We have passed the half-way point which meas that we were set for the check up/check in ultrasound. Luckily we were scheduled for a different clinic so we didn’t have to dread seeing Mr. “I didn’t mean to offend” while saying horribly offensive things….the trade off was that we had to drive 5 hours one-way to the next appointment. Finding a good play list to occupy us is incredibly less stressful than allowing the town’s most ignorant man to further raise my blood pressure. On the road we go!
The drive down was pretty tame. Got to hear Trolls for the 50 billionth time as it played in the back seat, so really, another tick off my list of life goals. Ultimately, we got there safe which is all that anyone can ask.
Due to our previous experience, I have to admit that I was slightly apprehensive. Sure we were 5 hours South from our normal “North” but we were still North! To be fair, I didn’t really dress up for the road trip, and my sparkly “I’m a girl! No, really.” shirt was in the wash. So, instead I was sporting my well-worn Canucks hat and my most suitable winter wear. It’s hard, because I don’t intentionally wear clothes to deceive or keep people guessing, contrary to those who say it is my own fault for being mistaken for a male. No, I wear what I am comfortable wearing, and know that regardless of what I wear, those who truly look at the people they interact with can sort it out. The ones that merely interact without thought or care are generally those who not only make mistakes, but then get mad at me for allowing that to happen. Given all those circumstances, I just hoped that I would just be able to check on the little one without getting into a political debate over closed-minded, societal norms. I hate that I think about these things, but previous/life experience has made it so that this is always in the back of my mind.
We checked in, and were waiting for our turn. Everyone, including our little girl, were excited to see the baby and find out what exactly we were going to be welcoming into our family. The tech came out and looked at both of us, asking which one was Sue. Really, is there any better way to handle that, aside from us wearing name tags? As ridiculous as it sounded, I felt ten times better. She was awesome and very respectfully explained that she would bring me in first to check things out and take the required pics before bringing in the family. Let’s be real, keeping a three year old occupied for that long is like trying to cuddle a crocodile. Sure, some people manage it, but it is generally rare.
The ultrasound tech was super nice and I sat there bare bellied while she did her thing. We wanted to know the sex of the baby, but we wanted to do a gender reveal with Freddie as a way to spread the news. As such, we devised a plan so that she would write the gender on the screen for my wife and I to see without giving away the secret.
My wife and daughter came in and we were able to see the little one. The baby was surprisingly cooperative and pretty active as well. Little skeletor was moving around looking like your average alien, or He-man villain. At one point it swallowed which was kind of cool because it just looked like a cute yawn.
The moment was approaching and I was getting nervous. We have had completely random conversations about how we would deal with it if we had a boy. Let’s be honest here, we didn’t have much experience with boys other than kicking their butts on the ice and on the field. 😉 In fact, as the ultrasound was approaching, I had a very open conversation about circumcisions with some of my work colleagues (all moms). The most amusing part was when the boss walked in, took a moment to truly take in what we were talking about and then tactically repositioned to another part of the office. One thing was for sure, no matter what popped out, we would have a lot of back up to help us sort through it.
After looking at all the angles, the tech was able to write out her opinion of what was brewing inside. G-I-R-L was typed up on the screen. I was pretty pumped. Nothing against boys, but I would like to think that women have knocked out quite a bit in my life time, so having a girl just provided more opportunity for me to see what other accomplishments can be achieved by the next generation. There will be a few years until that torch would be passed, but it was neat to think about.
In true prego fashion, we got our photos on a CD and then we were ready to roll. Keep in mind that in true second child fashion, it’s been well over a month and we haven’t shared those photos 😂. It’s the thought that counts right? Now, we had to formulate a plan to let our little girl know that she was going to have a baby sister.
Now, anyone that was around when my first daughter was born knows that pink was not the default just because it was a girl. In fact, a good chunk of her first year clothes were from the “boys” side of the store which generally annoyed the crap out of me. Why is it that cool things like helicopters and dinosaurs are predominately on “boys” clothes. This little girl has a mom who was not only in the army, but also worked on bad ass helicopters, but there was nothing that said “tough like mommy” on it on either side of the store. Thanks there society. Anyway, my 3 year old would not understand this debate and still has pink as her favorite color. As such, we decided that the easiest was to bust out the news was to use these societal norms and go with something pink or something blue to let her know that it would be a girl or a boy. Shopping for a newborn outfit, we were reminded very quickly how tiny this thing is going to be when it pops out. Hopefully at least! For my sake….
The stage was set and our girl was pumped to know what was baking in that oven. Now, we are not as in “the know” technologically as we were in years prior, but we like to challenge ourselves. Hell, I’m blogging! So, we decided that we should try this whole Facebook live thing to make the announcement. That way, no matter where our friends and family were, they could take part.
After a little fiddling and figuring out how to “tag” the camera was rolling. We asked our daughter what she hoped she would get, a little brother or sister and she said sister. When asked why, she said because she loves the color pink. I figured that this meant she wanted the thing in the bag to be pink more than anything…but ultimately she was just happy she would be a big sister no matter what it was. Finally, she was able to open the bag and out came this little pink onesie with a ruffled bum. Really, if ruffled bum is an option, who wouldn’t chose it?
There was a moment of excitement, and then it was done. Not that she wasn’t pumped, it was just that this big announcement was overshadowed by something much more immediate in her future. Earlier that day, we decided that we would be adopting another kitten to help keep our kitten at home company and ultimately occupied. This was the most exciting thing in the world to her and no gender announcement was going to knock that off the top of her exciting news list. In fact, when we were out for dinner that night, she made a point to stop at completely random tables and let them know that she was going to have two cats! Yep, there was this one table with three burly dudes having their beer and eating their ribs. She saw them and just couldn’t help but think that they would love to hear that we were getting two cats. She marched right up to the table, putting both her hands on the edge and excitedly shared the news, “We’re going to have two cats!” They were nice and very polite with her as I was attempting to drag her away and prevent any further declarations. As I held her hand and walked her away from their table, her other was arm outstretched with two little fingers extended and a final “two cats!” just in case they didn’t hear it the first time, as we rounded the corner and eventually out of sight…
Yeah, she’s excited to be a big sister, but for now…two cats is the big news.
Left (just in case it wasn’t obvious…): Our new addition, Lucy, enjoying the very comfortable for her, not so comfortable for me spot on my neck/head.
Right: Our little Skeletor laughing. Clearly, her incredibly hilarious Mumum just busted out the world’s most hilarious joke 😉
Adventures of Offspring 