Adventures of a New Kind

---

Even before I peed on the stick, I think I already knew what the result was going to be. I woke up ridiculously early in our hotel room in Coffs Harbour and left a sleeping Adam curled up snuggly in bed. I sat on the edge of the bath in the bathroom, I paced, I danced about in anticipation and waited for the line to appear and decide my fate. The line was faint...so faint I had to keep closing my eyes and checking again to make sure it really was there...but it was. Faint..but definitely there. And so it all began...

If only I'd known all those months ago what was ahead! Sharing the news with Adam as the sun rose on that first day was one of the best experiences of my life. Those first few moments...staring at each other with equal amounts of joy and terror...the hoping and praying that began that very moment...'please let everything be okay'...an echo that has continued every moment since.

The initial elation of the news was worn down in the weeks that followed...17 weeks of morning, afternoon and evening sickness...all day, every minute sickness. Throwing up in the car on my way to home visits... sitting in meetings hoping and praying not to have to run out in a panic...wishing I could curl up in bed and refuse to get up until this feeling would disappear. It was the longest hangover of my life. But the magic moments of those first few months made every moment of the sickness worth it. I can not describe the emotion I felt when I got my first glimpse of our baby in our first ultrasound at 12 weeks. Seeing the little shadow where the heart was beating...watching the little floating person moving it's tiny limbs...hearing the news 'so far, so good'. It was indescribable. Watching Adam's face as he was watching the screen...even more magical. Afterwards, every single time I glanced at the ultrasound pictures, I felt teary and emotional. It was one of the most amazing moments of my life.

And this was the beginning of many more such experiences. A few weeks later when I heard the heart beat for the very first time, the 'whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop' that reminded me so of horses hooves galloping, I felt like crying. At 16 weeks, I felt the first flutterings of movements...not like the butterflies I had expected but more like wind, until I realised this was definitely not poor digestion. This was my tiny little baby making it's presence felt. It would be several weeks before Adam could feel the movements too-the first time being new years eve when we lay in bed and he felt the nightly dancing for the very first time. At 20 weeks, just as Christmas approached, we had our second scan and again, watching the little person dance on the screen was magic. Again we awaited the confirmation 'so far, so good' and when it came, it was elation again.

And so with our little person doing fine, we happily prepared for our trip to Thailand, where the baby really found it's dancing feet. Nights were spent awake withe the little one dancing away...all the sounds and smells and sensations during our days travelling by tuk tuk brought further excitement. By the time we came home from Thailand, our little bambino had grown in both size and strength. Evenings were spent sitting on the couch with my tummy dancing through the endless movements of the baby...dancing I swear is the most apt description to do justice to the little one's exertion. By this stage, I was truly awestruck and this little person was so thoroughly endeared to me that I couldn't wait to meet this delightful little soul.

And yet for 3 months more, it's stayed cocooned in my rapidly expanding belly. As space has become less plentiful and the dancing moves have become more like large waves, we have sung songs and told stories and played games, every day falling ever more in love with the little person growing in my womb. And now, only days away from the big 'D' day, we are waiting with bated breath for our next adventure to begin...

---