I could waffle on about work and other life things to start this post, but only one exciting thing happened this week, and that was my 20 week scan on Thursday. Thankfully, all of the baby's major organs seem to developing exactly as they should, and the sonographer had no concerns at all. Which is just a massive relief; it was nerve-wracking laying there as all the checks were carried out.
We also were able to find out the gender, and as we've been telling everyone in real life, I see no harm in telling the internet - I'm having a boy! Neither of us had a strong preference either way, so it was always going to be a nice surprise whatever the gender was. Now that we know he's a boy, we've started thinking of names and will start buying things soon. I'm not going to be buying all blue and trucks, and we had already decided on how we wanted to decorate the nursery, regardless of gender, but it's lovely to know and be able to refer to the baby as 'he'. Telling people has been fun, as both our families were convinced that I was having a girl.
Aside from baby stuff, I had a typical week until coming down with a horrible cold yesterday. I spent all of yesterday in bed, and I'm not feeling any better today. I can't wait for it to go away, no one likes having a cold at the best of times, and it's worse when you can't take any medication for it.
But being in bed all day yesterday meant that I managed to get quite a bit of reading done. I finished Amitav Ghosh's The Glass Palace, which was one of the books from the list of 12 that I'm determined to read this year. It's quite chunky at 500+ pages, so I feel like I've got that goal off to a good start. This week, I've been reading:
Review posted:
I found out the gender of my son at the second scan and that was the moment I really felt like I started to get to know him, that he was a real person. Congratulations and I hope the rest of your pregnancy goes smoothly. I'll be interested to know what you make of Brave New World. It's a book I've always meant to read, but somehow never got round to.
ReplyDeleteYes, it was definitely a bonding experience, we both like calling him 'he' now.
DeleteI'm enjoying Brave New World, but I have to keep reminding myself that it came before lots of other dystopian books with similar ideas.
Woohoo!! Congratulationsa again! It is so refreshing to know the gender. Now you can talk to him and not it; imagine boy baby future; picture a face, etc. Oh, I'm so excited for you!
ReplyDeleteWe had lots of people trying to persuade us not to find out the gender, but I'm glad that we did, he feels more real now, if that makes sense?
DeleteCongratulations! That's exciting news!
ReplyDeleteHopefully you'll start to feel better again soon.
Thanks :)
DeleteI'm feeling a little better now, I'll be fine in a few days I'm sure.
Congratulations to you both and 'Baby boy' Tiny Library!
ReplyDeleteHope the cold eases soon, enjoy the time resting and reading.
Thanks Jo :)
DeleteThe cold is starting to feel a little better now, hopefully it won't linger!
Congratulations! I bet it's super exciting to finally know the baby's gender :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, it was an exciting moment :)
DeleteThat's so exciting!
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of gender-neutral decorating -- people should decorate however they like, but I personally never understood why everything had to be pink for girls and blue for boys -- I'm a girl and I love blue!
Gender neutral is quite hard to achieve. We've started browsing clothes and practically ALL the boys clothes are blue. I like blue, but I want some variety too, and I don't just want things with trucks/dinosaurs on....
DeleteOh well, at least I still have plenty of time to shop!
That's brilliant news! Have fun buying things and choosing a name :)
ReplyDeleteI'm interested to see what you think of Brave New World. I read it at uni and remember being very pleasantly surprised.
Thanks :)
DeleteWe had a girls name picked out already, I came across it by chance one day and it was perfect, but less luck with boys names so far. I'm glad we still have 20 weeks!
I'm enjoying Brave New World so far, it must have been so original at the time too.
You must be very happy, congratulations!
ReplyDeleteKind regards,
Congrats on the sonogram, and how exciting to know the sex! My parents didn't find out the sex for any of my sisters (we're all girls), and when I was little, I thought that was what parents were "supposed" to do. :p But as an adult, I know I would find out the sex if I got pregnant -- like you say, it'd be fun to be able to use the pronoun "he" or "she", and to be able to imagine your life with the new kid more specifically. Anyway, a million congrats!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's weird because I come from a family of all girls (one sister and many female cousins), but my sister had a boy and now I am too. Gender balance will be restored!
