How Far Along: 20 Weeks! Lots of things say we are halfway there, but considering the first 4 weeks you don't actually know you are prego, I don't think it counts. I will crown myself halfway in 2 weeks. The baby is now the size of a banana, which makes me think it must have really thinned out since last week. 

Best Moment of the Week: Finding out the baby is a boy was a great but oh so weird moment. I had a hunch he was a boy at the first ultrasound (and I referred to him as "Bubba" or "Bubby" in my head, which is our family's boy pet name thing, but I never really thought about it until the build up to the big appointment), and then as soon as I saw him in this ultrasound, I knew. But alas, we were still out over an hour from it being confirmed. First of all, the original ultrasound tech was new to the place, so she did most of the work, then someone else had to come in and check her labor, so the whole ultrasound lasted 2 hours. The first lady also said the baby's legs were blocking the view of whether it was a boy or girl, but then she referred to him as a "He" so by the time the second tech came in and announced the sex, we were pretty sure. 

Then, the second tech didn't just say it was a boy, she kept taking a picture of him up through the legs, put a green arrow on his penis, and made a "eh???eh???" face at us. We didn't realize at first that she wanted us to say it, so there was a long silent awkwardness as she just kept putting that green arrow on his tiny junk and making suggestive faces. It got too awkward. We have a video of it, but I am not sure it ever needs to be seen, as it is mostly just the worst. 

Some of my friends who have had babies suggested that learning this piece of information about your baby will really help you feel like you know them more. I don't have that feeling (I want to say these things because I feel like there is one acceptable emotional narrative, but it hasn't always rung that true to me). We don't have a ton of clarity about the name and it didn't change many of the plans that were already in place. Mostly, it makes me feel much more pointedly that we have no idea what the hell we are doing or who this person is going to be (though I am sure we will be fond).

Most Interesting Prego Quirk: Now that he is moving, he is really moving! Pag says Bumbo Baby is an interpretive dancer, and I think he is about as prolific as his father.  It feels like everything stays about the same and then it explodes into a whole new level of pregoness- your bigger, you feel the baby, you know more about it, all at the same time!

I Would Really Like Some: Perspective on my body. I feel like I just kind of exploded into pregnant, and I have to keep shaking off the (totally irrational) feeling that I need to be on a more hardcore diet and step up my exercising. I could definitely do better, but I know things are going to get way bigger before they get smaller, so I need to have peace about it. Plus, this is the first week that the parasite is literally feeding off what I am eating- he can taste! So I want to make sure to eat a good variety of food in case that does really make a difference. Also, I would like some Red Lobster.

 

Bizarro Thing No One Warned me About: The 20 week ultrasound is super long. I can appreciate that we want to get as much information about our spawn as possible, but wow. What no one ever told me is that the room is dark and mostly quiet (a chattier tech would have been nice), and every time they put new goo on, it is warm, so you start to feel like you want to take a nap. Then it gets cold and sticky, so you are really awake again. It becomes a loop!

And The Boy?: He seems excited that the baby is a boy, and he has a strong lean on what he wants the first name to be, so he will probably win that battle (it is nice whenever he has a strong affirmative opinion since mostly he just vetoes!). He has also been pushing going on hikes, so we did that yesterday (the long loop at Discovery Park plus a couple of getting lost-related detours).

Looking Forward to: My dad and his wife Amanda are coming this week so I am really looking forward to them seeing our house for the first time! I also think it will be nice to host, because we will be on the move a lot and hopefully will explore more of Seattle with them.