"I Can't Believe It!"

January 20th was the day for the big ultrasound and boy were we excited. Doug actually said he was excited x2. As you've read previously we were all prepared for the nurse to announce we were having a girl. Afterall, every wives tale had convienced us along with 8 out of every 10 people we met. Do I just look like I should have a girl or something? But anyway, I asked the nurse if she would let me know when she could tell the gender because I was smart and wanted to tell her what I was having. She showed me my full bladder and cervix, then did a few measurements and then said, "Oh, I can see what it is?" I looked at the screen and this is what I saw.......Do you see what I saw? A little something sticking straight up!!! So I stutter over trying to say, "Is that a...it's a...that's a...a boy?" After she confirms you hear from the opposite side of the room very loudly, "Yeah baby! That's what I'm talking about boy!!" Doug's silence had been broken. We both burst into nonstop laughter! We couldn't believe it! I just kept saying that over and over, "I can't believe it!" I asked the lady to show me from every angle she could just to confirm this shocking reality. Doug was supposed to go get the family. Nonna, Lorynn, and Whitney all came to witness this event. But he couldn't gather himself to go get them. We planned to have a straight face so we wouldn't give it away. We wanted them to guess. When they entered the room this is the picture they saw on the screen...... They were all just standing there looking in silence. So the nurse said that's a leg. Here's the other leg. Look in the middle. After it was announced that it was a boy, Nonna's asked, "Ok where is the other baby?" Lorynn responded, "I can't believe this!" They were just as shocked as I was. We called Jaimee afterwards, "I need a second opinion" was her request. Tiffani wants to know, "What is he doing in there?" Of course all the men were elated. My dad even said "Alright!" That's more of a response than we got when we told him we were expecting. Daddy Mitchell simply said, "It figures." Now we are revamping all of our plans and expectations. No more thinking of girl names and having a purple nursery. We're switching to BOY mode now. I'm very excited...this was my first REAL surprise. And what a good one to have. This baby has proven every old wives tale wrong. Even though I'm not supersticious, we did them for fun. Well, I'm throwing all those silly things out of the window. Here are a few pictures and video clips we got during our visit. The first video clip is him pushing for more space. Since my bladder was full he was feeling a bit crowded.

This one is a bit scary looking. It's his face looking at us. He also waved at us while we were there. We were both lying with our hand on our foreheads. Then he waved his little fingers at me. Aww! Isn't that the sweatest thing?

Do I need to give you an anatomy lesson on this one? I think you can see the obvious. It's circled for you if not. This is a video of the bubbles he's making in the amniotic fluid. He's practicing his swallowing.

4 Months Down - 5 to Go!!!

So today I'm officially 4 months pregnant. It's so exciting to be getting close to the half way point. This time I actually got my protein checked in addition to the normal weight and blood pressure check. The nurse said I have gained a total of 7 pounds thus far. I'm thinking, "Oh help me God!" But she kept saying that it's normal and I'm fine. Doug did his calculations and decided that I was on track to my goal of only gaining 20-30 pounds. I'm just thinking 20-30 pounds can look bad on a short woman. But I'm going to try and stay positive. I was able to hear the baby's heartbeat also. My placenta has moved up, as you can tell from the picture, so I didn't feel like the nurse had to go hunting for it this time. :-) The best news of the day was when I found out that I don't have to wait until Feb. 3rd to find out the gender. She said I can come at 18 weeks instead of 20 weeks, which will be Jan. 20th. I couldn't resists the opportunity to come 2 weeks early. Now I just have to decide who I'm going to invite. You know I have to have a plan. So I was thinking about if I wanted to plan some special way to share the news. It could be so much fun! Here's my next belly pic. (Soon this belly will be clothed at all times.) So, I know what you're thinking...."what a difference a month makes, huh?" I have officially started wearing maternity shirts. I like the fact that they are longer. I don't have to worry about my belly falling out. I have about 3 "normal" pants that I can still wear. And since I need more than 3 pair, I have started wearing some maternity pants too. People kept telling me how I look bigger than 4 months. Well, I don't know if that's something nice to say but I've heard it several times. "Stop it rude people!" One nice lady told me that my torso was just short and my baby has no where to go but out. I like that explanation so I'm going to start using it. Of course, all the books you read tell you how every woman is different and carries differently. I can accept that too.