Andy and I decided to have one ultrasound and scheduled it in a long time ago. The day before he left for his epic float adventure, he realized he wouldn’t be back in time and asked me to change the appointment. I couldn’t and went to the appointment with Anne, Heather and my mom. It was great to have those powerful women with me. I have often wondered how women get through pregnancy without a partner, but now I know. Girlfriends.

The doc was lame and acted as if the ultrasound was a boring chore akin to flossing. I had to repeatedly ask him to say anything at all and he would respond with one word, deadpan answers that always led to another question. “I know you do this all the time, but this is my first time and you really can’t tell me enough information,” I said. “I understand,” he said. But this was followed by silence. “What’s that?,” I asked. “The stomach,” he replied dryly. And so it went on. I am so glad he is not my doc. I am so glad we have a midwife we really like. But party pooper attitude couldn’t keep us down. The coolest thing for me was seeing the spine and ribs with the heart beating. We have a healthy baby.

We decided to find out the gender. This is an interesting topic. People feel so strongly about not finding out and those that find out don’t seem to feel as strongly, but still pretty resolute. Heather worries about gender stereotyping before the babe is born. Valerie enjoyed the anonymity of not knowing her child until it was time. Caroline loved the surprise after working her ass off for hours. We decided to find out because it is a fantastic surprise right now. I am not interested in pink or blue and my kid still remains as anonymous as ever. Could be a prep, punk rocker, goth…..I hope bug gardens. The biggest, most heartwarming reason we found out wasn’t even identified until we started spreading the news. Our family that can’t be near LOVES knowing the gender. It was great fun to share the news with aunts, uncles, siblings, parents, friends; to bring them closer to our excitement. My sister-in-law emotionally said that she really feels a tangible connection to her first bug knowing the news. All around I am really happy to know.

I had the doctor write the gender down on a piece of paper and place in a sealed envelope. So when Andy got home last night, we opened it together. I didn’t think I could love my man any more….click here to find out if our bug is a b or g.