The Heartbeat ... A Future Dad's Vantage Point

It is so hard to completely describe all the emotions you feel when your baby's heartbeat makes it's first performance on the doctors mini sound system. I knew that Tuesday would be a fun visit to the ob/gyn, but seeing Julie's face when they finally found the rhythm of that tiny heart was worth all the nerves.

The appointment was for 3:15. Julie gets out of school at 2:45, so when she called me at 3:00 to ask where I was, I wondered if she took a helicopter down from Knox Elementary to Woodstock. Needless to say, I was already feeling nervous. I'll be blunt ... I think I'm suffering from some sympathy nausea and cravings. Within a 24-hour period I had eaten from Krystal's, Sweet Tomatoes and Taco Bell ... what was I thinking? (so maybe it isn't sympathy nausea, but a self-gorging episode?) Anyways ... enough about my untimely eating habits. I get a text from Julie as I get to the doctors office. She's feeling a little nausea and wants a piece of gum. I know I'm in trouble. I have two options: reveal to hear that I have no gum because that last piece of Extra Spearmint in the car is the only thing keeping me from complete toilet-hugging, stomach churning, spewing or to go get her gum and be late. What to do? The baby books don't cover this.

I decide being punctual is better, but I'll not chance the disappointment of coming empty-handed but self-satisfied. I drop my electric green piece of digestive peace into the waste receptacle and head up the elevator to the second floor. Arriving ... I wonder how to handle the reception desk. Where to put the emphasis? "My wife is in the other waiting area for her appointment." or "My wife is in the other waiting area for her appointment." or "My wife is in the other waiting area for her appointment." Or is it our appointment? EEEEKS!

Luckily for me my panic and confusion must have read like the Enquirer across my face as the receptionist just said ... "Come on back."

Julie had just finished her appointment with the bathroom-size dixie cup. I hadn't missed anything good. We were ushered into a room to wait on the staff. Then, the most fearful question came from Julie, "Did you bring gum?" I admitted my personal failing of having none and then went into a frantic search of her never ending purse for anything that might work. Ginger chews? Nah, she hates those. Pretzels ... how did those get in here? Then, almost like a Christmas miracle, sans the manger, a pack of Extra Spearmint was located, neatly hidden behind the Vera sunglasses case and a receipt for gas from the Canton Chevron. A chorus of Hallelujah Angels descended into the building. RELIEF!

Then entered Ginneine (I think that was the spelling ... it was different than anything I'd ever seen). After a bunch of questions and discussion I don't think I'll ever recall, the time had come for our baby's first mic test. After years of singing slightly out of key at Trion Hieghts Baptist Church, all to the grins of little old ladies, it was Baby Peppers' time to perform a concert of Biblical proportions. I'll admit the glop of goo at the end of the mic was all the more reason father's-to-be should steer clear of Krystal's and Taco Bell. She warned us that we might not hear the heartbeat. That if we heard it, successful pregnancy would be close to 99%, but without it we would be back to 95%. I've always been a 99th percentile kind-of-guy ... anything less just doesn't mesh with my test-taking genes (unless its the SAT ... but that's a different ball of wax).

My ears were focused more than ever. I heard it! Yes! So wonderful, I thought. Then she said that we were listening to Julie's heartbeat. I got heartbeat faked out. Not cool. Then the search continued. Nothing, Nothing, Nothing. Then again the reassurance that, "We don't always hear these things during this visit ... if not, we'll take a peek and make sure all is okay." Forget the peek. I used four q-tips this morning to be ready for that Bose Radio Quality rendition of the heartbeat of America's Most Beautiful Baby to Be. Search!!! Then, almost like a machine gun, there it was. It was incredible. I waited to get reassurance that it wasn't the blueberries I put in Julie's lunch box or some amplification of the mommy's heart ... I couldn't accept being disappointed twice within the minute.

"That's your baby's heart. Normal heartbeat range is 120 to 160. Yours is at 160. If you go home and google 'baby heart beat,' you'll see that the faster it is, it is a girl. That's not scientific..." She cut straight to the teacher on the Peanuts, "Wah, wah, wah, wah..." All I could do was hear that little heart beating for all it is worth and see the twinkle in Julie's eyes. I couldn't help but feel a little puddling within my eyelids. That's our baby. I helped make that. God has given us the greatest gift for Christmas! Just like a little kid, we listened closely to hear what was inside the beautiful package ... just to get a clue as to what it was ... and it was beautiful.