Mother's Day Came Early for Me

Today we had our 20-week ultrasound and appointment.  This was the one I was equally excited and nervous about.  You see, after the bleeding scare, we had a visit with the doctor to talk things over.  She suggested we opt for the round of blood tests that look for abnormalities.  We were originally going to skip this, since no matter what the results were, we would have kept the baby anyway, but she made a great point that it would enable us to secure a 12-week ultrasound scan that insurance otherwise wouldn't cover.  Naturally, we jumped at the chance to see the baby earlier as additional proof that things were OK despite the bleeding.  Today was the day we were to not only get our second - and last, as long as everything continues to progress well - ultrasound, but also the results from the multiple blood tests.

When you are carrying a baby, it's impossible not to worry and wonder if things are going well.  I try not to dwell on the things I can't change or control, but this is our baby! You can imagine my mind occasionally goes to "What If" Land.  But...today, we not only got to see Chickpea again, we also got a perfect report card for all of the tests - the results honestly couldn't have been any better.  WHEW!  I was practically walking on air on the way out, thinking to myself that this was the best possible Mother's Day gift anyone could ever ask for.

That, and these pictures of our wriggling, stubborn Chickpea (it took them a LONG time to get pictures of the face, and when the baby finally moved in place, the little one wouldn't stop moving!):

Profile 1 (head to left, looking up)

Profile 2 (look at the little arm up over the side of the head...at least I think it's the arm!?)

FOOT! Nom nom.

My personal favorite - side profile of a little hiney (to the right) with a curled-up frog leg!

  Thigh/Leg/Foot

This is of the face from straight-on.  Does anyone else think this looks a little like the button-eyed kids in Coraline? Hee!  We saw the baby in this position waving it's arms in the air like s/he just didn't care, too, and it was quite hilarious!  So far we know that Chickpea is very active, stubborn, and a comedian - who said you can't learn about your baby from ultrasounds? ;o)

The baby was measured at just over 14 ounces and 10 inches long.  Now we know why my belly popped so much in the last month.  Grow, baby, GROW!  20 weeks down, 20 (give or take) to go.  Also, they moved our due date up one day from September 23 to September 22!  My dad will be happy to know this, because he called that as our delivery day using the lunar calendar (a trick my grandma used that led to an uncanny record of correct birthday guesses).

And speaking of my dad, it's his birthday tomorrow!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, daddio!  We all love you so much -- Chickpea says s/he can't wait to meet you! (((HUGS)))

P.S.: One last thing...I know I'm rambling but I'm clearly on a high from having seen our sweet baby today.  When we walked into the scan room, they asked if we would be finding out the gender. We said no, and later were told that only about 10% of people these days don't want to find out if their baby is a boy or girl.  I was shocked!  C'mon, people...whatever happened to the element of surprise?!

Dreaming in Color (Pink...or Blue?)

Mark and I don't plan on finding out the gender of our baby.  This might be hard for some to believe, but while it's not the easy choice, we definitely feel it's the right one for us.  I mean, how many true (and good) surprises can you really get in life these days?  I count getting engaged as one such surprise and I also count that day as one of the best of my life.  Whenever I get anxious to know more about the baby inside me, I think about the "It's a ____!" experience we have to look forward to on Birth Day and am comforted that it will vastly add to what is sure to be another amazing and favorite day in our lives.

I'm not one to subscribe to the "Girls rule; Boys drool" theory.  When I think about having a boy, I feel just as content as I would if we were blessed with a girl.  Plus, if you knew me as a mouthy teenage girl, you would understand how I might be nervous about the possibility of that coming back at me twofold if we do have a girl (soooo sorry for putting you through that, mom)!

That brings me to the dreams I've had thus far.  Early in our pregnancy, I had a dream that involved two baby girls.  One was a bit older than the other, but they were both blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauties.  I'm not sure if they were mine in the dream or if I even felt like they were mine, but they were certainly in my possession.  Last night, however, I had a very graphic dream in which I went into labor and could actually feel the stomach contractions pulsating - though they didn't hurt - and could feel the pressure and excitement I imagine going into labor creates.  It was all very real and at the end of it, the doctors yelled out, "It's a boy!" and handed me the baby.  Later as we were showing him to people, I said his name out loud.  The name I said is one that is near the top of our boy-name list.  I have no doubt that if we do have a boy in September, that will be his name now that I've had this dream.  Although...in it, Mark wasn't so accepting of the middle name we've already talked about, so I might have to work on him in real life a little more just in case.  And no, I'm not telling you what it (or the first name) is. ;o)

I'm not sure I believe Chickpea is a boy just from this dream intuition, but I do know that I was extremely proud and content with the way things ended up in the dream.  One thing to add is that my sister has four boys - four happy, sweet, well-behaved boys!  I love them as much as one is able to love a child that isn't their own.  You can imagine, though, that my mom is totally 'Team Girl' this time around...she wants and deserves a granddaughter (but will obviously be happy no matter how things end up).  Obviously we have no control over this, but if we did have a girl, it would be pretty amazing.

I just want this baby to come into our lives happy and healthy.  I want us to be able to help him or her to achieve their dreams - no matter what gender they end up being, Mark and I will teach them that nothing is impossible, that whether they are a girl or a boy, anything they want is within their right and their grasp.  And isn't that the most important thing of all?