Baby #4

As I was writing the previous post about Clayton, I realized that I never wrote about the big 20 week ultrasound that happened on Monday.  (I did post about it on facebook, though.)

First of all, that morning was a little crazy.  We had to leave the house 30 minutes earlier than usual.  And by that I mean, I had to be dressed and put together enough to go out in public.  Not just enough to go to the bus stop in a car that I never leave.  So, really, this was pushing it for this overly-tired pregnant momma.  But, I will say I was INCREDIBLY glad that my appointment was first thing in the morning and I didn't have to anticipate it ALL DAY LONG.  (I believe that would be a severe form of torture.) 

Somehow, we made it.  I got Kallie dropped off at a friend's house so she could catch the bus to school 30 minutes later.  I dropped Whitney off at another friend's house so she would be able to get to preschool.  And, Clayton came with us.  (I had a good friend offer to watch him, but he had an ear infection and was still a little on the clingy side.)  I was a little concerned about his attendance and hoped it would be one of his good days.

We arrived at the appointment at about 8:35--10 minutes earlier than the 15 minutes early we were supposed to be for our 9 a.m. appointment.  I have NO idea how we got there so fast.  It usually takes about 35 minutes from my second friend's house--and it took a little less than 30.  We took our time getting up to the office, filled out paperwork, and were waiting in the ultrasound room at 9 a.m.  After about a 5 minute wait, the radiologist came in and started things off.  Knowing that we definitely wanted to know the gender, he did a quick look at the basic structures of the baby and then went straight for the goods. 

I had been telling people for MONTHS, (even before I was pregnant), that I had a feeling this next baby would be a girl. And, I really felt that.  Since I'd been pregnant, I had thought about this baby as a girl, thought about girl names, and even bought a DARLING little pink outfit because the feeling I had was SO strong.  Within a day or two before the appointment, I even called the baby "she" a few times.  So, you can imagine my SHOCK when what showed up on that black and white screen was NOT female anatomy!  As soon as the radiologist got to that area, I looked at the screen and said, "That is a BOY."

The radiologist, (who is seriously one of the nicest people ever), did a more detailed check of the structures he had quickly looked at before and found everything to be in the right place, healthy looking, and properly functioning.  Finding something wrong is my biggest worry before the 20 week ultrasound--so I was quite relieved that everything was in order. 

Oh--and this little boy is not so little.  He's following in his brother's prenatal footsteps and is quite large at this gestational age.  In fact, he was in the 93rd percentile for size.  My girls were not that big--so I wonder if it's a boy thing? Or just that my body has changed the way it grows babies since my first two were gestating?

After my ultrasound, I had an OB appointment to review the ultrasound and do the monthly growth check.  In the time between my ultrasound and my appointment, I called family members, emailed friends, and told just about everyone I talked to how SHOCKED I was by the news I'd just received.  I honestly think I would have been less surprised to find out (after 2 previous ultrasounds so far) that I was having twins or something.  I was QUITE suprised by the gender news.

When I saw my OB, I told him that I had thought for SURE this was a girl.  And he, with a completely straight face, said, "So, it sprouted something?"  I laughed.  Yes. Yes it did.  (I just have to say that my OB is the greatest!  I would send any and all of my friends to him. He is just great at what he does!)

I think it took a while for me to get over the shock that I'm having a boy.  It was a total paradigm shift to relate to this little person as a male--to start thinking in blue instead of pink.  But, it's been two days now and I think I'm getting used to the idea.  I don't want this little boy to think for a second that I'm disappointed he's not a girl.  Because I am not at all!  I am thrilled to welcome another sweet little son into our family--I can't wait to snuggle him in a few months! 

Now the biggest hurdle we're encountering is the name.  We have NO idea what we're going to name this little guy.  While we do have a few more months to figure it out, I'd be happy to even have a list of plausible names at this point...

P.S. Clayton had a very good day. He wasn't allowed to eat or use my phone while the ultrasound was going on. Even without his two favorite forms of distraction, he was a little angel! He simply sat in his stroller and watched the screen without making a peep! Then, once we got into the OB's office, he snacked and chatted, and didn't complain a bit. Ryan and I were both amazed. We ended up giving him our secret weapon/last resort Lightning McQueen Pez dispenser as a reward for being so good once it was all over. He really could not have been better behaved!