Isn't he lovely...

Yes, I know it's "she", but I can't think of any songs about a baby boy, so I switched it up a bit. Anyway, David and I headed to Triangle Imaging Center in Cary today for our 4D ultrasound. This was the one we were going to have done at 18 weeks, but moved it to later after finding out WakeMed performed a 3D/4D ultrasound. We were glad that we waited because our little boy looked very different today. It's amazing what happens in 6 weeks. When we were flipping through an album of other ultrasounds in the waiting room, I informed David that our baby would not look like the babies in those pictures because he is not much over 24 weeks. Everything I've read had me thinking he would still look a bit skeletal but definitely more filled out than he was at 18 weeks.
One of the first comments the sonographer made was about how filled out his face was for 24 weeks. I will say that as soon as she made this comment my mind went to how big I've heard Bunge babies are (over 9 lbs, 22-23") and how our baby could very well be on track to that or more. At our doctor appointment yesterday the nurse made a comment that she thinks our baby will be 23 inches. The views we got of our son's legs today confirmed that they are definitely long. His "fullness" and length made me feel a little better about finding out I had gained 4 1/2 pounds since my last appointment.
This appointment got me the most emotional so far. I think if I had just been watching him with David and no commentary, I would have been fine. However, the sonographer started making comments about how healthy and cute he looked and how well mommy was taking care of him that I started to tear up. Then she played his heartbeat for us, and David was holding my hand, and well.... I'm sure those of you who have had children know what I mean. There's something so precious and indescribable about these moments with your baby. He's not available for holding, but you still feel so connected to him. At this point it's even better because not only are you watching him move, but you can feel him. I thought about how much I already love him, and I haven't even officially met him. I know that this love I feel for him now, while immense, is probably nothing compared to the love I'll have for him once he's actually in my arms.
I keep looking through the pictures we got today, just like I always look at the previous ultrasounds. I can't get enough of him. While I can't believe it's only 4 months until he arrives and how we still have a lot of preparing to do, I also don't think that time can go by fast enough. To know I don't have to wait 4, 6, 8 weeks between seeing him again will be awesome! If I want, I can just stand there and stare at him while he sleeps, and I already told David I will. I told him today that he'll probably tell me, "What were you doing? He settled down 20 minutes ago." And I'll tell him, "Oh, just looking at our baby". I digress. Here are some photos from today. I hope you enjoy them.