Nothing like being woken up two or three times in a row to ruin a good night's sleep. It's after midnight and the monsterling is snug in my spot on the bed, after nightmares rousted him -- and us -- out of dreamland.
Just think, in five months or so I'll be recalling those glory days when I got three whole hours of sleep at a stretch. Sigh.
Speaking of stretching, I've dusted off my pre-natal yoga tapes and discovered that I have all the flexibility of concrete. Nor are my feeble contortions helped along by both cat and child, who translate "namaste" as "Mommy stay" and use the opportunity to jump aboard. Try doing Child's Pose with an actual child dangling from a limb.
There is one member of the family who appears adept at yoga, often performing Downward Facing Dog over my bladder at 1 a.m.
That would be Mugwort, of course, who hammed it up for the ultrasound Tuesday, spinning through an alarming series of poses that would strain even Rodney Yee's hamstrings.
Since my doctor lacks the fuzzy, crummy portable ultrasound found at most OB's, he sent us to the hospital, where the equipment's shiny and huge and easier for us know-nothings to discern.
Instead of a technician, we had an actual doctor. Big difference. She gave us a guided tour of Mugwort's body, measuring the head and both hemispheres of the brain.
The baby weighs about 10 ounces so far and there's enough amnio fluid to indicate normal kidney function -- though how they can measure this with sound waves beats me.
We saw the spine flexing and itty bitty fingers curling and uncurling. Tiny toes and a throbbing heartbeat, which we also got to hear. I could write whole songs to that rhythm. Except that I can't carry a tune.
My wee exhibitionist also afforded us a full-on crotch shot. No boy parts. This leaves the other options -- girl or none of the above. We're all presuming it's a girl.
So, I'm having a daughter, which is cool. As long as she doesn't mind wearing her big brother's hand-me-downs in every conceivable shade of blue and sleeps anyplace but my bed, we'll get along okay.
I'm also counting on her to be my yoga guru. That is, if I can keep up with her.
Congratulations! I'm very excited for you. We're in the same situation. My first, a boy and second, a girl. She, too, has worn a lot of blue and denim. But don't deny yourself the fun of buying pink, frilly things once in awhile, too. It's too fun.
Posted by: lapdwife | March 02, 2005 at 07:51 PM
Congratulations! If you haven't stopped by my blog lately, I am having twins. One of each. I am huger than huge.
That ultrasound sounds very fancy shmancy.
Posted by: Michelle | March 02, 2005 at 09:55 PM
Did the doctor confirm that this was a girl? If they take the ultrasound early in the pregancy, it's hard to tell. This was the case for us, so we bought a blue outfit and a pink outfit, returning the blue one a few days after our daughter was born.
Posted by: Ontario Emperor | March 03, 2005 at 10:16 AM
You're having a girl...hurray! Even more reason for another baby shower...good luck to you.
Posted by: Lizzie | March 03, 2005 at 08:46 PM
Whooo hoo! Another girl to make the world a better place. Congrats to you and hubby, but as you know, don't count on getting that bed to yourself any time soon. I'm still waiting.
Posted by: Faith | March 06, 2005 at 02:11 PM
Hurray for girls! Aren't those ultrasounds amazing? We also got to see the two halves of the brain, the four ventricles of the heart, and the cute little ovaries (which will no doubt bring much grief to my daughter someday) along with a slew of other anatomical wonders. It was quite an awesome sight. Congratulations! Here's to many happy years of yoga for the both of you :)
Posted by: Stephanie | March 08, 2005 at 11:11 PM