I thought I would share these few letters I have written to our unborn daughter. I plan on printing them eventually and keeping them in a scrapbook for her.
January 29, 2012
Dear baby,
This evening your Daddy and I found out we were going to have a baby. I think we were scared, nervous, anxious, worried and excited all at the same time. Daddy didn't quite know what to say and neither did I. We aren't going to tell anyone immediately, I want to wait and have a doctor confirm it.
January 31, 2012
Dear baby,
I went to the doctor this morning and they confirmed you are real. I got some pre-natal vitamins to take to keep us both healthy and strong, and to help you develop properly. I'm scheduled for an ultrasound on Valentine's Day.
February 14, 2012
Dear baby,
Daddy and I went to the doctor today to see you for the first time. At first he couldn't find you and it scared us. Finally after 5 minutes, he located you and your heartbeat. You were an itsy bitsy tiny little gray blob on the screen and your heartbeat was only 60bpm. He thought you might have been younger than we originally guessed, so he told us to come see him again in two weeks for another ultrasound.
February 29, 2012
Dear baby,
Daddy and I went back to the doctor today to see you again. As soon as the technician put the probe on my belly – there you were! It was amazing to see how much you had grown in just two weeks. The technician and the doctor felt confident you were the exact age we had thought, 8w/5d. Your heartbeat was much stronger today in the 160's (which the old wives tale says that means you're a girl) I go back in another month for a check up.
March 21, 2012
Dear baby,
I went to the doctor today to hear your heartbeat and make sure every thing was going fine. Your little heartbeat was in the 160's again and the doctor joked you might be a girl "according to those old tales".
April 20, 2012
Dear baby,
I went to the doctor today and heard your sweet little heartbeat again (I even recorded it so our friends and family could hear it); you were in the high 150's. I still feel great; you've been so sweet not to give me any morning sickness or other common pregnancy complaints. At my next appointment we find out if you're a boy or girl – WE CAN'T WAIT!
May 18, 2012
Dear baby,
Daddy and I went to my 20-week appointment today to see you again J. When the doctor checked for your heartbeat with the Doppler, he said it was between 140-150's. Your Daddy and I looked at each other, wondering if you could be a boy (according to those tales). We anxiously waited for our turn in the ultrasound room. When my name was finally called my heart was pounding so hard. They put some gel on my belly and VOILA! There you were on the screen, our baby as plain as day. The technician said you were in a head down position; she measured the circumference of your head and belly. Showed us the four chambers of your heart, your umbilical cord (that's the thing that keeps you and I connected), your spinal cord and your femur bone. After all of the technical stuff was done, she let us look at you and took some snapshots of your sweet profile. You were sucking your thumb (something I used to do). We could see your little nose and arms; apparently her pushing down on my belly was aggravating you because you kept wiggling your arms back up to your face. Next she asked if we wanted to know if you were a boy or girl and we said YES. She moved around until she found your little legs and butt, it wasn't but a few seconds and she kept saying, "It's a girl". Your Daddy and I were ecstatic, of course we didn't care what you were as long as you are healthy, but secretly we both wanted a girl! She made us a DVD and when we went to the parking lot we started calling our families.
We have named you Persephone Layne Jones. Your Daddy picked out Persephone, he had seen it in a few books he read and just couldn't get it out of his head. I am passing you my middle name, Layne as my mother did with me.
May 24, 2012
Dear Persephone,
I am almost 100% positive I felt you kick today; it was in the early evening just before we were going to eat dinner. I couldn't feel it from the outside, but something was definitely happening on the inside. Felt like bubbles popping, really slowly.
June 2, 2012
Dear Persephone,
This morning (for the 100th time) I asked your Daddy to put his hand on my belly to see if he could feel you kick. Every time before now he swore he couldn't. After a few seconds you gave him one and I didn't say anything, I waited for him to confirm it. He said you felt like a muscle twitch.
June 6, 2012
Dear Persephone,
Tonight we were lying in bed, and I could feel you making all sorts of movements and kicks. I told Daddy to put his hand on my belly so he could feel you. After a little while I started wondering if you were going to sleep and making me look like a fibber. But you didn't, you kicked hard three times in a matter of 10-20 seconds and he felt each one. It's amazing to think about your little body making such an impact. I'm glad Daddy was able to feel you "for real", it put a smile on my face.
