Personal Chef

Chapter 89

The week after Christmas, we had our first pregnancy check-up. I was a bit nervous, but Shawn calmed me down on the drive to the medical complex. I was seeing a new doctor today, which also had me a little tense. My regular doctor was just a gynecologist and didn't practice obstetrics. She'd recommended one of her partners, so we were meeting her today.

I was sitting on the examining table in a hospital gown and Shawn stood beside me holding my shaking hand. The door opened and in walked a nurse and the doctor.

"Hello! I'm Nancy Abbott," the doctor said cheerfully, extending her hand towards me.

"I'm Chelsea," I replied, though that was probably on the iPad she held in her left hand.

She turned to Shawn and cocked her head. "You look so familiar. Have we met?"

The nurse leaned towards her and whispered, "That's Shawn Mendes. He's a famous singer."

"Oh! A celebrity baby. I've never delivered one of those before. This is exciting!" Dr. Abbott remarked as she shook his hand.

She then looked at her tablet. "So your urine test was positive, so you are indeed pregnant. We drew blood so we'll get some info from that in a day or two. I see you're up to date on all your immunizations which is excellent."

Shawn and I just nodded and she continued going over some basic things. After about five minutes, she proceeded with the exam.

As was standard, she did a transvaginal ultrasound to check on the size and location of implantation and to confirm there was a heartbeat. We watched with awe the screen as the doctor explained what we were seeing. When she showed us the tiny beating heart, we both gasped. She did a measurement of the little lima bean and looked at her iPad again.

"The size of the baby matches up with the date you gave us for the start of your last period. This means your due date is August 12."

"And everything looks okay?" I asked.

She gave me a warm smile. "It looks great. Obviously there's no guarantee that you won't miscarry. I like my patients to understand that it can happen, but also know that there's no need to worry. If you have a concern or start spotting or bleeding, just call me."

We talked about vitamins and other lifestyle choices. Obviously I wouldn't drink and I'd never smoked. She said my one cup of coffee was fine and that working at the bistro would be no problem as long as I rested when I was tired. Shawn surprised me by asking about sex, but she seemed unfazed by the question.

"Sex while pregnant is normal and healthy. Some women have an increase in their sex drive while others have a decrease. Do what feels right to you," she answered.

I couldn't imagine not wanting to have sex with my husband.

Dr. Abbott printed out several pictures from the sonogram for us. As we drove home, I stared at them. I'd known I was pregnant for weeks, but now I had visual confirmation that a baby was growing inside me.

I started to cry. Hard.

"Chels...don't cry," Shawn urged, though I'd seen him wipe away a few tears during the sonogram.

"I'm. Just. So. Happy," I managed to say between sobs.

We got home, and I got changed into my work clothes after washing my face with cold water to try to hide the redness from my tears of joy. I'd taken the morning off but was going in to work the afternoon shift. Shawn kissed me goodbye and told me he'd miss me. I knew he'd probably be too busy for that. He was deep in music production and was headed back to The Woodshed for a few weeks in January.