It's a Girl! A.K.A. The Greek Lady is Stupid and the Pencil Test Sucks

Lots of news from the Pacific this week. Well, we found out that Gary is almost definitely Garyetta yesterday. The way this came about is long and involved. First off - everything is fine. Last Thursday at Em's OB appointment, the obstetrician detected an irregular heartbeat while listening to fetal heart tones. Probably nothing, but we needed to go to Honolulu for a fetal echocardiogram to rule out cardiac abnormalities. All of this happened while I was in Colorado. Thankfully, their first appointment was yesterday, so I was back in time to accompany Em to Honolulu. We found out during the fetal echocardiogram that Garyetta's heart is anatomically normal, but has occasional PACs or premature atrial contractions - it must run in the family because I had them too when I was nervous about getting into med school and residency. They went away after things got settled as Garyetta's should when she is born. I imagine Garyetta was upset because Dad was in Colorado hiking in 2 feet of snow to the top of a 14,000 foot mountain while his life insurance policy was sitting at home unsigned. Nothing to worry about now since I made it home in one piece and the life insurance is signed and paid for.

The doctor told Em she has to completely cut out caffeine because it can increase PACs - this never helped me, but it couldn't hurt. I suggested a few adult beverages to help soothe Garyetta's nerves - this always helps me. It's never too early to start building a tolerance. On the other hand, it may be better to wait so I can teach her to like Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, Orval Trappist Ale and Stone Ruination IPA rather than Green Apple Smirnoff Ice and amaretto sours.

They performed a 3D ultrasound on Garyetta to confirm that she does, in fact, look like an alien, just like every other baby until about 4 weeks post-partum.

Brian and Em: Is it a boy or girl?
OB: Well, it looks like you're going to have a baby girl alien. Congratulations!
Brian and Em: Aaaawwwhhh! That's soooo cute!

Pictures and Colorado updates forthcoming...