It's a …

It's true: We're all seeing blue! (I can't say I'm surprised, but I also can't quite envision myself with a son yet.) The little guy was very active for us – he almost seemed to be mugging for the big screen at times. Hands and (big) feet are confirmed, and he has a nice spine and healthy heart. I also caught a glimpse of the legs that have been kicking me – his calves actually appear to have muscles! He's getting ready to run and play soccer with his dad already.

My almost-3-year-old Charlotte came to the ultrasound, and she was absolutely hilarious. She wanted to climb up on the table with me but had to be content sitting with Nana. We tried to get her interested in watching the screen with us, identifying body parts and checking out the baby, but she was more interested in the weird goings-on beside her. “Mommy has jelly on her tummy!”

I asked the ultrasound tech to let us figure out the gender before she told us. Sure enough, those little boy parts were pretty obvious (and I'm not usually any good at identifying ultrasound images)! I asked her if there was any doubt of the gender, and she said, “Ah … no. Not really.” Pretty funny.

When we told Charlotte she would be getting a new baby brother, she kept repeating, “No, it's a sister,” but she seemed to grasp the idea by the end of the day. I'm a little bummed that she won't have a sister-friend close to her age, but I suppose that's what cousins are good for, and it will be a new adventure having a little boy in the family. On the one hand, we'll save lots of money on hair bows, tights and bracelets; on the other, I'm going to miss all that teeny-tiny girly stuff!

There are no mixed feelings from the to-be dad-times-two. Shawn is SO excited to have a boy, I can't help but be excited for him. I think he's already envisioning all the hours of soccer and Xbox in his future. Another plus: Friends with sons tell me how sweet little boys are, and how attached they are to their moms. So even if Junior is more messy and destructive, at least he's likely to be less dramatic than his big sis, who told me the other day, “My boyfriend is mad. We had a fight.” (Where does she get this stuff??I'm sure that's not in Sleeping Beauty or Dora the Explorer.)

The next task at hand is naming. I was all set with Molly for a girl, but boy names are much trickier for me. The name needs to sound solid and respectable, but I also don't want it to be super common or boring. (Also, is it important for his name to sound good with his sister's? If so, there's an added challenge.) I'm working through Beyond Ada & Aiden and The Complete Book of Baby Names now – we'll see if anything comes of it!