Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice....

I haven't posted since this weekend regarding our latest doctor's visit and the BIG NEWS we are having a girl, so here's your pregnancy update (sorry it's kind of long, there's much to tell). To keep you on track, I'm 21 weeks along this Saturday, so we're clearly past the halfway point....

We FINALLY had the big appointment one week ago. As you might recall from a previous post, we were supposed to find out the sex of the baby two weeks ago but our appointment had to be bumped back one week for some odd reason. Well, those seven days (actually, the past 14 weeks that we have known I was pregnant) slowly crept by till the big day was upon us. Ryan and I knew from the beginning that we wanted to find out the baby's gender. A few people tried to talk us out of it, saying we were ruining one of life's biggest surprises, but I figured that by finding out, (a) it would be easier to plan nursery, clothing, etc., and (b) it will take nothing away from that moment when we welcome our first child into the world.

So, there we were in the doctor's office, waiting to be called back. Our appointment was one of the last of the day at 4pm. To say I was impatient is the understatement of the year! As always, Ryan was calm and collected. By 4:30, I was crawling the walls and was just getting up to see if someone had forgotten about us (we were in a special waiting room by ourselves to the side and I was afraid the office would close at 5 and they would forget we were back there!) when the incredibly nice ultrasound technician came back to get us. We went in, she put the device on my stomach, and she went right for the "goods" because she knew we wanted to find out. When the image flashed on the screen, I thought I detected the absence of a special male component, which the tech immediately confirmed. I cried...shocking, I know!

Speaking of shocked, I think that explains Ryan's initial reaction because his family is chock full of boys. Of course, Ryan and I were both very happy to hear the news. All along we have said when asked that we genuinely did not care what sex the baby was, so long as the baby was healthy (and she is, I might add - a healthy 10 ounces and right on track to welcome the world on Derby day). I thought all along it might be a girl, though I had no basis for that hunch. However, the predictions from our friends and family that the baby was a boy clearly outnumbered the votes for girl, so I completely expected to go in and see a little penis flash up on the screen - imagine our surprise!

She was sleeping, I think, during most of the ultrasound - much different than our last ultrasound when she couldn't sit still for a minute. The best part of the ultrasound was the tech took 3-D images of our little girl's face, and we got to see her perfectly shaped eyes, button nose and mouth. I'll have to post one soon, the clarity of these pictures is amazing!

Ryan and I are tickled pink - literally. The evening we found out it's a girl, Ryan turned to me and asked, "Is it weird that I already feel overprotective of her?" I had to laugh and tell him no - it made me reflect on my own relationship with my Dad, and how even at the age of 29, my Dad (and my Mom, for that matter) still worries about my welfare.

I've kicked into planning mode and already picked out the fabric for her bedding in the nursery, and the best part is we don't even have to paint the room, which thrilled Ryan to no end!

We will continue to keep you posted on this incredible adventure in our lives....