Seasons of Change

16

It was the big day! Nina's first prenatal visit had arrived, and she was eager to see her little frijole for the first time. Based on her last period, she knew she had to be right around seven weeks along which meant she should see a little gummy bear-shaped figure and a heartbeat like she had with Krist Antonio.

If it wasn't for the fact that the first scan was internal, she would have brought her entire family along to catch a glimpse of baby Hernandez-Mikhailov for the first time.

"I couldn't sleep at all," she confessed as she pulled on her jeans.

Dominik laced his sneakers, "I couldn't either," he admitted as he rose to his feet and embraced her, "I can't believe we are going to be parents."

She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him, "I know, right? I literally feel like it's still a dream and I am going to wake up."

"I love you, Nina, so much," he kissed her several more times.

Nina's stomach felt like it was doing backflips the entire drive to the clinic...and on top of that she had to pee like nobody's business but they had told her to hold her urine to get a good image of the baby for the scan.

"My palms are all sweaty," Dominik told her as she slipped her hand into his as they entered the clinic.

"It's alright, mine are too."

It felt like an eternity to be called into the exam room. Of course, the fact that they'd arrived nearly half an hour early hadn't helped. They were too excited to not show up super early.
The nurse came in and took her vitals, advising her to undress from the waist down and hop up on the table to wait for Dr. Fletcher to come in.

"We should be able to see something, right?" Dominik asked, "This is all brand new to me so I have no clue what to expect."

Nina smiled, "Yes, we might even be able to hear its heartbeat! Or at the very least, we can see it."

Nervous, Dominik bounced his foot and tapped his fingers together, "When do we get to find out the gender?"

"In like two months", she told him, swinging her feet.

"That sounds like forever from now, huh? Well, I don't care too much about the gender, just that it's healthy."

"That's what counts the most, hun."

There was a light rapping at the door. Dr. Fletcher entered the exam room, closing the door gently behind her. She was an older woman with a soft smile and warm brown eyes, "Hi, Nina, I'm Dr. Fletcher, how are you feeling?"

"Honestly, not all that bad," she said, "I have some mild cramping and my breasts are sore but it just feels more like PMS symptoms than anything."

"Good, good," Dr. Fletcher smiled, "No morning sickness or nausea?"

"None."

"That's great news...and is this your first pregnancy?"

Nina bit her bottom lip, "No, it's my second. I lost my first at twenty weeks."

"I am so sorry to hear that, did you find out what caused the loss?" The doctor asked carefully.

She shook her head, "No, just that his heart had stopped a few days before. I don't know what happened," Nina said grimly.

Dr Fletcher placed a hand on Nina's shoulder, "I'm going to put an order in for the NIPT test around twelve weeks so we can make sure there are no genetic abnormalities and we can also find out baby's gender. How does that sound?"

Nina and Dominik exchanged looks, nodding in unison.

"And you must be dad?"

Dominik smiled like an excited child, "That's me."

"I can see that you are very happy, is this your first child?"

"It is," he said proudly.

Dr. Fletcher looked at the notes on her computer screen, "It says your last period was...June 23rd? Does that sound about right?"

"Yes, I've been tracking my cycles in this app on my phone," Nina said sheepishly, she hadn't admitted it to Dominik or that she had been obsessively tracking her ovulation and timing sex accordingly, not that he actually minded. It was just a little embarrassing for her to admit.

"Perfect, so that puts you at just shy of seven weeks," Dr Fletcher smiled, washing her hands, "Alright, so let's have you scoot your bottom towards me and we will take a look at that baby."

The OB doctor gently inserted the ultrasound wand into Nina's vagina, telling her to let her know if she was uncomfortable.

After what felt like ages, the doctor sighed, "You're sure that your last period was June 23rd?"

The room began to feel as if it was spinning, "Yes, I log my period as soon as it starts. I know it was."

"Well, I see a yolk sac here, but I'm not seeing a fetal pole yet."

Dr. Fletcher removed the wand, looking at Nina sympathetically. She knew that look and had to fight back the urge to weep.

"This is bad, isn't it?" Nina asked softly.

It was obvious that the doctor was searching for the right words, "No, not always. Sometimes implantation can happen a little later on and you are so early that even a few days can make a world of difference in what we see on your scan.

"What I want to do is have you go down to the lab your HCG levels checked today along with your routine bloodwork. I'm going to have you come back to the lab again in two days for another HCG draw. If they continue to rise, we will recheck every other day. I'm also going to put it in an order two weeks from now for a viability scan. You'll be nine weeks then so we will be able to get a good view of the baby then. How does that sound?"

Nina nodded, "That sounds good," she murmured.

Dr. Fletcher patted her knee, "I know it's hard but do your best to relax and don't let your mind get the best of you."

Even though the OB doctor hadn't ruled out an early miscarriage, Nina couldn't help but break down in a puddle of tears in Dominik's truck. Dominik held her in his arms, "It's not over yet."

Nina knew her dates were accurate, she knew that at the point in pregnancy, it should have been more than just a yolk sac, and felt so dang stupid for telling everyone that she was pregnant. She had just been so elated that she wanted everyone to join in the happiness...

It's not a baby yet, it's just a clump of cells she told herself, trying to distance herself from her baby dreams and prepare for the worst...but that clump of cells meant everything to her.