Amendment

An update to the last post:

1. I'm adding "Diva" and "Drama Queen" to the list....thanks to Jen for the tip. I'm sure there will be others as we run across them, and I'm already hearing grumbling from people who are looking for these outfits just to spite me. :)
2. I don't really have a problem with "Angel." It's mostly with "Daddy's Little Angel." Though she certainly will be my little angel/brat/mild-mannered-superhero-in-disguise, her clothing shouldn't be designed to compliment me.
3. Also added to the list after perusing some clothing sites: "Born to Shop," "Heartbreaker," "I Make Boys Cry," and "Does my butt look big in this diaper?"
4. Willow seems to be feeling better. I still think something's wrong, but it's definitely not as pronounced as it was, and I'm willing to hope/believe it's something less serious than another back injury. We're still keeping her confined to the living room and taking anti-inflammatories, so hopefully she'll be back at 100% soon.

Homer No More

Well, it looks like we're going to have to come up with a better nickname, because IT'S A GIRL!!! We had our appointment this morning, and everything looks great. We were able to clearly see a diaphragm, a well-formed heart, a solid palate, the appropriate brain formation, and all the necessary limbs. The tech was also positive on the gender, though mistakes have happened before.

To celebrate our healthy little girl, we took an impromptu trip to Babies 'R' Us, where we bought a cute little outfit and added just a couple of things to our registry. We have to take an inventory of what we have left over from Andrew and figure out how much of that stuff is non-gender-specific enough to work for a girl.

Of course, having a girl brings up a whole host of new issues that I haven't had to deal with to this point....I was already avoiding the risque outfits in the store. I know that sounds strange, but why do they make see-through blouses for 3-month olds? A girl will also require some new ground rules, so here's my first attempt:

• No shirts/outfits that say "Princess," "Angel," or "Flirt," even when used in conjunction with "Daddy's little..." or "Mommy's little..."
• Please no Disney princess stuff yet....she'll have plenty of time to destroy her self-image and construct a skewed view of romance and relationships when she's older
• Girls can wear colors other than pink....be creative

That said, we're very excited and have shed our share of tears today....thank you all for caring and we'll keep you updated on her progress.

PS- We somehow find it difficult to go through a whole day with only good news. When we got back to the house after the appointment, Willow was walking with a terrible limp. We took her to the vet and got her checked out, but they were unable to ascertain exactly what was wrong. Of course Willow was acting a bit better when we got there, but the vet was still able to see the limp. She responded well to all of the tests for range of motion, hip/shoulder/tendon issues, etc., and they don't think a cervical X-ray will be able to show much of anything. The options for what's wrong at this point include soft tissue damage (a sprain or strain in a muscle), an arthritis-related deficit, or a new problem with her back (this time in her cervical/neck area). We obviously hope the last one isn't the case, but we'll be keeping a close eye on her. We got some anti-inflammatories and will be keeping Willow inactive for the next seven days. She's currently in a pen in our living room, whining at us to get out....hopefully our concern for her condition will outweigh our sympathy for her pouting.

My Cousin Vinnie

No, it's not just a movie any more. My cousin Vinnie is at UCLA and recently raced in the 2009 UCSD Tritonman Triathlon. It was only his second triathlon, but he had a great race and managed to beat his previous time by a full minute. Here are a series of videos I took during the race.

There are eight that will play in a row:

1. The mass start of all the collegiate men.
2. The first few guys coming out of the water.
3. Vinnie coming out of the water and headed for the bike.
4. Vinnie running his bike out to the course to start the ride.
5. Vinnie riding by after his first of three laps.
6. Vinnie coming in for the bike-to-run transition.
7. Vinnie heading out on the run.
8. Vinnie coming across the finish line

Is It Wednesday Yet?

The ultrasound is tomorrow, and we are both nervous and excited.  We have two doctor's appointments and two meetings with landscapers, so it'll be a busy day.  I'll definitely post tomorrow night, though, to let everyone know about the gender.  Can't wait!

Update

A quick post with the latest on the baby....

Everything's going well so far. We've had one more ultrasound since my last post, and Homer still looks good, though he doesn't seem to like being poked in the head with an ultrasound wand. Here's the picture from that checkup:

This is the first picture we've gotten that's head-on, and it makes the baby look a bit like a Klingon (or an alien). It's perfectly normal....nothing to worry about.

We go in next week (on Wednesday) for our 18-week ultrasound. This is known as the "anatomy" checkup, because almost all of the basics should be developing and can be seen in the scan. They'll be able to check for the major organs and limbs, including the diaphragm. Though we're being cautious with everything about this pregnancy, obviously CDH is foremost in our minds, and we're looking forward to seeing the lungs, heart, and digestive tract where they're supposed to be. There's also a good chance we'll be able to determine the gender, so check back here next Thursday for the news. For those of you that are uncomfortable calling a potential girl Homer, how does Casita ("little house" in Spanish) sound?

On a sad note, my Yia-Yia's best friend passed away last Friday. She was much too young and the circumstances were really unfortunate...she was in the hospital for a broken ankle and deteriorated quickly and unexpectedly. She was always incredibly loving and supportive of her friends and family, and I include myself among the latter. She was asking about D and the baby up to the day she passed away, and we're all going to miss her terribly.