Week 19, Day 1 (The good, the bad, and the surprising!)

Today's missive is dedicated to those sweet folk who have waived their wish NOT to know the baby's sex, in order that the word may be spread uncensored. Thanks guys, you rock!

Well.. where do I start? Let's start with the 'bad' and get that out of the way, shall we?

Bad: Looong downtime in waiting room, painful scan, definitely not allowed to tape at all, and just another ultrasound (not the 3D one we requested).

Good: Baby is completely fine - heart, stomach, spine, brain, limbs, all present, well formed and accounted for.

As for the surprise, read on...

First though, I'm making a resolution - no more pregnant women are allowed to lay a finger on me until after I've had this kid! I dunno what it is, but first the blood-taker and now this last scan technician have caused me severe distress and discomfort, and if this is a pattern, then expect me to leap screaming out of a window if a pregnant nurse approaches me when I'm in labour! Jeezz.. I'm not normally a sook, I promise.

Mind you, some of it was Tadpole's fault, as *it* lay head down, feet up, facing my spine and refused to turn around for any of the necessary measurements. The technician had to dig deeply under baby to get the measurements she needed, and the substance between her and Taddy (ie, me!) came out the other side very bruised and tender. But my baby is fine - it's just its vehicle that needs some panel beating afterwards ;-)

We had a nasty moment when the tech took a veryyyy long time on Taddy's heart (more than half the total scan time). When I nervously asked if everything was okay, the response was "Yes, looks good, but I imagine you'll still want to schedule a visit with Rosie for a more thorough heart scan?"
"Why, and who is Rosie?" we chorused (panic tinging our voices)
"Rosie does the specialist heart work, and you'll want to see her as you lost the last baby due to heart complications."
"WHAT baby???" I asked. "This is my first!"
"Oh.."
"Have you mixed me up with someone else?"
"Only if they've got your name" she replied.

Should I be reassured, or what? Somewhere in Chch is there a woman who maybe needed more heart examination on her fetus, who perhaps didn't, because her records got mixed up with mine? And possibly more frighteningly, is there another Karl out there somewhere? If so, heaven help the universe!

So we thought it would be a good time to cheer things up a bit, and asked if we could be told the sex. "Oh! I thought you'd have noticed by now" she replied (a bit of a clue...?)

She zoomed in on Taddy's rear view (remember Taddy was lying with bum in the air, backside on view).

"That's a leg..."
"yes.."
"That's the other leg..."
"yes... " (getting excited now)
"And that is NOT the umbilical cord".
"..." (what?)

(deafening silence.. then...)
"So you're saying... it's a BOY????"
"No doubt in my mind" she replied. "Look, there's the scrotum too."

Everyone took a break while Karl burst into hysterical laughter for about a minute, sobbing through her giggles "Well shit, I got that wrong! We were ALL wrong!"

I got control of myself eventually (shock is a marvelous sedative), and we got back to the painful business of measurements and checks. The other two scans were a bit uncomfortable, but not outright painful - never mind, it was worth the bruises to know my SON is healthy and well.

Wayne's in total shock. He'd been looking forward to a daughter, and I have to admit, so was I. But it's a baby, and our baby is healthy. Besides, boys have their benefits too.

** Their clothes, shoes and haircuts are cheaper.
** Very little chance of my big fear, a "girly" girl. (If it's a girly boy, that's okay but he can buy his own handbag and tutu)
** He'll never come home at 15 and say "Mum, I'm pregnant".
** Boys tend to be easier to please. They're either hungry/tired/bored/wet/etc, and just that.. ** Take care of the thing bugging them and they're usually right as rain again. Girls tend to say "shit, that was too easy.. how about THIS?"
** Boys don't go through teenage bitchy years.
** A boy's best girl forever is his Mum.

Worst drawback about a boy: Remembering to keep your mouth closed when changing their nappy!

So Rowyn Rhiannon it won't be, unfortunately. In fact, it can't be Rowan either because Wayne has a step-family full of male Rowans. So the thinking caps are on again, with the focus (at this point) pointed firmly towards Celtic and other really old fashioned names.

Early favourite is "Bran" (no, not like the bloody cereal you twits! He was a very honourable and quite magnificent Celtic chieftain). Of course Wayne quipped "If he comes out with red hair, he'll get nicknamed "Cornflake".

Poor bloody kid.. from Tadpole to Cornflake. That's child abuse, eh :-)