Kumquat

As an update, little Cherry has morphed to a large kumquat and done away with her unsightly tail. Yesterday I transported her to our first doctor's appointment and I had to single-mother it, with Dave out of town on a business trip to Vegas. (Sure Dave, business.)

Everyone who is Mormon in the state of Oregon immediately recommends Dr. Bair of the stake presidency as an OBGYN. I didn't really consider him as I really wanted Dr. Shirley Fox, who the lovely Nicole has had 2 1/2 adorably healthy children with, speaks quite highly of, and seems to share my thoughts on low-intervention births. But she is too popular. So I went to call Dr. Bair when it didn't work out with her, and lo and behold they had the same number! They work in the same office on the same team of doctors! This, along with the fact that they have a nurse/midwife on staff, sealed the deal.

Very brilliantly, I hurried into the bathroom before getting called in. Two seconds later, upon getting called in, they told me the first order of business was to give them a urine sample. The nurse handed me a decent-sized cup and said I only needed to fill half of it. Only. Instead, I produced the smallest pee known to man and filled it three drips full.

Then I got weighed. It wasn't pretty. Then later in the room, the nurse forgot what the scale said and asked me to repeat it aloud for her. I was not wearing my happiest face.

The doctor came in and upon reading my last name asked if I was related to President Fuhriman (Dave's dad). I told him I was and he became very excited because apparently they've known each other forever. Then again, everyone in this state has known the Fuhrimans forever so I shouldn't have been surprised. He asked me what ward I am in.

"Oak Hills," I told him.

"Me too!" he exclaimed. Whaaaaaa? He explained that because of his schedule he can almost never make it which is why I've never seen him, but whaaaaaa? I did not know I was deciding to have a member of my very own ward examine my... ahem... body.

He was very understanding in learning that I had never had an exam like this before, and though I was quite worried, everything was extremely painless and not even awkward. He was pretty much the most nice, kind, comfortable person in the world to be around and afterwards I hopped up laughing, "That could have been a lot worse!"

He told me we would try to listen for the heartbeat but that it was very normal to not be able to hear anything at this age, and nothing was wrong if we couldn't hear it. In fact, we probably wouldn't hear it. I wasn't going to be worried if we didn't hear it, right? Perrr-fectly normal not to hear it. He told me this about 10 different ways, and I was very disappointed! The reading I'd done said the heartbeat could have been heard weeks ago. He put the little machine on my stomach and I heard a heartbeat! I looked at him excitedly.

"That's yours," he told me. Oh.

"The baby's will be much faster: THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP," he demonstrated. As he did so, he slid the microphone down a bit and THERE IT WAS!!!!! THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP!

We stared at each other with wide eyes.

"Wow! That is loud!" he exclaimed. "And strong! Wow, for a ten-week baby, that is an extremely loud and strong heart! That sounds GREAT!"

"We do have Olympians in the family," I told him. No, I didn't say that.

Normal range is a rate of 110-180, and Kumquat's was perfectly normal at 150. The good news is that all pregnancies have a 20% risk of miscarriage, but after hearing the heartbeat, the risk goes down to 5-7%. And the BEST news is that he prescribed me Zofran! Many of you kind-hearted readers have suggested it, I brought it up, and he said it's the best on the market for nausea; usually it's used for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, but will not affect Kumquat at all.

I am picking it up now. The heavens be praised!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!