4D ultrasound.

we had our 4D ultrasound this morning.  sylvie did NOT want to cooperate.  she had half of her face snuggled into the placenta the whole time.  we never did get a shot of her entire face, but we got enough partial face pictures to piece it all together.  we saw enough to know that she has super chubby cheeks, really long fingers, and a full head of hair!  i suspected our girl would have some hair.  travis was born with a full head of thick, black hair.  i am also happy to report that she has my lips, travis’ nose, and an adorable little chin.

in this first picture you can see the bottom of her face and both of her hands. when this was taken she was playing with the umbilical cord and waving it around!

here is a decent shot of her face. just look at those full, little lips!

we also verified that she is DEFINITELY a girl. phew! all-in-all, even though she was uncooperative, i’m still extremely glad that we did it. it was amazing to see her moving around in there, playing, and stretching. we got to see some of her personality for the first time, which was incredible. i would highly recommend doing an elective 4D scan if your health care providers don’t have the option. i’m also glad we waited until 34 weeks to do it. she had an adorable amount of baby fat to look at!

we’re about to head out to dinner with my parents. i hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

the ultrasound.

it’s taken me a week to write this post, to properly do the experience justice.  my ultrasound last friday was the most amazing, magical 30 minutes of my life.  i saw my daughter, really saw her, for the first time.  the last time i got to take a peak at her i was barely 8 weeks, and she still resembled a kidney bean with t-rex arms.  this time, however, she was my little girl.  she was my perfect, beautiful little sylvie.  she was difficult, vibrant, stubborn, and a bit of a ham.  she used my bladder as a punching bag and mooned us all more times than i can count.  she is a perfect little challenge.  is there any doubt who she takes after already?  i hope there are some of her father’s better qualities lurking in there, otherwise we’re in trouble!

the ultrasound technician was great.  she took her time, and measured everything carefully, saving the big reveal for last.  luckily, she had been paying attention the entire time because when it came time to get a good look, sylvie would NOT cooperate.  she had her feet behind her ears and her legs firmly closed.  you see that big, round circle there by her feet?  yep.  that’s the top of her head.

i said something to the effect of, “this baby’s modest.  at least i know i’m not giving birth to the next paris hilton!”  after a little more looking around, the tech answered, “modesty is especially important when you’re having a girl.”  it took me a second to process exactly what she said.

“it’s a…girl?”

“yes.”

i immediately burst into tears.  big, body shaking, spastic tears of pure joy.  i really didn’t think i was going to cry.  i tend to stay very calm during big events.  i didn’t cry at our wedding, and i was so sure i would.  i think the combination of raw emotion, hormones, and a full punching bag of a bladder did me in.  my intuition was right all along.  A GIRL.  travis had me doubting it when he woke up two days before the appointment, so sure it was a boy.  i just…KNEW from the day we found out i was pregnant..  i don’t know how or why.

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my mom gave me this necklace, which belonged to my nana, on my 19th birthday.

i have worn it everyday since.  now i wear it for two women.  the star of david charm came from my husband on the first anniversary of our first date.  one day, when sylvie is grown, i will give her both for her birthday.  she will smile, and my heart will burst wide open.

the name and pictures.

sylvia was my nana’s name.  she passed away when i was 12.  i always knew that i would name a little girl after her.  there you have it!

sylvie is  growing well, with everything right where it should be.  meet our little girl, my sylvie:

look at her perfect little feet:

3D/4D ultrasounds.

travis and i are considering getting an elective 3D/4D ultrasound sometime between 26 and 34 weeks.  for those of you who have had them, do you think it is worth it?  here is my pro and con list.

PRO:

-21 weeks would be a long time to go without seeing our baby.  this would allow us to check in and see that everything looks good and that the gender they will tell us on friday is indeed correct.

-getting to see what the baby looks like!

–the facility we are considering gives you a DVD of the ultrasound plus additional pictures.

-the price ($129 with a discount) seems pretty reasonable compared to what i’ve heard others have paid.

-PEACE OF MIND.

CON:

-do we really need to spend the extra money?

-it’s a hike (a little over an hour drive).

-there is a possibility that the baby could be squished or face down and we wouldn’t be able to see him/her well.

i would be happy to hear the opinions of those who have experienced a 3D/4D before (or even those who haven’t!).  i know we have a while to go (at least 8 weeks) before this is even an option, but i like to plan ahead.  right now, we’re leaning toward doing it.  if we elect not to do it, next friday will be the last time we will see little S or E before the birth.  that seems like such a long time to me!  so…

by the way, thanks to all of you, we have jumped to #43!  i’ve noticed a lot of new readers because of this.  THANK YOU!  if you continue to enjoy the content here, keep voting!

your first pictures.

dear baby,

today we got to see and hear you for the first time.  we could just make out your head and one of your little arms.  your heartbeat was so fast.  i knew it would be, but 164 beats per minute sounds like a tiny helicopter!  your dad and i can’t stop looking at these pictures of you.  you’re so amazing, baby.  we love you so much.

love,

mom and dad

books.

i work in the children’s department of a large corporate bookstore.  all day i’m surrounded by thousands of different books that i want to buy for our baby.  so far i’ve ordered one:

e.e. cummings has long been one of my favorite poets.  when i found out he wrote a book of fairy tales for children, i just couldn’t resist it!

i got this for travis to read to our blueberry:

his dad used to sing this song to him when he was a kid.  it’s his early valentine’s day present.

in other news, today was a great day.  I was barely nauseous at all, and i got a bit of my appetite back.  i told my manager about the pregnancy, and she was more supportive than i could have hoped.  she assured me i could take all the time off i needed and could come back as part-time without a problem.  to top everything off, as i was walking to clock-out, i found $20 on the ground!  booyah.

t-minus 4 days until our ultrasound.

baby, baby. can’t you hear my heartbeat?

it’s now less than a week until our first ultrasound.  i’m pretty nervous about it.  i can’t help but stress, wondering if everything will be ok.  don’t get me wrong, i have no reason to think anything is amiss with our little blueberry, but until i can see the heartbeat for myself, i will remain somewhat anxious.  I wonder if we’ll be able to hear it this early.  i’ve heard that some women can, while others can’t until close to 20 weeks.  i hope we don’t have to wait quite that long!