Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Once she’s dressed, she sits up on the bed and her eyes meet mine. “I didn’t want to get pregnant,” she says quietly, liquid emotion filling her lids. “But now…” she chokes out, shaking her head, and I cut across the room to pull her into my arms. I hold her tight while she silently cries into my chest for several minutes before she speaks again. “I want our baby,” she admits. “When I thought I was going to die, I saw it...our baby, our family. I could never really picture it before, but in that moment, it was all so clear. I felt so much happiness. Then, just as quickly, it was gone.”
I want to tell her everything is going to be okay, but since I don’t know if that’s true, I tell her the only truth I do know. “I love you, Sienna, and no matter what happens, we’ll get through it together.” She nods into my chest and snuggles closer.
“Good afternoon,” the doctor says. “I’m Dr. Peterson. Are you Sienna?”
“I am,” she says, sitting up and wiping her eyes.
“Can you tell me what’s going on?”
She explains to the doctor that she’s been sick, but she had passed it off as stress since she’s on birth control. When my mom suggested that she might be pregnant, she took three separate tests, all of which came out positive. But then later, she found blood on the tissue when she went to pee.
“All right, I’m going to have the nurse take your blood to run some tests. How far along do you think you are?”
“I don’t know,” she admits. “I haven’t gotten my period in a while, and they’re always so irregular.”
“Based on the urine sample you gave when you arrived, there is a high enough level of hCG to indicate you’re pregnant. The spotting you noticed can mean several things, so rather than make assumptions, I’m going to run some blood tests and put in for an ultrasound.”
After a nurse comes by and takes several tubes of blood, a woman comes in to take Sienna to the ultrasound. “You don’t have to get up. I’ll wheel your bed there,” she says, with a soft smile. I notice the name on her tag reads Madeline.
“Can he come with me?” Sienna asks nervously, as if there’s even the smallest chance that I would let her out of my sight. We have no idea what we’re going to see, and there’s no way I’m leaving her alone with a stranger, even if Madeline does seem friendly enough.
“Of course,” she says.
When we arrive, the room is dark, and the tech explains she’s setting up the equipment. Since Sienna’s not sure how far along she is, she tells us she’s going to do a transvaginal ultrasound. I stay by Sienna’s side, holding her hand and massaging circles with my thumb, trying to reassure her that I’m here and that everything’s going to be okay, one way or another.
The tech is quiet for several seconds, moving the instrument around inside of her and clicking buttons on the screen. My heart drops, thinking there must be something wrong. I can’t tell what’s on the screen, but it’s grey and grainy and it doesn’t look like there’s a baby in there. Then again, I’m not sure what it is I should be seeing this early in the pregnancy.
A few moments later, a loud whoosh, whoosh, whoosh fills the quiet room, and Sienna gasps. “Is that my baby’s heartbeat?”
“Yep, it sure is. And it’s strong, too. Based on the measurements, you’re roughly five weeks.”
Holy shit, Sienna is five weeks pregnant. Despite her being on birth control, it seems fate had other plans.
Sienna squeezes my hand and glances up at me, her eyes glassy with emotion. “We’re having a baby,” she murmurs softly.
“Yeah, we are,” I agree, leaning over and kissing her forehead.
The tech walks us through the ultrasound, while taking pictures for the doctor. She can’t give us any information as to why Sienna was bleeding, but she says once the doctor has a look at the photos, he can tell us more.
After the ultrasound is finished, Sienna is wheeled back to the room, and we’re told that the doctor will be in soon to go over all the results.
We wait in silence, unsure what to say. We saw our baby, heard the heartbeat, but that doesn’t change the fact that Sienna was bleeding.
A little while later, the doctor returns and informs us that we have no need for concern. Everything looks good, including the bloodwork. “As for the bleeding, it’s common in the beginning of a pregnancy due to implantation.” He goes on to explain in more detail what the ultrasound showed, and once he’s done, he says, “I’m going to discharge you and recommend a few days of bed rest and then a follow-up with your OB-GYN.”