When you fall in love, originally uploaded by Ngọc Hà
In the eleventh week of her pregnancy, my wife and I went to her doctor for a checkup and the first attempt at detecting a tiny heartbeat. We were both nervous. Even though her diagnosis had been confirmed, something might have gone wrong in the meantime.
I'm sure that all expectant parents are nervous. It's not like we can peek into the womb to make sure that everything is okay. On top of that, there's a history of miscarriage in my wife's family, so we had a valid cause for alarm when her doctor couldn't find a heartbeat. She tried to assure us that it was easy to miss at that stage in development; don't worry, she said, make another appointment and come back in two weeks.
We were sad and nervous during those two weeks. So when we finally heard that hummingbird patter, I felt a sensation of pure relief and joy. It was only the first of many emotional hurdles yet to come, but at least now we can see that track laid out in front of us.