Published : 2021 || Format : print || Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the story of her family through the other protagonist, El
Friday we had our anatomy scan. The one scan I was waiting for since I found out that I was pregnant. The one scan I've been counting down to when we got it scheduled couple of weeks ago at our last routine appointment. The one appointment I didn't want to be late to, and was okay with waiting for a while before they called us.
And of course, like with all things we are impatient for, it was a while before they called us, and once settled in the ultrasound room, she spent a good amount of time scanning the non-baby parts, which is all good and well, you know, but we were on our toes eager to look for the tell-tale gender signs.
Before I was even pregnant, I had told my husband that I already know our kid will be a girl. All my cousins have girls and we do have too much estrogen in the family, at least on my mom's side. When a new mom in my family announced another girl, it wasn't surprising, to me at least. But after I got pregnant, I felt it was more likely our kid was a boy. Part of it had to do with my mild morning sickness, and a realization that it was too unlikely to have yet another girl in my family. I mean, what are the odds!? My husband also thought it was a likely a boy.
or
So this anticipation in the ultrasound room was kind of hard to bear. We were excited to see the baby though. This was my husband's first ultrasound (he was in India when I had my first one) and I had promised him that the experience is very moving. The technician started making sure all our measurements (mine and the baby's) were good and that all organs were well-developed or as developed as expected at that stage.
After a good 20 minutes of scanning, we were at the moment of truth. I already knew what to look for to learn the gender and saw it before the tech even announced it...
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| "It's a girl!" |
So much for my gut-feeling but it felt oh-so-wonderful to know! Now I can imagine a girl baby and even imagine my future (though what I imagine generally doesn't include harried parents or a screaming kid). We have been talking about the names we like and I have been thinking nursery and craft room themes.
Gender aside, baby looked healthy. Last week, she (still getting used to saying "she", rather than "it" or "he or she") had started kicking. Although it initially sent me worrying wondering why the heck my insides were twitching, now I keep looking forward to it from the time I wake up.
Baby talk aside, today is the husband's birthday, and we are looking forward to having a good lunch at one of our favorite cafes and then later buying an iPhone for the husband (once he makes up his mind about whether he wants it or not). Yesterday, we were at Raleigh to celebrate my best friends' kiddo's first birthday and had some really good time and some really awesome food!
Today, I don't have any other plans except for some shopping. Today is also the first day since the ultrasound that I have all to myself to think about our baby. So I will probably spend a lot of time trying to set up a registry. Speaking of which, if you have any suggestions for what you think I should registry/buy, please let me know! My good friend has given me her detailed list of what we should need and that has been a huge help, but I would like to hear more about what you guys think too!
Comments
In terms of baby registry--I'm sorry for plugging in a link here, but it saves me typing. These are the things I couldn't live without: http://www.lovelaughterinsanity.com/2013/12/a-few-of-my-favorite-baby-things.html Not on the list is the Ergo baby carrier. I love the Moby for little babies but once they're bigger the Ergo seems to work better. Of course it seems that every year new baby things come out in the stores--amazing how things change!
The best baby gifts I ever received were 6 weeks of a diaper service (when I used cloth) and a couple of hours of weekly housekeeper help. Much more practical than anything store bought, newborns really don't need much.
We love the Miracle Blanket and Dr. Brown's bottles.