Isn't She (or He!) Lovely...!

Today was a big day for the Blythe family - we got to see our little Cookie on the big-screen! It was our "halfway-to-baby" ultrasound appointment, and boy were we excited! It was also the day we could have found out the gender of our little rascal, but we both stood firm that we do not want to know. I was afraid the temptation would be too great for me once we were in the actual ultrasound appointment, but to my surprise, it actually solidified both of our decisions that we don't want to know.

Our appointment was today (Monday morning) at 8:30 am; I always like to make them as early in the week, and as early in the day, as possible. Although everything has gone swimmingly so far (knock on wood!) I always get a little anxious before our appointments, so the sooner the better. Plus, I was so excited about this appointment that I just knew I didn't want to wait all week! One of the things that is so nice about our doctor and hospital is that Carmel St. Vincent's is literally 5 minutes from our house - I clocked it this morning. After getting stuck in traffic before the first appointment and having to run into the room one step ahead of the doctor, JBB has made a point of leaving a little early from work. He's been in the parking lot before me for the last two appointments; what a good dad. For whatever reason, I feel the urge to look nice for these meetings, so I always take a little extra time with my hair and outfit. Don't ask me why; it's not like Cookie can see me or the doctor is going to care. Up until it got so cold (seriously...SNOW!?) I also took care to pick the lightest weight articles of work-appropriate clothing I owned. I'm starting to get over that; so far the scales have been kind to me, but I'm sure that will go out the window soon, and that's fine with me.

So...enough of the build-up and on to the good stuff...drum roll please...JBB and I introduce to you Baby Blythe, aka Cookie, aka the subject of 90% of our conversations...

JBB says Cookie has inherited my large noggin. I told him to look in the mirror...his isn't exactly small! Look at that Buddah belly on our little shoog!

This one just kills me because of how clear a shot it is of the arm. I love that Cookie is curled up in such a snugly position in there. Snug as a bug.


Don't worry - these are the only two shots I'll share, as I realize without the guidance and explanation of our amazing ultrasound wizard, they look a bit "vague". :) I do think it's incredible how the head and face actually look like a skull - you can even see the eye sockets and nose. (Side note - baby's nose was deemed "perfect".  You may or may not know this, but I'm convinced I have a perfect nose. It's my one vanity. The nose will live for another generation. Thank heavens. :))

A few highlights of the appointment:
1.) Most importantly, everything looked just like it was supposed to, was measuring normally, and there were no red flags. I've never been so glad to hear the world "normal" repeated so many times.
2.) Baby B is currently in the breech position, but we were told that is nothing to worry about at this stage in the game, as he or she will flip and flop around countless more times. We don't start worrying about baby being breech until around 34 weeks.
3.) Cookie waved to us. Honest to goodness. She moved her little hand away from her mouth and that little hand danced back and forth across the screen. I waved right back at her. She (he??) also got busted on camera dancing on my bladder - caught red-handed  (or is it red-footed?)!
4.) Maybe the funniest thing - we could see the baby's mouth opening and shutting multiple times throughout the appointment. This was cracking both of us up, but JBB thought it was especially funny. Based on that alone, he has changed his prediction and decided this baby is a girl who is a talker, just like her mama. (We also saw her bladder get bigger throughout the appointment - some of that "talking" was her practicing drinking whatever it is that floats around in there with her).

So, that's the news from the babyfront for this week. We've both been floating on Cloud 9 for the rest of the day. We bought a baby book last week, and I can't wait to update it with this milestone.

PS - if any of you are especially adept at reading ultrasounds and have somehow figured out from the above snapshots what this baby is, for the love of God, please don't tell us!!!

PPS - thanks so much to all of the veterans in our lives and happy Veterans Day. I'm so happy knowing Cookie will grow up in a country where she has the freedom to live as she wants, practice her own beliefs, and can vote as her heart dictates, without fear or censorship. I think it's important to remember after all of the sniping, fighting, and mudslinging of the past month, this is still a great country, and the place where I want my children to grow up.