IT'S A ...

boy OR a girl! We didn't find out the baby's gender today but know that it is either one or the other -- no hermaphrodite in my belly! The appointment with Dr. Soffici went well this afternoon. Ella came along with us and made the doc chuckle from time to time. She wanted to know what I was doing and if I was alright. Then she climbed up on the stool next to my head and asked "How was your day Mom?" Shortly thereafter, her thoughts turned to the zoo and she asked the doc if he wanted to come along with us. She was pretty much oblivious to the fact that her sibling was featured on the television screen.

Brett and I did our best not to be too distracted and to see our new little one on the ultrasound. We got to see the baby's brain, heart, leg, arm and spine. There were actually a few 3D shots but they didn't turn out very well because the placenta was in front of the baby's face. The same thing happened with Ella's ultrasound. Here are the shots we got from the ultrasound for your perusal. I'll do my best to describe what you're actually looking at.

This is a pic of the baby's face smooshed between parts of the womb I guess. I've rotated it to make it easier for you to make out. Brett and I differ on how we view this one. I see a baby with closed eyes, a hint of a smile and a chin. Below the chin, I see a blackish line and I think that below that is part of the neck -- like the baby is sticking its face forward through two folds of the womb and you can see the neck just farther back. However, what I think is part of the neck is what Brett thinks is a chin. When you look at it that way, the baby looks more like a lion than a baby. What do you all see?

The baby's spine is the white dotted line. I think the skull is on the right side of the pic.

The baby's leg and foot.

The baby's bent arm and hand.

This is a 3D photo of the baby's face profile (I think). It's blurry because the placenta was in the way.

But, all in all, Dr. Soffici said that everything looks good. In fact, he said the baby had a "beautiful brain" and a "good-looking heart". According to the measurements the doctor took, the baby weighs 14 ounces right now and everything looks on track for a due date of December 30th. Technically, the ultrasound gave the due date of the 29th but they don't change it when it is so close anyway. If I were to choose when the baby comes, I'd like to have him/her arrive after Christmas but on or before the due date. It would just give us more time as a family together before Brett has to go back to work on January 7th.