18 weeks and the verdict is in:

This week we finally got to find out a bit more about the wee one that keeps me awake at night. We went in for our 18-week ultrasound and got to see the baby hanging out. It was lying at the bottom of my uterus sucking its thumb with its feet raised and crossed. The technician needed to get several shots of various organs from various angles, but the baby wouldn't budge - even after I rolled from side to side and did downward facing dog. The technician said she thought the baby was "probably not a boy" but couldn't get a good view of much. We had to go back two days later (to get better views of the spine and heart).

This time (Thursday, November 12) we had a much more aggressive sonogram technician who jabbed my uterus (yeah... didn't feel that good) until the baby was in the needed positions. She showed us three lines that formed the labia and vaginal opening, so it's 90% official: the baby will now be refered to in the feminine tense. :)

The ultrasound was actually really stressful for me. I started crying when the technician was measuring various body parts to see if they were okay and was really worried that there would be problems. But everything was in normal ranges, and I teared up a couple times watching the cute little baby sitting there sucking its thumb. During the second ultrasound, we watched the baby tapping her foot against the placenta wall - it also was cute, as though she was just biding her time in the womb.

Tim didn't care if the baby was a boy or a girl, but was very happy when we saw the baby. I was secretly (well.. not that secretly) wanting a girl, but I would have been happy either way. Knowing the gender of the baby has made me more excited, and seeing her in the womb again was really neat.

Tim and I went out to dinner the other night, and we were talking about a time when we went to a museum with Erin. He had been really sad that day, and we talked about it a bit. He then said, "But... I'm much happier now." I asked him if he was happier than he was at the museum or if he was happier than he was during that time in general. He said, "Well... I'm happier than I've ever been in my life." We're both so excited for this baby girl!