About three weeks ago, we had the week 20 ultrasound. Finally, we would know if Baby Blackwell was going to be a boy or girl, if Melanie could buy the paisley crib sheets she wanted, and we could finally start adding some stuff to the baby registry.
Melanie thought it was a boy. I think up until week 19, she thought it was going to be a girl. She had been having dreams about girls, and you just got a sense from her that it was going to be a girl. I thought it was going to be a girl. At the first ultrasound and again using the doppler during the Week 16 appointment, the heartbeat was pretty fast. 95% of all babies born in Hattiesburg are boys* (*stat not confirmed), so of course our child would be a girl.... The evidence of a girl was piling up.
However, the night before the Week 20 ultrasound, Melanie had a dream about a boy, and during the week or two prior, she started to change her tune. I was becoming more sure it was a girl, but Melanie now thought it was a boy. Only way to settle it? Modern science. It's all here in the video (if you want to know).
Melanie near the end of Week 20
Melanie's Version of our 20 week Ultrasound
So I have to admit, having our 20 week ultrasound was the thing I was most looking forward to, mostly because we could finally confirm who was right in terms of having a boy or girl. Both Tim and I were getting increasingly excited as the day of our big appointment grew nearer. What Tim didn't tell you is that he was so anxious the morning of our appointment (good thing it was at 8 am!). By the time we got there, he couldn't sit still. Once we finally got called back to the ultrasound room, the technician had us wait for a few minutes while she left the room. At this point, Tim was pacing, looking around to see if he could find a cup for water, and feeling like he needed to go the bathroom for the second time since getting to the doctor's office. I seriously thought he might pass out if he had to wait any longer.
Once we got the show on the road, we were relieved. It was so exciting to see how much our baby had changed since our 8 week ultrasound. We even got to see it have hiccups and move around during the ultrasound. It was so neat and special. After checking that everything was okay with the baby's development, it was time to find out the sex.....
IT'S A BOY!! I was totally right, and was able to tell immediately once we were looking in the right place. We were sooo excited to finally know! We both teared up from the news. After a few more pictures and recording our video, we were finished. Once we got in the hallway we hugged and made a plan for calling and texting all our families and friends who had been just as excited as we were to get the news. That was definitely one of the best appointments we've had so far. Also, it was exciting to know that we were now half way to meeting our baby face to face :)
