And the gender is...?

So I went in for my 20 week appointment at the beginning of May. As usual they check to see that the baby is developing properly before they get to the gender. The good news is the baby is developing just fine. The bad news was the position was poor in order to get the gender. The technician had me roll from side to side and she pressed harder and harder to get a clearer picture, but to no avail. The result was inconclusive and I was left to continue wondering as before. Nevertheless, I was convinced that it was a boy and I just needed a confirmation that my instinct was correct.

I waited until I met with my doctor 2 weeks later to ask when I might get a second peek, but he said they wait until there is a complication before they do another ultrasound. However, he did mention a nearby clinic that does ultrasounds for pretty cheap. I looked into it and they had an appointment available for the next day. David said to go for it, so I set it up. What can I say? We didn't like not knowing.

Lo and behold, I was right. Lucy is going to have a little BROTHER! This is a big deal for David's side of the family because this would be their first grandson. Also David jokes about how he is the only man in the house because even our dog is a girl, but not anymore. We would be just as excited if it was a girl, obviously.

Now that we know the gender, I feel I can properly prepare. Do I have boy stuff? No. As hard as we tried to keep things unisex, our house is pretty much overrun by pink stuff. Now I can make my traditional baby blanket, that is that my making it a second time will then make it traditional. I like to get stuff done in the second trimester because I have discovered that the third trimester leaves me very immobile and fatigued. It is best to do it when my energy is at its peak, especially with an unpredictable 2-year-old running around to make even the simplest of projects take forever to complete. She's not two yet, but it feels like she is.

In the end, the best thing is that the baby is healthy and growing the way it should. It keeps pretty active and has started kicking harder than before. Both Lucy and this baby have a habit of halting their kicks whenever I try to get David to feel them, but I think it won't be long before he won't need to feel them to know they're happening, because he'll be able to see them.

Right now, healthwise, my energy is picking up and I've been able to do quite a bit. Headaches have lightened a little but they still have an impact. I recently got a massage because they had turned into a daily thing for two weeks. After that, I haven't had them more than once a week. Heartburn isn't that bad (so far) but time may change that. One thing that's new that I didn't have the last time is hot flashes. My pregnancy with Lucy was practically the same time of year, over the summer. (Need I add that both have been in California?) But I never assumed I had hot flashes because there was always someone who felt hotter than me. Now I'm the one who makes sure our ceiling fans are on and who pushes for the house fan to be turned on for longer. I'm not used to having that responsibility.

So even though we still have about four months left before we get to hold the little man for the first time, we have plenty to keep us occupied until then, like a toddler for example. I'm pretty sure Lucy has entered the terrible-two's stage and it is not fun. We no longer have a perfectly behaved and happy little girl. (Ok, she wasn't perfect, but we had very little to complain about before now.) These days Lucy enjoys shrieking to try to get what she wants, which we don't give into. In fact, we give her exactly what she doesn't want, which is a time-out. She now puts up a fight by kicking and squirming to get away, which is more complicated by me trying to aim those kicks away from my stomach. Now she knows how to ask for certain things and recognizes when we tell her no. So she responds by throwing a tantrum. The list goes on and I miss the days when I didn't have to pull her out of sacrament meeting because of her behavior. She gives us a glimpse of the girl she used to be every once in a while, but then she switches back to the terror. That isn't to say she doesn't behave well in other areas. They're just a little overshadowed right now by her more recent behaviors. But we recently graduated her to a toddler bed and has yet to climb out of it. She still waits patiently for us to come pull her out, and I hope it lasts. The next adventure will most likely be potty training her, and I hope the transition is just as easy.