IT'S A... !!!

I had my first appointment with my new OB practice today and surprisingly, it turned out to be "The Big One" with the 20 week sonogram! I was very sorry that Brad couldn't be there, but it was nice that they rearranged their schedule for me. Apparently, now is the preferred time for that. I'm within a week of the official halfway point. The due date is still October 9, but we do suspect it will be earlier (more on that below).

The baby is doing great! (It's kicking as I write this.) I got to see it put its fingers in its mouth and pedal its legs a bit. As you can see, it struck a nice profile for us! (Hint: You can click on the picture to see a larger view.)

This baby is on the big side, measuring a week and a half ahead of schedule, which is quite a change from little Miss Brooke who was so small that we got extra sonograms. (Maybe I'm eating more ice cream this time around?) The doctor said that second babies are typically a little bit bigger. My weight gain (13.5 lbs.) is great.

I was very relieved that the doctor made a big note about how quickly Brooke came. Hopefully we'll be more prepared if we have another quick delivery (since second babies tend to come faster than the first) and we just might even have time for an epidural with this one! She said we'll probably look at scheduling an induction and do the same prep work that kicked off my last labor without the Pitocin (the induction drug) and see if that works again. That way my odds of delivering in a GA 400 gridlock would be greatly reduced. I was just glad to see that she took Brooke's lightning fast arrival very seriously and is planning accordingly.

Of course, the most exciting part of the midway sonogram is getting to find out the sex of the baby! Brad has wanted to find out, but I haven't this time (which is reversed from Brooke's pregnancy). So...

It's a baby!!! Hey, Brad wasn't there and we hadn't planned on the sonogram today; thus, we hadn't finalized the decision. I didn't find out. Sorry! I know you're all disappointed, but hey, that will just make the news of the arrival all the more exciting. The suspense will just have to continue to build!

That's okay with me. Forget wanting a boy or a girl. I just want a baby, which I'm sure this one is!