Due to something important going on at Jim's work on the date that we were originally going to have our "Big Ultrasound" where we find out that everything is proceeding as planned and hopefully find out the sex of the baby-- instead it is happening TOMORROW!

December 11 at 8:15 in the morning we will be bright-eyed and big-bellied waiting at the doctor's office and will get to see our little one. Any last minute bets on the sex of The Bean? I'm still not sure how we'll go about the telling of everyone, and maybe we will wait until we are back in MI if we decide to be really mean about it, but I don't know if I'll be able to wait that long.

I think that the moving up of the ultrasound has made things a lot more real to me. I have always held up this date as a very important one in the course of other pregnancies I've known of friends and relatives, and this combined with the fact that the baby is turning into quite the little swimmer in there (those kick turns are quite the feeling) it is really becoming real. Just the fact that it IS a boy or a girl already is shocking. I have been looking at the ultrasound pics of women on my "May '09" mom's board at Whattoexpect.com and it is amazing to see the detail and the every finger and arm and little leg. And now its our turn in less than 24 hours. Wow. I still kind of wish we could get a 4d ultrasound, where you can really see what the baby looks like down to whose nose he or she has, but that is typically an extra expense that the insurance won't cover. Some doctors do 4D just as a rule for this ultrasound, but I don't think that will be us.

Because it is getting so much more real, Jim and I made another trip out to Babies 'R Us to look at strollers and other items we may want. We really like one in particular, which is a convertible stroller/jogging stroller combo that has a single front wheel which can be locked or move depending upon what you are using it for. From my nannying days, I know that I really prefer the single front wheel, even just for walking on sidewalks and trails, so it really makes sense to us to get one with this feature. We also like the ease of the car seat to attach to the stroller and seat apparatus, how snug the baby would be on rainy days with the car seat hood up, and the stroller hood up (a lot of them let in a lot of air and possibly rain) We enjoy the adjustable handle to the stroller-- for mom and dad, that it has a cup holder (another nannying bit of knowledge) the handle of the car seat, how easy it is to fold down and even the colors.

The car seat looks snug as a bug, but when you get to the stroller, that is where we have our one dislike. Jim is really the one who this bothers the most I think. The backrest of the stroller is not very cozy looking at all. It would be more like the baby would be resting against a hammock than a mattress. So my question is this to you experienced parents out there-- how important is this? If we like everything else about the travel system, do you think the baby will somehow hate the feeling of riding in the stroller? And can't we just get an extra pad to make the experience more pleasurable?

I just don't want to have a 1 year old someday who screams every time I say we need to go on a walk because it is so uncomfortable.