baby numero dos....

If you don't know, now you know! We're expecting baby numero dos in January. January 18th, 2012 is my due date.

We had our 12 week ultrasound last week. As soon as the tech started the ultrasound we saw baby number two waving at us! Pretty great way to start the ultrasound. Baby was super active and moving all over the place so we didn't get great pictures. :( However baby definitely had 2 arms, 2 legs, and at least one hand :)

Last time around, with Carter, we had this same ultrasound done - NT scan, which checks for genetic defects, like Down Syndrome and Trisomy 18, but to us it was more about seeing the baby. Anyway, with Carter the tech never asked us if we wanted her to check between the legs. So this time when the tech asked if we wanted her to take a peek we were totally shocked. First off, we don't want to know if baby is a boy or a girl until delivery day. Second, we didn't think they'd guess this early on. However, the temptation of a guess was too much for me/us to pass up. I made sure any "guess" at this point was just that. A guess. She said her odds at guessing today were 50/50. Knowing that I said why not? Lets add another guess to the old wives tails. The tech guessed boy but said she wasn't very confident in that as it could go either way from what she saw.

Being that we aren't finding out until sometime in January I've looked at some of the old wives tales... just to see what they say. So far here's what we've got:

heartbeat at 6 week ultrasound: boy (heartbeat predictor was wrong for Carter this early on)
heartbeat at 12 week ultrasound: girl (heartbeat predictor was right for Carter every time after the first ultrasound)
chinese gender chart: girl (chart was right for Carter)
some theory about where the placenta forms: girl (no idea if that would be right for Carter or not)

One thing is for certain. We are having a boy or a girl! Joe and I are totally happy with either, although Joe does say he'd prefer another boy. Apparently Joe isn't crazy about the idea of being a father to a teenage girl! I really don't care either way. Some days I say, ohh another boy would be so fun for Carter and other days I think a girl would be just as fun. Either way, a happy healthy baby is number one priority. And so far everything looks good!

I think it's going to be really hard waiting until delivery day to find out.... especially when we have the anatomy scan (20ish weeks) and we know they could tell us. But, I'm so excited about the surprise and think it will all be soooo worth the wait!

When I was pregnant with Carter everyone asked what I though we were having. I honestly never had a gut feeling if Carter was a boy or a girl. I kind of assumed boy since Joe's family is all boys, but it was never a gut instinct or maternal feeling. I never dreamt if he was a boy or a girl either.

With this baby, right after we found out I was pregnant, I had 2 dreams right away and both times the baby was a boy. Then some days I really think baby is a girl... others I think boy. Haa!

It is still a little surreal that we're expecting another baby. I've had my share of OMG-how-am-I-going-to-pull-this-off moments! Which I'm guessing (hoping!) is normal. Two babies! Scary and exciting all at the same time. Carter and this baby will be 22 months apart. 2 under 2! While that does sound a little daunting I am super excited for Carter to be a big brother. He loves other kids and I think he'll be a fantastic big brother.

As for names we haven't made much progress. We're not totally sold on any of following. We still like Graham for a boy. Other boy names we've tossed around are Landon, Griffen, and Sawyer. Girl names are harder for us. Ellie is still in the running (was our top girl name while I was pregnant with Carter). Others we've tossed around are Mallory and Molly. Although Mallory means unlucky... not that I put much, if any, stock into what a name means.... but that meaning kinda makes me rethink it. Ehh, at least we have some time to think about it!