You're a Boy!

Dear Gremlin,

Yesterday, your dad wanted an early birthday present, so we went for a 3D ultrasound. There we found out that you're a boy! Everyone is very excited, and your dad and I are happy to be able to use a proper pronoun and refer to you as "he"; calling you "it" just didn't seem right.

In one of your ultrasounds, you look like a little mad scientist in training, with your hands up together and a grin on your face. Your father is so proud!

Of course, now that we know you're a boy, we need to come up with a name for you. Your dad and I have already agreed to give you the middle name "Abry" - your dad's middle name and his great-grandfather's last name, so your great-great-grandfather. He was a wonderful man, and he pretty much raised your Grandmother H. after her father died. He was very intelligent, and even though he only had a fourth grade education, he derived trigonometry formulas when he needed them for some engineering work. Your Grandmother H. has his journal somewhere; if she can find it, I'd like to look at it and digitize it sometime so that we can preserve it. You may be interested in it when you are older.

As for your first name, we're a bit stuck. I would like for your first name to be after someone in my dad's family (your Grandfather W.). Right now the frontrunner is "Elias" with "Eli" for short, after my paternal great-great-grandfather (and great-great-great-great grandfather - lots of  "greats"!). But that could always change. We'll have to figure it out by the time you're born!

For the moment, we're happy that you're in there kicking and growing. In a few weeks we'll get to see you again for the big anatomy ultrasound. After that, we'll get to hear your heartbeat at every appointment and feel you kicking, but we probably won't get to see you again until you're born! Less than 23 weeks until your estimated arrival!

17 weeks, 1 day

The Big Reveal

Dear Gremlin,

We got to hear your heartbeat on Tuesday! After that, we felt safe enough to tell everyone about you - there was much happiness and more crying than I was comfortable with, both from friends and co-workers.

This weekend we went to see your Grandama H., who is just as excited as expected. We went shopping to look for all sorts of things for you, but we didn't end up buying anything, instead just testing out some options to see what we were are interested in for you. There are a lot of choices to be made, what with strollers, car seats, cribs, bouncers, and everything else. Your dadd and I still have some time to figure it all out before you arrive, so there is no reason to worry quite yet.

Tomorrow we will get to see you again on the ultrasound - the doctor will be performing a nuchal translucency test to check for chromosomal abnormalities. You aren't in a high risk category, but the test is non-invasive, and we get the reassurance that everything looks okay for you. There's also the chance that we'll find out if you are a boy or a girl! You already know, but it's a secret the rest of us are interested in finding out. If the doctor can't tell, we'll just have to wait a couple more months.

You may notice that the count of days and weeks has changed a little bit. My doctor calculates the pregnancy a little differently than some other calculators, so from here on I'll use her information. It means basically that you are two days older than we thought, but your due date is the same. We still expect you in early April!

Soon we'll pass into the second trimester, when I should supposedly feel better and have more energy for getting things done for your arrival. I'm looking forward to it.

12 weeks, 3 days

Dear Gremlin,

You are the size of a fig - just over 1.5 inches! My morning sickness is finally starting to subside, so thank you for that.

Your daddy and I went out today to look for a file cabinet and some maternity clothes for me and ended up unexpectedly at Babies-R-Us. Your daddy wandered off and was looking at cribs (also, unexpected). He found one that he really liked, and he sold me on the idea of a crib/changer combo.

We didn't buy it, of course (and it wasn't on sale for that price) - remember  that we don't "rush" into anything, and we also don't have the room for it yet. Instead, we decided to check out some reviews online and in books on the crib specifically and the company in general. Your daddy likes the idea of a changing table attached to your crib because it sits up higher for him and still at a reasonable height for me. Hopefully you'll like whatever we finally get, but I was glad that your daddy was enthusiastic about finding you a place to sleep.

I spoke to your Grandmother H. today. She has been telling a number of people about you - we asked her not to, but your daddy and I didn't really expect that she would be able to keep you a secret. It's okay, though. On Tuesday I have an evening doctor's appointment (so your daddy can go, too!), and if we get to hear your heartbeat, we'll probably just go ahead and tell people. I believe that you are doing just fine, but I also worry. I'm your mother - I'll be doing that forever, so you might as well accept it!

You are coming at a very good time for us. Your daddy and I both have good jobs and have been able to save some money away for a new car. We are very lucky and grateful for what we have, particularly with so many other people suffering and struggling just to survive. I'm glad that we'll be able to bring you into a secure loving home without having to worry about how we are going to pay for our next meal. With stable jobs we enjoy, a little house, and you on the way, we are certainly feeling lucky.

11 weeks

Dear Gremlin,

You don't know it now, but you should be really excited. Your Aunt C. and Uncle B. are going to have another baby - about two months after you are due! You'll have three cousins then.

When Aunt C. called to tell me, she was worried about how I would react. She didn't know about you and she was afraid that your Daddy and I still weren't able to have a baby. Boy, was she surprised! But when she told me that your Aunt R. (my sister) was worried about me as well, I knew we just had to tell the whole family. So, after a few phone calls and a lot of tears, the immediate family all knew about YOU! It's going to be hard for your Grandmother H. to keep you a secret for a few weeks.

Your daddy and I also got to see our friend's little girl who was born on Tuesday. She was a little thing, but I'm sure she'll grow - hopefully you two will be good friends! They know about you, but none of our other friends that were visiting know yet. We felt like we had the biggest secret, and it was hard to keep quiet! But I still want to see you on the ultrasound one more time before we tell everyone. My next ultrasound is the morning of September 26, so after that, everyone can know. It will be such a relief to not have to keep such a secret!

10 weeks, 1 day

Worth a Thousand Words

Dear Gremlin,

Your daddy and I got to see you last week! Granted, you were just a tiny little smudge on an ultrasound monitor, and we weren't sure exactly sure where your head was... But your heart was beating and the doctor said everything looked perfect - and you are perfect.

We've been waiting for you for a long time. To be honest, we weren't sure we would ever get to see your tiny little beating heart on the screen, the tiny heart that we had dreamed of for so many years. Sometimes, though, things just work out and everything falls into place.

You aren't very old yet, just over 8 weeks "cooking" so far. Still, we're already starting to prepare for your arrival. We're getting a lot of projects done around the house - having the electrical outlets rewired, painting the office and repainting the kitchen (your daddy is doing that all by himself), and - what you will probably appreciate most - getting a shower put in the guest bathroom. YOUR bathroom, I suppose. You'll have an expansive jetted garden tub to play in when you are older - your cousin loved it when she came to visit!

We aren't painting your nursery, though. I did that years ago when your daddy was out of town on a business trip to Washington. The room is blue with green curtains, and it will stay that way whether you are a boy or a girl. It's a paint color, not a gender. We don't believe in forcing you to conform to one gender stereotype or another. I loved playing with trucks in the mud when I was little, and your daddy even had a Care Bear toy and a Cabbage Patch kid! In fact, you'll get to enjoy snuggling with and playing on his Care Bear baby blanket. I'd say we both turned out okay, and I'm sure you will, too.

Everyone who knows about you is very excited and looking forward to your arrival. We haven't told everyone yet; we want to wait a few more weeks. We're planning to tell your grandmother (your daddy's mom) in person the day after her birthday next month. You will be her first grandchild, and I know she will be absolutely giddy with excitement - she will probably even cry! We want telling her to be very special and in person, but you are a difficult secret to keep. I've avoided talking to her on the phone for fear of letting something slip!

8 weeks, 1 day