third time is a charm

third time is a charm as we made it to the maternity hospital #2 on time and the doctor was there this time! we were joined by our dr. arena who served as the translator. the hospital "wing" that we were in was totally a remnant of the soviet days. a small room... no bigger than 6x10 feet... no chairs... and packed full of women. i was the only guy. there must have been close to 60 women crammed into the room waiting to get an ultrasound. no line... just women shuffling and pressing to see who would go next.

living abroad... you realize the sins of being an american. we are responsible for much of the suffering in the world... the liberal in me really believes that (sorry dad). that said... it also pays to be an american as were went right to the front of the line and headed right into the room. no waiting for us!

as we entered the room... dr. arena gave me very specific directions... "as jennifer is getting the ultrasound... you hold the door closed so know one can come in." i thought she was joking but throughout the appointment... if i didn't hold the door closed... a woman would try to press into the room. ah... central asia!

i know you are waiting for the good part. but let me start by saying the ultrasound doctor was great. super nice and friendly. he didn't speak much english and i think some stuff was lost in translation... like when he said "no pennies in wound".

here is a play by play of what he told us during the ultrasound...

"baby looks like jennifer but has your head". uh... thanks?

"that is the baby's eyes and nose". the baby is looking at the camera!

"those are the arms up over the head... see the little fingers". our baby has little fingers... omg!

"that is the heart. that is the stomach". our baby has internal organs that work and are healthy!

"look at the elbow... it is bent" our baby is bending it's arm!

"those are the babies legs... see how they are crossed". our baby's legs are crossed!

"there are no pennies in wound". huh?!
again... "no pennies in the wound". what?
"your baby doesn't have pennies in the wound"

oh... there is no penis in the womb! WE ARE HAVING A GIRL!

a girl.

a girl.

a lovely, wonderful, baby girl.

i can't explain how blessed and happy we feel right now. we are having a girl.

and i know that we are half a world away from family... but dad, gloria, mom, bob, deana, nancy, kyle, keith, alycia... i hope you all know that we so wish we were with you right now to celebrate this amazing news. we are having a healthy, happy baby girl! we love you all dearly and can't wait to introduce you to your grand daughter/niece.

of course we still have 20 weeks to go... but who is counting?!