We had our big 20 week ultrasound on Wednesday!!! The baby is looking super healthy and happy in there– all systems measuring right on target. And… it’s a BOY!!!  I can’t even believe it.  I’ve been in denial that women from my family could even have boys- I knew it was slightly possible but I just expected the u/s technician to say “girl.”  When she said it’s a boy (or rather, pointed out to me that it’s a boy– it was rather obvious!), I actually started to argue with her about how it couldn’t be a boy.  And of course I’ve worried a little about what in the world I will even do with a boy (for starters, I don’t think I’ve ever changed a boy’s diaper… that might be a problem).  And I’ve worried about whether I’ll parent “fairly” and treat them equally.  But now I’m just really getting excited.  A little boy! 

Naming a boy, though, is no easy task.  With girls, you can choose girly girl names, or more androgynous names, and nobody bats an eye. In fact its really chic right now to name your daughter a “boyish” name– like Harrison or Avery or Emery– but there is a stigma attached to more “feminine” boy names .  That being said, I can’t stand most traditional boy names because of how rigid and “macho” they seem.  So it is definitely a task.  Ruby, on the other hand, doesn’t get what the big deal is about naming the baby.  In her mind, there are so many great names to choose from: Nemo, Spider, Baby Jaguar By-His-Side (from the Go Diego Go theme song… go figure).  I thought about (am still thinking about) choosing a Native American name to honor my grandfather’s heritage, but Lenape (Delaware) words are SO hard to pronounce– we’ll see how that goes.

In the meantime— I’m 20 weeks, or halfway there, and Baby Boy Avance weighs about 11 oz and is about the length of a banana.  He kicks wildly every day and LOVES chocolate ice cream (particularly Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food).  We can’t wait to meet him– and hopefully by then we’ll have a nice name waiting for him!