Its a Girl! Little Madeline!

19 weeks:
I had a 2nd trimester ultrasound on Monday. What an experience! I made sure to not touch a drop of caffiene or a speck of sugar that day, after how crazy the little baby was at my 15 week ultrasound. That definitly helped a little bit, but our little daughter was still kicking. She yawned about 6 times during the photo shoot, that we could see. It was pretty cute, I must say! She was being modest and hiding her booty behind my belly button (which apparently casts a shadow) but our ultrasound tech was able to give us a pretty good determination that she's a girl. Which lines up with Dr. Tan's [most recent] guess, so a girl it is. At the end the tech turned on the 3D image which is just amazing. I got to see my little girl's face, ears, eyelids, nose, mouth, everything. She was grasping the umbilical cord like a security blanket, yawning, turning, and sucking her thumb. I've never seen anything so cute. I am starting to really love this little girl! I know it seems like a no duh thing to love your baby growing inside you, but everyone knows there is a different kind of love when you actually see and interact with someone. Sure, this may just be pictures and nothing like when she comes out into the world, but I am definitly experiencing a new love I haven't felt before. I actually feel like my world would crash if anything happened to her, and I would do ANYTHING to protect her if she were in trouble. It's very intense and I have had a very emotional few days as I have come to realize this.

Last night I had a little [hormonal induced?] breakdown as I tried to figure out what carseat, stroller, and diapers to use for Madeline. Ross hugged me and reminded me that she could sleep in a wicker basket, just as long as she had her parents to take care of her. There was a heck of a lot of wisdom in that. I'm glad Ross is patient with me and supportive. He is thrilled to have a daughter, and I know they will have such a special bond.

Another example of my no-help worrying: My ultrasound revealed a low lying placenta- only about 1cm from my cervix. The tech said this usually corrects itself as the uterous grows onward and upward. Madeline appeared healthy and everything seems fine other than that. Chances are, IT WILL BE FINE. But what do I do? I go and research the topic and read about emergency c-sections, placenta previa, and premature births due to complications. NO No NO. I will find out more from my OB on Friday. Until then, please keep us in your prayers.

I will sign off with a picture of my beautiful daughter. I know, I know 3D image ultrasounds can be scarey- especially at only 19 weeks. But here is the picture that made me really fall in love. It may be hard to see, but she's clutching the umbilical cord up by her mouth. By the way, we have a video that the tech burned us of the ultrasound, and from the side, I think Madeline has my nose. Poor girl :)