The Mood Swings

When we arrived at the doctor's office, Nicholas assisted me in getting out of the car and gave me a hug before we entered.

"Hey, don't be concerned about Rosemary, my dad, Benson, or anything else. Please keep your attention on the baby. I will handle everything else."

I squeezed his hand while attempting to smile at him. Though in theory, it made sense, I was prone to care about everything and anything. I didn't, however, tell him that.

As soon as we entered, I liked the sleek and relaxing atmosphere and felt at home. I requested the necessary documentation from the front desk staff, and Nicholas and I sat down to complete it. We were the only ones in the waiting room as we had taken the earliest slot available.

We received a call almost immediately after I finished filling out the paperwork. A technician weighed me, took my vital signs, collected blood and urine samples, and gave me a gown to put on before seeing the doctor. It was incredibly silky and a lovely shade of pink. Definitely superior to the rough paper gown I was anticipating.

After she had left, Nicholas inquired, "Do you want me to stay?"

I blinked. "Yes, if that's okay. Just take a seat next to the bed and hold my hand so that I don't panic."

Although I wasn't aware of how intrusive my pelvic exam would be, it still gave me the jitters. Nicholas needed to be there with me.

About five minutes later, Dr. Whitney entered the room with a charming smile. She held out her hand for both of us to take.

"Lovely meeting you, Mr. and Mrs. Rowe."

"Call me Willow, please."

"You may also call me Whitney."

I made an effort to unwind as much as possible because she appeared nice.

"I want to start by congratulating you. Our rapid blood test revealed that you are definitely pregnant." She stood next to the bed, inspecting my chart. "Almost two and a half months have passed since your last period?"

I smiled while nodding. "But I've never had regular cycles."

She merely smiled. "That's alright. Today, we'll perform an ultrasound to determine the fetus's age. I'll perform a short pelvic examination."

As she pressed and prodded, she asked me to describe my symptoms.

I held onto Nicholas' hand despite the physician being gentle. "I have been tired but I don't have much nausea. It has only been a few days since I felt like puking at all."

"That's excellent news. But don't worry if you feel nauseous all the time. It should recede in your second trimester, though."

I couldn't make out what Nicholas was saying as he knelt down and whispered in my ear.

"What?"

He said, "Tell her about the mood swings."

I grimaced. "Which mood swings?"

He swallowed as his eyes widened. "You, I mean, you know, right?"

"No, I don't believe I do. Please provide more details." I didn't even try to mask my rage with sarcasm.

"I didn't mean it negatively." He really thought he could get out of this.

I cast a glare his way. "Shut up."

Whitney chuckled before rising once more. "It's all done. I believe I will save your husband before any conflict arises. Everything appears to be in order, and I believe you are at a stage where I can perform a trans-abdominal ultrasound."
She began fiddling with a machine. "I will give you a few minutes. Before we perform the ultrasound, you can put your pants back on. And try not to be too harsh with him." She gave a quick wink before going serious. "Mood swings are natural, but if you routinely experience any strong emotions, do check in. Because you are pregnant, you shouldn't disregard your mental health," she warned. She gave one more smile before leaving.

Nicholas assisted me in getting off, and I kept glaring at him as he handed me my underwear and pants.

I would show him what mood swings looked like!

As I changed back into my clothes and stepped back up onto the examination bed, he deftly kept his mouth quiet. He reached for my hand, but I crossed them over my chest.

Whitney walked up to stand next to me after softly tapping on the door. She slowly revealed my stomach. "The gel will feel cold." She squirted it over the wand and began to maneuver it over my stomach.

She pointed to our baby on the screen and I gasped, grabbing Nicholas' hand. I failed to remember that I was upset with him.

"This is your baby. You are approximately nine weeks along, but I'll take some measurements first. I'll estimate the due date before you leave."

I turned to face him and smiled when I caught the look of fascination on his face. He had his eyes glued to the monitor, admiring our tiny, grape-sized baby as though it were the most marvelous thing he had ever seen.

Perhaps it was.

He inquired, "You're going to give us photographs, right?"

The doctor laughed. "Yes. I'll give you a copy of this video and some images." She swiveled to face us. "I love working with first-time parents."

To prevent Nicholas from being hurt by her words, I tightened my grip on his hand. But he didn't appear alarmed; instead, he just kept grinning gleefully at the monitor.

She then left us again, allowing me time to put my shirt back on. When she returned, she informed us of our due date and gave me a ton of leaflets and prenatal vitamins to take.

"Your pregnancy is not considered high-risk, so I would like to check in on you once a month. We might not get a read on the sex of the baby in our next appointment, but we will definitely know in the one after that. Do you want to know or do you want to be surprised?" she asked.

I looked across at Nicholas, and he gave me a cheery nod, which made me smile. I understood his motives. "We want to know the sex of the baby as soon as possible."

"I'll add that to your chart, all right? Before you leave, you can arrange for your next visit. Do either of you have any more queries?"

"Um... I suppose I was curious about..." He stopped and scratched the back of his neck.

"Sex while expecting?" He nodded after Whitney had finished for him. "Common question from expectant fathers."

I blushed and shook my head. He would naturally want to know about sex. Pervert.

"It's entirely normal. In fact, as the pregnancy progresses, the majority of women will have elevated desire for sexual activity."

My blush grew hotter when Nicholas looked delighted with the information.

She added, looking at me directly, "But if you have any pain or abnormal discharge, please contact me so we can make sure everything is still okay."

I nodded vehemently.

We eventually left, laden with photos, leaflets, and medications. As we climbed back inside the vehicle, Nicholas grinned ear-to-ear, and John tilted his head toward me as I entered.

On the way home, we stopped at a bookshop, where Nicholas virtually bought the entire stock of parenting and pregnancy books. While I went out and bought some romance books and magazines for myself, I let him enjoy himself.

When we arrived home, I was eager to immediately return to bed. I took a shower to rinse down the grime from the doctor's visit and convinced Nicholas to snuggle with me for a few hours.

Even though the kid was still very little, it was already sapping all of my energy.

.

Nicholas' roving hands and gentle lips woke me up.

"I was questioning whether you would ever wake up," he murmured, his fingers going inside my underwear. "You've been out for three hours." I gave an appreciative hum.

"Do you feel uncomfortable from the intrusive procedure?"

I opened my eyes and gave a small shake of my head. "No. Continue what you are doing."

At this time, my t-shirt and underwear came off rather rapidly as Nicholas' kisses began to move south. He paid particular attention to my stomach, which made me smile. To get his mouth back to mine, I ran my fingers through his hair.

"The doctor recommended us to have sex," he said seriously.

He smirked against my neck as I started to laugh. "She said we could have sex. Not that she recommended it."

"I heard a recommendation." Of course, he heard that.

Being with him in this position, in the middle of the afternoon, with all the windows open to the sun, was wonderful. He was just stunning. Outside and inside.

He propped himself up and looked down at me. I adored those sparkling eyes and wished for the same for our unborn child.

I wished that it could be that way every day.