At 20 weeks, Rick and I were happy to hear the technician in the hospital say that the baby was developing normally. Although we agreed not to find out the sex of the baby, the technician took a little too much pleasure in announcing, "I know what it is, and YOU DON'T!" Rick enjoyed that she was pushing my buttons and saying "The baby's legs were wide open, I had a perfect view."
I didn't find it as funny as he did. I felt much more curious this time around and I was really hoping there'd be some opportunity for Rick to leave the room so I could corner the technician and beg the answer out of her. No such luck.
A few weeks later I had a healthy checkup and the doctor confirmed what the technician said about the baby developing normally and my due date being right on track for Dec. 20. The baby's heart rate was back around 150, again making me smile that this little peanut was going to be a handful keeping us guessing. After all, Ben's heart rate was 150 almost my entire pregnancy.
Earlier in my pregnancy I was convinced the baby was a girl. Everything was different this time around. Particularly my posterior! Not only was I growing differently, but I began having morning sickness in my fifth month. How does that happen?!?! On one notable occasion, I was in the kitchen preparing Ben's lunch to take to daycare while he sat and ate his breakfast. I had just finished a bowl of Chex when I didn't feel so well. That entire bowlful of Chex ended up in the kitchen sink (actually, the garbage disposal. I was proud of myself for that.) I was worried that Ben would be afraid, hearing me retch loudly. But as I turned around from the sink with a smile plastered on my face, he was pointing, laughing and mocking me with fake vomiting noises.
What an adorable child I have! Maybe the second born isn't going to be the handful of the family...
Lately, I've been questioning that girl instinct. As my belly starts to grow more out in the front and up high, I can see glimpses of how I looked during my pregnancy with Ben. And Ben himself has spoken out. As we try to remind him every so often, Rick said to him one day, "You know mommy has a baby in her belly, right?" And he looked up at me and said, "It's a baby boy!"
Normally, I would roll my eyes at anyone who claimed their 2-year-old predicted his younger sibling's sex. But, Ben just doesn't show enough understanding of the baby to answer out of "wishful thinking" for a brother. It seemed like he said it out of nowhere, and said it with conviction. As if he was in on a secret that I wasn't. I don't know, for some reason it just stuck with me. And it's kept me guessing.
As curious as I am to know if it's a boy or girl, I am enjoying the curve balls. I like that the element of surprise is still there. It's more fun this way!
At the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium on August 20
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