Page 146 of Gracefully Yours

Daniel’s hand clutched mine as we looked at the image on the ultrasound screen, and suddenly everything felt so much morereal.

“Ohmygod.” My eyes filled with tears. “This is real. We’re having a baby.”

He squeezed my hand. “We’re having a baby.” Daniel kissed my forehead as we looked in awe at the screen. “Look at that.” His voice was full of wonder.

“I’m assuming you want copies of the sonogram?”

“Yes,” I nodded enthusiastically. “Please.”

“And here’s baby’s heartbeat,” she said, turning up the sound on the monitor.

Andwhoosh.Everything in my life changed in a single moment, with a single sound. All the pieces of my heart rearranged, fitting in this new life that I already loved so much.

“Oh.” I choked back a happy sob. “I’m sorry, I’m just so happy and—” I shook my head, trying to get rid of some of the emotion. “I’ve wanted this for so long.” Daniel squeezed my hand once again.

“It’s alright.” She laughed. “It’s a perfectly normal reaction, especially with all of those hormones pumping through you. Do you have any questions for me?”

I shook my head. Knowing me, I’d probably have a thousand when we got home, but right now, my mind was focused on the screen, on the little thumping sound.

After removing the wand, I wiped the jelly off my skin, letting my shirt cover my bare stomach once again.

“What about you, dad?” She turned her attention to Daniel.

“Oh, um—” He scratched the back of his head, looking almost embarrassed.

“And just so you know, sex during pregnancy is totally safe for the baby. If you have any discomfort or bleeding, then stop, but otherwise, it’s perfectly fine to satisfy all of her needs.”

He practically choked, his cheeks bright red. “Right. Thanks.”

“So, Charlotte, we’ll see you about every four to six weeks for the next few months, and once you hit twenty-eight weeks, we’ll have you come in a little more often. And you’ll want to start thinking about your birth plan, where you want to give birth and all of those details. I’ll have my nurse give you a packet.”

“Okay.”

“Any other questions?”

I shook my head, and she stood up, shaking both of our hands. “Again, it was so good to meet you. I’ll see you next time.”

We waited for the nurse to give us the rest of the information we needed, which I was pretty sure I already had in my pregnancy books, but I wasn’t complaining. I’d take every crumb of knowledge I could get about growing our little one.

I stared at the little print out of the sonogram in my hand as we sat in the car. “That’s our baby,” I said, unable to tear my eyes away. “How is it possible that we’ve known for weeks, but it only now feels real?” At first, it was only a notion, a small glimmer of hope that could have been easily extinguished. But now, hearing the heartbeat, seeing it… “I can’t believe it.”

“I know,” he murmured. “But it’s real. This is real.”

He slid his hand on top of mine, both of us resting them over my stomach.

“I love you,” Daniel said, brushing his nose against mine. “And our baby.”

“I didn’t think it was possible to love something this much. So much that I want to do anything to keep it safe. To love it, cherish it. Make sure it knows how special it is.”

“Oh, of course it is.”

“How do you know?”

“Because that’s what it’s always been like for me—loving you.”

I kissed him softly on the lips. “Let’s go home, husband.”

“Anything, wife.”

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