It's a..... Baby!

A couple days ago my husband told me that I was probably right.

!

I know, right?!  That's an exciting day!  I've heard that some women can go an entire lifetime without their husbands giving in and saying those most wonderful words: 'yes dear, you're right'.   So the fact that, after only 8 short months of marriage, I got a 'you're probably right', is a very good step in the right direction!

Of course, we're talking about baby gender.

There is a period of time, about a week or 10 days or so, between, well as the Dr put it, 'when the party happened', and when a woman will get a positive pregnancy test.  It will be the longest week of your life.  During that longest week of *my* life, in which I deliberately chose to not let my hubby in on the secret (for fear that he would go insane and buy a case full of pregnancy tests), I very clearly and calmly thought to myself, 'self, you are pregnant and it is going to be a girl'.

Why?  I don't know.  Well.... I mean, I know why I thought I was pregnant (and if you ask my husband he'll say he knew too - even without a case of pregnancy tests).  But why a girl?  I don't know.  But that's what I thought, and that thought hasn't changed.

Now, don't get me wrong.  Neither of us care.  The fact that it's a baby is both nerve wracking and exciting enough - we certainly don't feel the need to go wishing and hoping and dreaming about a certain gender.  In all honesty, I find little boys much easier to deal with than little girls (that might be the result of me growing up with two little brothers though).   But there is no doubt in my mind that this is a girl. 

So there you go.  With zero scientific evidence on my side, I have single handedly ruined any chance of a fair and unbiased baby pool.  Because it's a girl; I just know.

Since that ominous day, that now feels like a lifetime ago, we have had the fortune of having a few ultrasounds - which, by the way, are really, really cool.  Just last week we had the 20 week anatomy ultrasound.  Basically, we got to watch video of this little tiny human kick and wriggle and suck it's thumb and roll around for about an hour while the ultrasound tech took pictures and measurements and counted fingers and things like that.  She could have very easily told us the gender, but we asked her to keep it a surprise.  Surprises, after all, are fun for everyone.  Besides, I think it's a little creepy when people actually name their baby while it's still in utero.  Or... even worse, when the parents deck out the entire nursery and wardrobe for a specific gender and then find out the ultrasound tech was wrong!  ha! 

So the gender will remain a surprise.  But just so you know, after the ultrasound, my husband looked at me and said, 'I think you're probably right - it's a girl.'


:)

I'm just happy knowing that he thinks I'm right.

The Middle

Have you seen this new family sitcom?   Well.. 'new' to me.  Apparently it's in its third season and I'm just discovering it now.

The only reason we turned it on the other day is because the little kid in it looks eerily like the little brother from Malcom in the Middle.  Malcom in the Middle / The Middle.... figured it was some sort of really lame Hollywood redo.

It wasn't bad.  A couple ok laughs.  And it's nice to have a sitcom that isn't full of sexual innuendo for a change.  The little kid though, soooo freaky to watch.  Look:

This is Brick Heck from The Middle (played by Atticus Shaffer).  Remind you of anyone?

And then there's Dewey from Malcom in the Middle (played by Erik PerSullivan)


At first, I didn't want to believe that Hollywood was into cloning, but, what other explanation is there??  They even have the same squeaky little voices! (Of course, maybe all 10 year olds have the same squeaky little voices...) 




 A couple of the other characters are obviously familiar.  The dad is the janitor from Scrubs.  And the mom also played the mom from Everybody loves Raymond (she's just got a really really bad hair cut now).  I don't know who the older son is; he's got a bit of a Fonzie thing going on though.  But the sister!  For the life of me, I couldn't place the sister.  But then it hit me - Blossom!  Another look alike, albeit, with awkward braces, but still!  Unreal.

Sue Heck (played by Eden Sher)

And... Blossom, aka Amy Farrah Fowler from everyone's favourite show Big Bang Theory, (played by Mayim Bialik).







Spooky.
Almost enough to make you want to watch the show, right?

I'm an introvert; I don't do 'excited'.

Much like I didn't want to turn this into a Bridezilla blog back in the summertime, I also don't want to turn it into a crazed baby-brain gushy mommy blog now.  However, this is *my* soapbox and I need to vent.


"Good job you two!  Congratulations!  You must be sooooooo(oooooooooo) excited!"
I have heard this no less than 50 billion times over the past two weeks.


I am an introvert.  I find being in the spotlight really, really exhausting and I am just about at my limit of being able to politely reply to this daily barrage of gushy sentiments.  I fear that the next person who extols their deepest well-wishes upon me might end up with a reply like this (I apologize in advance):


Good job!
Good job?!  You're joking right?  Do you know how babies are made??  Tab A goes into Slot B.... etc, etc...   It is not a 'good job' in any sense of the word!  Painting a room without getting paint on the trim is a 'good job'; running a band saw without cutting off your arm is a 'good job'.  Conception isn't exactly a job, let alone a 'good' one.  Now, I know that there are people out there who literally spend years upon years and thousands of dollars in treatments trying to conceive, and when they do, THAT is a good job; they've worked hard for that.  What my husband and I did was nothing more than a quick magic trick (don't tell my offspring I said this).  Sort of like: "Oooh, let's see if this works.  What do you know, it did!  That was fun."  Not a good job!  In fact, I feel a little guilty about just how easy it was for us.

