Riley

I can't believe how long it's taken me to get these up, but here are Riley's third ultrasound pictures. He looked like a lump in the first round (he was only 10 weeks or so), and a skeleton in the second (16 weeks), so we were happy to finally get some good pictures of the little guy. He is 100%, without a doubt, a boy. Within seconds of turning on the machine and before the tech said anything I could see SO clearly that he was a boy. Fun Fact- With both Chase and Riley I've had a dream the night before their ultrasound that they were boys. I am a little disappointed not to get to buy a whole new wardrobe (girl), but we are really excited for Chase to have a brother to play with and get into trouble with. There is something so sweet about little boys.

Our ultrasound tech was FABULOUS. She showed us his heart chambers and the heart beating, we saw his arms, legs, toes, bum cheeks, eyeballs, brain, liver, all kinds of stuff. We've taken Chase to all my ultrasounds and he does seem to understand that the thing on a screen is a baby, and lives in my tummy. I'm just not sure he realizes that someday it will live with us.

The tech was fun because she kept laughing at the baby, saying she'd never seen a baby stretch out so much to take up ALL of their mom's tummy (yes, I could have told her that) and exclaiming over what a "gorgeous" spine he has, etc. Tim and I were cracking up, but it was fun to have someone be as excited as we were. We got to see him suck his thumb and move around. It was really a sweet experience. Here are some of his pictures:

Profile with his arm by his face:
Clearly a boy, right?
A little arm:
Two little legs:
And my favorite, two little baby feet:


I've been able to feel this little guy moving since about 14 weeks, and have been having braxton hicks since 16 weeks. My doctor told me to lay down and rest when I have contractions, since I'm having a LOT unusually early. Sometimes this means I just get on and off of the couch all day. I am almost six months, and Riley will be viable next Saturday. *woo hoo* Obviously no baby should be born 3 months early, but it is comforting to know that we are approaching the point where they could intervene and try to save him if anything happened. Considering Chase was 2 weeks late, I'm not really betting on an early baby, but sometimes it still makes me nervous. I'm getting a nice little tummy, but I can still button my pants. Call it vanity, but it will be a sad day when I have to switch to maternity. I hate those stretch waistbands like nothing else. Chase is in the process of getting a whole new room because soon we'll have to boot him out of the nursery. I will post pictures if we ever get it together, and if I can actually get him to sleep in a bed that doesn't have bars caging him in :) Tim is rooting for a Pirate themed bedroom, but so far we only have his furniture picked out.