Week 19: Worry Tetris

Envision a calendar with the most important days color coded. Today has been circled in red, highlighted, with little sticker stars, for months. Granted, that's all purely ceremonial, because there's no way I would forget this appointment. Today was our 19 week anatomy scan. The same scan that turned our world upside down back in October.

So, this day has meant a lot to me for a long time. I've tried hard not to put it on too tall of a pedestal, but in the back of my mind, I've known for months, if I can get past this scan and know everything is okay, it would be a huge weight off my worried shoulders. 

We get to the appointment, and in terms of doctor's office waits, this was like the express lane of medical care. And, if you've ever frequented doctor's offices, you know, that's a rare, beautiful gift. 

For a person who can be so direct as a reporter, I am really terrible at telling people what I need. I should have asked the sonogram tech to talk us through what she was doing. But, no. I'm a polite masochist. So, I just sat there on the table quietly playing worry Tetris in my brain. 


As soon as one worry hole was filled, the blocks would keep tumbling faster until I worked myself into an anxious tear-tizzy, certain her silence meant only terrible things. Turns out, it meant she was just busy doing her job, measuring 124,596 tiny little organs and features on our 12 ounce baby. Everything was great. Heartbeat: great. Brain scan: great. Legs and arms? All there and accounted for. Spine? Straight as an arrow. Measurements? Ahead of the curve. Measuring 20 weeks. 

Relief. Jeez. Like Niagara Falls bursting through a beaver dam. So, after the serious scanning was over, we got to watch him in 4D for a bit rolling around and giving us a cute little thumbs up, kicking his long (perfect) legs...



...holding the bridge of his nose... 



And, this is where our worry Tetris picks up its game. 

He finally moves his cute little hand to reveal his nose...



Is that his nose?! Because let me tell you, that nose doesn't look like my nose or his dad's nose. It looks like Rudolph and Pinocchio had a love child. I mean, a very cute love child, but still...

The sonogram tech says, "He'll grow into it..." That sounds a lot like something people tell you when they're thinking, YIKES?! 

Of course I instantly flash back to everything I was ever teased about in school, and all I can think about is how cruel kids (and adults for that matter) can be. Then, my face splashed across a headline 'Local news anchor arrested for threatening child on playground who teased son.' 

I teared up a few times on the way out of the doctor's office, and I couldn't decide if it was relief that our little one was healthy, worry over his nose, embarrassment over the shallowness of crying about a nose, hormones, or a combo platter. Austin and I shared a lot of nervous giggles about 'nose-gate' at lunch and on the way home. But, the undertone of the laugh was very clearly, but what if it IS really that big?!?!

I watched the video the sonogram tech gave us with Austin, slowed it down, paused it, inspected it from all angles. I mean, he is a cherub. Look at this? Even in claymation view weighing in at 12 ounces, he's adorable:


There is literally ONE four second clip from ONE angle that his nose appears to be a costume piece borrowed from the goblins at Gringott's bank, but is that stopping me from worrying? Of course not. 

Image result for harry potter goblins

One of my best friends pointed out that none of the 2D sonogram pictures of his profile show any crazy nose action, but does that stop me from worrying? Of course not. 

Google was my friend today, though, because apparently a lot of women have this same concern after seeing 4-D images. Since you're taking pictures INSIDE of a human stomach INSIDE of a uterus THROUGH a gallon of fluid, they aren't perfect images. Features can be distorted. Different angles and shadows can play tricks. This early, they can quite literally grow into their features since he has no fat yet. One lady says her son was born with an enormous nose, and now, at age 2, it's completely proportional, etc. etc.

But, tonight at dinner, my husband and I laughed (I cried) so hard at how much things could change in such a short time. We are so freaking lucky to be able to worry about this poor child's nose structure. I mean, in the scheme of things, that is such a non-issue. I know over his life, I am going to worry about 99,999,999 things, and right now, we're worried he may pick up part time work as an ant-eater or training bomb sniffing dogs. But, I bet he'll be the most loved ant eater there ever was! 

And if he's healthy, happy, and loved, then being able to smell roses from 5 miles away will just be a bonus feature for us to love that much more. 

Comments

  1. Yeaaaaa!!!Congrats. I know that it is a load off.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am so very happy for you! Tears rolling down my face and giggles too. He is beautiful! Congratulations!!!! Jenise

    ReplyDelete
  3. Congrats! I really enjoy your blog. Hope you are feeling well!

    ReplyDelete
  4. That is one of the sweetest story I have read today online. I hope you and your family stay happy and healthy by the grace of God. I was looking for planning for a baby gender. So thank you so much for this article.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts