Friday, July 28, 2006

happy birthday to me

Yesterday we went in for our 18 week ultrasound. Everything was wonderful and baby was beautifully healthy and kicking like the devil I already know he or she is. We had two technicians exclaim that we had a very active baby in there (while he or she twisted and turned and changed positions 4 times). I couldn't have asked for a better birthday present.

We checked out the brain, the spine, the stomach, the bladder, the umbilical cord, the heart, the fingers and toes and legs and arms, oh my! Everything was perfect. Although I will tell you that this baby, at 18 weeks, 3 days, had a 20 week old head. This did not please me. I'd like to know why he can't have long legs instead? How about a big belly? Why the one body part that allegedly has to exit my nether regions first? Why must that be far larger than normal? The technician kept asking me if I was sure about the dates, and then if anyone else had ever mentioned this before. But I'm quite sure about both the cycle dates and the date of conception, so no question there. Baby just has a big noggin.

In measuring the big noggin, though, the technician (who was actually a doctor), kept measuring and remeasuring the belly and femur to see if the baby was ahead on all counts. The answer is yes, around 19 weeks for the belly and femur, but not the whopping 2 weeks ahead like the head. While doing so, he kept returning to one particular view, coming up from the bottom. In it, I could see the butt, two legs, spread-eagled, and then, umm, something in the middle. Since he was talking throughout his examination, it became crystal clear what direction we were looking from. At one point, I turned to Josh and asked, "Do you see what I see?" and his response? "I choose to ignore what I think I see." So we have no confirmation.

Clearly, I am no ultrasound technician. I have seen only a handful of boy and girl parts in ultrasound pictures from friends, and I can't be sure of what I saw. I also know that at this stage of the game, boy or girl parts are both very exaggerated and still settling into their relative positions. So the truth is, we still don't know and are keeping it that way until this baby decides to pop out and meet us. If anyone asks me, though, I am leaning toward thinking this baby is a boy. That would at least explain why I can only come up with a boy name for this baby, even though I've always thought that girl names are easier!

We'll see in December or January, I suppose.

The very most important thing, though, is that this beautiful little monkey is healthy and growing well so far. We watched him or her yawn, play with his or her face, kick around like crazy, curl up and stretch out and rub his or her eyes. It was amazing and I'm walking around on cloud 9, wondering how I can be so blessed, so very very fortunate.

I have a frame on my desk this morning, with a profile shot of my little tenant, one hand rubbing his eye and the other on his chest. The picture is in an engraved silver frame with the following at the bottom, "there is no such thing as a little moment."**

Indeed.

_____________________________
** Gift from Chatty Cricket.

19 comments:

KLee said...

I'm so excited! But, I'm also glad to hear that everything seems to be on track with Baby. I wouldn't worry too much about the head being larger just yet -- there's still so much we don't understand about what all goes on in there as they grow. Try not to nitpick on that one thing. If the doc was truly concerned, he'd have scheduled you for more tests.

Congratulations, Mommy! (And Daddy, and Furry Uncles Tango and Murray!)

halloweenlover said...

Oh, nobody is worried about the big head! It is just funny! Babies can be 2 weeks ahead or behind in either direction and be considered perfectly normal.

mc said...

woohoo!! go baby!! i'm so glad it went well -- just think, you are nearly halfway thru this pregnancy. amazing, isn't it??

Maribeth said...

Oh how wonderful! I am so happy for you!!

Liz Miller said...

Squeeeee! Big healthy baby!!!!

Big hugs to you, soon-to-be Mama!

susan said...

Oh, happy, happy, birthday, halloween lover! ANd happy growing to Baby.

Phantom Scribbler said...

Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday dear Halloweenlover!
Happy birthday to you!

And virtual smooches to that adorable little non-gender-specific guy in your tummy, too!

Anonymous said...

Aren't ultra sounds the best?

When we found out with Julia, we saw what looked very much like three white lines in between her legs -- which we thought were the folds, if you know what I mean. With Oliver there was absolutely no doubt whatsoever. He rolled over, opened his legs and there was the twig and berries, waving in the water. The technician laughed and typed MALE in across the screen.

Congratulations! And Happy Birthday. :)

ccw said...

Happy Birthday, Halloweenlover!

That is the best present ever. So glad everything is going great.

Girl said...

Yay!! Happy birthday.

And congrats on seeing (or not seeing) the 'turtle'. :)

Pink Cupcake said...

Awww, Halloweenlover, that's such fantastic news. Happy, happy birthday! :)

MM said...

Congratulations!!! Either way, it is a miricle, wonderful, wonderful news. Take care of yourself.

Knit Wit said...

Congradulations, on a healthy baby and Happy Birthday.

Scrivener said...

Happy birthday!

Crunchy Domestic Goddess said...

happy belated birthday! what a wonderful present indeed! :)

i wouldn't worry too much about the head at this point. it's still early and everything else may catch up or it may slow down. ;)

isn't it amazing to see them yawning and everything else in thereE? i don't remember seeing ava yawn during her u/s, but we saw this lil guy do it twice. precious.

congrats!! :)

Piece of Work said...

Happy Birthday!! Boy names are MUCH harder than girl names!

Yankee, Transferred said...

Happy belated birthday! And of course (s)he has a big head-it has to accommodate all those smarts!

Rev Dr Mom said...

What a wonderful birthday present! Hope all continues to go well!

Unknown said...

A belated Happy Birthday, and hurray for baby, too!