Our very own Christmas Miracle

Good evening, once again, readers.

I first want to preface this post with this:  I'm a jerk.  I promised you all more frequent updates, and haven't delivered on that promise.  For that, I apologize.  Unfortunately, life has a way of distracting you from the things you'd like to do, in lieu of the things you need to do.  Work has been consuming my free time - retail's a mean one, especially this time of the year.

With that said, I hope that you all had a very, very happy Thanksgiving, and were able to spend it with your loved ones.

This evening, I'll be sharing with all of your the story of Mrs J. and I's very own Christmas miracle.

Today we had our monthly visit with Mrs. J's OB, and went in expecting just a very quick, very basic visit, as her practice only technically perform's 3 ultrasounds during the course of a normal pregnancy, unless it's medically necessary for more frequent scans.

As you may recall, our previous visit was unable to provide an audible heartbeat due to complications with the good doctor's equipment.  We were only able to see it via ultrasound, which was equally satisfactory to us.  This visit, however, was able to produce a very strong, very audible heartbeat with the baby Doppler.  It was by far one of the coolest things I've ever heard.  By the time the nurse shut the machine off, both Mrs. J and I were grinning from ear to ear.

The doctor came in to wrap up as usual, providing this month's lab slips, and to make sure we were question-free.  As we were getting ready to leave, she asked us the burning question, "So, are you two planning on taking a peek at the gender and finding out what you're having?"

Now, anyone who knows me, knows that finding out the gender of our child has been what I've looked forward to most.  The downside, with Christmas right around the corner, was that our appointment schedule didn't quite line up with Christmas and finding out the gender of our baby.  So, I was honest with the doctor, "Yes. We were originally hoping to find out before Christmas, so that we could plan, but the timing just doesn't match up."

The response we got from the doctor: "Hm."  And she disappeared for a few minutes.

Upon her return, she told us, "Go ahead and go down the hall and wait on the bench, I'm going to sneak you in to get an advanced peek at the sex of your baby.  Merry Christmas."

It goes without saying, Mrs. J and I were elated at the thought, and almost didn't believe it was going to happen.  But, we did as instructed, and went down the hall to visit the office ultrasound tech.  She called us in, and set straight to work.

The whole process took about 15 minutes, because our little Bean wasn't cooperating.  In fact, the kid even gave the tech the finger (yes, really).  So, I sat and watched as the technician jiggled away at Mrs. J's belly, in an effort to get the bugger to move to a peek-worthy position. Lot's of  "Hm's,' and "c'mon's" were heard throughout. Just before the session concluded, I'd almost given up on the notion that we'd be finding out the gender of our little one.  That is, until the technician proudly proclaimed, "Yep! That's definitely a penis."

So, ladies and gentlemen, we've officially joined Team Blue.  We're having a boy!

It may not seem like much of a miracle, but it takes someone very special to do what our doctor did for us today.  She didn't have to make special accommodations for us, but she did - without us asking, just because she could.

I've written doctors off for most of my adult life - I've never had a doctor who seemed to only care about me as a patient, and have always felt like a number to the doctors I've seen.  And even though she isn't my doctor, Dr. K has certainly restored some of my faith in the community of medical professionals.

Truth be told, the only thing I wanted for Christmas this year, was to find out the gender of our baby.  Not because it's that important, but because it's such a milestone.  To give him (or her, at the time) a name, and start to plan a little bit better.  Dr. K made that wish come true for both of us.  Our parents were equally eager to discover if they were having a grandson or a granddaughter, and so by extension, we were able to make their wish come true this evening, as well.

I certainly hope that you and your families have a Merry Christmas, and that you'll join us next time.

Happy Holidays, everyone.

-J