Sugar and spice, and everything nice (we think)

This morning Neil and I went to the hospital imaging center for our 18 week ultra sound. We entered at 7:30 and left at a quarter to 10. Today we learned that our baby is one stubborn little lady (we think). No amount of movement (I tried dancing), poking, or pleading could convince this fetus out of the pretzel position. Yes, you heard me correctly. Our baby was contorted into the shape of a pretzel with "her" legs behind "her" head and "her" hands covering the spot we were interested in. That was not our only problem. You might say I was a little zealous in the drinking instructions. I had to drink 8 ounces every 15 minutes for an hour before hand. I did this and thought, "No big deal, I could drink more." Then I remembered the many family road trips I have been on. When everyone else had to go, I never did. I could ride on comfortably for a few more hours. It was then that I concluded that I must have an extra large bladder which needed more liquid to fill. At this point Neil and I were in the car driving to the hospital. Luckily (I thought) I had an extra bottle of water. So I did what any sane person would and began to chug that bottle down. Little did I know we would not see the ultra sound tech immediately. About a half hour later I was ready to die. It seemed to take forever but finally we were invited into the ultrasound room. Our friendly tech, Brenda, had some classic 80s rock playing and so to the musical genius of Bon Jovi she complimented my full bladder. It seems often she has to get expectant mothers to drink more. My bladder, however, was full and huge. She exclaimed "Your bladder is bigger than the baby!" She made her measurements and then, thankfully, I was allowed to go to the restroom. The exam then continued but my bladder kept filling up and squishing the baby so I kept having to leave and go to the bathroom so Brenda could get clear shots of the baby. Brenda tactfully requested that if I need more ultra sounds it would be a good idea not to drink so much. All the bone and organ measurements were done and we started looking for the gender. It was only after Brenda tipped the table back so that my head was precariously close to the floor that we got a look. From 3 different angles the baby appeared to be a girl, but this obstinate chick would not move her hands or unpretzel so that we could get a cute baby photo or a full frontal shot. Brenda sensed my disappointment and told me when I come in for my next appointment to stop by and if she isn't too busy she will look again and take some more pictures. So until we get any new information...Its a girl!!!