That Second Child: Dear Baby,

Your mama was wrong. You are a boy. A boy! For about 24 hours after our ultrasound I was pretty shocked. How could you be a boy? I was so much sicker with you than with Eliza! You are so much quieter in my belly than your sister! (This is because I have an anterior placenta -- the placenta is on the front of my uterus, muffling a lot of your kicks and punches. I still feel you move every day now, but you are much subtler than what I could feel with Eliza.)

But after the shock wore off, we are nothing but excited about welcoming you, little Sam, and we can't wait to meet you. I have started procuring baby boy clothes -- there is something about buying baby clothes that just makes it so real for mommies -- and almost every day I find myself going into your soon-to-be room and looking at them. I already have your going home outfit picked out. Those clothes seem at once so big and so small, and you will be in them soon. The seasons are starting to turn here. Today felt much more like fall than summer, and the house is warm with the smell of chocolate chip cookies, and these small changes from warm weather to cold are not mourned but anticipated. In the coldest part of winter, you will be born, bringing your little light to the darkest season. We can't wait to see who you are going to be, who you are going to become.

Pics from your big reveal. Learning that you are a boy: