And the verdict is...

After a long, crazy week of being sick and all that good stuff, we were able to go to the doctor yesterday and were told that everything with our little one is looking good. It's heart is beating 150 bpm (average is 120-160 bpm). It sounds like we have a healthy baby in there. And I know we have an active baby, I've been feeling movement for a good week now. So fun. Jeff can't wait until he can put his hand on my tummy and feel those little kicks himself. Daddy's not being very patient in that sense.

But even more exciting than hearing the heartbeat was going for our ultrasound yesterday and finding out that we're going to be having a beautiful little baby boy! I had a feeling all along that it was going to be a boy, and Jeff really wanted a boy because he "has no idea what to do with little girls." All I wanted was a healthy baby. We've had a name picked out for weeks, and it is so fun to refer to him my name, or even by a simple pronoun "he" or "him". So much more personal that "It" or "Baby" like we've been doing.

As the ultrasound tech neared the area "down there" she asked us if we wanted to know the sex of our baby. Of course we do! We want to know how to prepare for our little one to join our family. The first shot was a good shot between his legs, but it was sideways, and both of us were pretty clueless, until she pointed out that little boy part. We saw a few other shots, and yep. Definitely a little boy in there. We are so excited to welcome Jackson Snow Pond into our family in June, just 5 more months. Jackson, because we decided before we even got pregnant that if we ever had a baby boy we wanted to name him after my grandpa who passed away in September, and Snow because that's Daddy's middle name. And we just couldn't do Jack Snow...that sounds too much like Jack Frost. So we'll call him Jack.

Jeff couldn't be happier about his son. Apparently it's all he's been able to think about all day long (though I do know that he aced his quiz tonight, so I guess he's been able to focus in class, at least enough to pass it.) He kept texting me about the nursery and what we need to do to prepare for little Jack to join us. Not to mention his face when he heard it's going to be a little boy. Heck, his face all night last night after finding out! He is absolutely thrilled! I don't know if he's stopped smiling. (Or is that smile because I actually cleaned the house--including the bathroom--yesterday, which is the first time I've actually done anything in months because I've been so sick or tired or both?)

Anyway, we just want to share our exciting news with all of you. And now I'm off to bed since Jeff is in class until late and I've had a migraine all day long. If only Jackson will stop kicking me...

Waiting...

Well, we were supposed to go to the doctor today and would have found out what variety of baby we're going to have. But Mommy had to go and get the stomach flu. Not bad if you're a normal person, just an inconvenience. But, being pregnant, and not being able to keep ANYTHING down for over 24 hours, I got super dehydrated and was put on an IV. Lucky for me it was here at home, but being tied down and not being able to go anywhere is kind of driving me crazy. I was a little squeemish still yesterday, so would likely have stayed home from work. But today I've felt fine and totally would have been there (especially since grades are supposed to be handed out to students tomorrow), if it weren't for the extra precautions the doctor wanted to take for baby. Not that I'm complaining. I'm very grateful for the modern medicine that has allowed me to be able to replace all of the fluids that I'd lost. I'm also grateful for the little movements that I'm starting to feel in my tummy, reminding me of the little person growing inside. And it's only a few more days until we find out on Monday afternoon if this precious baby is a boy or a girl.