A Confident Heart

Rebecca and I recently went in for the ten week checkup. I'm always excited about these appointments; the opportunity to see the baby through the sonogram makes the pregnancy more tangible for me. Obviously the pregnancy is already real for Rebecca, the constant nausea won't allow her to feel otherwise, but, even though I'm consciously aware of the pregnancy, it just doesn't feel like a reality to me yet. So, needless to say, I was excited about seeing the baby.

After we made it into the doctor's office, a nurse directed us to a new room and then began to try and find the child's heartbeat. This was new to us; where was the sonogram machine? Were we not going to get to see the Baby? As it turns out, the appointment was only scheduled to verify the child had a strong heartbeat and a sonogram was not needed in order to do so.

As the nurse was trying to find the heartbeat, I began to get worried. I remember thinking, "What if they can't find the heartbeat?" Two minutes went by and she still hadn't found the heartbeat. Again I began an internal infinite loop of anxious thoughts, "Why would it take this long to find the heartbeat? Is this normal?" When I couldn't take it anymore, I spoke up and asked the nurse if this was normal. She reassured us that she was sure everything was alright and that sometimes it took up to three people to come in and find the heartbeat. And, as if she had just finished foreshadowing what was to come, she left the room to find another nurse to try their hand at searching for the heartbeat.

Right as the nurse left the room, I shot a confident look at Rebecca to let her know it was going to be alright and she shot the same look back. I could tell both of us were doing our best to not seem alarmed. A few moments passed and the other nurse came in and began the search. Time seemed to stand still.

Then it happened, a strong and confident heartbeat could be heard through the speakers. Rebecca and I looked at each other in amazement! What a miracle! Life! The baby within Rebecca, though small and helpless, had a strong heartbeat! What an amazing reality!

All of a sudden, it didn't matter that I couldn't see the baby; I knew it was doing well... I could hear it! I can't wait until the next appointment when I'll be able to hear it again!

"My heart is confident in you, O God; my heart is confident. No wonder I can sing your praises!" - Psalm 57:3 NLT