Baby Boy!

For those who haven't heard yet, yes we are having another boy!

We got to go into town where my appointment is the night before , as there was a big snow storm which might have prevented our driving there the next morning. The kids found this very exciting! Well, except when Jonah cried for an hour at bedtime because he wanted us to leave the light on in the hotel room. At least we got to order a pizza and bread sticks (an impossibility where we live) and had the continental breakfast provided the next morning.

After breakfast we went to the ultrasound appointment. I was afraid they'd get upset at us because the paperwork I'd received clearly stated that only one person could come with me. I was kind of glad for the snow the night before, so if anyone questioned me I'd have a good excuse for having everyone there! Thankfully, no one said anything.

Elora had a great time viewing the ultrasound readings as the technician pointed out body parts, the baby's position and other things. Before the end Elora was an expert at pointing out all the baby details herself, much better than many adults! She didn't seem too upset about it being a boy either, maybe because she'd been disappointed last time and had steeled herself against the possibility this time?

Joshua and Jonah weren't quite as thrilled and were ready to go long before it was over. Neither of them got unruly, they were just a little restless, and every thirty seconds Josh would ask, "Can we go now?"

They took tons of pictures of the baby, which of course look just like the sonograms we got of our other kids, for the most part. In this one you can see the lens of their left eye, and their heart:




In this one he might be sucking his thumb:




And here is a nice profile that looks just like Elora's ultrasound profile:



They also did several 3-D pictures. These are always a little weird. If the baby is moving, it might look like it's face is smeared or something. Sometimes if the depths of the scan are off you might see shapes like their brain is showing or a limb has no flesh on it.
These ones aren't too bad; this first one is odd because it looks like the baby doesn't have a nose yet, even though at this stage it should look like a normal baby with hardly any body fat. Maybe the cartilage wasn't scanning well or something? Also see the bony arm and brainy-looking head? Hello alien.



Here is a profile; I think he was moving his hands when it was taken, so it looks like there are a few extra fingers. And his head is falling apart.



So...right now we still like the names Jude and Eli, though we're leaning toward Eli. Joseph thinks it'd be reeeaallly funny to give them a middle name starting with G, just so their initials would spell "Egg". HILARIOUS. (Read with sarcasm).

Actually, my grandpa's name is Gary, which I could use, so that might actually be a possibility. I know tons of people are scandalized when kids' initials spell something, but really it doesn't concern me unless its a swear word or especially derogatory. Because really, how often do you tell people your middle name?