And It’s All Thanks To Doubting David And His Infectious Incertitude

by Leslie

A few weeks ago, I asked my doctor if there was any chance that I’d get to have another ultrasound before Lucy’s birth. She said, “It isn’t likely. Your pregnancy is going along wonderfully. We will only do another one if it is medically necessary.”

At my last baby appointment, I asked my doctor to expound upon the phrase “medically necessary.” She talked about “risk” and “problems.” And I said, “So what if my problem is that my husband’s life is at risk if I don’t get another ultrasound to double check the gender of this child?” She laughed. I didn’t.

When we were told that we were having a girl at my 20 week ultrasound, we accepted it as fact. The ultrasound technician said she was certain it was a girl and I saw proof of that with my very own eyes. From that point forward, we called our unborn child by the name we’d chosen should she be a girl: Lucy. We purchased little girl clothes. When people asked what we were having, we said proudly and unwaveringly: “It’s a girl.”

Then, I added Lucy’s name to the growth chart on the wall in her bedroom. With paint. And Dave FREAKED.OUT. Suddenly, he didn’t feel so sure that we were having a girl. He began to ponder the possibility that the ultrasound technician had made a mistake. He expressed concern frequently, claiming I put a jinxy voodoo curse over the whole thing when I painted that name on the wall. Where we used to call our unborn child Lucy, he began to add an “IF it’s a girl.” When people asked what we were having, he’d say: “We think it’s a girl.”

At first, I brushed it off. “I am having a girl,” I’d tell myself. I saw her girl parts on that ultrasound screen with my very own eyes. I AM HAVING A GIRL!

But then, those little whispers of uncertainty would swirl around my head. And when I had to pick out the travel system, I went with a neutral color rather than the brown and pink cherry blossom pattern I loved. I told myself it was just in case we had another child and that child was a boy. I explained to myself that I was thinking ahead when really, I was being hypnotized by Dave’s speculativeness.

I realized I was under his spell of dubiety today when I set out to purchase the outfit my baby will wear home from the hopsital and I chose something gender neutral. Just to be sure.

And so, I made a plan: When I go to the doctor later this week, I’m going to bring up the ultrasound and how I need one. Again. I am going to tell her that I will go batshit crazy insane if I don’t get one to make sure there’s really a girl in there, so I figure we can do one of three things: we can give me an ultrasound, do another ultrasound or have just one more ultrasound.

When I shared this plan with Dave and asked him to back me up at the appointment - because I know he is just as unsure as I am - he said, “I’m not worried so much that it’s a boy. I just think there are two in there.”

Sometimes husbands just shouldn’t speak.

Posted in Mommy's Stuff, David, Lucy | 9 Cool Kids Came To Play »

Mar

16

30 Days To Go

by Leslie

Posted in Mommy's Stuff, Julia, Photos, Lucy | 13 Cool Kids Came To Play »

Jan

24

My Belly Is So Big…

by Leslie

…that while playing Barbie dolls with Julia, she actually suggested that it could be the Earth and the dolls could live on it.

My belly has been compared to a planet.

I’m not sure it’s EARTH-size. I think it’s more like Pluto. Oh, wait! Pluto isn’t a planet. That’s my belly.

Posted in Mommy's Stuff, Julia, Photos, Lucy | 10 Cool Kids Came To Play »

Jan

11

Beware: This Cuckooo Is Nesting

by Leslie

I realized something recently: I AM GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER BABY. Like, a real one.

I know this isn’t news to anyone; it shouldn’t be news to me, but somehow, the end result of this pregnancy is just now becoming very real. Maybe it’s because Lucy is constantly reminding me that she is there with her not-so-subtle flutters and high-impact ninja kicks. Maybe it’s because my belly is so enormous. And it’s stretching larger by the day. If I thought I had stretch marks with Julia, HA! This baby is showing me what stretch marks are all about. I’m beginning to wonder if there is a point at which my skin will cease to stretch. Could I burst? Oh, I know you’re thinking, “Leslie, your belly can’t burst, you silly bird.” But you haven’t seen my stomach. I’m telling you, I think it can.

The most amazing thing about the I’m-really-having-a-baby epiphany is the incredible and all-consuming phenomenon it sparks: the nesting instinct.

I remember feeling it while I was pregnant with Julia. I cleaned like Mommy Dearest and nearly wore out her little clothes from all the folding and re-folding and folding one more time. I was obsesssed with purchasing all the necessary items. I was so worried that I wouldn’t have something she needed. So, I researched products, made list after list and shopped at a feverish pace. Tears were shed over which baby bath to buy and I didn’t speak to Dave for two days after he callously implied that it reallly didn’t matter.

The funny thing is, I had no problem giving away those products I agonized over choosing and saved to buy. For a while after Julia came, I was convinced that I was finished having babies. And when my cousin learned that he and his wife were expecting a girl, I happily passed things on to them (thankfully, as their second little girl came less than a year later, so they have really used everything). Now, gone is the stroller, the car seat, the high chair, the bassinet, the mobile, the bumper pads, the play centers, the onesies, the bibs, and the bouncy chairs. Bye-bye play yard. So long swing. I am left to start, nearly, all over. I mean, we have a changing table, the crib and bedding, minus bumper pads, and we have, well, that’s about all.

The great thing is, I know a little better this time around. I’m not freaking out over the baby bath. I learned with Julia that the sink works just fine. She was afraid of that baby bath, anyway. This time I’m skipping the play yard and the swing - they don’t get much use when you discover that you prefer to wear your baby. I realize an infant doesn’t need too many outfits, because of how quickly they grow. But, there is no doubt that there are many things we need. And because of that, I’m starting to lose it. Just a little.

Okay, maybe a lot.

Lucy will be here in three months. That’s soon. Very soon. I have a lot to do. I have a lot to buy.

I went ahead and started a baby registry at Babies-R-Us even though this is my second child, just to keep myself organized and to use as a shopping list. I still need to add five baby gates and a baby sling or carrier to it. Any suggestions? What kind of gates do you use? What about a baby sling? I used the NoJo Baby Sling with Julia, which was fine, but not ideal. I’m pretty short-waisted and I have giants boobs. I’d like to find a carrier that will be comfortable for Lucy and for me.

In the meantime, I’m off to scrub the grout in my bathroom. I can’t possibly bring a baby home to a bathroom with stained grout.

Posted in Mommy's Stuff, Lucy | 16 Cool Kids Came To Play »

« go back —