zero score and 30 years ago

I was pregnant with my daughter Jen. In those days they didn't do ultrasound tests routinely, they just poked around the abdomen, took your weight and blood pressure, and gave you vitamins. I did have one ultrasound done, but that was just because our hospital had new equipment and they needed volunteers so they could demo the equipment to the curious public.

So I volunteered my expanding belly, and even though the technician must have known whether I was having a boy or a girl, the information was top secret. But I could tell I was having a boy because of the way I was carrying the baby, so imagine my surprise when out popped a baby girl! So much for old wives tales and strangers predicting the sex of babies based on the belly of the pregnant woman.

Nowadays, ultrasounds are not only commonly performed on pregnant women, they are performed numerous times throughout the pregnancy. And not only that, there is another type of ultrasound that the pregnant parents can request - a 3-D ultrasound, which gives a sneak preview of the baby while swimming about in the uterus. Jen's pictures of baby Kyle showed him sucking his thumb, yawning, holding onto his feet, and, getting bored with the whole process, falling asleep.

I can't say that the pictures look like a real baby, but I can definitely see the father's features - little Kyle is going to be a miniature Miko, at least in looks. Here's one shot, where you can fingers and toes:

The pointy chin is Jen, but the nose and mouth are all Miko. We are all hoping the disposition will also be more like Jen - a dream baby who slept through the night and was very easy to raise. Time will tell, I guess...little Kyle still has two months to develop before making an appearance in late November.