Deep thoughts

We found out our baby was a girl during the "anatomy ultrasound," the last of the regularly scheduled ultrasounds. During this visit, the medical staff looks at the baby's development and takes various measurements to make sure the child is growing as it should. If the parents want, the sex of the baby can also be examined at this time, though it doesn't really matter to the doctors.

After the technician told us it was a girl, she still had some work to do (measurements, etc), which gave me time to process the idea of having a daughter. While sitting there, squeezing Michelle's hand tightly, numerous thoughts passed through my mind. There were the usual (happy, scared, etc), but below were some of the other ones, not in any particular order.

1. "I call not taking her to Miley Cyrus concerts" [or whoever the Miley Cyrus-type popstar is at the time our daughter is a tween]
2. I'm probably going to see more women's basketball games than I ever imagined.
3. On a related note, I hope Title IX is still going strong when it comes time for her to apply to college.
4. She's eloping.
5. I'm excited that it's a girl. I think some guys are really interested in having a son (for a variety of reasons, e.g., carrying on the family name, living vicariously through the son, passing on the seat on the throne, etc), but even if this is our only child, I am really happy that it's a daughter. That said, I would have been just as happy had it had been a boy.
6. I'm petrified of having a teenage daughter.
7. Something I didn't think of at the time but Michelle called to my attention later: I'm going to be really outnumbered in the house (Michelle, baby girl Tyler, and even Molly).
8. Ug. I'm going to have to deal with douchebag boyfriends.
9. Yes! I don't have to have "the sex talk." It's a girl, so that conversation falls to Michelle (or at worst, the two of us together, but I'm hoping it'll come up while I'm out of the house).
10. We've come to accept that our child is going to be a nerd. If this kid had been a boy, he was going to be beat up once and a while. It's something about which we felt bad, but about which we could do nothing. Since it's a girl, we don't have to worry about her getting beat up. Sure, she might get picked on by The Plastics, but that could happen to any girl. We'll just hope our daughter will have high enough self-esteem to take it (if she's anything like her father, we don't need to worry about her self-esteem).
11. Finally, as often goes through my head: Since it's a girl, I'm going to be so weak and a lousy disciplinarian.

There were hundreds of other thoughts, but those were some of the ones I can remember right now. I'll add more if I think of them.

Baby picking update

Thanks for everyone who entered the Tyler Baby Pool. Lots of good excitement around the event

Check out where you stand by clicking the link below (it is also on the right margin of this page).
http://tinyurl.com/tylerbabypools

On the bottom of the sheet are two links: "Champions" and "Consolation." You can click on each to show the entrants in that bracket. If you're part of the "Champions" pool, it means you guessed "Girl" for the gender and could be named the ultimate winnner. If you're on the "Consolation" pool, you guessed incorrectly, but still could still be a winner in my book.

Good luck to everyone in the pool, and check back here for updates over the next five months.

It's a girl

As is plainly obvious from this photo, we're having a girl. We're both very excited, though neither one of us had a preference. I know parents are supposed to say that, but we really weren't hoping for one sex over the other.

That said, I'm petrified of having a daughter. I'm sure she'll have me wrapped around her finger by age 2 (Michelle made is clear long ago that once our daughter is older, I am to leave my wallet with Michelle immediately when I come home from work). I'm already intimidated about the thought of having a teenage girl, but I have another decade to adjust to that.

The most important thing: the baby is coming along very well. She is a good size, seems to be developing well, has a good heart rate, and the medical staff don't have any concerns at this time. Michelle is feeling good, despite not being able to get rid of her stuffy nose, and she looks fantastic. I'm very proud of her for doing such a good job at growing a person.

It was written

When my older sister Rebecca was born, my mother was 29 years, 7 months, and 14 days. If our baby is born on time, Michelle will be 29 years, 6 months, and 13 days, or almost exactly 1 month younger. I was doing the math in my head and thought they were going to be the exact same age (would have been quite a coincidence), but was off by a month (it's still pretty close). I shared this with my sister, who told me that she was three weeks late, which puts her back on Michelle's timeframe. The reason I thought of it in the first place is because I use Mom & Rebecca's birthdays as one of the homework questions for my Excel class.

In an even greater coincidence, when Rebecca was born, my father was 30 years, 3 months, 18 days. If our child is born on time, I'll be 30 years, 3 months, 12 days, which is less than one week younger. Given the likelihood of the baby being late, there is a decent chance that my father and I will be the exact same age for the birthday of our first child. [Update: I now know that my first child, like his, will be a girl]

Finally, after running these numbers, I figured out that my father was 8 months & 5 days older than my mother. I am 8 months & 28 days older than Michelle, which is less than three weeks difference.