Our Doctor's Appointment

So we had our doctor's appointment yesterday, when I was exactly 20 weeks (yay! Halfway there!) Everything sounded good; the heartbeat is still going strong at 160 beats per minute (which, if you go by the old wives' tales, means we're having a GIRL!!!!.... although I know not to put too much stock in those, haha). She said everything sounded great; I'm measuring just what I should be, I'm apparently eating all the right things, etc. So we were glad that everything appears to be spot on!

Our appointment got done around 3:45, so we figured there was no point in going back to work for a whole half hour, so we decided to go see The Informant. It was pretty good, although kind of slow in parts, but overall it was entertaining.

So, I cannot believe I am halfway done with this pregnancy. I am so excited to meet this little guy/girl. February (or, knowing how my family is, early March) just seems soooo far away! I am so thrilled to expand our little family. I can honestly say that I have no preference for the sex of this child. Before I got pregnant, I was SO girl-hungry. I pictured us with a girl, always said, "When we have a daughter," etc. It's not that I didn't want a boy; I just didn't have this overwhelming desire for one like I had for a girl. I can honestly say that the minute I knew I was pregnant with this little bean, all preferences I ever had vanished.

Sure, I would still LOVE to have a girl; my little Kate Elizabeth. I would love to have a daughter to raise into a strong, intelligent, confident, feminine woman who is a wonderful mother to her own children. I would love to (knock on wood) have that close relationship with her that I have with my own mom. And, of course, I'd like the more "superficial" things about having a daughter, too; prom dress/wedding dress shopping, helping her plan her wedding, buying the cute frilly clothes when she's a baby and toddler. And seeing Dan with Rori and Kirsti just makes my heart melt; he is so gentle and sweet with them, and I know he'd only be even more so with his own daughter. I think every little girl deserves a dad like Dan, and that is a HUGE reason that I want a daughter of our own.

But I would absolutely LOVE to have a boy as well. Dan has been so fantastic throughout this pregnancy; he has always been an absolutely wonderful husband, but he's stepped up to the plate even more than I could have ever imagined. Happily taking off work for my doctor's appointments, doing whatever he could to make me feel less nauseous when I was in the throes of sickness; I can't even articulate how lucky I am to have a husband like him. I hear other women complaining about their husbands: how he doesn't help around the house, how he forgets birthdays and anniversaries, how he doesn't get along with their (the wife's) family, how he's not romantic anymore... and I honestly cannot identify with ANY of that. I'm just sitting there thinking, "Hmmm, Dan does just as much housework as I do--and 90% of the cooking--he sends me cards for birthdays and anniversaries--even the anniversary of our first date--he's still romantic, he loves my family, etc." And I realized that the world needs more men like Dan. So I would be so THRILLED to have a little boy to raise with Dan as his role model. I can see him growing into a loving, respectful man who takes just as much of an interest in his children as their mom does, who takes pride in providing for his family, and who believes in treating women with respect--just like Dan does. (Need I point out that my mother-in-law, Gail, did an AMAZING job of raising her son?) There's this song that pretty much epitomizes how I feel; I don't even LIKE country music, for the most part, but there's this song called Watching You by Rodney Atkins, and it's about how his little boy idolizes everything he does and wants to be just like him, so he realizes he needs to be the best dad he can be. It's really sweet and makes me cry every time.

Plus, since Dan's own dad pretty much ran out on him, I think it would be almost healing in a way for Dan to have that father-son relationship that he never had with his own dad.

So, there is my long treatise on why I can honestly say I have no preference as to the sex of this child!