Breech

Brennan sat next to me in the waiting room of the doctors office. I was now twenty weeks along. My baby belly had grown slightly, becoming slightly more prominent. I was also starting to feel little flutters in my abdomen. The first time this had happened I was lying on my bed almost asleep. That was last week, now every time I sat still I felt the little flutters that felt like butterflies in my stomach.

I smiled as the flutters started up again. Brennan looked at me curiously.

“He, or she, is a very active baby.” I told Brennan. He placed his hand on my belly and then sighed.

“I can’t wait until I can feel his kicks.” Brennan told me. He was determined that our baby was a boy.

Today was the day we would find out the gender, if I wanted to. I kept going back and forth on knowing. I guess I would make my usual snap decision in there.

My mom walked over and sat down next to me, picking up my hand and squeezing it.

“You’re all checked in. They said Dr. Freedman will see you in a few minutes he is just coming off of his lunch break.” My mom told me with a big smile on her face. She loved Dr. Freedman; he had delivered Tyler, my mother’s one baby that had lived so she believed he walked on water when it came to delivering babies. I thought it was slightly weird that my mother’s doctor was now my doctor, but as long as he was good and he delivered my baby right then I would be happy.

I just nodded my head squeezing her hand before slipping my hand out of her grip, returning it to holding the book I was holding. I wanted to be prepared, or as prepared as possible, when this baby came so I had dug up my mom’s old pregnancy books. I was now reading the famous What to Expect When You’re Expecting . Brennan though I was nuts for reading about everything that could happen, but I wanted to know.

I looked up from my book as a nurse entered the room with a clipboard. All the other expectant mothers did too. Everyone looked so eager to be next, probably because they had other things to do. One mother looked like she was due today. He belly was huge and her eyes had bags under them due to lack of sleep. Her blonde haired toddler son was bobbing all over the place, playing with the toys and making a mess of the small child station they had set up. I heard her call to him and ask him to sit still but he ignored her. She sighed, probably weighing her options; stand and try to make him listen, or stay sitting and hoping he didn’t injure himself or anyone else. She seemed to decide he would be fine running around like a wild child.

“Alexandria Claire!?” The nurse called my name and the faces of half a dozen pregnant ladies fell. Stood up smiling at the nurse, Brennan taking my hand. The three of us walked into the hallway, the nurse shutting the door behind us.

“Follow me.” The nurse said pleasantly. They took me through the basics, weighing me and asking me a couple of questions about my pregnancy. Finally she told me to have a seat on the exam table.

“The doctor will be in in a moment.” She told me before exiting the room. My eyes roamed around the room looking at all the pictures and diagrams on the walls. Brennan stood next to me with a giant smile. It was his first ultrasound, and the first time he would get to see his baby. He had been mad when he found out he had missed the first picture and now he was super excited to see this one.

“So honey,” my mom started, “Are you going to find out the sex?” Her eyes were full of curiosity.

“I’m not sure, I know Brennan wants me to,” I said, glancing his way, “But I haven’t fully decided yet. I guess we will find out when Dr. Freedman asks me. “

As I said the doctors name the door opened. Dr. Freedman entered the room brandishing the clipboard with all my information on it. He looked up at me shutting the door behind him.

“My, my little Alexandria has grown up! I was so surprised when your mother called me up. I thought maybe she was pregnant again, but when she told me it was you, well lets just say it made me feel old!” He told me with a giant smile.

Seeing him brought me back to childhood memories of coming to doctor’s appointments with my mother when she was pregnant with Tyler. I remembered when Dr. Freedman would walk in, always with a sucker or some other piece of candy for me. He still looked the same with his extremely bright hazel eyes and grey hair. His nose was long and slightly pointy. He was tall, still towering over me. He was even taller than Brennan, but he was very lanky. Like a gangly teenager, not quite grown into his body.

He gave my mother a hug as she thanked him for taking me on as a patient even though he must have been busy. He smiled and gave her the traditional anytime.

“Now this must be the lucky father.” Dr. Freedman exclaimed, breaking away from my mother and examining Brennan for the first time. He walked over to him, offering his hand. Brennan took it with his bright two-dimpled smile.

“Yes I am.” Brennan told the doctor proudly, glancing at me.

“What is your name son?” The Dr. Freedman asked.
“Brennan, sir.” He responded dropping the doctor’s hand.

“Nice to meet you Brennan!” He sounded extremely excited, “So why don’t we get this examination along!” He sat down next to the computer, opening the ultrasound program and then drug over the machine.

“Ok Alex roll up your shirt.” Dr. Freedman told me, pulling on some gloves. He gently poked and prodded my abdomen, asking questions about if it hurt. When I said no he nodded. Then he grabbed the jelly.

“This is going to be cold.” He warned me before squirting the goo onto my bump. It was chilly, but I didn’t mind it. He grabbed the ultrasound equipment and began to move it around on my belly. He stopped and pointed at the computer screen. I knew Brennan and my mother were hovering around the screen too, but I didn’t see them anymore.

“There is your baby.” Dr. Freedman pointed out. I smiled. My little jellybean had grown. No longer was it a little spot in my uterus. Now my baby was starting to look like a baby. He or she had little hands with little fingers and a face.

“So everything looks good.” Dr. Freedman told me, changing the angle and checking everything out.

“Now do you want to know the sex?” I looked at Brennan’s eager face and smiled. I had denied him the first ultrasound, so I could give him this.

“Yes I do.” I told the doctor. He smiled before looking back at the screen.

“Now because of the position your baby is in it is kind of hard to tell, but I am about ninety percent sure you are having a baby boy, congrats!” He told me freezing the screen and cleaning the goo off my stomach. Brennan’s smile had never been so large.

“I told you!” He nearly shouted in joy. I laughed,

“Yeah I guess you did.”

The doctor continued the examination.

“Everything looks healthy. Your baby is growing just as it should.” He wiped the jelly off my abdomen and motioned for me to pull down my shirt. He turned to the monitor and tapped away on the keyboard for a second. The computer started to hum loudly.

He turned back to me with a smile.

“Alright I want you to make sure you continue to take your vitamins. I am going to give you my personal cell number, and if anything at all happens out of the ordinary I want you to call me.” He told me scribbling down his number on the back of the card for his office. He then reached down under the monitor and grabbed a glossy piece of paper from under the computer. Turns out it wasn’t the computer humming but the printer. He handed me back a picture of my baby. I smiled; he was so precious I just didn’t want to look away.

The doctor led us out of the exam room and down the winding hallway, back to the door that led into the waiting room.

“Alright Alexandria, remember to make your next appointment at the front desk. I will see you in a few weeks!.” Dr. Freedman patted me on the back before opening the door for me. We walked through the door and Brennan grabbed my hand. I looked up at his face. His smile was so insanely bright that I wanted to kiss him right there in the waiting room.

My mother went to make me another appointment at the front desk. I turned to look at Brennan, he was still smiling that huge two dimpled smile.

“I love you.” The words just slipped out of my mouth. I stood shocked for a second before I realized they were true. I loved him. I always had loved him as a friend but now I loved him more. I loved him the way I imagined my dad loving my mother.

Brennan stared at me, his mouth open.

“You don’t have to say anything, I am just saying. I…” He cut me off with a sweet kiss.

“Shut up for a second he told me with a sweet smile. I love you too.” He squeezed my hand briefly then turned to look at my mother as she walked up.

“Alright Alex you are all set for your next appointment.” She told me as we left the office.

I couldn’t wait for my next appointment to see how my little boy had grown.