Boy Oh Boy!

My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, "You’re tearing up the grass." "We’re not raising grass," my dad would reply, "we’re raising boys."

–Harmon Killebrew

Boy!!

It's a boy! Early Monday morning myself, my husband, mother, and grandmother gathered in the ultrasound room to discover just who this little one was. Thank goodness my doctor's office has a big flat screen television on the wall so everyone could get a good look. We all predicted girl. Except for Ben, who had been thinking girl the entire pregnancy until the last couple of days, when he announced he was feeling more "boy". When the ultrasound tech started waving that wand below the baby's little butt, I saw "it". I said, "it's a boy, isn't it?" Ben looked at the tech and asked "is it?" The tech replied, "Umm, yep, yes it is!" I did not realize just how much Ben wanted a boy until I saw the grin spread across his face. He was ecstatic. Not that he wouldn't have been happy with a baby girl, I think it's just easier for him to imagine all the things he will do with a little boy, you know, since he was one (okay, still is a lot of the time).

To be honest, I had thought so much about a baby girl for the last couple of weeks, even calling her by her name, I thought if it was a boy I might be a little disappointed because I had become attached to this hypothetical daughter. But once the tech said "boy" I thought, girl? What girl? Who wants a girl? All I wanted was this little fella inside me. It was amazing how knowing who was in there bonded me even more closely with the baby than I was before. During the ultrasound he was actually pretty laid back, which I thought was odd considering how much I feel him move all the time. Maybe he was crashing from the sugar rush I gave him that morning, with the intent of getting him moving for the ultrasound. He was curled in a fetal position with his little feet crossed, which I thought was pretty much the most adorable thing I'd ever seen. We saw him suck with his mouth and reach his arm up to his mouth and eye. He kind of reminded me of Ben sitting back on the couch with his feet up on the coffee table.

I think I will actually be a pretty good boy mama. I had lots of little brothers for my practice round, I should have it just about right by now. My visions this week have been filled with trucks, balls, tree climbing, dirt, and scraped knees. I'm already tortured by the fact that someday he will leave me and want SOME OTHER WOMAN to take care of him. Maybe I should take one day at a time, and just focus on getting through the last half of pregnancy instead of worrying about his adulthood. I can't wait to meet my little man in about four months!