We're Having A....

...beautiful baby....

GIRL!!! Yes, I did just post a bum shot of our daughter to be. You must understand the humor in all of this...

When we first found out that I was pregnant, I really thought we were going to have a girl. My step-dad Mike even dreamt about her. At 12 weeks I went to the perinatologist after my pulmonary embolism (it seems like with a higher risk pregnancy the quality--and cost--of your prenatal care goes way up...). I had a great ultrasound and both the ultrasound tech and perinatologist said they were pretty sure that it was a boy. They could clearly see boy parts, but reminded me that it wasn't a for sure thing... so I spent the next 8 weeks getting used to the idea of having a boy. I even had talked Ryan into using the name I wanted to use (more on that later) and we referred to this baby as "HIM" most of the time. Ryan was relieved that we could just use all of Coleman's old bedding and furniture and that we could get away without painting the room...

..only to be told at our ultrasound yesterday that this baby is definitely not a boy (the perinatologist yesterday said she hates it when anyone names the gender at 12 weeks because they all look like boys). It's all good... we are thrilled, particularly Olivia, although we would have been equally thrilled to confirm that it was a boy. Coleman was a little disappointed but decided that he could love her anyway...

Aside from the startling gender news... the ultrasound went well. Our babe is growing and developing right on track and there is no evidence of any birth defects or other problems. My placenta had been low-lying (close to the cervix) at my last ultrasound, but has since moved away so there is no more concern for placenta previa (thank goodness). The perinatologist confirmed that my treatment (two injections a day--which to be honest still hurt as much as they did when I first started) is working and that the bruising on my stomach will go away, but the lumpy knots that are there might not. They expect the rest of my pregnancy to be uneventful, which is a relief!

So now, I have the task ahead of convincing Ryan that the name I want for our daughter is the one that he wants too (or at least agrees to)... and choosing the color for her new room... which will at some point be turned back into Coleman's room when this little girl gets old enough to share with Olivia.... no pinks or purples allowed, but it's time to say goodbye to the animal room with primary colors.

Unexpected Expecting News

So before I share the scariness of my ER trip, I must share the joyful news to all of blogland...

We are going to have a baby!

I have told some people around here, but we hadn't made any formal announcement on the blog because we wanted to wait until most of the risk of miscarriage had past. I'm due on March 22nd and we are thrilled. We had tried and tried (including some infertility treatments) for several years and I had finally gotten to the point that I was comfortable with the two children that we have. Ryan and I both felt like we were just done having kids. I was finished hoping and expecting and planning every month. I was done counting days and marking the calendar and taking tests a few days before they would even show anything. We were both shocked and so happy to find out on July 24th that I am pregnant! I took a test because I thought I might be a couple of weeks late and I was feeling a little nauseated... but fully expected it to be negative, but at least it would give me some peace of mind. It was a surprise to see the two lines show up (I'll spare you the photo) but it was a definite positive test. An ultrasound a couple of weeks later confirmed that there is just one baby (good thing... I had a dream that I was having triplets--girls--and I could only come up with names for two of them, so I kept trying to send one back) and that everything looked normal!

It's been hard not to shout it from the mountain tops because we are so excited and Olivia and Coleman are bursting with happiness. Coleman kisses 'the baby' every night and keeps telling me he can already see it (I think that's just my normal jelly belly, but that's okay!). Olivia hopes for a girl, Coleman hopes for a boy, and I am just grateful that another little spirit will join our family. We hope and pray that everything will go well with the rest of the pregnancy.

Stay tuned...