kathump, kathump... 12 weeks

Yesterday was a good day.

We had our second doctor's appointment to try and find the heartbeat. She had me lay down on the table and we waited nervously as she put sonogram goo on my stomach. She put the sonogram into the goo and started gliding around, pressing into areas she thought might contain a tiny gestating creature. At first there was nothing. Just like last time, all we could hear was MY heartbeat, slow and plodding, like a sloth's compared to that of an unborn baby. Ugh. I was already feeling disappointed.

The doctor stopped and started putting the sonogram machine away. Then she said "I'm going to try another machine -- it's more sensitive than this one."

We waited hopefully as she prepared the second machine. More goo. She placed the sonogram on my stomach a second time, and hardly had to move it around at all when we heard "kathump, kathump, kathump..." Really fast. Instead of the rat-a-tat-tat I was expecting (I don't know why I bothered expecting anything since I'm completely clueless in this area), it sounded like an ACTUAL HUMAN HEARTBEAT, just a lot faster.

"Hear it?" the doctor asked. I think I had a huge grin on my face.
"Yes" I said.
"Do you hear that?" she asked.
"What?" we both said.
"That whooshing sound between heartbeats."
We listened again and we both heard it.
"That's the baby rolling around," she said.
Wow.

That was the first amazing happening of the day. I knew our doctor was leaving early that day and I was her last patient. I thought I knew where she was going -- the same place I was. "Obama rally?" I asked.
"Yep," she said, and smiled. "I met him in Chicago once. He's so good-looking. So is his wife."
We left the doctor's office simultaneously, giddy with excitement.

I sped home (at reasonable speeds) in hopes of getting downtown in time. I knew there had been a line forming since 8 am, and my brother Grant had been cut off in Seattle once the Key Arena had reached capacity, so I wasn't really expecting to get in. I parked a few blocks away and speed-walked with a bunch of other people to the end of a ridiculously long line outside the Van Andel Arena. (Jono couldn't go because he'd promised a friend he would help him build a shed, so I was by myself.) People were hawking pins and t-shirts; others were getting people to sign petitions. Thankfully the line started speeding along nicely about the time I joined it -- the doors had just opened.

When I was almost in the building, an Obama volunteer walked up to my section of the line and asked if any of us wanted to be seated behind the Senator. There were about six of us who heard him ask. We all stood there like idiots, not really understanding what he was offering.
When he saw our blank looks he said, "You could be on national television."
Oh, THOSE people.
It sunk in, and we followed him like sheep.

They put orange bracelets on us and led us through the metal detectors. As we were walking toward our section, my phone rang. It was Grant. He told me there were rumors circulating that John Edwards was going to endorse Obama at THIS rally. Seriously? I had one of those moments where you ask God, "Why do I deserve this?" And then your next thought is, "Hmm. Of course I deserve this."

So we filed in and were seated behind the stage. They gave us signs and told us to "go nuts", which we did, happily.

Not long after that, Obama came out. People were beside themselves. We were so close I could almost see the individual hairs on his head (I've always liked his hairline). Anyway, he started out by saying something like this: "I felt bad when we couldn't campaign here in Michigan during the primary, so I decided we needed to do something special for you guys." He introduced John Edwards, who proceeded to endorse him in good old Grand Rapids. For the most part, this was totally unexpected.

Both Edwards and Obama gave good speeches. I sent silent messages to the baby: "This is your first political rally. What do you think?" Then I got sappy: "This is your future he's talking about." Okay, enough already. This is what rallies will do to you.

When it was over, I was ready to book it out of there. But then I noticed Obama hadn't left the arena yet. There was a barrier right in front of us that formed a circle around the platform, and he was going around the circle slowly, shaking people's hands. I had the tiniest spark of hope at that moment that he might shake MY hand. I scooted forward toward the barrier. I was about four people away from the open circle, but I was standing above them on a step and was able to reach over their heads. As he passed, arm upraised, I grabbed his hand.

So that was my good day. Heartbeat and Obama.

After hearing the heartbeat, I feel like I'm certified pregnant. Up until this point it seemed like this wasn't real. I had thoughts like, "I'm not really pregnant, am I? I mean, other people get pregnant, not me." And then more panicky thoughts like, "What if the test was wrong? Maybe I'm just slightly bloated."

So now that's over, and I'm relieved. I'm also finished with my first tri-mester, which is a nice milestone.

Most of this blog was totally not about pregnancy, but I feel like I need to mix it up a little.