Snakes and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

I’ll admit it. I was thinking pink for a while. I had a pink nursery all picked out, complete with an over-the-top, pricey crib and designer sheets. I just knew I’d be dressing this child in ruffles and lace.

But about two days prior to my ultrasound, I started panicking. I still loved the idea of a girl, but I got just a bit freaked out when I thought about how difficult it must have been to raise me – let’s face it…sometimes we girls just aren’t easy to deal with. And Lord knows I deserve whatever payback I get.

Then I thought about my husband. The sweet man who hand-squeezes lemons and opens 48 individual packages of Splenda just to make me a gallon of my beloved diet lemonade. The guy who wakes up and resets the alarm for me. Who makes sure my tires are at the right pressure and my dangerously pointy high heels aren’t in the middle of the floor.

Honestly, I can be pretty selfish when it comes to my Bryan, and I’m not sure I’m ready to share him with another woman…even if she is 22 inches long and 8 pounds 2 ounces.

So when Bryan, two grandmothers, two grandfathers, and I piled into the ultrasound room to see our little miracle, I was not disappointed one bit when we heard the word “BOY!”

I was ecstatic. This child rolled over and over and over on the screen, kicking me a few times with a gigantic-for-a-fetus foot and giving us a little wave from time to time. I had been worried that he might be shy for his big unveiling, but oh no…legs proudly spread, he seemed to be doing the gender dance right there in my belly.

And that room was so full of love. The grandparents had driven two hours just to see this little guy. I sat in awe, silently wishing the tech would just leave the screen on for a little bit longer. Bryan was grinning from ear to ear, no doubt thinking about sharing his fishing trips and baseball season with a miniature version of himself.

Until that day, I thought the happiest day of my life (other than my wedding day) had been finishing grad school.

Then came Baby Harrison.

If Gender Day was this happy, I can’t imagine what his birthday will be like!

So here I am, the overjoyed and absolutely blissful mom of a sweet little boy with great big feet and lots of energy.

I can’t wait to meet him.