Halfway to Hatching

It's official. I'm halfway there (I could easily slip into a Bon Jovi song here but I'll spare you all of that). I'm now 20 weeks and 4 days and counting. As I sit here scratching my growing belly (it's at the starting-to-itch point) I'm completely stressing out about naming this child.

I guess I should mention that we don't know yet whether it will be an "innie" or an "outie", as so lovingly coined by SOP with her first pregnancy. My docs have apparently taken two weeks vacation, so we won't know the gender until after Thanksgiving. I sincerely hope none of their patients go into labor over the holiday...I'm afraid nobody would be there to catch the baby!

So for now, JB and I will just argue about what name to give the child. I can't believe the names some people stick on their precious little babies. It's a stressful decision - this is something the child will carry throughout life unless they seek the help of a lawyer to change it when they get old enough. Family names are coming up pretty much a bust for us. Sorry Visa (grandma Diane) but there's no way I'll name a child Jason Earl Jr. I'm convinced Poppa (grandpa Earl) must have filled out that birth certificate paperwork while she was recovering from the c-section meds.

Naming Birdie was easy. She has my first name, a tradition I wasn't about to break since every first daughter has the same name pre-dating the American Revolution. I fell in love with the name Brantley the minute I met one of JB's basic training buddies, so that one was a given. And her third name comes from my Nanny. We never for one second could agree on a boy's name, so I guess it's a good thing she was an "innie."

I'm not sure what we'll do if baby #2 is an "outie." And I'm really afraid that may be the case this time around. Everything about this pregnancy is different from my first, which isn't altogether bad. I was miserable from day 1 with Birdie. I was enormous and my nose got so wide you could've parked a Greyhound bus inside it. I lost my ankles and my ability to wear real shoes 3 1/2 months before she arrived. For crying out loud, I gained 59 pounds!

This one has been relatively easy so far. My trips to the head for morning sickness (which really should just be called all day sickness) only lasted four months instead of five. I've only gained about 5 pounds and I still have skinny ankles. However, my skin has decided to revolt in a way that it never did the first time around. And my hormones have made me a raving lunatic, which I'm sure my husband enjoys. But I guess we'll know whether to buy pink or blue in 9 days...unless of course the baby decides to hide. In which case I may show up at the OB's office daily until we know for sure!