16 Weeks...and Time to Find Out the Sex!

So here I am with only the second belly picture of my pregnancy and we're already at 16 weeks! I've yet to really "pop" but from what I've read, this little one should double in size over the next few weeks. I'm hoping to go back to work from Christmas break with an actual pregnant look.
Today we had our 16-week appointment and got to find out the sex of the baby! I originally wanted to wait until Baby Q arrives in June to find out what he/she is. That's how my parents did it so it seemed like a good road to take with our own. Grant, however, was a different story. He couldn't seem to stand the thought of waiting the entire nine months to find out. He said he needed time to plan and truth be told, he doesn't like to wait very long on surprises. I knew that finding out the sex of our baby would be an amazing moment no matter what. So I agreed with Grant and we told the Dr. to give us the good news.

Back in November, we had our 12-month appointment and our first sonogram. The nurse asked if we wanted to hear what the sex appeared to be. She got a very quick "YES!" from Grant, though I wondered how she would be able to tell so early. Sure enough, she pointed out what she said seemed to be a little girl. We were stunned, but happy. On the way out of the doctor's office, Grant grinned and said, "Well, I guess we're getting a little Harper." (My favorite girl name.) We went home and called our families to let them know that we had a very healthy and active baby on our hands...oh, and that it looked like a girl. Everyone seemed a bit skeptical that such a declaration could be made so early on. I have always been pretty trusting of what those in the medical field tell me so I went with it and started thinking about little Harper.

Today I brought Grant and my sister, Erin with me to the appointment. Erin came into town this weekend to visit and we made sure that the appointment was scheduled so that she'd be able to be with us on our big day. The PA, Kristin, came in and began checking out the baby as usual. She said the Little Q looked VERY healthy and that it was growing right on schedule...about 5 ounces in weight so far. "The weight of a quarter-pounder", as Grant so proudly pointed out. Kristin said that the baby was wiggling so much that she couldn't really get a shot of the goods, but she knew Dr. Seeker would be able to tell us what I was growing in there.

Dr. Seeker came in and was all smiles, as usual. (That man still LOVES his job, you can tell.) After lots of hugs and handshakes, Dr. Seeker got down to business. "So we think it's a girl, do we? Let's see if they were right at that sonogram." Less than a minute went by, he looked up at my sister and yelled, "It's a boy!" Erin screamed, I said something along the lines of "WHAT?", and Grant teared up. It was quite a fun surprise! Dr. Seeker then went on to show us what he very professionally coined the "little pecker and testicles". I'm pretty sure Grant and I sat through the rest of the appointment with our mouths open.

It really was the most amazing day! Erin, Grant, and I left the office and immediately took pictures to commemorate the moment. We then started calling family and friends who were beside themselves with glee. My favorite was my phone call to my brother, Ryan.

Me: "Hey bud, I just got out of my appointment. Are you ready to have a nephew?"
Ryan: "Whaaaat?"
Me: "Yep! It's a boy!"
Ryan: "This is great! I'm going to the toy store right now! Oh! I have all of those cartoon Batman dvds! We'll be able to watch them together!"

Something tells me Baby Boy Q is going to be spoiled rotten with a very proud daddy, two grandpas, and three uncles. For right now, though, I just need to concentrate on growing the little guy. :)


**Dr. Seeker and his PA both showed us tests that they ran at our 12-month checkup to look for abnormalities. The tests came back with what they referred to as an "A plus plus", something that they only see about twice a month. Little Q is already acing his tests...a man after my own heart.