Lunch if its a boy...

The day started fairly normally...except for the whole being nervous, and excited all at once...

Nervous because in the last few months I've had friends and people close to me find out about birth defects and illnesses in their babies at this particular ultrasound (the 20 weeker) and excited about the possibilities.

I may be a glass half full type of person, but when it comes to any situation, I tend to think of worst case scenarios...I don't know why, I just do. I guess its a coping mechanism I've developed through the years. If I prepare myself for the worst, I'm less likely to crumble like a dry piece of cake when I get bad news, and (BONUS) I get even more excited for good news.

We had to make a quick run to the store before we went to the doctor's office for DVD's (we were told if we brought one they could make a video of the ultrasound) So of course, (because I have an incurable case of punctuality) I made sure we left with plenty of time to spare. We actually made it to my appointment almost half an hour early! (oops..)

It was a nice time to sit and relax. Jeff and I snuggled up on a vintage looking loveseat with claw feet in the waiting room and talked. Jeff promised to take me to lunch after all was said and done because he knew I'd be starving (bless him...)

Darla (the ultrasound tech) came out and got us and gave us some bad news...the DVD machine had happened to break earlier that morning and was in the process of being fixed. It would be done later that day, but not in time for our ultrasound. Darla, being the awesome person she is, said that we could make an appointment and come back later for a DVD and 2nd ultrasound free of charge.

And the ultrasound began...(once I can get my hands on a scanner, I will try to post some of the ultrasound pictures). The first thing we got was a good look at her perfect spine (thank goodness!) Unfortunately, the baby was in a very bad position...poor Darla had to start thinking of clever ways to move the baby so she could see everything she needed to see (just my luck, the kid is stubborn!)

We did manage to see a few "Jeff" poses. We joked about how we definitely knew that the baby was his child (as if there was any doubt). Baby eventually moved to lying on its back with an arm up around its head and covering the face (this pose is actually very funny because that is how Jeff sleeps) Jeff also noted that the stubborn nature of the baby was another tell-tale marker of how much like him it is.

She moved around and got a few good glimpses of the gender. Right before she said what it was Jeff had said, "Lunch if its a boy, dinner if its a girl." Darla laughed and said, "It looks like dinner!" Jeff did a double take..."Are you sure?" he asked, somewhat surprised. Darla got another look and said, "I'm fairly sure based off of what I'm seeing. I'll put a 90% guarantee on that." This started Jeff's relentless questioning (which he was still doing this morning by the way...) "A girl? What am I supposed to do with a girl?"

Don't get me wrong...Jeff is in no way disappointed that we are having a girl. He is just confused. He hadn't really pictured himself with a girl, and he just really has NO IDEA what to do with one. I assured him that he could still take her hunting and fishing and camping (all things that I would do if asked) and he said, "Yeah, but I can't get her to gut a fish or fresh kill." I simply reminded him that we have no idea what her personality will be like...maybe she'd jump right in to something like that...

Darla had a hard time getting a good look at the heart, she said that when we came back she would check it again, but it looked fine. Other than that, she saw everything and kept saying how "great" baby looked.

We ended up going back to the waiting room after the ultra sound because they were having struggles finding rooms (I'm guessing there were lots of labor checks because I saw a lot of very pregnant women pop in for a minute and then leave looking slightly dejected) I ended up going back and having my vitals and weight taken, and then being put back in the waiting room.

My midwife's nurse finally came out exclaiming that they finally had a free room! We went in and my midwife Susan came in. She was super excited about the baby and was super excited by the ultrasound results. She explained everything that they had seen. Apparently, McMonkey McBean has very long legs like her daddy and a head that ranks in the tenth percentile (Susan said that the head size was nothing to worry about, and that this will be a big blessing when it comes time to deliver. I can't help but agree with her!)

After our regular Q and A session and hearing the heartbeat (153 again) we made another appointment and were on our way....well atleast until 4:30 when we would have to come back for the 2nd ultrasound.

We went to lunch at Applebee's and spent WAAAAY to much money (I think its the most we've spent on a meal since we've been married...and I know Jeff said dinner if it was a girl, but we were both STARVING...our appointment had ended up taking 2 hours because they couldn't find a room to put us in! LOL)

At lunch we decided we would have a big pizza party to tell our family the gender instead of calling all of them. Amber lamented that I wouldn't just tell her over the phone...but finally gave in and agreed to come. Kiersten was excited and said they'd be there and mom and dad were already going to eat with us anyway (since we live with them for the time being) so it didn't take much coercing there...

We ran some more errands and went to Papa Murphy's to get the pizza. We ordered one with GIRL written in pepperoni and sausage and 2 more. We ran them home and then back to the doctor's office for ultrasound #2.

This time baby was curled up in a ball...after some coaxing Darla was able to get a really good look at the heart and verify 100% that there were no holes and 4 chambers. She also changed her 90% chance of the baby being a girl to 95%... I tried to upload the video, but it was too long. Give me a few days to edit and clip it and I may be able to show you all or a portion of it...maybe...(no promises, but I will try)

After the ultra sound, we had some time so we went to the store and purchased the play yard I'd found to be the best option for us after LOTS of research. We rushed home, cooked some pizzas and only started the pizza party 30 minutes late...LOL

At the pizza party (sorry forgot my camera) and everyone was surprised. Only Addie, Raylee, and my friend Erica voted for girl. Everyone else was super sure it was a boy. Cute little Macee looked at all of the ultrasound pictures and had Erica and me explain them to her. She was very interested and surprised. She was super excited when we pointed something out and she could finally see it!

Then, after the pizza party, Jeff surprised me. He grabbed me by the hand and whisked me to the movie theater (well...AFTER we stopped at the grocery store for snacks...movie theater snacks are WAAAAAY too expensive) He took me to see a movie I've been dying to see since it came out a few weeks ago- The Green Lantern.

As far as super hero/comic book movies go it was really good. Ryan Reynolds was awesome and the story line didn't lag. I'd recommend it.

Jeff and I talked on the way home about how expensive movie theaters are getting. It cost us $10 a ticket to get in! (I know that isn't the worst price in the country as far as movie tickets go, but its still kind of ridiculous...we could have gone to the store and purchased a movie to watch over and over again for the same price!) It's likely that the next Harry Potter movie will be the last movie we see in theaters for a while (unless its the cheap theater at $1-3 a ticket)

All in all...it was an awesome day...today has been interesting...but that my friends is for another blog...

Hugs and hairbows until next time!