becoming a carter: sugar and spice and everything nice!

We found out today that we're having a girl! I have had a feeling it was girl, but of course, I couldn't be certain until there was a photo to prove it. It was amazing to see our little one on the ultrasound. She was "good" for the camera. The tech said she was still and peaceful enough to get the photos she needed quickly despite my attempts to make her active by drinking a bunch of cold water and apple juice right before the ultrasound! The tech actually told me that sugary drinks are a bad idea because sometimes the baby will get so hopped up on sugar (and in some cases, caffeine), that they aren't calm enough to get the medical pictures they need to take! I just didn't want them to tell me that the baby was asleep with his or her legs crossed, therefore making the gender difficult or impossible to determine. The sugary juice was kicking in by the time the tech had turned the monitor around for us to see her though. She began to kick and move around for us quite a bit! The tech got at least two good looks at the area which showed that she's a girl. She showed us after she got all the photos she needed. Before that, she had already taken a photo to prove it. She was very confident that we've got a little girl on our hands!

My weight had jumped a bit. I was up 5.6 pounds since my last appointment, which was almost 5 weeks ago. That's 11.2 pounds total. I was a little shocked to see those numbers, which reflect more than a pound a week since my last visit, but I think at the time I thought I had gained 7 pounds. I was relieved later on when I realized it was closer to 5 or 6! I do need to lay off the sweets I've been enjoying lately! Christmas was going to be my excuse, but my doctor didn't give me a hard time. He said he thought my weight was fine- not too far off track. The baby's heart rate was 135, which is the lowest I've ever heard them say. They said it was still within normal range. The nurse that checked said she might just be a little sleepy or they may have been picking up both our heart rates. They were training someone new on how to use the Doppler, so we got some extra time listening to that sweet sound! My blood pressure was 100/62, which I think is close to what's it's been the last couple of times. The doctor said everything with the baby looked very healthy! The blood work for the genetic screening I did at my last visit came back negative, so as far as we know, she's a healthy girl! Praise the Lord!

Chris and I have a lot of work ahead of us! First, we need to choose a name for this little girl!