2/25

IT'S A BOY!!!!

My Dad called me at work yesterday around 2:30pm and told me that my Mom couldn't go to the ultrasound with me, like we had planned, so he was going to fill in. This is coming from the man that gets a little freaked out when I don't close the bathroom door all the way before peeing. I started to talk him out of it: "You know, Dad, I'm not a minor. I don't need to sign a parental consent form to have an ultrasound done. I could drive myself." He cut in with his big, long Dad-sigh and said: "No, I'm going to drive. I would feel better if either your Mom or I were with you. I'm driving to pick you up now." There seemed like no point in arguing. Once my Dad makes up his mind, it's set in concrete. Arguing only makes him dig in more.

When we got to the medical center in downtown Houston, my Dad had to wait in the lobby while I changed into a gown and waited in the women's waiting room. Once I was up on the bed next to the machine, the technician very sweetly asked: "Mrs. G., would you like me to call your husband in for you?" I think I actually laughed at the poor woman. I was like, "If you see a husband out there, let me know, because he's not mine. You can ask my Dad to come in." Finally, with Dad, tech and myself in a thin robe, all in place, the ultrasound began. Within thirty seconds of locating the baby, she told us that it was a boy. She goes: "There are his legs and you see that thing between his legs.....it's a boy. We wondered what the chances were that maybe she was wrong, but she looked at us, completely deadpan, and said: "I'm not wrong. His penis is right there."

After that, the ultrasound went on for about an hour. She measured every part of that kid, including the hand that reached up to scratch the ear that is still inside me. Modern science is amazing. As far as we can tell, he has all the parts that we hoped he would have. Seems to have a great heart, spine, ribs, two legs, two arms and apparently a couple of ears, but I couldn't see them.

I'm scared, excited, nervous and content about having a son. This morning in the shower, while washing my belly, I sang him the country song, "Good Morning, Beautiful" and it felt right. If the kid makes it out of the shoot ok, it will be the first boy in our family in over three generations. Our private matriarchy is filled with girls and women. When my Dad found out that it was a boy, he looked to the heavens and exclaimed: "Now I can shop in the other part of the toy store." Seriously. That was the first thing he said after learning about his grandson. Even my Grandmother was like: "Oh, now I need to learn about baseball and football." Try to imagine my 72 year-old Grandmother rolling around in the grass trying to teach her great-grandson how to catch a pop fly. .....That's about as far as I got too.

In college, my friend Christini and I talked about having children. I said that I was scared to have a boy, scared to teach it how to be a good man, a man that respected himself enough to respect women. She just looked at me, shook her head and said: "No, B. We need more women like you giving birth to boys. It's the only way the world will ever change." That thought is extremely comforting to me right now. Thank you C.