Holy Heartbeat Baby Rivera!

Today we had our first official OB appointment. We weren't sure what to expect and we were definitely surprised to leave with another ultrasound. We started the appointment with a routine question and answer session, then they did an exam. After the exam the Dr told us that he was going to attempt to try and see about hearing a heartbeat. He warned us that we were right on the edge of when we could possibly hear it (we are already 9 weeks tomorrow!) but not to worry if we didn't, we would just move rooms and do a trans-abdominal ultrasound if not. So he pulls out this little portable audible ultrasound and unfortunately we couldn't hear the baby's heartbeat. So we move into the ultrasound room. We could immediately see Baby Rivera's heart flickering on the screen (definitely much more clearer than last time). We were also able to see how much he/she has already grown since the last time, he/she is starting to take shape like a baby rather than just a blop on the screen. So as you see in the bottom picture (which shows the measurement of the BPM), Baby Rivera's heart rate was at 174 BPM! That is on the higher end of the average for where we are, but very good.

The gender guessing has begun already. Both grandmothers to be are saying Girl. So we guess only time will tell. It looks as if we are halfway to finding out what we are having. The Dr says we should find out around 18 weeks! Any others want to start saying their guess?

So today's appointment went really well. We are still really happy with him and his office. At this point we are now going to be going for appointments every 4 weeks. Our next appointment is scheduled for Wednesday, April 21. There shouldn't be too much going on at that one. We will again try to listen for the heartbeat (he said that is something he does just about at every visit). We have to go finish up some blood work this Friday and then we will be progressing as normal. Everything is looking great though!

We can't thank you all enough for the love and support you have shown so far. We love you all and appreciate it.

We hope you are all doing well!

Love always,
Ben and Gabrielle (and baby Rivera)