Pink and Flowers It Is... Or Is It???

Brad and I went back to Virginia College today for our 16 week ultrasound and got a nice surprise! We thought that it might still be a little too early to tell the baby's gender, but the tech claimed she saw the magic "3 lines" and therefore was pretty sure it was a girl, although she couldn't say 100% because #1) she's just a student and #2) who can really be 100% with an ultrasound anyway? I mean, it's an image pieced together using soundwaves, people! So, for the time being, we're going with the girl prediction and embracing it as much as we logically can unless someone tells us otherwise!

On my way home, I just couldn't help myself. I made a stop off at Babies R Us and, feeling as though I'm far enough along at this point, took my rightful place at the racks of baby clothes to peruse. We had made a trip in there about a month ago, but I felt a little silly at that point, being that I wasn't really showing then and I had no clue what to even look for, much less buy! The whole baby store experience reminds me of those exotic birds on the Discovery Channel. Although nobody will admit it, all of the mothers-to-be in there are secretly comparing their "baby bumps" to the other mothers-to-be, and like the exotic birds, the mother-to-be with the biggest bump (or brightest feathers in the birds' cases) is automatically the queen of the store. And it isn't even something that has to be announced! The other moms just know. (I know I'm going to get some smart aleck comment from my husband on this). By the way, this competition also took place at VC while everyone was waiting for their respective ultrasounds. I caught a couple of the women in the waiting area glancing around and comparing. Back to my story...so, feeling that I fit somewhere in the middle layer of moms-to-be, I picked out a couple of adorable little girl outfits and a little stuffed sheep with a pink bow on her ear and made my way to the check-out. "Are you buying off of a registry today, ma'am?" "No, I sure as heck am not! My registry gift days are over! ... for the time being." Ok, I didn't say all that, but I sure was feeling it. I know there are other moms out there that have been through this same stuff... am I right?

Back to the big announcement though. As Brad and I were walking to our cars after the ultrasound, I said, "You know she's going to have you wrapped around her little finger, right?" To which he simply grinned and nodded, which I thought was so sweet and endearing! =) A few minutes later, as I headed back home and Brad headed back to his office, I got a text from my mother-in-law, Lisa, saying that Brad had already posted the update on Facebook, which also melted my heart! For those of you that don't know about Facebook, ask around to a few people. You're bound to run into somebody that knows about it and can explain it to you... kinda like that 6 degree thing with Kevin Bacon.

Now, with all that being said, the big question on mine and Brad's minds is this: just how reliable are those 3 little lines??? I've read several articles online tonight about women going for their ultrasounds around 16-18 weeks and being told they were having a girl from those 3 little lines, and then a few weeks later, it turned out to be a boy! So, I'm going to post our "proof" here and get your feedback on it. What you're looking at here is the little bottom on the left side (as if the baby's sitting on the "camera") and the 2 little thighs sprouting out toward the right side on each side of the little bottom. The evidence in question is obviously between those 2 thighs. I know the picture is a little grainy, but if you look closely, you can supposedly see 3 small horizontal white lines.

Now, on to exhibit B, or picture #2. In this next picture, which is a little closer up, you can still see the bottom on the left side, then you see the baby's left thigh sprouting out at the bottom of the picture and the right thigh, towards the top, is barely visible. In this picture, the 3 lines are larger and more visible, but the middle line seems longer than the other 2, in my opinion, which I read can be the little penis. I'm also wondering if the little girl parts would be that far away from the apex of the thighs, but I'll let y'all be the judge and tell me what you think. (I also realize I'm going to catch it from Brad on this, too, as he's getting a little annoyed with me obsessing over what the baby actually is).

Please keep in mind that we are extremely excited no matter what the baby is, boy or girl. I'm just so ready to start buying stuff and getting the nursery ready, but we don't want to do anything until we're absolutely sure (or as sure as we can get) that we know what we're having. We're going back to VC in 2 weeks for an 18 week ultrasound, so maybe things will be more pronounced then. If not, then we have our "official" 20 week ultrasound with Dr. Gregory, my Ob-Gyn, 2 weeks after that, but I'd be interested in hearing your inputs as to what you think!

I'm hoping to have Brad take our 16-week belly picture tomorrow evening (he fell asleep tonight!), so hopefully, I can get that up on the blog soon. Brad started a new job this week, which he's really liking, so he's still getting used to his new schedule. Praise God for giving him this job and thank you all for your prayers during these tough times for us! It looks like we may have found the other end of the tunnel, finally! Thanks again and I look forward to reading your comments!