It's a BOY!!!

Yesterday was my 16 week appointment. Chris decided he wasn't going to go because they would only be checking for my weight, blood pressure, urine, and the baby's heartbeat. We thought we'd give someone else the opportunity to hear the baby's heartbeat...Chrissy! I felt great. They said the baby's heartbeat sounded great. It was a great doctor's visit.

But then last night, I woke up around midnight with severe abdominal cramps. After an hour of relentless pain, I woke Chris. After a few minutes of discussion, we decided to call the on-call doctor. He suggested tylenol and a heating pad. Of course, we didn't have a heating pad. So, my sweet wonderful husband went to Walgreens to get one. It was closed. He went to Kroger, and it was closed. So he went to Meijer. It was open! Around 2 a.m. he arrived home with a heating pad.

The next morning I was still in pain when my doctor's office called, urging me to make an appointment for that day. The earliest appointment was 2 p.m. so Chris picked me up and we went together. We were both nervous during the drive there but nothing compared to what was about to happen. The nurse practitioner put the gel on my belly and began searching for the baby's heartbeat. She couldn't find it ... and we could tell she was nervous. At one point she even said, "I think I heard it. Did you hear it?" We hadn't. But after what felt like an eternity, we heard the sweetest sound that has ever filled our ears--a strong, steady beat.

The nurse practitioner tested me for all sorts of infections but I had none. She then decided to do an ultrasound to check on the location of my placenta. After looking at the ultrasound, she found that my placenta was covering my cervix. Apparently that had something to do with my cramping. They believe my placenta will move back to its appropriate spot before delivery. The worst case scenario is that it won't and I will have to have a C-section. Until then, they asked me to take it easy.

Chris thought, as long as we were there, he should ask whether it was a boy or a girl (although we weren't supposed to find out for another few weeks). The ultrasound was conclusive. We are having a BOY! He was beautiful, healthy, and moving. Please say hello to Lincoln Everest Birke.

These are a little hard to make out.

It may help to know that the head is on the left. You can see his eyes, nose and mouth.

The image on the left is one of Lincoln's feet. On the right, is both of his feet.

This is the image that shows Lincoln is most certainly a boy. Imagine the baby as if you

are holding him over your head ;)