The exercise:
Today we write about something or someone: extra.
Kat's sister-in-law arrived this evening, with our little niece in tow. They'll be in Osoyoos for the next week and a half, and Kat's brother will be joining us next Thursday for the last few days of their visit. It'll be great to have them around.
But that's not what my mysterious news of the last couple days is about.
Mine:
Kat and I went up to Penticton on Tuesday afternoon for the twenty week ultrasound. Which means we got to see our baby for the first time.
The ultrasound tech was showing us the baby's head, arms, hands, legs, and feet and it was pretty amazing. It was at this point that Kat decided to ask if the tech was able to tell what the gender was.
Now, we'd been told that they're not supposed to tell, but that a few do anyway. So while we were hoping to find out, we weren't really expecting to be told.
But she said yes.
And then she showed us the, as she put it, 'extra bit'.
And just like that, baby went from being called 'it', to being called 'he'. And just like that, I'm going to have a son.
This is going to take some time to sink in.
Sorry for the delay in sharing the news, by the way. We wanted our immediate families to know before spreading the word far and wide, but Kat's brother is away for a work conference so we weren't sure how to get a hold of him. His wife's arrival here tonight took care of that though.
Wow, congratulations! Though I'd be saying the same thing if you were having a daughter, so perhaps it doesn't deserve the exclamation mark :)
ReplyDeleteI can see why you wanted to make sure people found out in the right order though. That would have an interesting comment on your blog, from an annoyed relative!
Extra
Sylvestra sidled up to Dr. Septopus, or rather, where she thought Dr. Septopus was. The gloom, the flickering, distant light, and the dancing shadows were making keep track of everyone very hard.
"Doc?" she whispered, ready to vanish into the shadows instantly if she was wrong.
"What?" Dr. Septopus was quiet, but his beak stopped him whispering effectively.
"How many of us are supposed to be here?"
"Four," said Dr. Septopus. "You, me, Green Lightbulb and Red Lightbulb. You wrote up the mission roster, why are you asking?"
"Because, although it's hard to count in this light, I keep counting five or six. We have at least one extra!"
"How? We're underneath a civic centre, Sylvestra! Who hangs out down here hoping to find four super-villains plotting evil?"
"I do," whispered another voice. "Charles Asciugimento. Head of Building Security, and for today, your one extra!"
"Let's twist again, like we did last summer..." Mother sang the words as she flicked the feather duster over the New black and white TV set in the corner of the room. Top of the Pops was on and she sang along with the band playing one of her favourite tunes.
ReplyDeleteShe turned around as she heard a cheery gurgling sound coming from the other side of the lounge room. There was Baby, all of 15 months, trying to emulate the famous dance he saw them do on the TV. His arms moved awkwardly from side to side and he stamped his feet up and down and his body swayed as he tried twisting to the rhythm. It was the first time she'd seen him dance, now that sure was was something extra!
Marc- Is it common practice in Canada not to tell the gender? I can't imagine why so tell me if you know. Congratulations on being another step closer to identifying with your child. And good luck finding a name you both like.
ReplyDeleteThis is a true story and although it is perhaps kind of mean, it seems so fitting right now. Forgive me!
-----
Mariana woke up, her hand on her stomach as it had been the last six months. She smiled, pleased with its round shape and the feel of her hand resting gently on her skin. She even enjoyed the weight pressing down on her spine. It was reassuring, proof that she and her husband had made something good together.
Sitting up, the pressure moved from her spine to her bladder. She swung her feet over the side of her bed, the blankets thrown to the side, and leaned forward. Placing her hand on her knees, she pushed herself to a standing position and waddled to the bathroom.
It took longer than usual to get ready, her back giving her more difficulty than usual. Finally dressed, she wondered into the little nursery across the hall. The blue paint and carefully crocheted bears and trucks sat perfectly in their spaces. Little clothes with tiny bears, footballs, and trucks hung quietly in the closet. She smiled, shifting her hand to her back to massage the ache that continued to build.
It was lunch time when she decided to call her husband. "Darling," she said through gritted teeth, "I think its time. Joseph is on his way." She heard her husband suck in his breath and then the sound of the phone tumbling against the desk. She pressed the end button and sat down on the couch, taking deep breaths and scanning the small bag she had packed a few weeks ago.
