February 18

Today was a great day.

Bank holidays are always great days (thank you, Presidents Washington and Lincoln!), but today was especially great because it began my birthday week festivities. Thanks to Chris, his mom, and my mom, I got to go grocery shopping without the kids, had a massage, and went on a child-free dinner date with my handsome husbando. 

But the best part? We also had our 20-week ultrasound today! Now, before you get too excited, we did NOT find out Baby's gender. But there's a magic about ultrasounds that transcends even exciting news like that. Just getting to see the little person growing inside of me, to see its little, perfectly formed body, is such a miracle.

 So... Here's our baby!

This image is probably the least exciting, but we loved seeing Baby's sweet little arm and hand, with one finger pointing right at us. 

This is Baby's profile; we think it (we're both guessing that "it" is really a "she", but we have no basis for that) looks a lot like Daisy! Chris is also a bit concerned that Baby has a small chin, but I think it's darling.

And there's Baby giving the placenta a kiss! My mom thought that perhaps Baby was actually licking the placenta, but I think that's gross. Instead, I think we're just breeding a very appreciative, affectionate baby.

Baby measured right on target, and everything looked perfect. The only cause for concern was that they detected a PAC, which is an irregular heartbeat. Baby's heart would occasionally skip a beat. Normally, they attribute this to an immature electrical system, and most babies outgrow it before they're even born. We met with a staff doctor who was confident that our baby's situation was benign, and while something to monitor, not anything to be concerned about. Our midwife later told me that she doesn't have any concerns about it, though she'll happily monitor Baby's heartbeat any time I like.

So. In the midst of this dreary February weather, July seems pretty far off. But really, we're almost halfway there! (I say "almost" because I am expecting that this one, like our other two, will come a week late. No point in expecting a 40-week pregnancy when the odds say it will be 41 weeks!)