could hear the thud, thud I longed for. Sure enough, it was there. Not as quick as it had been two months previously, but that's because the first beats are always the deepest and the fastest.

Emmadaltonbrown@gmail.com.