Yep, It's A BOY!!!

As you've probably already seen in my previous post, baby #2 is a boy. Savannah is going to have a little brother and this is the story of coming to know that.

Our sonogram appointment was at 11:30 on Monday morning, January 10th. The whole week leading up to this appointment I was SO anxious! I kept trying to guess if it would be a boy or girl, taking into consideration of all the little "signs" or old wives tales. I seriously could NOT wait to find out. I don't know how people can wait until their baby is born. I'm sure the surprise at the birth is an amazing experience, but I am just simply not that patient. And I'm a planner, so I "need" to have things ready specifically for a boy or a girl.

On Sunday night, I honestly couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned still trying to guess the gender.

It had snowed all day Sunday and the roads were "bad" Monday morning. All the schools in our area were either delayed 2 hours or canceled altogether. Because the birthing center we use is approximately 30 minutes away from us and the sonogram tech comes from even further away, I was nervous that my appointment would be canceled. 

I called the birthing center just after 9 a.m. to make sure they were open, the sonogram tech was there and my appointment was still on. The receptionist, Makayla, answered "yes" to all of that. And so I began getting myself ready, Savannah dressed and fed.

We left just house at about 10:45 and stopped by Caleb's office to pick him up, then made our way to the birthing center. The roads weren't bad AT ALL. As we drove, Caleb asked me if I was nervous. I said "no". There wasn't anything to be nervous about, but I was anxious. Anxious to see the baby on the computer screen. Anxious to know that the baby was growing and healthy. Anxious to know if the baby was a boy or girl. Just anxious.

Once we walked into the office, I filled out my consent paperwork for the sonogram. When I handed it back to Makayla, she told me that "today is a girl day." Meaning, so far, all the sonograms of the expecting mother's before me found out they were expecting a girl. Then jokingly, Makayla said "so, if you aren't hoping for a girl, you might not want to go in there today." I just laughed and told her not to tell Caleb.

Finally. The time had come and I laid on the table as my heart began to race with excitement. The warm jelly was squeezed onto my belly and the sonogram was underway.

This was just the good ol' fashioned sonogram...not one of those fancy 4D ones. As usual, Kevin, the sonogram tech, started with the head of the baby. Taking measurements and then letting us know that the spinal canal had closed indicating there was no spinal-bifida. And that's when I began to get emotional. Just so thankful to hear good news. As he continued with the sonogram, he showed us the heart and all four chambers beating away (149 bpm). The stomach and bladder were functioning correctly and the umbilical cord had all three vessels. Everything looked just the way it should and I was so, SO thankful!

The further down the baby he went, I was on the "lookout" for boy or girl parts. Kevin was pointing out the arms and hands, legs and feet. I would comment occasionally on the foot or hand that I could see or how the baby would open their mouth. Kevin said "Wow. You're getting really good at reading these. Can you tell me if it's a boy or girl?" I told him I hadn't seen that "part" yet and that's when he moved the wand to just the "right place" and said "It looks like you're having a boy". 

"Really?" was the only thing that came out of my mouth. I thought to myself: a boy. All this time I had been "convincing" myself it was a girl, but it was a boy. I looked over at Caleb, who was video taping this moment while holding Savannah, and just smiled. We were having a son. A son that I knew my husband was really hoping for...if not now, one day.

I'll admit, I was a little shocked when I heard the baby is a boy and it actually took me a few days to completely come to terms with it. Not because I don't want a boy. I really, really do. But because I kinda hoped for a little sister for Savannah. Not to mention all the fun, cute girly clothes I'd get to buy. :) This baby and Savannah will only be about 23 months apart in age and I just thought about how fun it would be for her. I am the second born child with a brother three years older than me and a brother just 23 months younger than me. Granted we didn't always get along great growing up, we are all three (as well as my other siblings) great friends now. So I know that Savannah and this little boy can possibly be each others best friend EVER and that makes me excited.

Once I was finished with the sonogram, I had my regular appointment with my mid-wife, Amy. She went over all the things that Kevin had found on the sonogram. All the great things! I had to do a weigh-in (as I do every appointment) and I knew this one wouldn't be pretty. Because I had been sick just a few days before my appointment last month, I had actually lost one pound. Not something you want to do while pregnant. Amy told me she was hoping I had "caught up" this month and did I ever. I gained EIGHT pounds! At this point in my pregnancy, a healthy weight gain is one pound per week. Well, I doubled that and easily made up for the previous month. This brought my weight to 116 pounds. A total of nine pounds gained and I'm only half way through the pregnancy. Wow!

I haven't been very good during this pregnancy at keeping up with all the little details about being pregnant. Here are a few notable things about this pregnancy. 

* I was sick from week 6 through about week 15. Not every day, but I would be sick for a day or two, then fine for up to 5 days before feeling not so great again.  

* I had a serious aversion to Mexican food well into the second trimester. And considering we like to eat Mexican food just about every other day was not good. 

* The baby seems to be sitting lower than Savannah did.

* The heart rate started in the 170's, then fell into the 160's the following month and was 149 at the time of the sonogram (20 weeks).

I am so thankful to be expecting a healthy baby boy and I pray that he will follow in his big sister's footsteps by being a great, easy and all-around wonderful little one. Now, if only we could decided on a name for this little guy. We don't even have a "possibility" list going. And I also haven't started on one single thing for his room. With less than 19 weeks until his due date, I had better get on it and prepare myself for all things BOY! :)