I forgot to share this post last week, but better late than never. I attended my first midwife visit on Dec 6. I’ve been counting down for this for quite some time as it always feels a bit more real to me when a professional can confirm that yes, there is a baby growing in there and everything looks fine. My appointment was fun because I got to reconnect with my previous midwife. She was my midwife for both the girls and was my doula for Will’s birth. The only one of my births she hasn’t been at is Seth’s. She is also currently training one of my very good friends, who was also there, so it sort of felt like a fun girls’ get together.

The usual checks were done and everything looks fine. And of course the most exciting moment for me was hearing the heartbeat for the first time. It’s funny how such a little sound can mean so much. Baby is still so tiny (supposedly about the size of a lime), but his/her little heartbeat sounded loud and clear on the doppler beating at a rate of 161 beats a minute. I hadn’t taken any of the kids with me, and they would have been bored for quite a bit of it, but I do wish they had been there to hear the sounds on the doppler. I tried to explain it to them later, and they all found it quite interesting, especially when I described the “whoosh, whoosh” sound the placenta makes. Seth thought that was pretty cool. Sometime I’ll have to let him tag along to an appointment so he can hear it for himself.

I have actually been amazed that each of my kids, especially Seth, has been extremely interested in every little detail of the baby’s development. We have found a few animations of the baby developing in the womb that Seth could watch over and over again if I’d let him. He’s fascinated with umbilical cords and belly buttons, how big the baby is right now, and whether or not its eyes are opened. I guess I am surprised that even at the boys’ ages they can understand that there is a little tiny baby growing and moving and living inside mommy.