The car pulled into the garage and the memory of that morning faded from her ind. It was hard to believe it had all happened just a few days ago. They were home now and already she was overwhelmed by the prospect of making everything right.
Quietly, she cared a little bundle into the nursery. Smoothing the blanket away from the baby's face, she kissed her forehead. Her husband stood behind her with a second bundle. Mariana laid the first one in the crib and then kissed her other daughter and laid her down in the crib as well.
"Joanna and Josephina...." her voice trailed off. "Who would have ever guessed."
-----
This seriously happened to one of my mother-in-laws good friends. At the ultrasound, she was told they would be having a boy, but gave birth to twin girls instead. (I've met both of them a handful of times over the years.)I guess the 'extra bit' was the other twins little hand on the ultrasound. They were otherwise lined up so well you could only hear one heart beat and see one body. Anyway, congratulations on having a son!
I too am curious if it's just Canadian custom to not tell.. I mean there's always the change that the 'extra bit' was something else, or the 'extra bit' has in hiding. So try to go prepared with a runner up girl's name just in case...
ReplyDeleteAlso my advice, don't tell anyone the name until the kids is born - you'll avoid all the disgust, because no one dares say they hate the name once the kids it there and looking so cute!
Eaither way happy and healthy is all I wish for you! :}
Extra
"Hey Dad?" Sarah came busting into the kitchen, double brains flying behind her.
"Hmm?" Dad looked up from the Farmers Almanac.
"Can we feed oh, um, about six more people?" She asks, slightly breathless.
Her father raised his eyebrows at her. "Six?"
"Well there was this family passing through town when their car broke down, and it'll take at least a day to be fixed, and since the inn if full due to the country fair starting up, I sort of offered to let'em camp out in our back yard...." She looked pleadiningly at her father.
He chuckled and shook his head. "And I suppose they are outside waiting?"
"Well no, Sherrif and his wife will bring them over with some of her chocolate pudding, and Mike said he'd donate a pizza..."
Sarah's father laughed. "You call Mike and put in the pizza order, then join me in the garden and we'll harvest for a salad."
"Thanks Dad!" Sarah kissed him on the cheek, before dashing to the hall phone.
Sarah Smith is just one big hearted country lass, growing up near a big hearted country town. I'd guess she's about 12 at this point. :}
@Heather and @Elo, I'm not too sure on the specifics of it, but I'm fairly certain that the doctors and techs are only allowed to say what their "guess" is. Us Canadians are just too polite to say things with certainty, hah.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! A boy! Whoohoo!
ReplyDelete<>
Time, nine months to be exact, it ticks by slowly. The unknown making it all the more difficult to prepare.
10,000 baby names sit before you in a well bound book. Leafing through the pages month after month together, you finally decide on one.
But one isn't enough, you need yet another, and the more you speak to your extended family the more obvious it becomes you'll need to choose a third and a fourth.
In the end you most likely wont use them all but it never hurts to have a few extra.
Greg - yeah, I'd be equally excited either way, I'm just happy to know one way or the other.
ReplyDeleteOh dear, Charles and the crew together. No good can come of this.
Writebite - haha, too cute :D
Heather - apparently the ultrasound techs aren't qualified to determine such things (it'd be like an x-ray tech diagnosing a brain tumor instead of the doctor is how I saw one person put it). But I figure if you've been doing them long enough, you're plenty qualified.
Holy mercy, that's one surprise I don't need! Haha. Thankfully our little guy was moving around so much, I'd say it's nearly impossible for that to be the case with us.
Cathryn - thanks, happy and healthy are our main concerns as well :)
Good to see some more back story on Sarah! Which reminds me, I should get back to the... uh, front(?) story. I am terribly behind now.
JorJack - hah, I wouldn't put it past them. But as I understand it, the hospital has a policy to not tell. Though it might be changing from what I overheard.
I was too busy staring at the ultrasound to follow up on it though.
Morrigan - thank you :D
That's totally how we're looking at it. We want to have maybe three names that we really like, then when the baby is born we'll pick the one that suits him best.
But in order for that to be the case, we need more than just the one we like so far!
marc! woohoo! and what a lovely example of a writing piece called extra!
ReplyDeleteit is a good day.
Writebite - thank you! And yes, it is a good day :D
ReplyDelete