DeleteI had plenty of people trying to persuade me not to find out the gender but it's definitely a personal decision and I'm happy we did :)
Congratulations! :)
ReplyDeleteI had interesting experience with Brave New World, I wasn't very impressed by the text or some of the let's say "technical" parts of the book but I appreciated it a great deal for its ideas and I could see how it has influenced the whole dystopia genre that came later.
Thanks :)
DeleteI've just read the first part, the tour of the 'factory', and I was very impressed with his ideas, especially as it came before so many later books that had similar themes. I'm not sure about the characterisation yet, though.
So exciting... congratulations!!
ReplyDeleteThanks JoAnn :)
DeleteHooray for a boy! Our nursery is going to blue regardless because 1. it already is and 2. it's my favorite color. Can't wait to see the nursery come together and hear the name. Hope all continues to go well for you and the little guy, and I hope this cold clears up quickly.
ReplyDeleteI think we're going to go for some shade of green, which is what we had in mind for a girl or a boy anyway. Can't wait for updates on your pregnancy too :)
DeleteYay for boys! :-D We get to do this in a couple of weeks, so exciting! Enjoy baby shopping, it's fun!
ReplyDeleteOoh, are you finding out as well? How exciting!
DeleteCongratulations - I recently had a baby boy. We also found out the gender when it was possible. It's wasn't for preference or the purpose of purchasing things (in fact we still stuck to neutral items even once we found out because, well, you never really know eh) but because it's getting to know your baby just that little bit more. You're able to refer to them as a gender (and eventually their name if you pick it before birth) and it just helps to strengthen that bond that you have gradually growing. At least that's my two pence on the matter!
ReplyDeleteI hope you feel better soon, being ill is no fun, nevermind whilst pregnant.
:-)
Bits & Bobs
I'm hoping to stick to neutral items but it's actually quite hard to find things that aren't blue/covered in trucks etc. I'm not feeling like there's much chance of a mistake on the gender as it was pretty clear to us as well as the sonographer!
DeleteI'm really enjoying thinking about names and it's definitely been a bonding experience so far.
Congratulations! I elected not to find out the gender of my baby, who turned out to be a boy. (He'll be twenty next month...oh my gosh...) We just wanted it to be a surprise, and we were going to keep everything in a neutral green theme, anyhow. Not knowing the gender just meant that the families wouldn't try to interject some gender bias into the equation. ;)
ReplyDeleteHow exciting! Enjoy every moment. :)
I think we're going for green too - it would have been green for a boy or a girl.
DeleteHopefully our families won't be too gender biased...
Huge, huge, huge congrats, Sam! I was looking at my feedly and as soon as I saw the title of your post I beamed and came right here :) That will be a well-educated, respectful and feminist little chap, I'm sure. Congrats again!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Elena!
DeleteAnd he certainly will be a feminist chap, my husband is and it's something we're both keen to 'pass on'!
Oh congratulations! I have a little boy and he's so much fun!!!! :)
ReplyDeleteHow very exciting! And what a relief to know that everything is developing the way it should.
ReplyDeleteCongrats! I imagine the baby feels even more real now that it has a gender. :) I hope your cold clears up soon.
ReplyDeleteCongrats!!! Glad he's coming along healthily.
ReplyDeleteBoys are the best! Congrats. I biased towards boys because I had a really close bond with my first nephew. So girls are good too...lol.
ReplyDeleteSQUEEE! I have such a soft spot for boys. I love mine! lol
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! So exciting, and you're halfway there!
ReplyDeleteCongrats! Those 20-week ultrasounds are awesome, did you guys have a 3D one? Glad to hear he's growing the way he should be!
ReplyDelete