Gender

We had our big anomaly ultrasound scan this week. That's the one where they count the toes and the organs and stuff.

At 36, there's always the concern that you've spawned a monster baby - so it was a relief to hear that everything is visibly normal. Well, except for one thing - the ultrasound tech apparently thought Cletus the Fetus had unusually attractive feet and ankles. "It didn't get that from me," I said. I have notoriously thick ankles - I prefer to think of them as sturdy. (Although through the quirks of genetics - it might have - VolBro has slim ankles with a straight and visible tendon up the back.)

The tech asked us at the beginning if we wanted to know the sex. I told her that VolMom would kill me if we didn't at least try to find out. Besides, I'm not big on surprises.

In some places in the UK, that is in some regional health authorities, they won't tell you the sex during the big scan. Abortion - kind of on demand, you must get two doctors to sign off - is legal up to 24 weeks in England. South Asian families were apparently aborting female fetuses at disproportionate rates, and many localities stopped telling. In my old health authority, for example, it was the policy not to say. I always felt this was a bit stupid, since if the families weren't willing to foot the cost of a girl child, surely they'd be willing to stump up the money for a priivate gender scan. And why should I be denied interesting, if not necessary, information on account of someone else's bad behaviour. Besides, I want a girl.

Well, that was the other anomaly that showed up. My wished for little girl had a penis. I can't say it was a surprise, since everyone - and I mean everyone including me - thought Cletus was a boy. And so he is.

I'm looking on the bright side. I would have been at a loss with a really girly-girl. I can't manage to fix my own hair most days. I'm quite happy in the mud and the dirt. And slacking on the sofa watching football of either kind and playing armchair pundit with my boy sounds like fun.

And there's another advantage. I've read a study which says that statistically men work harder and start making more money after the birth of their first child - but even more so if it's a boy.

I reminded the Vol-in-Law of this.
"There's another plus then. You just focus on the money."
"You focus on the money," I said.
"I don't need to. Statistically, I'll just make more. You can't fight statistics."

--oo--

If you want to see Ultrasound scan pics of baby Cletus - including those exceptional feet - you can see them on my "other blog"

I didn't want to just throw them up here - since I always find those blurry, black and white alien looking pictures a little diagnostic looking and vaguely unsettling.

We only paid for one pic, but we got 3. Who says you never get any extras on the NHS?

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