A little bit of this, a little bit of that...

Yesterday was my 18 week appointment.  We were to have the full anatomy scan (typically done around this point or at 20 weeks, halfway through the pregnancy) and an appointment with the doctor.  At this ultrasound, the ultrasound technician scans the baby's full body from head to toe, takes measurements, and checks out all the internal organs, the placenta and blood flow.  If the baby is cooperative, by this point the sex can be determined.  If there is only one ultrasound a woman has during her pregnancy, this is usually it.

Greg had shared with me previously that he didn't want them to share the sex with us at the appointment.  WHAT???  You don't want to know the sex?  I got a little ahead of myself.  Actually what he meant was that he wanted them to check the sex, but not share it at the time, and write it down on a piece of paper and put it in an envelope so we could open it up later on our terms, in his mind, preferably on a nice date. :P

He asked the technician if she could do that and she obliged, and at the point when she was checking down there, she had us close our eyes, printed off a picture, and wrote it down and put it in a sealed envelope for us to open later at our own discretion.

The rest of the ultrasound went well and it was quick!  She said the measurements were right on track and the baby was about 8 ounces.  Our appointment with the doctor was not for about 45 more minutes, so the technician suggested we walk across the street to the hospital (where we'll be birthing) and grab something at a cafe.  I had never been inside TGH so I really wanted to see what it looked like and get a feel for it.   (Let me add that Mia was with a friend and her kids at a vacation bible school while this was happening!)

Greg & I walked across the street and found they have a Starbucks inside (what?!) and even though it was in a hospital with totally artificial lighting and none of the scenery that usually accompanies a Starbucks (not your idyllic setting), it was a Starbucks nonetheless, we were by ourselves, and we could enjoy a cup of coffee (or in my case, chai tea).  We hypothesized as to what we thought the baby was.

Before we got pregnant, we sort of envisioned ourselves with another little girl.  When that's what you start with, sometimes that's what you think you'll continue getting.  After we got pregnant, I did what some might call silly calculations and tried to figure out the sex myself -- but I was still very up in the air about my "calculations".  My acupuncturist even gave it a guess based on pulses and ancient Chinese medicine.  In the back of my mind though, I was telling myself to be prepared if it was a boy, because it very well could be, and even though it wouldn't be a sister for Mia, it'd still be something very cool.
As the pregnancy progressed, I noticed I did feel a little different, and the baby's heartrate was usually in the 140s where Mia's was usually in the 150/160s.  There's a myth that a higher fetal heartrate indicates girl, and lower indicates boy.  All of this, and a little "bud" we saw on the 12 week ultrasound (which is still not indicative at that point) had me guessing boy. My gut was just telling me boy.

So while we realized the hospital Starbucks was not the most romantic setting to open this sealed envelope, we also realized this might be the only time we have together with just the "two of us" for quite a while, so we might as well take advantage of it.

We opened up the envelope, and it said...

IT'S A BOY!

It's a boy!  We knew it.  Even though pre-pregnancy, we thought girl, I think if it had said girl we would've been more surprised than we were yesterday, because this baby just felt "boy" to me.

Dwell Studio Circles Crib Bedding

Greg's pumped and I'm excited.  Mia thinks that mommy, daddy and Mia all have babies in her tummy and is still figuring out this whole baby thing.  My mom has already bought this baby boy some clothes.  And I've started thinking about how we'll need to de-girlify the nursery (which started off with a gender-neutral palette) to make it more masculine for a boy.

The doctor's appointment went very well.  We met with an ARNP, who was super peppy, fast-talking, and very informative.  She was actually really reassuring as well.  She had looked over the ultrasound report and confirmed everything looked good, she said my weight gain was on track, my fundal measurement was appropriate, and that my blood pressure was fine too.  So basically, she reassured me that everything I'd been worried about was just fine.  I had asked her about some questions I had about labor & delivery, and she told me to write up a birth plan (which I had already started doing!) and to put all my preferences on there.  She told me to ask for the rooms with the labor tubs and then gave us some helpful information about baby boys.
When Greg & I left the appointment, we felt even more at ease and kind of wondered even if she weren't able to deliver the baby, it'd be great to have her for the rest of my prenatal appointments.  So, I wonder if we'll be able to see her more.  She was just good.

She did her own hair.  And switched our drinks.

It was a busy but blessed day.  I finally picked up Mia from VBS, stopped in at friend's house, and then Mia & I grabbed a quick lunch at Jimmy John's.  Maybe it's because she grabbed some of my tea, but Mia didn't settle super easily for her nap, so this is where she finally ended up...

Sleeping on Mommy & Daddy's bed

and she slept there for about 2 hours.  

We've had such a busy week with VBS & running here and there that now we're a little behind on groceries & meal-planning.  It's time to go to the store and perhaps call on some businesses that we're hoping might donate to the Scout Benefit Concert.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out the link!  The concert is this Saturday night, doors open at 7 and the show starts at 7:30!

PEACE.