Without a doubt, It's A . . .

Beautiful 

Baby

~*~ SISTER!!! ~*~

Isn't she so adorable with her little hands tucked up next to her face?  Incredible!  Babies are such a miracle. . . 

 So - are you shocked?!  We definitely were!  Especially Justin who was certain that we were expecting another baby boy.  Since I actually went in and had this ultrasound at an independent ultrasound studio, I told Justin not to worry about coming with me.  I wasn't sure if the tech would be able to tell the sex this early (15 wks 2 days on the day of the scan) and the facility was about an hour away so I didn't want Justin to have to take off of work when there was a very real possibility that we wouldn't learn anything new anyway.  Don't get me wrong - the reason I made the appointment for an elective ultrasound was because they offered 'gender determination' packages starting at 15 weeks (and I am SO impatient this time around!  I think it might have to do with everything else in our life being so chaotic right now.) so I made the appointment for as close to my 15 wk mark as possible, lol!  Over the past few weeks however, I'd read quite a few stories online of women who were told the wrong sex at 15 weeks and had started to second guess my decision to not just wait until my anatomy scan (which will be at 18 weeks).

But something kept me from canceling the appointment. . . It was probably just knowing that even if I didn't get to see what the sex was - at least I would get to SEE the baby again.  And since I'm not feeling her move much, yet (I love saying 'her'!) - I opted to go ahead and make the trip.  I took Norah and Beckett along with me and was actually extremely impressed with the office - once we finally found it, that is. :)  The reason I chose this facility instead of another independent 3D/4D office that was closer was because the owner was a licensed sonographer who had worked in an OB office for 30 years before she decided to start her own practice.  So I trusted her experience!

When we got into the ultrasound room there were very large flat screen tv's on EVERY wall so no matter where you were looking you could see the screen.  It was seriously SO. AWESOME.  Since I was/am a newbie at this elective ultrasound thing I'd only purchased the basic 'early gender determination' package. . . After all, I really only wanted to know the answer to the million dollar question and some cute profile shots. ;)  So she started the ultrasound off in 2D and already it was worth my $99 - just to see the baby and how much SHE'S changed since my 12 week scan was so incredible!  She has the most beautiful little profile and I could see her opening and closing her mouth (practicing swallowing already!), moving her arms, and her sweet little legs were just kicked up and resting against the side of my uterus like she was just relaxing.  The sonographer then switched over to 3D and it just blew me away!  I honestly hadn't been expecting to see any 3D at all, but she switched back and forth the whole time.  Since the baby is tucked down pretty low in the beginning, Roxanne (the sonographer) was very apologetic about not being able to get better 3D shots, but I was beyond thrilled!  I was a little concerned that the baby didn't seem to have much room as she was curled up so tight so I asked Roxanne if that was normal for the baby (she hadn't checked the gender at this point, yet . . . And I hadn't asked, yet. . . It was kind of fun to have the 'suspense' building and I kept trying to see if I could see any tell-tale boy bits on my own, lol.) to be so squished.  She laughed and then moved the u/s wand and suddenly a huge black expanse appeared on the screen up and to the left (baby's right).  She said that all of the black area was open range for the baby, but it apparently just wanted to snuggle up.  :)

After about five or seven minutes or so (it felt like longer) she finally said, well - let's see what this little baby is here while we're waiting for it to stretch out so we can get some better pictures.  After switching back to 2D (which is the best for gender determination), she maneuvered the wand here and there and paused the screen and finally announced, "Well, it looks like we have a baby sister!"  I . WAS. SHOCKED!  I hadn't seen any 'boy parts', yet, but the shot also didn't look like Norah's potty-shot had.  So I said, "Really!?" And she moved the wand around a bit more and got several other angles and said she was positive!  I started tear-boxing and it was just such an amazing surprise!

After another minute or so she proceeded with the ultrasound and got a lot of great shots and the best part was that it was also all recorded on video.  She went to 3D several more times and towards the end I actually asked her if she could check the gender one more time because I was sure my husband wouldn't believe me, so she laughed and double checked again.  Yep - still a girl!  This time though, she got a couple of pictures that looked more like Norah's potty-shot so I was finally convinced.  I apologized and said, "I'm sorry I had to ask again - I just know 15 weeks can be early for gender determination and I've just heard too many horror stories, ha ha!"  She said she completely understood and then promised that she only told the sex if she was 100% sure (no guessing!).  If she wasn't 100% then she would have the client come back in a week - free of charge.  She reassured me further by saying that her previous 30 years of clinical experience had been in an OB office that did just one anatomy scan for the entire pregnancy - and that it was at 15 weeks.  So she was obviously very trained for that particular gestational age and for finding the sex in particular because she said most of the mom's just didn't want to leave until she could tell them. :)  She said that as far as she knows (meaning no moms have ever come back to tell her otherwise) she has never been wrong!

Still . . . I suppose the shock and disbelief has yet to wear off!  (Even though I did stop at Costco to pick up an adorable pink elephant layette set I'd seen two weeks before. ;)  The whole experience at the fetal imaging center was beyond amazing.  Now I just regret not having done it with my other kiddos!  I had Jack and Eddie tell Justin (Norah and Beckett were in bed by the time Justin got home so they couldn't participate in the surprise) by having Justin close his eyes - then the boys each held up two pink outfits and I said, "It's a . . ."  Then Justin opened his eyes and the boys yelled, "Baby Sister!"  Justin couldn't believe it at first and was so excited.  He loved the video (yes, he cried!  First time for any of the ultrasounds with any of our kids!  I tell ya - the 3D is amazing, and the images weren't even the best because she's still so young!) and agreed that it was worth the money.  :)

I tried to end the evening on a high note by snuggling next to Justin after watching the ultrasound video and asking him which girl names we should start considering, but he very kindly said, "Let's just enjoy the news that we're having another girl. . . and watch the game."  Lol!  (Jimmer was playing - I should have known. :)

Here are a few more photos of our baby girl:

Here her little legs are crossed and you can see how much of a little ball she's in.  I can't wait to snuggle her!

Another picture of her all snuggled up.  You can see her hands in this one and the umbilical cord running up her chest and to the left.

Here she is stretching out a little bit. :)

Aaannnddd back to snuggled up. :)  Her little crossed legs just melt my heart!

It's kind of hard to see in a still image, but Baby Girl is stretching up her right arm while her left fist is at her mouth.  Roxanne said it was a bit early for a baby to be sucking its thumb/fist at this point, but that's what she's doing!  Yeah, she's advanced like that. :)  You can also clearly see her cord here going up and over her right shoulder.

The classic, texbook potty shot!  She's all GIRL!

I am strongly considering returning at 30 weeks (Roxanne said that was the best time for 3D images because the baby has filled out more and the facial features are much more defined) for another elective ultrasound.  Sadly, we probably won't be here by then so I think I'm going to check and see what kind of facilities Des Moines has to offer.  Until then I'm very much looking forward to my 'real' anatomy scan in a few weeks to make sure she's growing well and is healthy all around.  (Roxanne didn't take any official measurements, but she did check the heart and said that she didn't see anything to cause her concern throughout the scan.)  And even though I'm sure this little lady is a she - it will be nice to have one more professional to validate that she hasn't grown any additional anatomy between now and then. ;)