19 weeks

I can't believe I'm less than a week away from the halfway mark. We still have so much to do - registering, "de-junking" our apartment to make room for baby stuff, getting financially ready for my maternity leave (thankfully only 3 of the 12 weeks will be unpaid - at most), taking a tour of the hospital, possibly signing up for a birthing class. Oh, and the small task of choosing a name. You know, the one he will go by for oh, just his entire life. We both started lists of names we like so I'm hoping one will stand out for us. I'm thinking I might never find a name that I absolutely LOVE but I'm OK with that. I'll love him to bits and pieces and surely will grow to love his name because of that.

Speaking of baby. He's become much more active. He especially likes to kick Mommy when she's laying down at the end of a long day. He was particularly active during my commute home one night when the weather was really crappy and I was stuck in traffic. Look sweetcheeks, I'm going as fast as I can. I'm sorry the seatbelt and the waistband on my pants are taking up your personal space. It's such an odd feeling that I really can't describe other than to say it feels like there's someone practicing soft little kicks and punches inside my belly. He's a little trickster too because he'll be kicking like crazy and I'll tell Kenny to come over and feel and all action ceases as soon as Kenny's hand hits my belly. I'm hoping he'll get to feel it soon though.

Below is a picture of my belly today at 19 weeks 1 day.

IT'S A BOY!

We had our BIG ultrasound today at 3:45. I was way too excited to do anything remotely productive at any point before this time. At the appointment, the tech took about 10,000 measurements and photos of all the major parts - heart, brain, spine, etc. We saw 10 toes, 10 fingers, two eyes, two long legs, and a very adorable face. Of course we wanted to know everything was looking good but c'mon, we were DYING to know what we were having.

After what seemed like an eternity the tech was ready to check the sex. Of course, the little booger was being all shy and crossing his legs and blocking our view with every appendage he could manage. The tech gave us her best guess based on what she saw and I thought we might have to leave with just that. Finally, after I gave him a stern talking to and the very patient tech poked him enough to irritate him into movement, he showed us his goods. As soon as she said "scrotum" and "penis" I started tearing up and Kenny had the absolute biggest shit eating grin I've ever seen. Whoever thought those two words could stir up so much emotion??

Once he got the hang of it, the baby just wouldn't stop flashing us. He even went so far as to grab himself - almost as if to say, "Is this what you were looking for?!" I told him several times today that it was a big day for Mommy and Daddy and that we needed him to cooperate. I guess he showed us who's boss. Not for long buddy, not for long...

18 weeks 1 day