Waiting to Exhale

First, this update from our friends at WebMD...

Your baby measures about 4.4 to 4.8 inches from crown to rump and has doubled its weight in the last two weeks to about 3.5 ounces. Fat begins to form aiding heat production and metabolism, the lungs are beginning to exhale amniotic fluid, and the circulatory and urinary systems are working. Hair continues to grow on baby's head and his eyebrows and eyelashes are filling in. You're showing more, with an obvious swelling in your lower abdomen. A five- to 10-pound weight gain is typical by now. You also may be noticing an increase in appetite.

First, a quick disclaimer...if you do NOT want to know whether we're having a boy or a girl, I suggest that you lose this link TODAY. I plan to reveal that information in just a second. But first...it's amazing to me that we begin our lives encased in what can only be described as "warm liquid goo." Even more amazing is that we seem to have no problem breathing in there. According to WebMD, our newest little monkey started exhaling this stuff just this week...what the heck was going on before that? Incredible!

All that stuff aside, here's the big news:
IT'S A BOY!!!

That's right. Apparently, the Johnston genes just aren't meant to be passed along to girls! We had an ultrasound appointment through a friend last Friday, and everything looks great. Everything is where it's supposed to be, and he's looking perfectly healthy so far. We even have a name picked out...Tyler Sloan Johnston. Sloan is Holly's maiden name, and would have been Tyler's middle name even if he'd been a girl. The Tyler part of the equation is a little harder to explain.

Holly and I had a really hard time coming up with names for a boy this time around since most of the names we might normally have chosen had already been taken by family or friends (Aaron, Andrew, Thomas, Joseph). It seemed like we were forever bouncing names off of one another, until the name Tyler just sort of popped into my head a little while after we left our appointment. It seemed to really hit the right spot with both Holly and me, and now we can't imagine how we didn't think of it right away.

I'll upload some pictures from the ultrasound soon, and will continue to update everyone on the weekly progress of Tyler's development. In the meantime...Welcome Baby Tyler! We can't wait to meet you in person, and we already love you more than you'll ever know! :-)