Surprise and Surprise Again!

Yesterday Paul went with me to the ob/gyn for our very first ultrasound appointment. At 9 weeks and 6 days pregnant we were expecting to see something that looked a lot like a shrimp and to hear the baby's heartbeat. We definitely got more than we expected!

The ultrasound technician did an internal ultrasound, which is basically a "magic wand" that she sticks inside your "lady parts" to see the baby. Apparently it gives a much clearer picture of the baby and since a "magic wand" in my "lady parts" was how I got into this whole thing in the first place I was ok with it (sorry if that's too much information for anyone reading this- Mom, Grandma, but that's what I was thinking while lying on the exam table and I'm keeping this blog real...)

As the first blurry pictures appeared on the screen the technician said "This baby isn't the right size for being almost 10 weeks." My initial thought was "Oh crap, it's small, and there's another baby hiding behind it and there are twins... " Paul and I were both pretty darned surprised when she said that according to her measurements our baby was closer to 14 weeks old.

It was amazing seeing the baby on the screen. What we'd thought would look like a shrimp actually looked like a real baby and hearing the heartbeat was amazing...

The technician then asked if we wanted to know what the sex of the baby was. I totally wasn't expecting this question as we were told that you couldn't tell anything until around 14 weeks, and we'd thought we were around 10 weeks. Paul and I hadn't talked about it recently but I knew he wanted to know and without even thinking I found myself saying "Sure!".. The technician said, "I can't say I'm 100% sure but I'm about 98% sure that you're having.... a......

BOY!"

(this view is the underside of the baby- basically like he's sitting on the ultrasound wand)

If you could have seen Paul's eyes light up when she said that it was a boy!

After a few more measurements and some printed pictures we headed upstairs to meet with the doctor who would confirm whether I was really 14 weeks along instead of 10. Sure enough, he gave us a new estimated due date of December 6th! And again, Paul's eyes lit up, this time because he'll be able to claim the baby for a tax deduction in 2008...

For the rest of the day I was pretty stunned. As many of you know I'm a big planner and like to know when things are happening. I'd grown accustomed to the idea of having a baby sometime in early January, after the holidays and now have to readjust to the fact that the baby, our SON!! will be here in plenty of time for Christmas!

What a day, and what a wonderful pair of surprises!