Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice!

It's A Girl!!!

Opening Her Mouth!!

Skeleton Shot!!
Looking Right At You!
Her Face and Hand

We're having a girly girl!!! Wow, was today an amazing day!! I woke up this morning just as excited as I did on my wedding day knowing that Matt & I were going to find out the sex of our first child! I was actually even a bit nervous for some reason heading to the doctor's office. I think the anticipation has been building and we have been looking forward to this day with so much excitement. We met with a sonographer for our appointment and once she prepared the ultrasound on my stomach we got our first shot of The Bump. At first I wasn't really sure of what we were looking at until she said, "This is the rump here and the two legs...and did the two of you want to know the sex?" Uh yeah..of course we do!!! Hurry before we explode!!! It was at that moment that she told us we were going to have a little girl. Looking back, I am a tad bit embarrassed at the high-pitched shriek/sigh/tears that I let out at the moment she said "girl". Matt doesn't recall my shriek because I think he may have blacked out for a moment when he heard the word "girl" :) She instructed us that we were looking directly at the female genitalia, two straight lines arranged between her legs. Yep, definitely a girl.
So, we are proud to announce that The Bump is no longer just a bump, but our precious little girl. I've loved talking about her today saying "she is going to do this" or "we should get her this." Every moment we experience in our pregnancy seems to make it all the more real to us...that and the expanding waistline!
The sonographer appointment was really calming as well. We learned so much in such a little time about our little girl. She is VERY active, the sonographer kept chasing her movements and she would not stay still. She was opening and closing her hands, opening her mouth and swallowing, twisting and turning, sitting indian style at one point and doing everything a doctor wants to see during this specific ultrasound. The measurements of the heart, kidneys, liver, and stomach were all exactly where they should be and we were able to see the blood pumping through both umbilical arteries. The facial bone structure was proportional and they ruled out any signs of cleft palette, although as you can see in the pictures, it is a bit eerie to see your child in "skeleton" form! All wonderful signs to a parent though!
Lately, I have been telling Matt and my family that I swore that the baby was in my left abdomen. I've been feeling flutters and bubbles, faint but apparent, throughout my left side and I can't seem to lie on that side for too long. Sure enough, the sonographer confirmed that she is positioned with her head just to the left of my belly button and her body stretched down at an angle toward my left hip bone. She is pretty good size, around 7 inches right now!
We are so excited to be able to start to plan the nursery, pick a name and think about all of the grief we are going to give those little boys in 18 years.
Of course, that is, if Matt ever lets his little girl go on a date!!
Love to you all