It’s a …

Some people can go without finding out their child’s gender until the doctor holds it up. Not us! (Especially since our crib currently has pink trim.)

When I was pregnant with Maddi, Chris and I had to travel to California to get a 3-D ultrasound and find out the gender. This time, luckily for us, the same services were available a mere three hours away in Langley. So yesterday, we loaded Maddi and half her toys and food into the Highlander and hit the road.

Now, for a bit of background, I was convinced from the very start with this pregnancy that we were having a boy. But Chris and everyone else insisted it was another girl. In fact, by the time the appointment rolled around, I was mentally prepared to hear that we were having a girl (after all, I was convinced Maddi was male, too!).

Luckily, we didn’t have to wait long. The ultrasound technician brought up the baby’s nether regions on the screen right away, and it was obvious to all.

We are having a bouncing baby boy! And since everyone else was so adamant that he was a girl, even though I’d never thought of this baby as anything but a boy, I was still a little shocked. Funnily enough, Chris told me afterward that he’s thought all along it was a little boy, too, but told me it was going to be a girl just because someone needed to be pulling for Team Pink!

Now that the news has had a day to sink in, I’m finally beginning to imagine three kids — an imaginative grade-school girl, a spirited little girl and a slightly-younger, laid-back little guy. What kind of relationship will they have? What mischief will they get into? It’s exciting to finally have a picture of what our little family will look like in a year or two.

It was difficult to make out the features on our little boy’s face, partly because I think the tech wasn’t very experienced and partly because he is so young and has so little fat and muscle. If I had to guess which parent he looks like, I couldn’t. (Unlike Maddi, who looked just like her dad in both the regular and 3-D ultrasounds.)

However, he’s definitely a laid-back baby. Even after a Frappucino with an extra shot of caramel, his period of activity waned quickly over the course of the session. Our little boy has about three active periods a day — four on a “busy” day — and they don’t last more than 30 minutes. Unlike Maddi, who practiced Tae-Bo religiously in utero, our little boy is content to merely conduct various rolls and repositioning maneuvers, as if he is trying to get comfortable rather than burst out a la “Alien.”

So now, we have about 19 weeks to get ready to welcome our little boy into our family. Cover the pink parts of the crib, find non-pink clothing and bedding, and pick out a nice boy name or two. Even though I’ve known it was a boy for several months, it’s weirdly final to know the baby’s gender. But that’s why I like finding out early instead of in the delivery room!

And here they are, the shots you have all been waiting for:

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