Friday evening, September 24th, was the night we got the best news in the world, we are having a baby girl! Here is the story:
When my OB told us we wouldn't find out the sex of our baby until I was 20 weeks pregnant, we thought it seemed like a really long time to wait but, hey, if it was what the doc said, that's how it would be. However, when I announced our pregnancy news to my wonderful AML Float 3 sisters (Mardi Gras Organization) one of our dearest friends who is a sonographer asked, "When will you find out what it is?" When I said "20 weeks is what the OB told us," she said, "Come see me at 17 weeks." I was so overjoyed and thankful that she would do this for me but I had no idea exactly just how much I would appreciate this kindness.
17 weeks came quickly and I became more and more anxious!) My mother accompanied me instead and I was excited she'd get to be a part of it! We asked our dear friend not to tell us what the sex of the baby was, just to type it on the picture and seal it in an envelope so that my family and I could find out together that night. She did such a good job not giving anything away! She told mom and I to close our eyes any time she went near any areas that hint at the sex.
During the ultrasound, our dear friend took the time to show me every organ and every bone we could see! She showed me the spine and explained how it looked good, and the same with the heart (all 4 chambers are present and the blood flow looked great), the brain and all of it's parts (which is actually measuring a week ahead of schedule, we may have a little smarty pants on our hands), the kidneys (both are present) the bladder and stomach. She measured the leg and arm bones which are all right on schedule. We also counted the finger and toe bones, and they are all there. It was so kind of her to take the time to do all of that.I owe so much more to our friend than just her telling us the sex. And it's amazing we were able to check all of these things out and gets tons of good pictures because baby was moving.like.crazy. She appeared to be having a dance party. It's so strange to me that she can be moving so much and I can't feel it, yet. Also, during the ultrasound she looked like she was trying to suck her thumb so badly, she just couldn't quite find it. It was the most adorable thing I've ever seen. She's currently breech, and I know we have a lot of time to change that, just pray that she turns eventually.
After the ultrasound, it was almost impossible to not peek at the pictures but I didn't cheat! When everyone finally got in town we opened the envelope together in front of my mom, brother, and Mark, and announced it was a girl, through tears of joy! We ate a quick dinner and then it was off to tell the rest of our family at their Kids Consignment business, Kidz Klozet (their Fall consignment sale in Mobile is open to the public this week and they have some great stuff, more than they ever have, this year). I had baked two cakes (a blue one and a pink one) and I brought the appropriate cake and all of the ultrasound pictures with us. We showed everyone the pictures first, minus the ones showing that it was a girl. Then we had Leighton's "Honey" cut in to the cake to find out what baby McGhee was. Then, of course, we shopped Kidz Klozet! Everyone is so excited and ready to spoil this precious baby girl! We go for our regularly scheduled 20 week Ultrasound in just a few weeks where hopefully they confirm it's a girl (our friend hasn't ever been wrong) and hopefully baby girl will be just as active.
What's in A Name?
As most of you already know, we are naming our sweet baby girl Leighton Elizabeth McGhee. (Leighton pronounced "Lay-tin.") And you may be wondering how we came up with her name. Well, Leighton is just a name we loved. I met someone with this name years ago and always loved it.The name Leighton is Old English in origin and means "near the meadow." The name meaning sounds so peaceful to me.
Elizabeth was chosen as her middle name for a couple of different reasons. Elizabeth has been a family name on my dad's side of the family for 8 generations, and is also my middle name. Also, we wanted our baby to have a biblical name, be it first or middle. The story of Elizabeth has always been one of my favorites and it's so fitting because it's all about the miracle of having a child, motherhood, and trusting in the lord. In case you are unfamiliar with the story, it is found in Luke, Chapter 1. Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah were a childless couple who were getting older and had given up on having children, though they wanted children very badly. However, Zechariah has a vision and Elizabeth becomes pregnant. While pregnant, Elizabeth is visited by her younger cousin, Mary of Nazareth, who is also pregnant. (with baby Jesus, of course) When they meet, the both realize their children are a huge part of God's plan. Then, Elizabeth's son John (referred to most often as John the Baptist) is born. There is so much more to the while story but there is a breif synopsis. So, after reading the story, it should come as no surprise that Elizabeth means "God's promise."
Two side notes: I am officially in maternity jeans. I can wear my pre-pregnancy jeans with a bella band, but it just adds another layer and makes me sweat. Though, it's getting much cooler now so, maybe I'll try it again if I face a situation where all of my maternity jeans are dirty or something. (though not very likely, as I am a laundry freak) Oh, and I appreciate everyone who gave advice as to where to find long maternity jeans! Lastly, I am having dull headaches that last for long periods of time and they come and go at random. My OB said they are caused by the major increase of blood flow in my body, due to there being another person in there and all. He said they could last several more weeks. Boo. I haven't taken anything for them as of yet because it just doesn't feel right to me at this point. My OB scolded me and told me it was ok to take a couple Tylenol and not to be miserable, that baby would be fine, but I guess it just doesn't "hurt badly enough" yet. I doubt I'll take anything, though, the pain seems to stay the same and not get worse. Sorry, this was such a long post. If you are still reading, I love you!
No comments:
Post a Comment