Baby Boy

We had our structural ultrasound today. It was very exciting for the most part. What I wasn't expecting was the pain and discomfort. My back was killing me from laying down flat after only a few minutes. Then I started feeling nauseated and overheated and lightheaded. I felt like such a wimp for asking for a break, but the technician was very polite. She said that it happens to a lot of women because the baby puts pressure on the spine and arteries. She gave me a wet towel and let me sit up for a minute and then lay on my side for the rest of the time, which made all the difference. So, after that, I was finally able to enjoy the experience of seeing our baby for the first time. It's been an exciting time for Chris too, because he felt the baby move for the first time last night. Not bad for only 20 weeks along! So much fun!

This is pretty much the whole baby from the side. After all the measurements, they said his due date was August 4th. My date based on ovulation was the 6th, so we're not too far off base.

This is the baby's leg and foot. Chris was happy that the baby had two legs and two arms and no horns or wings. He is a bit of a worrywart!

This is the baby's first head shot. The tech gave us about five pictures of his face for some reason. I'm pretty sure you can't tell at this point who he looks like, so I'm not sure why five of ten pictures is necessary, but oh well.

Another head shot. They did not give us the shot showing the gender, but we are most definitely having a boy. Chris actually spotted that he was a boy early on, but I didn't realize until she pointed it out at the end--I think I was a little distracted from the discomfort until the second half. Anyway, I guess I have not been remiss in referring to the baby as "he" and "him" for the past two weeks. I can't honestly say that I had any intuition about it. I was basing it solely on the data from our fertility charting. I'm not even sure how reliable this is, but it was right in this case at least. So, Peter it will be. We are so excited!

It is so amazing to think that our bodies can create and carry babies. It's a wonderful experience, at least for the moment. Not so wonderful in the first trimester, and maybe won't be wonderful in the third, but I'm really liking the second!