Doctor, Doctor, Give Me the News

Well Baby Evans fans, today was the day!! Our screening ultrasound took place at 10:30 this morning, so after drinking about a quart and a half of water in forty minutes, I headed to the clinic - Timothy and full bladder in tow.

I had my blood pressure taken (it was good) and stepped on the scale (not so good). It indicated that I had gained 6 pounds since my last visit; however, Mari assured me that women often tend to overweigh by 1-2 pounds on these screening visits due to the excess consumption of water needed to provide a successful ultrasound. That made me feel a little better. (I know, I know, gaining weight is good, it's for the baby, etc., etc. I'm pretty sure, however, that the baby doesn't benefit from the extra fat being stored in my thighs.)

Finally, Mari pulled out the bottle of goop, plunged the ultrasound gadget onto my abdomen and up popped 2B onto the screen. "It" was very active, moving almost constantly as we watched. We saw its big 'ole head, two little arms, two little feet, big round belly, bulging eyeballs, lots of toes and fingers, beating heart, belly and bladder. However, no obvious "parts" yet to be seen.

Mari pointed out that "its" legs were crossed, making it difficult to see what was going on in between them, to which I replied, "Our baby must be modest," to which the baby replied, "Wanna bet?" and spread its little legs, to which Mari replied, "Nope, HE'S not modest!!"

So there ya have it folks!! IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!

And they shall call him Alexander. Alexander Lloyd Evans to be exact (Alex to his homies.)

Alexander: Greek origin, meaning "defender of men"
Lloyd: An Evans family heirloom (Papaw Evans' first name, Bill's middle name, Tim's middle name, and now Alex's middle name). It is of Welsh origin, meaning "grey". And if you have seen any of the Evans men - their heads full of shiny silver hair, in particular - you would know that we've made the right choice for Alex, who is likely to inherit this distinguished trait.
Evans: We liked Alexander Lloyd Hornsnoggle, but decided to stick with tradition.

Anyway, we left the clinic with various souvenirs, including a pile of ultrasound pics and a DVD. I've posted some of the pics below, including what I hope will be some helpful orientation markers for the ultrasound-deciphering impaired.

This first one is a pretty good shot of his face. He's still quite "alien-like" from what I can tell.

This one was a great example of the leg-crossing referred to earlier. Here he has his legs crossed at the ankle, so you get a pretty clear view of the bottom of his left foot, with all his little piggies in line.


And here it is - the "potty-shot" as Mari likes to call it. Right after my comment about him being "modest" my little exhibitionist-in-training flung his legs wide open to reveal his boy parts to the world. This view is as if you are looking from below, or as if Alex is standing on his head and you see bum first, head second.

We also purchased a short DVD that is pretty amazing. Although many of the shots seem to resemble a scene from a creepy horror flick (it's not that bad Joy, you've gotta watch it), it is much easier to decipher than these still images. In the video, you can clearly see his head and face with his little hands under his chin. You can see him open and close his mouth several times (I think he is singing or reciting poetry - what else does he do for entertainment in there?). You can see his belly, his heart, his spine - it's pretty dang cool.

If you'd like to check it out (and you would like to, trust me), Timothy has posted it on a YouTube page that can be accessed by clicking here [or if you want the higher quality version you can download it here, but beware - it is a big file].


So that's it! Time to think boy!! I wanted to head straight to the mall after the appointment to start shopping, but my accountant suggested I develop a budget first so that "Alex's new wardrobe" fund didn't impede on our "rent, food, and car payment" funds. I guess he has a point...