It's a BOY!

I guess the third time around (if you are me), you kind of become so tied up with all that is happening around you that you forget to tell people you are, in fact, 5 months pregnant.  I started getting confused stares about a month ago from the other moms at Niall's pre-school and some of the acquaintances that I frequently see around town. People wanted to ask me if I was expecting-- but as all smart, cautious, polite ladies who don't enjoy jamming their foot in their mouths, they were hesitant to ask.

By now, there is just no hiding it; although I feel like there has been no hiding it since about a week after I took my pregnancy test.  The first time I was pregnant, I could fit into a life jacket and water ski until I was almost 7 months pregnant.  So I confidently went to strap myself into one about a month ago (4 months pregnant) and was shocked to find that there was no earthly way I was getting that thing closed.  People I don't even know are now asking me how I'm feeling and if it's a boy or a girl.  I am always tempted to give them a sad, blank stare back and pretend they had made a terrible mistake, just to see the look of horror on their faces... but I am pretty sure I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face long enough to pull that off.

The first time around, with Niall, we decided to be surprised about the sex.  But not the kind of surprise that a new mother is envisioning when she chooses to turn the other way for every sonogram appointment over the course of 9 months; not the one where everyone is smiling and cheering at that precious moment when they meet the baby for the first time.  I was so drugged up from my unexpected c-section, that all I could say when they shouted "boy" and held him over the blue curtain was "Oh... he's actually cute... that's great" (long story, but the doctor had convinced me during my labor that I was about to give birth to some horrifying creature straight out of the movie "Coneheads").

Consequently, I decided to find out the sex on my second go-around in the hopes that I might actually enjoy the special moment.  I was with my sister in law at the time of the appointment, so that was exciting and we were able to fully appreciate the news on a level of consciousness that I hadn't experienced last time.

So this time, I had to shake things up a bit.  Knowing that this would be my third c-section, I wanted to find out ahead of time again, but I thought it would be fun to torture myself for a few days first.  I had the sonographer put the "results" in an envelope, which I had to hold onto for 24 hours before dropping it off at a bakery, where they would make a cake that was either pink or blue on the inside-- not to be picked up until 3 days later.  I had heard of this before and thought it was a cute idea, but I didn't realize how fun and exciting it would actually be.  I honestly had no idea until I cut into that cake and was completely shocked to find out that we are having ANOTHER BOY!

Now that people know, everyone is feeling sorry for me and asking if I am devastated that I didn't get a girl-- honestly, I am not.  Of course, I would have been thrilled if it was a girl, but I am also just a boy kind of mom at this point.  The crazy boy train has been running at this house for almost 5 years now, and I've kind of got this whole mom-to-a-boy thing locked down, so this little guy will fit right in with us.

I am coming to terms with the fact that my bathrooms will inevitably smell like an Amoco Station rest stop for the next 18 years and that there are no tea parties in my foreseeable future... but I am thrilled that Niall and Brendan will have another little buddy to take under their wing.  It will be so cute to watch these 3 little guys grow up as best friends, despite how outnumbered I will be in this family :)