Boy or Girl?

We found out some pretty exciting news yesterday.

Not only do we have ten fingers and ten toes--

now we know...

Make your last minute guess.

This is pretty exciting.

I faked you out! That's just the face--isn't he precious?

When we walked out of the doctors office to show Levi

(we left straight from school, so he didn't have a choice whether to go home or come with us)

he mistakenly thought the baby's leg was his...*ahem* parts.

Although I told him that would be pretty incredible for a baby that's only ten inches long

it's not really feasible.  

And he was quickly corrected.

So we're breaking the mold! 

(for the Coppersmith side of the family, at least!)

but we're adding another boy to the ranks of the O'Connor's-

This will be the third baby boy for Mommo and Poppo this year

Rachel this month (I think)

Emma at the end of August or beginning of September

and Kisbaba in November!

Cynthia said that this it's kind of like preparing for triplets-

now she has to buy three of everything.

While the ultrasound tech pushed on my bladder

and I tried my hardest not to pee my pants or laugh uncontrollably

(I'm terribly ticklish)

she managed to take a couple more pictures

 Isn't he cute? He even smiled for the picture! I love cooperative babies!

The tech looked at and measured everything. 

Femur bone

Spinal Column

All four ventricles of the heart

Total length of baby

 Healthy brain

Aorta 

Umbilical cord

as well as some other things I've already forgotten

(see what pregnancy does to you?)

While she was looking at the baby's heart pumping away

(totally incredible and way more amazing than any A&P class)

she saw that the slight irregularity in beating

was due to hiccups.

We also noticed that while she was trying to get a fix on all this measurments

(a difficult feat since he moved so much)

he kept putting his little hands to his mouth

almost like he wanted to suck his thumb

but forgot what he was doing by the time his hand was close enough

He's just like his mommy already!

I'm not too surprised that he was so active,

but it's kind of funny to see it on a screen while it's happening

as opposed to just feeling little bumps and pokes all the time.

In fact, the position he was in when we first started "taking pictures"

(his head on the right side of my belly with his feet on the left)

was totally flipped the opposite direction by the time we finished. 

The tech joked that this doesn't really make it easy to get measurements

since the baby doesn't hold still long enough for her to size everything up.

Just a fun fact for my wonderful mom

We saw the baby arch his little back and stretch his arms and legs as far as he could. 

Just like you said Cory used to 

(in-utero, of course)

and you always wondered why you couldn't breathe

until you saw him do that exact same thing on your ultrasound.

I've said this every time we come back with new pictures--

but it is the most incredible thing in the world to actually see my little person.

To see him smile

and open his mouth to swallow

and clench his little hands

and just in general--scoot and twist and move all over the place.

He seemed so perfect

we could see all his little bones in his back and (of course) fingers and toes

but we could also see skin and muscle

and to see that little heart heating away was mind-blowing.

I've never even seen my own heart beat--

but to see four little chambers working in perfect harmony

and to see blood pumping through his miniaturized aorta

was (i hate to use this word again, but oh-well) absolutely incredible!

 We are so excited for November to roll around--

but we're trying to enjoy every minute at the same time.

I'm especially enjoying eating.

I have the worst sweet tooth imaginable. 

But I also want to eat squash.

every kind--summer, butternut, yellow and green!

as well as corn on the cob!

 steak!

roasted potatoes!

sweet and sour chicken!

fried rice! 

and of course....the sweets....

root beer floats

chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting

 cheesecake

torte

 or anything else that is fried or covered in sugar.

or both!

Why does my body want to eat things that aren't good for me?

Evolutionarily (is that a word?) isn't that like my body sabotaging itself?

Wanting to gorge on everything that won't give me what I need nutritionally?

and will make me (instead) pudgy, lethargic and unable to run away from predators?

but don't worry about my health (of Kisbaba's)

I've tried to limit myself

and eat healthy stuff most the time

(*see aforementioned list*)

still, I was up five or six pounds from my last appointment when all my vitals were taken last night

which is kind of alarming,

it's totally bizarre to be gaining weight 

and for it to be a good thing.

normal even. 

It kind of seems like my body isn't really mine anymore

it's being governed by the sweetest, most adorable little parasite instead.

Which I'm totally okay with

in fact, I'd do it again in a heart beat.

So now we're on to shopping adventures!

Which Henry says is the worst part of finding out the gender of the baby!

Time to buy all the paraphernalia that comes with little people:

Cribs, blankets, onesies, bottles, diapers, and who knows what else...

Since I hardly ever mention Henry,

I'll tell you something he told me on our way home last night.

When I asked him if he was ready to be a daddy to a miniaturized version of...well...himself, 

 he said that he had convinced himself so thoroughly that it was going to be a girl

that he didn't even know what to think 

he was that surprised.

(I'm pretty sure he's already making plans for a soccer team by now--so he's taking it pretty well)

And in closing:

This is probably off-colored humor....

but I'm going to mention it anyway....

because....well....it was funny-

while looking for baby gifts for a shower for Henry's sister

I was going through onsies

and I found one that made me laugh so hard I almost wet my pants

It had a big black outline of a baby bottle

and right below the bottle it said

"I drink 'till I pass out"

(*Disclaimer* I don't intend on dressing my baby in anything so...crude? I suppose I just have an off sense of humor--forgive me!)