After publicly declaring numerous times that we would not be told the sex of our baby before the big day, we changed our minds (well, I changed my mind and convinced Jeff to do the same!). At today's ultrasound appointment we learned that we're having a boy! I'll finally have a boy to watch FSU football with every Fall!

Baby says, "Hi!"

He was very sleepy and didn't move around much, but we saw him move his arms and shift around a bit. Twenty minutes of my tossing and turning on the table roused the little feller from slumber. He got a spurt of energy, moved all around and changed position. It was then that we got a peek at his little boy part :). To answer the question for everyone that Jeff asked at the time: no, I couldn't feel any of that movement. I haven't been able to identify any baby movements yet but should any day now.

The ultrasound specialist said that our son was being "difficult." Seinfeld fans amongst our readers will know that "difficult" is not a good thing to have on your permanent medical record! Anyway, once he got going, the little guy was dodging and weaving, crossing his legs, anything to keep us from seeing what makes him a boy. It reminded Jeff of his reason for quitting the swim team in elementary school. Those Speedos are entirely too revealing!

He measured at 17 weeks and several days with a December 25th due date. The official date will remain the calculated one of December 19th, though.

Check out the widdle feet!

After the ultrasound, I had a quick checkup. I've gained a total of 6 pounds so far and Baby Boy Highsmith's heartbeat measured at 160 bpm again.

Today we ordered the last two big-ticket items that we'll need upon Baby's arrival - a crib and 4-drawer dresser to store all of Baby's diapers and clothes. After recovering from baby furniture sticker shock, we finally found these economical, safe, and quality honey oak pieces at JCPenney.

The crib converts into a toddler bed and full-size bed head/foot boards so it should get use for quite some time. The top of the dresser will also be used as the changing table. Both should be ready to pick up at our local JCPenney store "in 4-7 business days" :).

I think we'll let the credit card cool off now and take a break from baby shopping for a while!

There are a number of gender-predicting old wives' tales that really hold no value other than being a fun way to conduct our own baby Myth Busters episode. Here are a few that I could test at this point that didn't involve anything gross or embarrassing :)

• Ancient Chinese lunar calendar predictor - GIRL
• Fetal heart rate above 140 - GIRL
• Craving sweets and chocolate instead of salty and sour food - GIRL
• Husband hasn't put on any weight during the pregnancy (but, really, is it even possible for Jeff to gain weight?!) - BOY
• Acne reminiscent of teenage years - GIRL
• Ancient Mayan predictor - BOY
• My hands are dry and chapped instead of soft - BOY

So, that's GIRL in the lead by 4-3. The women in my family also overwhelmingly have girls, but is it finally time for a boy? We'll have to wait another five months to see if these myths are confirmed, plausible, or busted.

What do YOU think? Leave your predictions in the comments section!

Today we bought our first baby gear: an infant car seat, stroller frame, and extra base so it can be used in both cars. After doing some research, we decided on the highly-rated Graco SnugRide car seat and the SnugRider frame that makes it a complete lightweight stroller.

We had several fabric choices with the car seat. Jeff wanted the black and beige which Traci felt was too masculine while Traci wanted a green and yellow paisley print that Jeff felt was too feminine, so we compromised and bought the green and blue plaid (although I do now admit that the black seat would look much better in the black and gray stroller frame!).

We unboxed everything to make sure it all assembled correctly. Everything works great, the seat is easy to attach and remove from the frame, and the frame easily folds up.

Then, we tested the seat in our cars:

It was a slightly tighter fit in mine!

So, now that we're all set to bring the baby home from the hospital (well, I suppose we'll still need some diapers and clothing!), we'll need a place to put Baby when we arrive home. Perhaps we'll be crib shopping next...