Haven't posted in awhile

 
Again. Oh well, it's my blog and I'll update as I see fit (or remember!)
 
I have to say that the experience of going for an ultrasound was one of the most amazing I've done in a long time.
 
I had to have some upper abdominal pictures taken as well as the baby scan, so I was told not to eat or drink anything after midnight the night before.
 
(I cheated - kept drinking until 2 and had a yogurt at about 2:30 - but I figured that liquid-y stuff would be mostly cleared in 6 hours, so whatever)
 
Either way, the first thing the tech asked me was if I had a full bladder, to which I replied the instructions I'd been given. She said I needed a full bladder for the baby scan so I had to chug a bunch of water - almost a full bottle - that I had brought with me. : )
 
The upper abdominal scan was interesting, she was much more thorough than I remember the techs in Cold Lake being (have had to do this several times - checking on the 'hemangiomas' on my liver...) and involved a LOT of holding deep breaths and pushing out on my stomach and holding that.
 
I imagine between the sudden water intake, the plenty of deep breathing and the weird stomach muscle exercise, the baby must have reacted to SOMETHING we had done, because when the tech went to do the baby scan, the baby was VERY active.
 
The tech mentioned at one point that ours was one of the most active that she'd ever seen! I don't know if the baby is always that active, or if it was a result of the above, but either way, it made it difficult for her to get clear pictures of the baby, and she said we'd be needing another scan, to get good pictures of the heart and the head/face. That was excellent news for me, since she was unable to get a clear gender determination, and said she didn't know if it was a boy or girl.
 
(The tech definitely seemed quite skilled, and it didn't take very long for her to get all of the abdominal pictures she needed, so I don't think it's due to inexperience or anything like that. She apologized and said that our baby was just too active during this scan!)
 
I am still so excited to find out if it is a boy or a girl, and my original instinct was thrown off last week by a dream I'd had.
 
During my shifts at work, I have plenty of time to look up all kinds of things online, and most has been about baby stuff. I try to avoid stuff like ebay (addictive) and information related to the delivery/complications (for now - a little too scary, and I end up worrying needlessly, whatever will happen, will happen regardless...).
 
During a shift last week, I stumbled across this article/quiz thing, and did it for the fun of it:
 
http://pregnancy.about.com/od/boyorgirl/a/quizboygirl.htm
 
Some of my answers were pure guessing, for example: I don't know yet if I am carrying high or low, and either way the results were surprising.
 
I've felt right from the beginning that it was a girl, and there have been several things making me question my original instinct.
 
First, almost every piece of clothing we've gotten that is obviously gender specific (pink and purple vs blue and firetrucks) is for girls. (Murphy's law makes me think there's no way we'll have a girl if we ALREADY have lots of girl stuff)
 
Second, certain people who I believe to be very instinctual/ psychic even, say it will be a boy. (I know that they could be wrong, too, but STILL.)
 
Third, my Mom has already bought girly clothing...
 
Fourth, the Chinese calendar thing says the baby will be a boy, whether you use the basic one:
 
http://pregnancyandbaby.com/pregnancy/baby/Chinese-conception-gender-chart-9.htm
 
or the one you need to figure out your Chinese age and the Chinese lunar month at time of conception.
 
http://www.babyhopes.com/pages.php?pageid=11
 
Fifth, the quiz I mentioned above said it will be a boy.
 
Sixth, there's my dream. After my shift during which I took the quiz, I had a dream that we went for the ultrasound and discovered the baby was a boy. (We were also adopting a 3 year old boy in the dream at this same point in the pregnancy for reasons unknown, but that part of the dream was less 'intense' than the ultrasound part.)
 
I realize the dream could have been a direct result of having taken that quiz, or just my minds way of screwing with me...

Then there's just this feeling I have that I may not be having a girl. I don't know if all of this is coming up in my head because the ultrasound was coming up quickly, or just maybe I felt I needed to be more prepared in the event that they baby turns out to be a boy, when Chris and I both felt strongly that it is a girl.
 
Either way, I'll just be happy if our baby is healthy, (I know, standard answer, but it's true) and can't wait to meet the little person growing inside of me.
 
Our most recent ultrasound picture has made me realize all over again that I. Am. Going. To. Be. A. Parent. and I've begun thinking about a lot of things a little different. Nothing specific comes to mind now that I am writing about it, but my point of view has definitely shifted, and I am doing a lot more thinking about everything. I keep looking at the picture, and thinking to myself that that is my baby, my child. I am going to be a Mom. (If I'm not already, not sure exactly how that's classified. I already feel like a Mom, especially since the point of view change, but am assuming I will continue to feel more and more like a Mom as the months go by. I imagine that I will one day look at my 5 year old and go "Holy Crap, I am a parent!")
 
Regardless of all of that, the moment during the ultrasound that is permanently imprinted in my head was the first picture that showed up when the technician put the scanner on my belly. Unfortunately, Chris wasn't in the room during most of the appointment, they bring in the Father/Family members at the very last moment to show them the baby. It was an amazing moment, and I really wish Chris had been able to see it too.
 
A perfect and very detailed side view of the baby's full leg, bent for just a moment, and then a quick "KICK". It was amazing to see the baby kick, and feel it at the same time! It surprised the technician, I don't think she was expecting it.
 
I think about that moment several times a day, keep picturing the tiny leg, little muscles and bones, kicking away...
 
: )