We've had a fun week putting to good use all of the gifts the Easter Bunny ever so kindly bestowed upon us and taking a break to visit the zoo which we hadn't managed to do at all during Lent. The boys planted their flower seeds and are eagerly awaiting their sprouting--they mostly got wildflower mixes as well as some new sunflowers. To me there is something very exciting and satisfying in sprinkling seeds at random and not knowing what exactly you're going to get. If we owned our own land I'm pretty sure it would be just covered in random wildflowers and probably a little crazy looking.
Digging up the garden had the added benefit of providing ample worms for the boys to use while trying out their new cane poles at the local alligator pond. That's a zoo alligator in the picture but we have spotted one just as large at this particular pond in the past. Don't worry, I'm sure Chris did a quick alligator scan before he let the kids down by the water......Henry gave up pretty quickly but David caught several of what Chris very scientifically identified as "some kind of panfish." David also kept his bike helmet on for the duration of their fishing expedition, maybe he thought it would save time not going to all the trouble of taking it off only to have to put it on again.......
What was not fun this week was heading into my fifteen week OB appointment and telling my midwife that I was a little worried that I hadn't felt any movement from the baby yet, only to to have her not be able to find a heartbeat with the doppler. While she ran out to grab the ultrasound machine I calmly broke down into hysterics just knowing my worst fears were correct and that I was indeed pregnant with another daughter and that for some reason my body attacks any little girls it happens to detect within it (which may seem irrational to you, but makes perfect sense if you use your pregnant brain to think about it). In the end the ultrasound machine arrived and the baby's heart is beating and I have been trying (unsuccessfully) to calm myself down ever since. My midwife did think she could tell the baby's gender but she wasn't 100% sure so she didn't want to tell me her suspicions. I'm not sure if that means it's more likely that it's a girl because when you see that it's a boy it's usually pretty clear that it's a boy or if she thinks it's a boy but didn't want to say it since she is unabashedly in the hoping for a girl camp. I guess only time will tell. And by time I mean another four weeks or so since Chris thinks paying for an early ultrasound just to find out something we would find out later anyway isn't a prudent use of our money. The one bright side of the whole ordeal was that I found out that I have an anterior placenta which explains why I haven't been feeling any movement yet so at least I can relax about that, or knowing me.....probably not.
In the meantime......
.....your prayers for my baby and also my sanity are always appreciated.