I Write. You Read.

Before Simon — Part the Second

(follows The Beginning)

We knew we were pregnant, but decided it was a good idea to get official confirmation. Angie got an appointment fairly quickly with our regular doctor, and soon we would find out that yes, indeed, we have a baby on the way. The first test was correct…as were the following four or five. He recommended an OB/GYN — the same fella who had delivered all of our doctor’s children — and Angie tried to get an appointment ASAP. “ASAP” turned out to be several weeks later.

It was a weird sort of limbo. The doctor had verified our initial test(s), and Angie was in fine health, but the more detailed status of the new life now growing inside her was an unknown. I don’t recall any actual anxiety that something could be amiss, but I was eager to hear what a specialist had to say. The more information I got, the more “real” the whole idea became in my mind. I wasn’t in denial so much as a state of awe and wonder.

When the day finally came for us to visit the OB, I was extremely excited. We were going to get our first sonogram, and although there wouldn’t be much to see, there would be something. We’d be able to see our baby.

There was some preliminary paperwork to complete, and I nervously sat beside Angie as she filled in all the blanks. She was the patient, after all. I was just there for the show. The exact sequence at this point is fuzzy, but I recall a short meeting with a nurse to go over a bunch of “so you’re having a baby” literature and that sort of thing and then they ushered us into the sonogram room. Showtime.

Chit-chat. Application of a coldish jelly-like substance to promote good transmission of sound. Then the miracle. Through the magic of technology, we got to see our little baby, hovering in the fuzzy black-and white nebula of the womb. I wish now that I’d had the forethought to keep a “pregnancy journal,” because I’d really like to remember exactly what I was feeling at that moment, what I was thinking as I saw for the first time the little peanut (only about two centimeters head-to-toe) that would grow up to be our son.

I know that I was happy, scared and full of love for life. All three would grow in strength throughout Angie’s pregnancy, and seem to continue swelling even as Simon continues to outgrow clothes.