It's a Girl! - Part Two

Once we had miraculously viewed our baby for about 40 minutes, I'm asking the technican, "Do we see anything? Are we sure? Did we get the money shot?" She says she isn't 100% positive, but do we want her initial guess? After asking us if we have any gut feelings (yes, we think it's a girl) she says that yes, in fact, she believes it's a girl.

She hasn't seen any boy parts in the 40 minutes of the ultrasound, however, while little miss thing has been so cooperative with everything else, she's just not spreading her legs quite enough to be sure. That's my girl!! We were already late for our doctor's appointment, so she sends us upstairs and tells us we can come right back down afterwards and she'll try again to get a better shot.

Then, commences our routine doctor's visit. I'll take my glucose test in two months (so looking forward to that ::rolls eyes::). We discussed my anterior placenta (placenta located in front of the uterus) and the possibility that I may feel the baby less often. Although, thankfully, I can already feel her in there. Perhaps, though, it explains why, when I do feel her, it is much more of a pronounced pushing than a light tapping or fluttering described by other moms.

The baby is also currently in the breech position which makes me want to freak out because a breech baby does not fit into my birth plan AT ALL!!! However, the doctor assured me that she'll change positions a lot prior to delivery. I'll just be hoping and praying she decides to cooperate and situate herself head first in the next 4 to 5 months.

And, while I was expecting a huge weight gain this month (I finally have a decent bump and I just felt heavier), I've actually only gained two pounds - for a total of 8 pounds in 19 weeks. I guess sticking with the exercise is helping to keep the weight gain gradual thus far. Maybe I'll have a big number next month...because I know it's coming :).

Once we finished with the doctor, we decided to head back downstairs for another look at the baby. But first, we met up with my mom (who works in the hospital). She looked at the adorable pics and brought me a Coke with the hope that a little sugar and caffeine might get the little one moving. I was hoping not to the leave the hospital with a "we THINK it's a girl" verdict.

After the Coke and a small break from the craziness of the past couple hours, we headed back into the ultrasound. More shirt up, warm jelly, wand on belly and there she was - in the perfect position. We saw her little butt and feet, and the ultrasound tech was able to state, in no uncertain terms, that we had a little girl in there :). Of course we were thrilled, ecstatic, high on life... We headed out into the sunshine, called family and friends, and basked in the glow of parenthood.

Josh and I spent the rest of the day together. We had a delicous lunch at P.F. Changs, went looking for nursery furniture (more to come on this soon), checked out strollers and carseats, etc. It was such a glorious day and looking back I am so happy that we made the decision to both take the day off. There is no way I could've gone back to work and focused on anything else. Not to mention that the time together made the whole experience that much more special. I'd recommend it to anyone :).

So...what did we name her??? Well, for whatever reason Josh and I were having an easier time with girl names than boy ones from the beginning. One day I threw out Olivia, and Josh immediately loved it. I think he said something along the lines of, "That's it. Olivia Marie. I love it. It's perfect." Marie is my middle name and he just immediately put the two together.

It was actually in the top 10 most popular names for girls in 2008, but believe it or not, we don't know a single person or child named Olivia. Although, I can't say that was a huge concern for us. We just wanted a name that we loved, regardless of popularity.

And, another funny thing about her name that neither of us had ever considered... My mom actually mentioned this the day of the ultrasound. Her initials will be OMG. No, seriously... I prefer to think of it as, "Oh My God, Olivia is so amazing!" LOL :).