Thursday, September 2, 2010

And the verdict is...

We've joined team....





BLUE!

Matthew Michael Jeremiah is on his way!

Our appointment was almost an hour long!

He started out by being a stinker and only showing the top of his head. The upside (ha! no pun intended!) is that the tech got an extensive look at his brain and measured everything pertinent--everything measured properly and looked correctly shaped and positioned! She got some nice pictures of his profile, and confirmed that there are no indicators of Down's Syndrome or of a cleft palate. We weren't concerned about either, but the confirmation is nice just the same.


He decided that he's going to single-handedly revamp the trend of sticking your face on the copy machine. This picture gave us a good giggle. It's like he's pressing his nose up against the wall and saying "hello out there!"


Then he moved a little bit and she was able to see his abdomen, arms and legs. He has 5 fingers on each hand, which he waved at us, several times.


He stayed on his side for a long time. She was able to look at a lot of his internal organs and said that his kidneys, stomach and gallbladder all looked good.

FINALLY, he flipped, spread his legs, and basically sat on the camera. What cracks me up about this picture is that his face is in the background and he's almost smiling, as if to say, "I'm a boy and PROUD of it!"


After she took some more measurements, she switched probes on the ultrasound machine. We got this nice image that I think is easier to see:


Then, she surprised us by switching to 4D! We had no idea she'd do that and we were just tickled pink. She got this great picture. I love his little face.


After that she finished up and then said the doctor would be in to see me to do another ultrasound, just in case she missed something.

He walked in and said, "Your child is very....uncooperative." I just laughed. He's not even born yet and he's already got some mischief in him.

The doctor took some more images but had the same lack of success in a few areas that the tech had experienced. Basically, they were able to look some at the heart and they could see that it has 4 chambers and that the blood was flowing the correct way. But, they couldn't see as much as they wanted to. And, he absolutely refused to flip over and put his back toward the camera, so they couldn't fully investigate his spinal cord. So, they've scheduled us for a repeat ultrasound in 3 weeks so that they can take better images of those two areas. They did reassure us that from everything they COULD see, they thought things were normal. But they said they thought they'd be remiss if they didn't get some clearer images. I can't say I'm objecting to seeing our little man again.

Now, about his name.

Matthew is DH's middle name. I happen to think DH is the most wonderful man in the world, so I think it's fitting to name our son after him. The name means "gift of God," which this little one is. Also, the family middle name for men in DH's family is "Hugh." DH and I don't particularly care for that name. DH always thought his middle name was "Matthew" because it at least keeps the sound of Hugh. We recently asked his mom if that was true and she said it was not, but we actually still think it's cool and that it pays homage to the family name.

Michael was chosen in honor of Mike, our friend who just passed away. We really wanted him to meet our kids, and he was one of our biggest cheerleaders, so we thought it was fitting to honor him in this way. It's funny-ever since he died, I've felt like this baby would be a boy.

Jeremiah is the middle name we chose before Mike died. We chose it because of the verse in the book of Jeremiah that says, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you..." Given the way this little snowflake came to be and the fact that he actually had a "before my womb" time in his life and God chose to spare Him for us, we thought it was especially fitting.

We wrapped up little booties in blue and little girl onesies in separate packages for my parents and DH's parents with strict instructions that they not open the packages until instructed. Everyone was thrilled with the news that he's a boy, but my father in law was the most excited, I think. He has only one other grandson. And across this entire generation, there are only 3 boys. DH's cousin and his wife are pregnant. They don't know what they're having but if she's a girl, our baby will be the only male in this generation with the family last name. FIL is pretty stinking excited about that.

For our siblings, we had one Almond Joy Bar and one Mounds Bar and then told them each which one to unwrap. The theme song from the 80s for these two candy bars goes "Almond Joys have nuts, Mounds don't." I have to say that it's a little more crass than I would have preferred, but we couldn't think of any other inexpensive, creative ideas. It was fun.

On the way home from the appointment, we stopped at the party store to get the blue balloons. We came home and called the parents and siblings to direct them to the right packages, then called DH's grandparents, who were also excited, and then have spent the rest of the evening telling pretty much anyone who will listen! :)

It still hasn't quite sunk in yet that he's a boy. I'm a girl, so I know what to do with girls! I don't know what to do with boys. I guess I always pictured myself as a girl mommy. But, we're going to learn together, and I've been told that boys are much easier! :) I'm excited to learn!

So, that's our happy news. Thanks for letting us introduce our SON to you!

14 comments:

  1. OK, the Almond Joy vs. Mounds thing is HILARIOUS!!! Love it! I know I've already told you, but I couldn't be happier for you guys. I can't wait to meet little Matthew!!!

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  2. I have to say, the Almond Joy vs. Mounds idea is one of the funniest things I have heard of.

    Congratulations to you, your husband, and your son.

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  3. Whoever told you that boys are easier? I think they're lying. :) When I was pregnant with Jonathan, I was convinced that I simply HAD to have girls, because I had no idea how to raise a boy. God has a sense of humor, obviously!

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  4. Congratulations on being a boy. We may consider EA, as a life-giving option and also because we will most likely not have a biological child. I worry if I could keep going through failed transfers like yourself. I know how hard it was for us to go through 2 failed IVF's. I know the pregnancy makes it all worth it, any encouragement to why EA is worth all even the losses? If you could you answer on your blog, as I still have not opened up that topic on my blog, I would really appreciate it. If you want to email me, let me know.

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  5. Congrats on the boy! Boys are a ton of fun (so are girls though). I love the name too!

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  6. Look at you 2 beaming parents! Congratulations! I love the names and the meanings. God places importance on names and we should too. You have done just that and they are all beautiful and special choices. SO, I am all wrapped up in that as I read your post and then here comes the candy bar story! ARGH! I am laughing so hard! Who thought of that? Hilarious and edgy & f-u-n-n-y!
    Btw, I grew up with sisters only and our first was a boy. I thought I'd be clueless. I wasn't, I figured that beginning diaper changing stuff out and buying clothes for him was super fun and I have never been late for church because I still had to "fix his hair" The girls have so many details to their lives. Boys? straightforward.

    God knew what he was doing. He gave me a girl later (after another boy), but God knows and I now know, I needed those two boys first! : )

    Congratulations again & I am so excited because you have a little trickster on your hands, you get to have another u/s soon! : )

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  7. I felt the same way when I found out #2 was a boy. I was unsure of what to do and how to be a "boy" mom! Now that I've got two boys, I can tell you they are so much fun! I love playing trains with them and pretending to be super heroes. There's just a special bond that a mother and son have :).

    I love the Almond Joy/Mounds idea...funny!

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  8. Great pictures! So excited for you and can't wait to see more pictures of your son!

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  9. YAY! Congrats!!! Love the Mounds/Almond Joy idea. Too cute!

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  10. This is fabulous news Jennifer and 'Matthew' :-) Very hearty congratulations from all of at the Embryo Adoption Awareness Center. Thanks for choosing adoption. God bless you throughout your pregnancy and parenting.

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  11. HOW AWESOME!! LOVE the name choice and meaning behind it! CONGRATS MOM AND DAD!

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  12. YAY!! Love all the pictures! Steve & I giggled at the "money shot"! Love the name, love seeing your glowing faces!

    Congrats!

    And I personally, really wanted a girl, but am SO glad Adam is who he is!

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