Viability Verified

Our first ultrasound was scheduled on November 10 (7 weeks, 3 days). In order for me to get a prescription for blood thinners, I had to confirm that the pregnancy was "a viable pregnancy." I laughed at the word choice even though the receptionist/scheduler didn't see much humor it in it.


Viability was verified.
The radiologist walked us through what we were seeing in the blackness of the monitor. 
Me: What is that big black hole?
R: That's your baby.
Really? An empty space would soon turn into a life form. How was that even possible?
She showed us two circles. One was a black circle with a white outline. She said that was the yolk sac and the other one she said was the baby. The images didn't really make this seem very real for me--but, science had proven it was true. 
Then a dot blinked. White. Black. White. Black. White. Black. White. Black.
Me: What is that flickering dot?
R: That's the heartbeat. We won't be able to hear it yet, but you can see it there and look at the waves on the bottom of the screen. It's beating at 145 beats per minute.


For me it was verified and viable. We were pregnant.


The radiologist printed an image for us to take home. I handed the piece of receipt-like paper to Dan and said, "You can carry this one around with you. I'll carry the other one." He tucked it into his messenger bag and showed it to his colleagues the next day. I believe it's still on his desk at work.