This is just a quick post to give you and update on the baby.

Shannon had her regular appointment yesterday with our Midwife.  Things are looking good with the kid.  We got the results back from our last ultrasound and everything looks normal.  He is growing at a normal rate and Shannon is doing fine. Shannon is starting to get a little bit of a tummy, and she is able to feel the baby moving (he’s not big enough for me to feel him move yet).

We are also interviewing a couple of doula’s on Friday (tomorrow).  If you don’t know what a doula is, you can read about it here.  They are awesome!  Thanks for everyone’s prayers and thoughts during this time in our lives.  YOU ROCK!!!

Or about the baby’s sex.

So we ended up getting in on Saturday to have Shannon’s ultrasound instead of waiting until the 25th. Shannon and I were so excited because we knew that the baby was now big enough to find out the sex (see my previous baby post to find out my feelings about waiting to find out). So we got up early on Saturday and went to Shannon’s appointment.

The whole morning I was anxious knowing that I was about to find out the big news. The lady that did the procedure was really nice (you got to think that is pretty fun part of her job…getting to tell people what they are going to have). The baby on the other hand wasn’t being very cooperative. They kept moving around and had their legs crossed almost the whole time. The lady doing the procedure was having to do some ultrasound gymnastics just to get the pictures that she needed.

She didn’t get a really clear view, but with the shots that she did get, she was 75% sure that we are having a bouncing baby boy (emphasize the bouncing part…that kid was really moving around a lot). There is a small chance that it could end up being a girl…but I saw something purturding in the pictures that she took. We are both excited and really surprised. Shannon was really set on the fact that she thought we were having a girl. I think she is a little depressed, but we will love him just the same. And there is always a chance for more.

We have already picked out the name at the moment and we are calling him Asa Jackson Qualls. Asa is one of my favorite Bible people, and Shannon really liked the name Jackson to go with it. Things are really starting to sink in now. The nicest thing is that we can stop saying “him or her.” It’s going to be nice to just say “him” from here on out.

Today Shannon and I went to the doctor to have Shannon’s check up for the month of January. Before I tell you about the appointment, I must say that I love our Nurses Midwife. She has this quirky Doogie Howser feel about her. You can also tell that she really loves what she does. I just love people who are passionate about what they do (she seems as excited about finding out the baby’s gender as we are). She is also so nice about listening to all of Shannon’s and my questions and answering them. She’s just top notch.Now back to the baby. Shannon is currently in her 19th week. The baby is doing fine and growing at a normal rate. We got to hear his or her heart beat and it’s beating strong. We have an appointment to get an ultrasound on the 25th (we’re trying to get it scheduled earlier). We should be able to find out the baby’s gender at this time.Don’t give me the whole “Don’t you want to be surprised?!” bit. Here’s the deal. We don’t know what the baby is right now. So at any point that we find out the gender of the baby next week or in June, it will then be a surprise.Incase you are wondering, Shannon really thinks that it is a girl. We’ve kinda got our hearts set on it being a girl now because of that. But if we have a boy, I think we’ll be just as happy. As long as it’s not a donkey, I’m ok.

Sorry it has taken so much time to post an update on the state of the baby. Shannon and the baby are doing fine. We had a couple of scares with some bleeding, but everything is fine. We’ve had several ultrasounds and we’ve heard the baby’s heart beat. The doctors have said that everything should be clear sailing from here on out.

Shannon is currently at 16 weeks. Her nausea has gone away and she is feeling better than ever. We will have her next appointment in January and should find out the babies sex shortly thereafter.

So just a heads up from the whole bald chipmunk time. I’m feeling much better now and the swelling has gone down. Although on Sunday night my right cheek did swell up again.

I found out during my follow-up appointment on Tuesday that I actually had an infection. I found out that my gums healed before the cavity did…so the drainage had no-where to go. So holding back the details, lets just say there was some poppage and drainage and a very disgusting taste. And now the swelling is gone. I have to take a round of antibiotics now, but all is good.