Spain Dad, a baby blog

The midwife shook the bottle, turned it upside down, and drew a circle of blue gel on April’s belly. She rolled over the ultrasound machine, which was nothing more than a laptop on a cart with a holster on the side for the probe, which she untangled and rolled over April’s stomach like a miniature vacuum cleaner.

The image on the screen looked like weather patterns, and then suddenly, there was a baby, moving in and out of the darkness as we tried to shine our flashlight on him.

The first time I saw a baby in April’s belly, which was three years ago, I didn’t feel anything at all. I remember mostly trying to figure out what exactly I was looking at.

Today, however, I was moved. Anyone who says an ultrasound is cute has an active imagination. An ultrasound is not darling, it’s alien, like a satellite image from outer space. But, like all optical illusions, parents who know better see more than what’s on the screen. At least I did. I saw my child for the first time, alive and healthy, yawning and stretching, tumbling around and peeking at me from inside his little cave.

It makes a difference that I’ve been a dad before because now my imagination is going wild thinking about all the things I know I’ll get to do with this little person in the months ahead.

For more, see our ultrasounds photos or have fun with some optical illusions…