Heartbeat(s)

Wow.  Just wow.

Earlier this week Jill and I went for our first sonogram since we found out she was pregnant.  Going in, this seemed like a much bigger deal than the original pregnancy test.  That was just a blood test and a phone call later in the day.  Very cool, but still – it seemed like it was just another step in the process.

I figured this would be neat – there is a visual component to sonograms that is really interesting.  Obviously the images aren’t exactly crystal clear, but its still cool to put a picture to what we’ve talked about.

As soon as we started seeing things I was blown away – within 5 seconds we were looking at a picture of our baby on the screen.  We knew it had worked so we knew we would be seeing this, but it was still overwhelming.  There (s)he was.  Hanging out.  What I wasn’t prepared for was being able to see the heartbeat.  I didn’t know that was possible at this point.  The pregnancy calendar is a bit skewed because of IVF, but basically Jill was at 7 weeks and 1 day.  And on this day our baby had a heartbeat.  I am – technically – a dad.  BIG stuff.  Awesome stuff.

As Jill has mentioned, everything (except for the cramping and nausea) has gone really well so far.  Since they transferred two embryos, there was a good chance she could have two babies – and possibly more if they divided.  So after gawking at baby #1 for a couple minutes the doctor moved on to see if there were more.

Not 3 seconds later we were staring at baby #2.  Again – seeing the heartbeat – knowing that my baby – BOTH my babies! – were in there and doing well was just, well, life altering!

This was a best case scenario for us.  Jill and I have talked about wanting two kids forever – if they come at the same time so be it!  Just an FYI – these two babies will be as different genetically and physiologically as siblings born years apart – they are fraternal, not identical.   

We don’t know if they will be boys or girls yet – that info comes in a couple months.  Baby #1 – who the doctor labeled ‘A’ in the photo – is lower in the uterus and is likely to be born first.  I’m calling him(her) Alpha.  Baby #2 – labeled ‘B’ in the photo – is a bit higher in the uterus.  I’m calling this one Beta.

Just to be sure the doctor checked to make sure there weren’t any more babies hiding in there.  Thankfully there weren’t.  We’re really excited to be having two, but are fully content with that.  Last thing we need is an army of babies and the TLC reality show that would inevitably follow.  Because I think we all know that doesn’t always end well.  And Jill would have to get an awful hairstyle…

One thing I want to reiterate – seeing BOTH of these heartbeats was probably the most amazing experience of my entire life.  The more I think about it, the more significant it becomes.  Its generated a 1000 different thoughts for me – some of which I’ll share on the blog and some of which will be kept (and rightfully so) in the corners of my brain.

Did I mention I’m a dad?  Again, wow.