Oh, boy.

This post was supposed to go up last night, but instead I went and watched my sister drink copious amounts of champagne. Sorry for delay, and happy birthday, Jill, again.

Yesterday, we had our "Big" ultrasound. The medical reason for it is to measure the brain and look at the heart and make sure all the wee little organs are there and doing what they should. The fun reason for it is to find out the sex of the baby. As a friend of mine pointed out, some people prefer to wait and be surprised at birth, but really its a surprise if you find out now or then. We were pretty surprised.

First, the medical stuff. Baby has a brain, has a four-chambered heart, which looked like a pulsing four-leaf clover, according to Morgan. There is a stomach, two kidneys, a liver, a bladder, arms and legs, a spine. The face, according to the ultrasound tech, is perfect. All right, really she was just looking for a cleft, but a mother can take pride in compliments, right? We didn't get any feedback on the state of these organs, as the scans still have to be analyzed by my doctor, but I have an appointment with him next week.

It was a different exam room than we had for our last ultrasound. That room had a monitor mounted on the wall opposite us, so we could see what the tech and the perinatologist were looking at. This time, there was no second screen, and the tech told me right off that she was going to keep her monitor turned towards her while she was taking the images she needed, and then she'd turn it so that I could see. Morgan sat at the foot of the bed and could see the entire thing. We have both kind of laughed at his coworker who apparently got bored during her big ultrasound, but given the set up of the room, I could almost see how that might happen. I didn't get bored; I was too busy watching both Morgan's and the tech's reactions to the images, and listening to her describe what she was looking at. Apparently, the most exciting part was the color-coded image of the cord: red for blood going from me to the baby, and blue for blood going from the baby to me. Morgan said it looked like a weather system suddenly moved into my belly.

And finally, the tech turned the screen so I could see. The bean wiggled around some during the exam. By this, he was laying on his head, with his body curling up and over, and his feet resting against my bladder. (Have I mentioned the amount of water they made me drink before this exam?)



When the tech was trying to take scans of the baby's face, she started laughing because each time she got a good angle, he would cover his face with his hand. Apparently our baby takes after our dog? Here's a profile shot.


Morgan says it looks like he has my family's nose, and Jill says he doesn't look like he has much of a chin. As long as he doesn't get my nose and Morgan's jaw...

And finally, some tiny feet.


This image is a little harder to read, but the little guy had his ankles crossed and feet braced against my bladder. Thanks, sweetie.

And of course, if you've been paying attention, you'll notice the switch of pronouns. We're having a boy. This kind of blew both Morgan and I away, as we'd both really only thought about a girl. We're not disappointed, of course, just readjusting. We won't be able to use our favorite name on our secret baby name list, and I'll have to rethink the stripey leggings I had in mind. And will I have to learn the rules to various sports now? Fortunately Morgan's pretty good with the sports stuff, even if he in no way engages in the typical male sports braggadocio.

So, at week 18, baby is measuring at the right length and weight for his age; he apparently weighs about 8 ounces. Its amazing to me that something so tiny has made such a big impact on body already. And its amazing to think about the bigger impact he'll have on our lives. Crazy.

And finally, some thanks. Pace and I went on a walk with my friend Donna last week, and she brought the bean a present - the tiniest t-shirt I have ever seen, with a peapod on the front, with three little peas nestled in it. Because, as she explained, there are three of us. Thanks, Donna.

Morgan spent last weekend house sitting for his grandparents, and come home with a bundle of fabric. When he was about five, his grandmother made him a pair of overalls with this fabric, and she gave him the remnants.


I love it because its evidence of a frog fixation that predates the Pacific Power PSA. So what should we make with the fabric?