Heartbeats

January 22nd 2010 is a day that will live in infamy. I got up and it was cold and windy. Maybe just windy. I don't remember. This day is sort of a blur. Our appointment was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Carrie was very nervous. I was very nervous also, but I tried not to show it.

Would they find a heartbeat?

Was the baby healthy?

Was everything okay?

We drove to the appointment and tried to talk about other things. Carrie was also nervous because this would be her first time with a male gynecologist.

We got to the office and waited to meet with Dr. Handcock.

Yep. Handcock.

Carrie and I waited in the exam room. She was very very nervous now. I tried to make jokes. They weren't funny. She said so.

The Doctor came in and what a cool guy he was. He instantly felt like a good buddy. He told us that we would chat for a bit, and then do the exam. Turns out he was from a very small town in South Dakota that our band had driven through. He was very surprised that I knew where it was. The place is a hell hole. I'm sure he is glad that he is a Doctor in Austin and doesn't have to live there.

Anyhow, after some small talk, Carrie told him how nervous she was that the baby was okay and that she was worried things would not work out. He told her to think positive.

He left the room and Carrie put on the gown. I helped and I have to admit now, that I was nervous. I had never gotten anyone pregnant before. At least no one had come forward. Carrie had never been pregnant. This was new territory.

The Doctor came back in with a nurse, some rubber gloves, and a big machine. This exam was going down.

I stood next to table as they put her feet in the stirrups. The doctor began the exam.

Doctor Handcock: Your Uterus is enlarged. Very large for this early in the pregnancy.

Carrie: What's that mean?

Doctor Handcock: That's good! It probably means that your baby is healthy and growing nicely.

Me: Hear that? No need to worry.

Carrie Smiles.

I look at the Doctor who gives me a very strange look. Strange for a man that has his hand inside your wife. The look is one of curiosity and wonder. I remember it now. He knew something was up right then. Uterus. Large. Abnormally Large.

They then get out a rod and put a condom on it. I make a condom joke. No one laughs.

The rod is then inserted into the wife and the baby search is on.

Instant Baby.

Happy Happy Joy Joy!!

I see the baby on the screen, and see and hear the heartbeat.

I look at Carrie.

Happy Happy Joy Joy!!

Dr. Handcock: Hold on! I have a second baby.....and hold on LOOK HERE!!! I have a THIRD!!!

Houston we have a problem.

Total physical and mental paralysis.

What you talkin' bout Willis?

Dr. Handcock: Spontaneous Triplets!! I have never seen it.

Carrie:

Mike:

Carrie:

Mike:

Nurse: What do you think?

Mike: F$#&!!!

That's right. I said it.

Dr. Handcock: Are you okay?

Me:

Carrie:

The doctor left the room to go and get other people to come and look. Carrie is laying there with a rod inside her on a table and people are coming and going, totally amazed.

I instantly become a very concerned father.

Me: How are they?

Dr. Handcock: They are perfect! They are fine!

Me: Show me each one.

He moves from one baby to another. I see each heartbeat.

Dr. Handcock: I can see this third one's heartbeat, but I can't hear it.

Me: Hear it! Find it!

Dr. Handcock: There it is!

He goes back and forth as we see each baby and each heartbeat. Two of them are in the same sack. Identical babies. The third is in a sack on it's own. Two eggs were fertilized and one split. The odds are 1 in a million.

I am overwhelmed. Carrie is overwhelmed.

I look at my girl. I have loved her from the moment I saw her, but she looks different now. I wanted to do so many things. I wanted to build a shield around her to protect her and the babies. I wanted to donate something to charity. I wanted to rush out and make the world a better place for them.

How was it going to work?

Why us?

Carrie got dressed and we actually gave each other a high five as she came out of the bathroom. The nurses' station was filled with people. Triplets happen a lot when fertility drugs are used, but natural or spontaneous triplets are very rare.


We are baby making ROCK STARS!

The doctor takes us back into the exam room and we sit down.

High Risk Pregnancy.

200 Grams of Protein.

Exercise.

Eat right.

Blah. Blah. Blah.

We can't move. We are stunned. He tells us that many people wait until after the 13th week before telling anyone.

We don't make it out of the building before we are both on our cell phones.

Three babies.

Coming.

Coming soon.