My little Angels

Rachael and I met with Dr. Lashgari on Tuesday for our first prenatal appointment and sonogram. We were able to catch our first glimpse of the baby on the sonogram and, much to our relief and joy, the baby's heartbeat came up right away. So far the baby's growth is right where it ought to be, which gives us a due date of March 29th, 2012 and means that Rachael is right at 8 1/2 weeks as of today. At this point we're both being cautious about things; not many people know that we are expecting yet and we're going to keep it that way until after our next appointment on September 16th just to make sure we've gotten out of the first trimester without any problems.

Four weeks I came home from an evening out with Ian and the guys to the most life-changing news of my life: Rachael was pregnant, and in an instant we went from newlyweds to parents. I cried. A lot. True, some of if might have been attributable to the two or three drinks I had just consumed, but 95% of it was joy mixed with surprise and shock. I suppose that some of it had to do with the fact that I never really fully grasped the idea of me being a father. Sure, I was married; and sure, we were trying to have kids. But the sudden realization that this was real, that a new life had been created from me -- and parts of my parents and all of my ancestors before me -- was truly amazing to me. We've spent the last few weeks looking forward to our first doctor visits; our first one is tomorrow at 1130am in Arlington. We've both been reading books, blogs, articles, and suggestions from friends on what to expect, how to care for our new addition to the family, and what risks we m