It's a ...

We still don't know :(
I was finally allowed into the examination room with Yukiko last week. I got to see the ultrasound as the doctor moved the device around Yukiko's stomach, and I got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time. Boy was that exciting. The doctor was still unable to determine whether it's a boy or a girl but we could see that the baby is perfectly healthy. Well, the doctor could see that. Apart from the head I couldn't make much sense of what I was seeing. It was really thrilling though.
The funny thing is that I had looked up all sorts of Japanese medical terminology in case the doctor had some important information for us. As it turns out, he practiced in New York for a few years and speaks very good English. He was very nice and spent quite a bit of time with us. So it was a very good experience and I'm really looking forward to next month's appointment when we may finally learn the big secret!

Baby update

Yukiko and the baby are both fine and doing well. We are just about to head out to the clinic for Yukiko's monthly check-up and her first official ultrasound. Hopefully we'll find out whether we've got a little boy or a little girl on the way. I'm excited about either.
This will also be my first time in the examination room with Yukiko as all her previous sessions included internal exams that fathers are not allowed to see. So I was a little disappointed the previous two times as they blocked me at the door. Japanese clinics don't seem to pay too much heed to fathers. Apparently however, the clinic we're using will allow me to be present for the baby's birth. This is pretty uncommon in Japan.