I had a feeling we might be having a girl this time around but I wasn't as certain as I was with Camden. Also, ever since we told Camden that he was going to be a big brother he insisted that he was getting a baby sister. Anytime we asked him "what's in mommy's belly?", he would reply "baby sister!". We tried to convince him that it might be a baby brother but he would hear nothing of it! Haha. I guess he had some big brother intuition going on ;) So I think that made me think girl even more, so I wasn't entirely sure if it was Cam's little voice in my head or my own intuition. Either way, I'm thrilled that we're having a girl!!
Our ultrasound was awesome. Jacob was able to take the day off from work to go with me, super thankful for that! Baby girl was transverse in my uterus- laying side to side. We got a lot of great views of her profile right away, then we saw her heart (with four perfect chambers), her abdomen, arms, legs... The technician said she couldn't get a clear enough view to tell us the gender initially but that she would keep looking as the scan continued. A couple minutes later, she said "and it looks like you're having a baby girl!" I was so shocked at first! We didn't find out Camden's gender until the end of our ultrasound so we were both surprised to know so quickly. The technician told us that she was confident that baby's anatomy was a girl, which is reassuring! I was so happy and excited that I cried a bit at that point. I just couldn't believe that we were being blessed with a little girl!! In all honesty, when we first found out that I was pregnant I was slightly terrified by the thought of having a girl. The boy mom life is all I know, so it scared me to think of having a girl and it all being so brand new again. But as my pregnancy went on and I thought about it more, I realized how amazing it would be to have a daughter! Every baby/child is different so it would all be new again in a way no matter what. There are so many things I'll be able to share with this little girl that I won't be able to experience with Camden. I think it will be really awesome to be able to have all the fun and experiences of having both a son and a daughter! Gosh, I feel overwhelmingly blessed just thinking about it! We have a beautiful, perfect little boy and now God is blessing us with a beautiful, perfect little girl! It's amazing. Amazing.
Back to the ultrasound- everything looked perfect! The technician said she got great views of everything she needed to see and that there were no markers for any special needs or complications. Baby girl cooperated so well, and even wiggled quite a bit for us. She had her little feet pressed against the top of my uterus most of the time, but would occasionally kick them around, giving up perfect pictures of her adorable little feet! She had her hands up by her face a lot, too, which reminded me of Camden in all of his ultrasounds! She measured right on track for my due date of February 7th so that will be staying the same. I was a little surprised to hear that! I thought for sure it would get bumped back to somewhere between February 12-14, but I guess not! Although part of me is still hoping for a Valentine's Day baby! I think that would be a cool birthday for a little girl ;) But our due date is set for February 7, 2016 so we'll see!
Now on to the gender reveal part... I knew that I wanted to do a little something special to share the gender news with our friends and family. I had tons of ideas and it was tough to chose which one to do! But Jake and I both liked the idea of having Camden holding a pink or blue balloon to make the announcement. We had one of each color filled and took the pictures on Monday so that we would be ready to share as soon as we personally told our parents and a couple close friends first. Camden cooperated great for the picture-taking, offering plenty of smiles and assuring me, yet again, that he was getting a baby sister, haha. I edited the pictures and we were set to go! Now for our parents, we wanted to do something else special. Jake had the idea to fill two separate bags with pink things and blue things, ship a set to his parents, and have them open the correct bag once we knew the gender. This way, they had both bags set to open and, again, nothing to do but find out once we knew. Timing didn't work for them to all open together via Skype or FaceTime, but we were able to share the experience with each set of parents individually. My mom was at home watching Camden and my dad was at work, so we had the two of them Skype while my mom opened the bag. As I expected, my mom totally flipped out with excitement as soon as she saw the pink! It was a fun, exciting moment that I wish I had thought to record. Next, we Skyped with Jake's parents a couple hours later when they were both free. They were able to open their bag together, which was nice. My mother-in-law also screamed with excitement when she saw the pink! They asked if we were serious and we assured them that they were getting a granddaughter! It was a really fun and special way to share our big news with the grandparents. As far as sharing it with the rest of the world, we used the picture above to post to Facebook and Instagram.
Even as I've typed up this blog, it still seems so surreal to me. I'm still in shock that we're having a girl! I already love this little lady so much and I can't wait to meet her in a few short months. I know that Camden is going to be the sweetest big brother, and I'm pretty sure my heart is going to explode when I see the two of them together! Ahhh, I'm blessed beyond measure! Bring on all the pink things! :D
