Well, today was the BIG DayTM for the three of us. We hopped the 22, along the West Approach, Princes’ Street and down Leith Walk. Then a short walk to the Leith Community Treatment Centre for the dating ultrasound scan and our first encounter with the youngun. Half an hour later saw the missus and me in the scan room.
When the first image of the Little One hit the screen, tears shot out of my eyes in amazement that this little being is actually inside me. Proud Papa had a face of wonderment and joy that I will never forget. Very profound and I’m full of the joys today.
The scan was more impressive and engaging than I’d ever imagined it to be. The stills don’t do justice to the realism and immediacy of the moving image of our first child. The nurse did a cross section through the head to get a skull circumference measurement for dating, and you got a real good view of the two lobes of the brain all squeezed in there; still, what would you expect from such fine parental stock? Then (s)he rubbed a hand across the side of the head and the four finger bones lit up like stars. We also saw her/his heart and stomach (full of amniotic fluid), all four limbs and feet. The Little One seemed to have a case of the hiccups too! Really just an amazing experience.
OK, so you’re wondering about the stats, right? Well, head circumference around 19mm, meaning an age of 13 weeks and 5 days. That puts us at July the 18th for a scheduled delivery. Wow. Body length was around 80mm, or just over 3″ in old money. And boy, do those little parasites squiggle around in there! The Little One started out facing downward toward my pelvis, then suddenly flipped over, then flipped completely around. It was amazing to see how much (s)he is moving around in there! A real little gymnast.
Can’t wait until we meet again, virtually!