Ring of Fire: Day 8 "One more thing..."

Ha! I forgot one thing that has been very different during this pregnancy... the decision whether or not to find out the gender before our baby is born!

With Jude, we both wanted to be surprised. I thought that it would be challenging, but looking back, it was really enjoyable. My pregnancy seemed to go by pretty slowly instead of rushing by. It was fun to wonder about the child growing inside my belly, wondering if I'd have a daughter or a son, and hearing other's speculations. I'm glad that we gathered "neutral" colored baby gear & clothing instead of having only "boy" stuff or "girl" stuff - and now it's a GREAT benefit because we can use all of that stuff again!

We actually did find out that we were having a son before he was born... but it was after my due date had come and gone. On May 20th, which was my due date, I had a plan to go for a swim, lunch & pedicure date with my mom & aunt Jan. On the pool deck (immediately after laughing with the life guard about how it was my due date but, not to worry because I was with TWO nurses!) I slipped and fell. My body instinctively went into a lunge position, but my right foot was behind me and I landed on top of the ankle bones. I heard a loud crunching sound and I knew that this was not good at all. I ended up with a horrid sprain that kept me off of my feet until my labor began 6 days later. I went to the hospital to get monitored and checked over. My blood pressure dropped drastically, but my baby was completely healthy and resilient during the whole ordeal. It's amazing how our bodies will take care of that baby above all else. It was a couple of nights later when I felt nervous because I had not felt any movement the whole night long when normally the baby was an active night owl. So, I returned to the hospital for a non-stress test. This is where they do an ultrasound to check the baby over. The baby was, of course, just fine. It was impossible to "hide" the gender at this point because as I watched the screen I saw a healthy pair of testicles float right on by.

I was ecstatic!!! It was the best feeling to celebrate the fact that we would soon be welcoming a SON! We didn't tell anyone in our family and they had no idea that we had accidentally found out. Hee hee hee. I don't know if it would have been different otherwise, but I did not even think about gender during the actual birth or thereafter. It was the furthest thing from my mind. Except when I looked, supernaturally wide eyed, at my husband and exclaimed, "We have a son!"

Love of My Life.

 

So, THIS time around, I wanted to see what the other experience was like. It took some convincing for my husband to get on board, but I knew that he would eventually. I really wanted to find out if we were going to be parents of two boys, or a boy and a girl! Also, I wanted to prepare Jude by being able to talk about a "baby brother" or "baby sister".

 

I felt SO nervous going into the 20 week ultrasound appointment! I don't know exactly what I was nervous about, but I had serious butterflies in my belly. I was immediately calmed when I saw the baby on the screen and saw that it did have all of it's parts. It is amazing to see the brain, spinal cord, organs, the limbs kicking and the mouth opening. I just stared in wonder and amazement the entire time, and asked the technician once in a while what we were looking at. (This technician barely said a WORD!) The appointment took over an hour and the technician for some reason waited until the very end to ask us if we wanted to know the gender!!! I felt like I already knew because when she was looking for the bladder, I swear to God that I saw the shape of a vulva. I didn't know for sure though, and Miles thought he saw boy parts. ???

 

Maybe I have a gift for interpreting ultrasounds because I was right & the technician confirmed that our baby is in fact a Girl. <3

 

I still can't believe it and I'm so excited to see what having a daughter is like. I had no idea how much fun it would be to hang out with a little boy all of the time and I am trying to approach all of this girl business without expectations.

 

However, I am super excited about a couple of things. One: My family is full of amazing, strong, inspirational women and I'm excited to continue this legacy. Two: This little girl has the BEST daddy in the whole world. My own biological father was a bit of a disappointment, and I'm looking forward to seeing the true love that can exist between a dad and a daughter, and for her to have what I didn't have.

 

I'm just excited to *bask* in the love of this family of four that we are creating.

 

Love, love, love.