Congratulations!
... I know that 'congratulations' is the standard response to good news, and while there's no denying that bringing a baby into the world is good news, you do know that you're congratulating me for, *ahem*, having sex, right?  That's a little awkward, isn't it?

So excited!
Apprehensive, overwhelmed, self-conscience, unsure, tired... these are words I would use.  'Excited' is currently not one of these words.  Now, don't get me wrong, I am absolutely content with our decision to reproduce (and yes, it was a decision, made before the fact - just to be clear); I am delighted that the process is 1/3 of the way through already and has been pretty painless so far, I am looking forward to cuddling with a little person, and I am somewhat relieved to know that now I'll have someone to pay my nursing home bills when I'm 90!  But between now and then....  Not only am I completely unsure of what sort of parent I'll be, I have six more months of everything about myself becoming foreign to me.  I'm going to grow out of my clothes; my centre of balance is going to change; my food tastes are going to change; heartburn is already a regular occurrence, as are some other gastrointestinal things I won't bother mentioning;  the amount of blood circulating through my veins is going to increase by 50%, making me more susceptible to nose bleeds; my ligaments are going to loosen so that my hips can move further apart; my abdomen muscles are going to split to make room for the little rib-kicker, and my happy little 'innie' is going to be an 'outie' before too long.  Pile all this with doctor appointments, ultrasounds, blood tests, and more poking and prodding than I care to think about - oh and let us not forget the apex of the story: delivery.  I hear that delivery of a 9lb bundle of joy with a bowling ball sized head is, well....  Let's just say it doesn't excite me too much. 

People are shocked when you try to explain to them why you're not bursting with excitement about the whole process.  It's almost as if there's a consensus among the general population that the level of enthusiasm shown while pregnant is co-related to how good a parent you'll make.  I'm pretty sure this isn't true.  I'm pretty sure it's just me being an introvert and wanting to not be the centre of attention anymore.  But so help me God, if I have to start putting little hearts in all my facebook status updates to show my pregnancy excitement, I'm going to sell this child!

A Different kind of Journey

A couple weeks ago, I loaned out my hiking backpack to a co-worker who will be hiking part of the Grand Canyon this winter.

I am insanely jealous.

A couple years ago, I was supposed to go on an epic girls adventure to Las Vegas, which would have included a close up and personal view of the Grand Canyon.  For reasons beyond my control, my plane never left Buffalo.  Rainy, boring Buffalo.

When I found out that this co-worker, and her husband, and a few other people were going to be actually hiking IN the Grand Canyon, well, it was all I could do to contain myself.  What an excellent adventure!  I sure did get right on the internet, look up the Grand Canyon National Park website, find all the maps, do all the price calculations, and plan myself an epic two week Grand Canyon road trip - complete with a five day hike through the canyon!

Trouble is, I'm pregnant.  This trip just isn't in the cards for me anytime soon.

So... I loaned out my hiking backpack.  At least IT will get to go to the Grand Canyon!

----

Since all six of you who read this blog are related to me, it shouldn't come as a surprise to know that I'm pregnant.  So here's some answers to all the questions I've been getting lately:

Really?? You're pregnant??
Yes.  Yes, most definitely.  Would you like to know which body part the nurse practitioner looked at just to be sure?

When are you due?
Well, by my calculations, July 4th, 2012.  However, I haven't heard the results from the dating ultrasound yet, so I might be off by a couple days.  Also, as we all know, baby comes when baby is damn well ready to come and not a moment before.  It would be perfectly normal for that date to be off by up to two weeks in either direction.  Feel free to start a baby pool (baby could use the extra money!).

Do you know what you're having?
The first, and only, ultra sound that we've currently had was at about 9 1/2 weeks.  It looked an awful lot like a gerbil.

Are you going to find out the sex?
Finding out the sex of your baby before the baby is born is akin to opening up a Christmas present before Christmas Day.  It sounds like a good time, but you end up with nothing to look forward to.  I have no intention of finding out early.  I do have my inklings... but I wouldn't want to bias the baby pool!

How do you feel?
Like a bloated hormonal oven that suddenly has the attention of literally everyone.  Seriously though, compared to some, my first three months were like a walk in the park.  When I felt crappy, it sucked, but it was also very rare, and it seems to be over now.  No talking to Ralph on the big porcelain phone for me (thank you God!).


How long had you been trying?
About.... five minutes.  Dave will try to tell you that he didn't even know we were trying (don't believe him).  Really though, we're both 31 years old; time is not something we have to waste.

Can I touch your belly?
Do you want your fingers broken?  Currently, the little gerbil is less than 2 inches long and tucked neatly behind a pelvic bone.  What you're perceiving as a 'baby bump' is nothing more than Chinese food and horrible bloaty gas.  I suggest you don't touch.


Do you have names picked?
We still have 6 months for that.  I'm really not looking forward to other people's unsolicited opinions for names.  (I'm already getting unsolicited opinions for everything from sleeping arrangements to clothing to strollers - and the news has only been out for a week!)  So, lets just keep name choices a surprise for now.