Rosebud

OK, so the secret is basically out: we’re having a girl! The technician was able to get a fairly dead-on view, so we’re pretty certain she will remain a she come delivery time.

More importantly, the ultrasound showed that everything was perfect thus far. She is growing just as she should. She has 10 little fingers and 10 little toes, two arms, two legs and an up-turned nose. Hey, that rhymes — maybe she’ll be a poet like her mama.

These days I am definitely feeling her flip-flopping around in there, and maybe even a bout of hiccups. All very cool. Something else that is cool? I’m still feeling good. The only exception would be some shooting pains that start at my hip and travel down my left cheek and thigh. Perhaps it’s a pinched nerve? It’s not all the time though, so I’ll survive.

In more fun news, my parents are coming to Atlanta this weekend to help celebrate my birthday — 33. Wow/Ugh. How did that happen?

The original plan was to surprise them with the baby’s sex upon their arrival on Friday but by last night I had grown tired of keeping the secret and gave them the choice of when to find out. It turns out they are as impatient as I am! I’m sure we’ll also do some things concerning the nursery, now that we know whether to lean toward pink or blue (mentally, not literally).

Speaking of the nursery, J had proclaimed all along that he would not be painting, but I was determined it would be painted and planned on hiring someone to do it if I had to. However, he unexpectedly had a change of heart and as of Saturday morning, the room is now a soothing light gray (as opposed to yellowy-beige)! He did all the work. I just kept him company and handed him things as needed. He gets many thanks and much love for this project. Ideally the bathroom would be painted, too, but I better not push my luck!

As for the title of this post, I’m calling the little one Rosebud for now. You can thank my dad for that catchy moniker, as he found a way to include a family name AND something that represented Virginia Tech all in one package. I see a future nickname coming!

We may be close to deciding on her actual name. I know J wants to keep that private; more to avoid unsolicited opinions than to be a surprise, but you know me; I’ll likely spill that at some point. If anything, you can count on me and my big mouth. Plus, I don’t really care what anyone else thinks — it’s not like we’re naming her Starlight Passion … or are we? :)