Boys and Girls

We spent the past four days in Georgia for a mini-family reunion, and I used the majority of that time to huff the intoxicating baby head smell of my niece, who is three months old and insanely adorable, with perfectly round cheeks and pillowy thigh rolls and an ecstatic smile that bursts forth with a full-body wriggle at regular intervals.  Needless to say, when my brother and his family were piling into the airport limo this morning, I almost created a diversion so that Joe could grab her car seat and run for the hills.  (It's barely twelve hours later now, and I am jonesing for that scent like crazy.)

We also got to relive some childhood memories with my bright and funny and sweet 3-year old nephew, as my mom had bought some classic Fisher Price toys -- the airport, the village -- and a Lite Brite (now battery-operated and in flatscreen!).  I think we may have had even more fun than he did playing with the jumbo jet and the mail truck and the little wooden people with the plastic heads (the bald guy in green, the baby with the lacy collar, the curvy blonde woman with the blue dress). 

In addition to lots of family time and a trip to the beauty parlor for a much-needed haircut and some gossip, we got to have an after-hours ultrasound at the office of a family friend who is an OB/GYN there in town and had offered to give my parents their first live peek at their next grandchild.  I was, of course, game, since I jump at any opportunity to see MVM, and I thought it would be cool for my parents since they didn't have such high-tech options back in the 70s when they were reproducing. 

It turned out to be the coolest one so far, because it was long and unhurried and MVM was really active.  The kid was stretching his/her (long) legs (now with visible bones -- the kneecaps looked like they were glowing) into the outer corner of my uterus and waving his/her arms and sucking his/her thumb.  We counted limbs (four!) and fingers and toes (ten and ten!) and saw a spinal cord and even a (full) bladder. 

Naturally, we asked if the doctor could see The Goods, and after trying a bunch of times to get a glory shot, as it were, he peered and contemplated and said he would write down what he thinks we're having.  He said we should wait until the 20-week anatomy scan to open it (yeah, right) and that we should keep in mind that it's quite early (we know, we know) and he didn't get the right angle (shy baby!) AND that he would put his confidence for this guess at 50-50 (so...right where we were before).

We pored over the pictures he'd printed out and thought...hmmm.  Is that...do you see...gosh, that looks like something...dangling out in space there.  Right?  Maybe?  You think?  And when we all piled back into the car, Joe looked at the stapled-up note and said, "He wrote down 'boy'!"

Now, y'all, I KNOW it's early (I was 14 weeks, one day at the time) and half the time I can't tell WHAT is going on in an u/s picture, so who the heck knows -- I'm not banking on this by any means, and we won't be buying any remotely gender-specific baby things until after an Official Confirmation at the 20-week ultrasound.  But still, it's fun to mull over.  I've thought since the very beginning that there was a wee guy in there and, I don't know, even before we knew I was pregnant, I figured we'd have a boy.  Maybe it's because we went through so much in our (failed) quest to adopt a girl and this new (ad)venture is such a total reversal of how we thought we'd start our family that it makes sense that we'd have a boy.  Or maybe it's because we have a truckload of girl clothes in our nursery, so of course we'd have a boy and need to start the wardrobe over (not that I object to a Big! Shopping! Spree!, especially when sailor suits and tiny overalls and engineers' caps are involved).  Or...I don't know.  I just kind of felt like that's what would happen.

And truly, it should go without saying that I am beyond thrilled either way.  I mean, OBVIOUSLY.  We want to be parents; we want a baby; we want THIS baby.  We're not picky about What It Is.  It's going to be a complete blast either way.  (Again:  DUH.)  I've figured out by now that the universe tends to unfold in the way it should (thank you, Harold and Kumar), so this baby is going to be exactly the baby we need.  And baby head smell is not gender-specific, so it's a total win-win regardless. 

Comments

[Linda]

Win-win is right! Baby smell is baby smell. Love being able to share this journey with you all. Babies are blessings no matter how they come they come into your lives.

[terri]

I will never be able to thank them enough for this most incredible experience. It was mind blowing. And this is our next grandchild and we watched him/her on screen! Marvelous and miraculous. What a great mini-reunion. We are blessed and ecstatic. And baby head smell is the best!

[glenna]

I always felt the same way--the baby's sex didn't matter to us either. Have you guys started mulling over names yet (boy&girl names)??? :)

[jonniker]

OMG! So, really, you have NO IDEA, which I know you know. Leah (AG&AB) was told she was DEFINITELY having a girl around that time. And I was told they were "pretty sure" it was a BOY at that time. And, if I look at the ultrasound photo (which I am SO unearthing for you), I see their point. The little sex nodules haven't moved to their right places yet, so they all sort of look the same.

And now, as you know, Leah has a BOY and I have a GIRL, so YOU NEVER KNOW. Not until November, anyway.

AIEEEE.

[jonniker]

And because I cannot HELP MYSELF, here is our VERY OBVIOUS BOY ultrasound that turned into ... a girl.

Gaze and compare.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonniker/2812137634/

[Dianna]

I have that same story - at 14 weeks, at the nuchal transwhatever u/s, the doctor told us the baby was almost definitely a boy. And a few months later, Miss Anna was born! Luckily, we had a few u/s in between 14wks and birth so I knew what to expect *lol*

[kathy]

Either way, Adam will be happy to show them the ropes!

[Christine]

Yay! congratulations either way! so excited for you guys, seriously. You're going to have so much fun.

[Swistle]

1. Oh how FUN to have a bonus ultrasound with your parents!!

2. 50-50?? HA HA HA HA!

3. Jonniker's photo looks like a girl to me. Our ultrasound tech said 3 lines ("hot dog in a bun"---cringe) is usually girl.

[jonniker]

Swistle, my GOD, where were YOU BACK THEN? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Man, I could have used you!

Although the three lines is true when it's later on in the process, yes -- but apparently, so my (obviously incompetent) tech said, they all look the same at 12-16 weeks. But CLEARLY everyone was WRONG, because I have a daughter in there, and I can confirm, daily, that it's a vagina up in this piece.

[H]

I think no matter what the doc saw, or what you think you're having or what you really have, there's so much fun and excitement and happiness in looking, wondering and predicting! It makes it REAL, you know? Congrats!