Survey says… (the gender post)

Today was the "anatomy ultrasound." For those of you who haven't had kids, had kids in the 1800s, or are having kids but haven't yet converted to preggotarinaism, that's when the ultrasound tech looks everything over, makes sure all the parts are where they should be, and (drumroll please) tells you the gender – assuming you want to find out.

We wanted to find out. We would have found out on day one if we could have.

In fact, until the other day, I couldn't imagine why anyone wouldn't want to find out. A friend from work, however, recently mentioned that if you didn't know the gender, it would give you something to look forward to during those final grizzly minutes (hours?) of labor.

Moms may or may not agree. As for the guys, I think a rough parallel would be dragging your naked hindquarters across broken glass on Christmas morning. Or something like that.

Anyway, for weeks now, BabyCar and I have gone back and forth about what we want. First it was a girl. Then it was a boy. Then, for quite a long time, we were both in complete agreement that we had no preference whatsoever. Seemed like a safe bet.

Only it wasn't that easy. As soon as the ultrasound tech plunked her little gadget on BabyCar's belly my stomach did a backflip.

It hit me like a ton of bricks. I have no damn idea what to do with a boy.

I don't know why. I don't know what makes me think I have any damn idea what to do with a girl, either. But at that moment, I just had this terrible panic that it was going to be a boy and that for some reason, that would be a bad thing.

Maybe it's because I always had girl dogs. Maybe it's because I throw a football like a sissy. For whatever reason, it just seemed natural to dote on a girl and scary to think about raising a boy.

So there I was, getting a little bit queasy and focusing all of my energy on convincing myself to be happy if it turns out to be a boy. I caught a fleeting glimpse of the rump area, and my worst fears were pretty much confirmed – but the ultrasound tech just kept on driving, looking around for the next organ on her checklist.

She showed us the four-chambered heart. She pointed out the kidneys and the stomach. We looked at little forearms and little fingers. We saw the brain, and the umbilical cord, and the spine.

Then the tech switched to the 3D mode, which never seems to reveal anything interesting but always manages to scare the hell out of me. Unborn babies in 3D look like chewed up gummy bears on a good day. On a bad day, they look like the stuff of nightmares – terrible little super-villains with skeleton fingers and menacing facial expressions.

After looking at 3D mode just long enough to ensure bad dreams, the tech switched back to the traditional view and prepared us for the moment of truth.

See this little protrusion sticking out between the legs? That's the umbilical cord. You're having a girl. You can see her little hamburger buns right there.

Hey lady, how about we not talk about my daughter's "hamburger buns." Thank you.

So I am ridiculously happy. I know that I would have been if it was a boy, too, but something about a girl just feels so completely right.

There is a beautiful little girl riding around in my BabyCar. And I can't wait to meet her.