In a strange turn of events, we found out the baby’s gender a month earlier than planned. Foreshadowing: I now have firm justification to dress our baby in lace and smocking (even though I would do so with a baby of either gender).

Here goes…

Finn and I set out last Wednesday on our daily morning job. Read: very slow, extra short jog. Up until that day, I had been pretty excited about my ability to keep up a running routine into my second trimester. After about 5 minutes, with leash and plastic bag of waste in hand, I was easing my way down the sidewalk to hit the riverside park (and the trashcan), per our routine. Unfortunately, my foot hit a crack in the sidewalk, and I was laid out flat on the pavement. Landed face first, with only a few fingers to soften the blow. I was stunned and immediately worried about hitting my growing stomach on the ground as I fell. And thus how I wound up on the sonogram chair that morning.

Before I start sounding too light and cheery about this…I was absolutely terrified. Just ask my mother, sister, and hubby, who all heard me weeping on the phone as I made the drive to Arlington. Thankfully, our baby girl is safe and sound. And I convinced the sono tech that my husband wouldn’t care if she went ahead and revealed the gender in his absence.

It’s a girl, and I am thrilled beyond measure.

PS: I have since accepted my clumsiness/lack of balance and stopped attempting to run in the mornings. Power-walking it is.