Baby or Mermaid?

Addi is now convinced I actually have a mermaid in my belly.

I had an appointment this morning so, in the interest of keeping my sanity, I really tried to pump the girls up about it. I told the girls they would get to hear the baby's heartbeat and that the appointment wouldn't take long at all. Last night Addi started saying she hoped we'd be able to hear the baby crying. I told her I didn't think that would happen, but to be sure and listen carefully. (listen carefully=be quiet and still so as not to annoy the doctor or nurses)

So, this morning I started telling them about the baby's current size and what body parts the baby already has, which led Addi to wonder why the baby wasn't already fully developed and the size Libby was the day she was born. I went on to explain that in the very beginning babies are so tiny you can't even see them and then they grow arms and legs and fingernails. I told her that all babies start out with tails because I thought she'd think that tidbit was funny. She did, but she didn't really attribute it to herself or Libby, just Baby P.

The girls were wonderful the entire time we spent at the doctor's office. Of course, the last thing the doctor did was listen for the heartbeat. He left the thing (what is it called?...you'd think by my third child I would know!) on my belly and moved the speaker closer to the girls. They were thoroughly unimpressed. But, when we left Addi started imitating the sound of the heartbeat. Then she said the baby must have been sleeping because it was making a sighing sound. I said that was the sound of the "water" (I wisely thought mentioning amniotic fluid would lead to more than I wanted to get into) the baby lives in. To which, she replied, "Water! The baby lives in water? A baby that lives in water and has a tail! Are you sure you have a baby in there?! I think you have a MERMAID in your belly!"

Well, there you go. Her guess is as good as mine.

And, guessing is what we plan on doing with this pregnancy. Bryan and I are planning on this being our final addition to our family and found out the sex of both of the girls. This time is our last chance to be surprised, so that's what we'd like to be.

I know some of you will think it is ridiculous to be surprised when it is so easy and common to find out the gender. And, some of you (grandparents) will be disappointed. In fact, I told my mom today and she acted totally fine with our decision. Even though I suspect she's disappointed, I appreciate the fact that she kept her opinion to herself and that she loves me enough to be supportive of even something little like this. Maybe we'll set up a poll on the blog when I'm around 20 weeks to see what y'all think the gender of Baby P is...with the winner getting to stay with us for 1 week during the first 6 weeks after birth and take complete care (except feeding, since I'm kinda the only one who can do that) of the new little one.

Sounds like a deal to me!