Posted on by Kurt

The day I experienced tears of joy for the first time

13 week ultrasound picture

Sometimes, there’s God…so quickly. — Tennessee Williams

In light of my recent postings of black and white photos from my extended family’s past, I should say right off the bat, in case it isn’t obvious, that the above picture is firmly rooted in my ever-changing present. It is an ultrasonogram from an obstetric ultrasound prodedure Naoko had two days ago at our local hospital, and confirms what we have suspected for a few weeks now: that Naoko is pregnant with our first child.

Given that Naoko had a positive home pregnancy test 3 weeks or so ago, I should have been better prepared for this “official” indication, but when she handed this image to me upon exiting the hospital room, the realization of what some of it all means enveloped me and I stood still in the middle of the hallway and started to cry.

In actuality, the image I stared at was no less abstract than the colored line of the home pregnancy test, but it met my sometimes rigid standard for truth and in a way gave me permission to succumb to the mass of emotions I had been keeping in check these last few weeks.

And so begins another challenge, another change in the road, and an infinite amount of discoveries waiting to be happened upon.

Some facts: Naoko is 13-weeks pregnant, and the doctor put down March 31, 2003 as the expected date of birth. Currently, the fetus measures just 7cm (2 3/4 inches). The image on the right represents the doctor’s pen outline of the fetus to better delineate it’s features. (Personally I don’t like it, in my present fancifully imaginative state it calls up thoughts of authority placing boundaries on individuality and creativity).

P.S.: If any readers have any recommendations of good books or websites that deal with pregnancy, especially as it relates to what a husband should know about his wife’s changing body and emotional state and what he should be doing to support her, please leave me a comment or email me. I’m also interested in any “child birth” blogs you know of or have come across.

12 Replies to “The day I experienced tears of joy for the first time”

  1. Wow, great! Congrats Kurt! As I’ve never been a father, I have no advice to give you, but let me hope you two will have a bouncing baby!

  2. Congratulations, Kurt and Naoko!

    “I don’t know nothin’ ’bout birthin’ babies,” but I’ll keep an eye out for those child birth blogs.

  3. Oh, Kurt, how wonderful! Congratulations to both you and Naoko. Now the adventure really begins.

    It’s been 23 years since I went throught this…so I don’t have any current (web-related) resources on pregnancy. My younger sister is a midwife, though, so I’ll ask her.

  4. Oh my gosh kids are great!!! Congrats to you two! The Japanese-white half is always really pretty looking. Have fun parenting. =)

  6. Hi…
    Congratulations! A book you may want to hunt up is ‘What To Expect When You Are Expecting’. Very helpful and thorough. Also, if you want to be present in the delivery room on the big day check with the hospital in advance and see if it is allowed. Some hospitals here in Japan do NOT allow fathers in the delivery room.

    aabb
    gmtPlus9

    Osaka, Japan

  7. Wow! Congratulations, Kurt!
    I was reminded of the day when I held my first son in my arms for the first time.;)
    You just can’t wait!

  9. Congrats! Mark sent me the link to your site. I think you might be interested in the book “You are Your Child’s First Teacher” by Rahima Baldwin (?) Unless you are not into Rudolf Steiner… author is a Waldorf teacher. I read Sear’s books about preg. & childbirth.
    take care, and all the best to you and naoko and the little one

  10. Julie and Ruby,
    Thanks for stopping by, and that recommendation. I will seek it out. And no, the Steiner connection doesn’t bother me. I actually went to a Waldorf elementary school in Hawaii for a while, I regret I didn’t really appreciate it at the time.

  11. A bit late though, Congrats! And welcome to the “daddy club”. In fact our second baby is coming any time this week. I am sure you’ll enjoy being a father.

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