IT'S A BOY!

Holy cow, it's a boy!

Joel and I were on the phone super anxious/excited as I was driving to meet him at our appointment. Our ultrasound tech was so cool. She even recognized the perfume I was wearing - kindred spirits:) She took all of the important measurements to verify due date and to check for spina bifida and other developmental problems. Right when she started, Gabe kicked so hard the tech said, "Wow. I even felt that. You have an active baby, huh?" I'm like yah, apparently those are the kind we have:) She finally looked to determine the sex, and there were the legs with something very obvious in between. Joel and I were both like, "Wow!" We were surprised because even though we both felt like it was a boy, we thought she was going to tell us girl at any time. Joel was obviously excited what with his cheerleader punches in the air, and I was thankfully super excited. I never knew exactly how I'd feel since I've never had a boy. People kept asking, and I would try to envision it, but I had no emotions attached to it since I've never experienced it. BUT, I was so happy. Having a boy feels like it'll be such a compliment to having a girl. If we had another girl now, I feel like there'd be so much pressure on us the 3rd time around to have that boy.

Anyway, the computer averages all of the measurements and calculated that Gabe is in the 93rd percentile, meaning he's bigger than 93% of all babies his age. Since this is a boy, I'm fine with the fact that he may be bigger. If this were a girl, I may take issue with that. I'm glad Stella was so petite and feminine. We have some TALL people on both sides, so it doesn't surprise me. It also calculated that I'm actually due 6 days earlier, which would be 4/26. However, doctors usually don't change due dates unless they are more than 10 days off. Since my doc thinks I'll have this baby 2-3 wks early, it doesn't really matter anyway. His heartrate was 171 bmp, which tells you he was really active. It was 144 bmp just 2 days ago.

So now we have NO boy stuff at all except for a boy outfit we bought in France with the first pregnancy, an outfit from Joel's parents, and a onesie from Sonya. So family - feel free to get baby boy clothes as last-minute Christmas gifts for us, and friends with boys who aren't pregnant - could we really borrow some boy clothes?????? Love you all!

Week 20: The halfway point

Halfway into pregnancy, the baby is about 6 inches long and weighs about 9 ounces — a little over half a pound. Under the protection of the vernix, his skin is thickening and developing layers. He now has thin eyebrows, hair on the scalp and well-developed limbs. He's gearing up for the next phase in his development—filling out. His organs are getting into their proper places. His kidneys are now in position with their familiar bean shape. His testes have reached their position. His brain continues to form and grow. His teeth are beginning to appear, and he can swallow.