Wednesday, February 18, 2009

On Heart Dopplers and Hair Color

As of yesterday, I'm now 15 weeks pregnant. I'm beginning to feel some little scratches and tickles inside from time to time. Nothing predictable, and nothing strong, but just enough that every once in a while I think, "Holy cow! There's a baby in there!" I don't think I'd normally be able to feel anything just yet, but this baby's settled in way up high in my uterus, and that's consistently where I feel the teeny-tiny nudges. I'm excited about the sporatic movement -- it makes everything feel real.

We also bought a new fetal heart doppler from a dealer on eBay. It arrived yesterday afternoon, so last night, James and I found the heartbeat (in that same way-up-high location I feel the tickles) and listened in for a while. The monitor has a display indicating the heart rate, and baby's heart rate seems to stay in that 145-160 range, just as in the doctor's office. After a couple of minutes of just listening, James decided to talk to the baby. He put his mouth to my belly and said, "Hello, baby!" At first, her heart rate rose a little to that upper range, then she took off. She moved away from the monitor and his mouth. I eventually found her heart beat again, but it sounded far away. I think if we could've seen inside, we'd have found her peeking out from behind her umbilical cord. James felt bad for scaring the baby, but I thought it was an interesting experiment. I also think it's comforting to have the doppler -- particularly when I feel bad or worried, but not so bad or worried enough to call the doctor.

Now at 15 weeks, I'm totally, completely, officially, without a doubt out of the first trimester by every standard. I'm celebrating my getting my hair colored. Gah, it's about time! About the time I thought, "I really need to go in for a touch-up," I got the positive pregnancy test, and while I'm not perfect on every pregnancy account, waiting for hair color is one thing I will do. I know it sounds so silly, but I'm so excited to go in. I have to take the kids with me, and even that doesn't damper my enthusiasm. I really should get out more.



Cross Posted on About the Baby

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