It's a...

We had our big ultrasound last Wednesday at a local state-of-the-art radiology clinic. My doctor's office likes to send people there so they get the best quality ultrasound on the best equipment, and it was really nice! The picture was sooo clear. We could tell what everything was. The ultrasound tech took a long time going over the baby from head to toe. She measured lots of little bones, and she checked out kidney function and heart chambers. She even showed us blood flow. It was really neat. It left us with no doubt that this baby is extremely healthy and developmentally quite perfect right now. I was totally amazed that there is this delicate, perfect, little human weighing a little less than a pound doing cartwheels in my stomach. I've been able to feel Baby there for a couple of weeks now, and the movement has progressed from the feeling of a goldfish bumping against a bowl to bubbles popping in my tummy. But I still wasn't prepared for what I saw on the screen. I think that humans can easily unconsciously feel like they work to create most things, and they give themselves a lot of credit for the things they create. I think I may have worried about this baby being healthy because I often think I'm responsible for most things that I create, and it's hard to imagine me putting together a baby and doing it right. (Pregnancy magazines don't help this way of thinking because they make you worry over not eating the right things or eating the wrong things, putting all the empahsis on what you do or don't do.) I don't think I can even put together a bicycle if I have the instruction manual. =) Maybe I could see myself getting it right to create the little blob I saw on the screen at 8 weeks, but I knew a whole skeletal system was beyond me. So maybe I worried because I forgot that God does it all. If there was any doubt before that I was not responsible for creating this life, it was totally over when I saw what He'd put together in only a few short weeks. This child is a perfect, delicate, miniature human, and I marvel in a new way at the awesomeness of God as Creator of all Life. So, I digress, but back to the ultrasound tech and her thorough investigation of all things Baby. She went down the baby from head to toe, and when she got to the feet, she turned the view so it was looking straight up from the feet to Baby's little bottom. Then she asked, "So, what do you think it is?" David said I blurted out what he was thinking but was afraid to ask: "Is that a penis?" Yes, it most definitely was. We're having a little baby boy! I was so shocked that I asked the tech if she was sure that it wasn't the umbilical cord. She then proceeded to show us about 4 different angles of this particular body part, including one with the umbilical cord also in view. I'm relieved to say, in light of my last post, that I was not disappointed. I was mostly just shocked, since just about all of our friends and family thought it was a girl. David was really happy about the surprise, even though he was trying not to gloat. He had been hoping for a boy, though he'd have been happy to have a girl, too. I immediately started imagining him playing with his son, and it's a very sweet thought. They're going to have so much fun together destroying our home with their wrestling matches. I was, however, disappointed about losing my plans. I got attached to my girl plans, including buying all those cute dresses. Girl clothes are just cuter than boy clothes, in my opinion. After the ultrasound, we went to Target and got a little boy romper so I can start getting used to this new idea. Time for new plans and decorating options! Back to the drawing board on names! I'm so thankful for a healthy baby, and I'm looking forward to holding my little guy in my arms.