Hello world…that phrase has some significant meaning for this blog, particularly on or around August 28, 2010. That’s when my first child is slated to say “Hello world!” for the very first time.
So, a little about this blog. Those Tagolog speakers among you may recognize this blogger’s name as the translation of “Pregnant Spouse”. Yes, I’m the father in this upcoming family (although I’m not Filipino myself). I’ll be blogging about this experience, and probably not much else. You’re hooked…
After about a year and a half of trying, we finally got pregnant. That whole ordeal was certainly blog-worthy, and I’ll be writing about it later, but today’s entry is more related to initial hellos.
As we “watch” the 2010 Winter Olympics (interesting, despite my detachment from winter sports), my wife is relaxing in front of a challenging game of “Monkey Bloons“, and I’m just sitting around contemplating whether I’m already failing as a father by not reading more of the “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” type books that we bought. They’re interesting books, actually, but as a couple we like to hang out together, and we spend too much time in front of the tube, so I can’t really read with the TV on. Maybe I’ll propose reading time before bed, instead of watching TV.
So, today we went for an ultrasound intended to screen our child for Down’s Syndrome. It’s called the Nuchal Translucency test. Combined with a prior blood test, it gives us an estimate of the chances that our fetus has this tragic disorder. We’ve already decided that we would not keep an abnormal child. The logic of this decision is sound, even moral, but I still find myself feeling a bit guilty about that choice. So be it.
Anyway, the test sonogram technician was unable to get a good reading. During this scan, he tries to measure, using pretty noisy and limited-resolution imaging, the thickness of the nape of the fetus’ neck, to within 0.1 mm. It seems like an impossible task. The child needs to be facing in the exact right direction. The technician even had us walk around a bit before giving it a second (and third!) try, but still no luck. We’ll try again in a couple days. I even found an article online about some scientific research that found repeated attempts can increase the success rate of these tests dramatically (up to 97%). I love the internet.
Today, I’ve been singing “Arms Wide Open” by Creed. Cheesy, but still the right sentiment. And, anyway, I’ve been known to switch between various songs throughout the day. For example, today is was Jesus Christ Superstar, followed by In The End (Linkin Park), then “A Little Less Conversation” (Elvis), and finally Creed.
OK, detour over.
The final thought for today is kind of a nasty one. Today, in the hospital, I saw three couples, either with a newborn or very close to having one. All the couples appeared to be somewhat unfit. The first, with a newborn, were covered with tatoos. The second, the father looked like a Hell’s Angel (though the prospective mother seemed fine). The third, the father seemed less interested in his child’s health, and more in getting out of there to whatever punk rock band he thought he was going to make famous with his “singing”. At least they’re getting check-ups, but I sometimes wonder if these children will be drains or contributors.
On that tolerant note, have a good day!
-Asawang Buntis
February 16, 2010 at 5:01 am |
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