We've had 2 exciting new developments on the family expansion front- the first is that Andy and I are doing lamaze class so we have something to completely forget when we panic at the inception of labor, and the other is that we went to get a 4-D ultrasound of the baby this week, and actually got to see his face (and toes, and hands- but we were particularly excited about the face since we haven't gotten to see that yet in any of our previous and vastly inferior 2-D viewings).

The class is interesting- I think I subconsciously chose to ignore the whole part of pregnancy where the baby separates himself from me for the past 7 months because, well, the past 7 months have been enough to focus on without thinking about that part. Now that we're only 6 weeks away from our due date, however, it's starting to dawn on us that we won't just wake up with him in my arms instead of my uterus one morning. And it's not necessarily going to be a quick and easy process. I'm trying to think about it the "right" amount- in other words, not too much, but not too little that I have NO idea what's going to happen when I go into labor. It's comforting to know that there are at least 15 other women (in our class) who will be going through the same thing within a week or two of me- safety in numbers, or something of the sort. We're working on our breathing techniques and how not to hyperventilate (last time we tried, both Andy and I felt like we had inhaled balloons, so some refinement along that line will be necessary). I will then plan to completely forget everything as the date approaches and make him deal with me.

On the front of viewing our son, about 7 months ago when we were looking for an obstetrician, Andy had recently seen a National Geographic special that showed this high-tech new ultrasound technology that they call 4-D imaging (sounds spacey and cool, but it really just means a slightly more 3-D image that progresses through time, aka a series of photos). He REALLY wanted me to make that my primary criteria when searching for a doctor, but needless to say, that pretty much eliminated all other search criteria from the list including anywhere remotely near by, so I vetoed this as a heavily weighing factor in my decision. My concession, however, was that he could find a private clinic that we could pay for the service, so he would still get to see his son in "real time."

We went on Tuesday to a clinic in Glendale with all 4 grandparents in tow for our big-screen viewing experience. It actually was very cool- clearly, since people pay cash for this, they get that it should be designed to maximize entertainment value, so they were much more obliging about letting us hang out and watch the baby (although the technician seemed peeved at him for deciding to take a nap half-way through, because he wasn't being interesting enough, and proceeded to jab at my stomach with the ultrasound machine to see if she could wake him up).

We learned that he will most likely have adult aspirations towards either being a) a circus contortionist or b) an actor in the next remake of The Lord of the Rings (he had a very Gollum-esque sleeping position, which somewhat explained to me why I constantly feel his fist bashing into my bladder). He also has really large toes- something he clearly does not get from me. (Andy lives in constant amazement that I don't fall over because my feet are so small. He, on the other hand, usually can't find shoes in most stores because they rarely carry ones big enough to fit him.) We got LOTS of really great face shots and it was very exciting to see him up close and personal. We cannot wait to see what he looks like on the other side!

I've posted an album with some of the photos from the ultrasound, so you can check them out- this one is my personal favorite because he looks deep in thought and also like he's just about to suck on his toes (which, incidentally, he was).