This just in....

46 normal, healthy, perfectly numbered chromosomes...and she's a little girl.

Wait, did you hear that? That was the sound of one hell of an exhale, followed by tears of joy, the blowing of snot, and the wiping of the face, all in a 10 second span.

The best part? Besides the good news itself--was that A was the one to deliver the basics to me. It seems our fair hero went home on his lunch break to, shall we say, "take the browns to the super bowl," and there was a message from the peri's nurse on our machine. So he played it back for me on the phone. It went something along the lines of, "This is nurse friendly from the doctor's office. I have the results of your amnio and it's good news. Call me back at XXX-XXXX."

The words "good news" in that sentence were so incredible to hear and I know they meant the world to A too--I'm so glad he got to hear them before me. He's been worried about me; hell, I've been worried about me and I know many of you have been worried too. But for now--and let's hope the next 21 or so weeks--there are no more worries to be had in these parts (ah, who am I kidding? Here's to 18+ more years of --which all began at conception).

So I called nurse friendly back, who herself answered on the first ring. She gave me the good news, the gender (after asking if we wanted to know), and then followed this with, "I just wanted to tell you as soon as the news was hot off the presses/fax. You got a bum deal with them not being able to do the InSight (FISH) test and I wanted you to know as soon as we got the results." Thank g-d for small miracles and thoughtful nurses--I was beginning to wonder if either existed.

Like a broken record, I again say "thank you." If I could, I'd write and send you each a personalized thank you card--after all, "thank you" is truly becoming a lost art. Perhaps that's one reason why I am sure to say it when it's warranted--and it is so very warranted in your case(s). One particular friend commented that I was handling this challenge with grace, but I have to say that I couldn't have done it without the support of each of you. It was that which helped me, especially when I was at my lowest points. Your kind words and thoughts brought a smile to my face, and even some talking aloud to myself (a la "thank you friend, you can't imagine how much that means to me to know that," or even just a belly shaking chuckle, etc.) as I sat reading them at the computer. Please know just how much this means to me...*sniffling again/much wiping of eyes*