Getting To Know You

Ultrasound technology is great for practical reasons during pregnancy--to monitor baby’s growth, stay aware of complications, guide care providers--but I think the impractical psychological benefits are important, too. Even when you’re the pregnant one, the whole thing seems a bit unreal sometimes, but there is nothing like seeing your little prawn-shaped progeny on the screen to provide a reality check of the nicest kind. Not that expectant families who do not have access to ultrasound or choose not to use it are less connected to their babies, it’s just that seeing that tiny heart beating in grainy grey-scale changes things somehow. There is also the chance to wrap your head around what style of little person you’re getting before the emotional pandemonium of the delivery room. When I was pregnant with Connor, for the first six months I thought we were having a girl. Not that I was set on a girl, just somehow anticipated one. When the ultrasound revealed a boy, I had to revamp a bit, including finding a name that wasn’t Kelsey. After trying a whole list of boys’ names, we finally stayed with Connor--but it took me quite awhile to readjust. Imagine how that would have played itself out if I hadn’t had a chance to “meet” Connor on the screen. In Suzanne Williams’ Mommy Doesn’t Know My Name, one little girl gets called all sorts of sweet stuff not on her birth certificate. Maybe her mommy just needed more time to get to know her.

http://www.amazon.com/Mommy-Doesnt-Know-My-Name/dp/0395779790

http://www.suzanne-williams.com/books.html