“Babies’ hearts beat very fast in utero. It’s completely normal and healthy. Everything looks very healthy.”
My throat began to close up and the familiar prickling behind my eyes triggered my inability to keep my emotions in check. I let out a sob, staring at the screen, watching my baby’s heart fluttering away. I felt Porter’s head rest on my temple and my hand came up to cradle his cheek. We stayed like that for a moment, just listening to our baby’s heart. After a minute I felt Porter’s head lift and his hand moved my face to look at him. Our eyes met and he pressed his lips to mine, whispering “I love you” into our kiss.
“I can print off a few pictures for you, for scrapbooks and such,” Dr. Bronson said, probably used to couples having breakdowns while seeing their baby for the first time.
“Thank you,” I said, wiping tears from my eyes. When she was done messing with the machine, she removed the wand and told me I was free to sit up.
“Your baby is due on August 15th, a summer baby. Congratulations.”
“Thank you,” I sniffled. She handed me a tissue.
“Now, you’ll need to take folic acid and prenatal vitamins every day. Stay away from tuna and other raw fish, and everything else can be explained in these pamphlets.” She handed me a prescription and a few thick pamphlets. We had some reading to do apparently. “Now, what questions do you have for me that I can answer?” She sat on a little rolling stool and looked at us expectantly.
Porter immediately reached into his back pocket and produced his list of questions.
“I have a few,” he said, unfolding his paper. Dr. Bronson didn’t bat an eyelash. She was obviously used to people asking her questions. We must be typical first-time parents. “Should Ella cut back on work?”
“No. There’s no need to cut back on work at this stage. Ella’s healthy. The pregnancy is healthy. Life goes on as normal.”
“Yeah, but she tends to lift up boxes and bends down a lot.”
“She’s pregnant, not crippled,” Dr. Bronson said with a smile. I wanted to kiss her. “You shouldn’t lift anything over twenty pounds and if you get tired you should rest, but there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to work up until delivery. However, we can always assess the pregnancy as the weeks progress and make adjustments. But for now it’s life as usual. Your body will tell you what you’re capable of better than I can.”
“I’ve read that pregnant women shouldn’t eat processed meats or soft cheeses. And what about coffee?” Porter asked, sounding a little irritated.
“Those are valid concerns. I would always advise a pregnant woman to eat as if she were feeding her child. So, the more organic and less processed the better. However, anything in moderation is fine, even coffee.”
“I can drink coffee?” I asked excitedly.
“Yes, but try for only one cup a day. Plenty of women drink tons of coffee throughout pregnancy and have perfectly healthy babies.”
“Sex?” Porter asked.
“Porter!” I exclaimed.
“Perfectly safe,” Dr. Bronson replied without even a moment’s hesitation. “Sex is normal and healthy during pregnancy. In the later stages of pregnancy, intercourse can become difficult logistically, but there are pamphlets for that too. Some women find sex during pregnancy to be very pleasurable and find themselves with a high libido. Other women don’t like to partake in sexual activity. Both extremes and everything in between are normal.” Both Porter and I were a little dumbfounded by her response, but I was glad she put him in his place. “Any other questions?”
I looked over at Porter and he folded up his paper and put it back in his pocket.
“No, I think that covers it,” he said sheepishly.
I almost laughed at his uncomfortable expression. The doctor turned back to me and smiled.
“Ella, we’ll be getting to know each other very well over the next several months. There are no dumb questions and no concern too small. You have the office’s phone number and you should never hesitate to call if you have even the tiniest concern. There is an after hour’s number as well. Please,” she said with the most sincere sounding voice, “call us anytime for any reason.”
What she said eased my mind a little and released some tension I didn’t realize I was keeping inside.
“Thank you, Dr. Bronson. I appreciate that.”
“Check in with the receptionist on your way out to make your twelve week appointment. And Mr. Masters, be sure you take good care of her, the first twenty weeks can be pretty brutal for new mommies.” She gave him a warm smile and then left the room.
“I like her,” I said as I turned to Porter.
“Me too,” he laughed.
After I’d dressed again and we’d left the office, I sat in the passenger seat of Porter’s truck staring down at the black and white pictures of our little baby.
“This is surreal, isn’t it?” I couldn’t tear my eyes from the fuzzy little blob on the piece of paper.