You can usually taste the excitement in the air during a first visit for pregnancy. It’s palpable.

As I walk into the ultrasound room, I see the quick glances back and forth between the soon-to-be parents, as if to size me up. For the next 30 minutes, I get to be the one to officially open this new chapter on their lives.

We start with the typical chit-chat. Where are you from? How did you hear about us? How are you feeling so far? Are you excited? Russia. Google. Nauseous. Very.

I’ve learned that asking more questions beyond this or diving into some educational nonsense gets completely forgotten if you dig deeper because they are here for one thing: the ultrasound. Cue the funny, but expected, joke from Dad about how he’s glad he is a man and doesn’t have to go through anything like this.