First Impressions II

The ultrasound technician made absentminded chit chat with us as she had me lay back on the table. I pulled up my shirt as she tucked paper around it. "We'll take a look at all the measurements and check the heart development. Did you bring your flash drive? We can download some images and videos for you to have." She squirted the gel over my abdomen. "Now, are we wanting to find out gender today?"

We nodded. Two firstborns don't do well with surprises when advance information is readily available. I remembered with James how long it took to do this scan. He was stubborn and didn't want to move around for certain measurements. It took the better part of ten minutes to figure out that he was, in fact, going to be a James. As nervous and excited as I was to find out about this new wee one, I settled myself in for a leisurely tour of limbs and organs.

The tech warmed up the wand and placed it in the center of my stomach. The screen lit up with that familiar black and white grainy palette and we all blinked. Was it really going to be that easy?

Immediately, and without hesitation, we all said together, "Well. It's a boy!"

...

I settled gratefully onto our couch. The blur of house hunting, house purchasing, house de-catting, and house unpacking had me plumb tuckered out. Roy kissed me as he headed out the door to an orchestra rehearsal. James was napping upstairs--it was time for a precious hour to rest. Two minutes later my water broke and soaked the sofa. Once I had recovered from the shock and adrenaline of the moment, the emerging irony made me chuckle and shake my head all at once. The boy who proudly splayed his manhood for us at 20 weeks in utero had also managed to ruin his mother's furniture before birth. What were we in for?

Today I was invited to climb into an oversized chair that this same boy had turned into a "club." He gleefully gave me the grand tour of his carefully-arranged blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals before offering me any spot I desired. As I snuggled him and listened to his happy, nonstop chatter I remembered that I was in the exact same spot of the house as that ruined couch. Immeasurably grateful for the adventure and LIFE Owen Nicholas has given us, from day one.