Just one month after our wedding, Ben and I discovered that we were expecting. We shared our exciting news with our immediate families, but decided not to share the news publically until after our first ultrasound.
Four weeks later, on Tuesday, March 11, 2014, the day had finally arrived. I was excited and nervous all morning. What if something was wrong? What will the baby look like? When we walked into the darkened ultrasound room I didn’t know what to expect.
As the ultrasound tech went to work, Ben held my hand, and I held my breath. Together, we watched the screen in awe and expectation. Then suddenly, from out of the blur of unrecognizable images, the bean-shaped body of our baby appeared. It was incredible!
The tech took down some measurements on her computer, and listened to the baby’s heartbeat. I don’t recall exactly how many beats per minute, but it was healthy. Ben and I exchanged giddy glances. We were really hearing and seeing our baby!
After pointing out a couple things on the screen and asking a couple questions, the tech took some more notes and informed us that the baby was measuring 8 weeks along. Then she printed a couple pictures for us to keep before congratulating us and sending us to another room to wait for the doctor.
When my doctor came in, she also congratulated us. After a brief visit, exam, and some pregnancy education – which included a bunch of educational material to take home with us – we left the office, excited to share the news with our friends.
That Thursday, our small group from church met in our house. We added one of the ultrasound pictures to our family picture collage in our living room and waited for people to notice before announcing our pregnancy to the group. When they did, we were met with gleeful cheers.
I remember watching as Ben received more than a few hearty congratulatory pats on the back from brothers in our group. He looked so happy, and I was glowing.
Throughout the week, I read up on the pregnancy material the doctor had given us. I wanted to be a responsible and well-informed mother so I could have the best possible pregnancy experience.
Truthfully, I found the subjects of pregnancy, labor, and delivery fascinating, and had already done a lot of reading about it in the past. But now that I was actually pregnant, I loved all the more every minute of reading about it, and marveled at God’s design.
At church on Sunday, I shared the news with a few close friends who squealed with delight. I felt blessed beyond words. The Lord had given me a husband and then a month later He had given us a child! The future looked bright and we were thankful.