ULTRASOUND!!!!!!

We had our ultrasound at 9:00 this morning and we found out that we're having a:

GIRL!!!

I'm soooooo excited!!! I didn't care either way, but I was so anxious to know! It'll be fun to be able to say "she" and "her" instead of "the baby" or even better, "it."

My bladder was nice and full when we got there...I didn't think 24 ounces of water was really that much, but after about an hour, I started to change my mind! YIKES!

As soon as the image of the baby popped up on the screen, I got all teary-eyed...I didn't expect that to happen! I thought, "Oh GREAT. I'm going to cry through this whole thing and not even be able to see anything!" I got over it though. It was just so amazing to SEE!! The last time we had an ultrasound, it was just this tiny little blob and now it looks like an actual baby. It was so cool! We saw her flailing her little arms and legs all over the place and we even saw her opening and closing her mouth!! The ultrasound tech let out several giggles during the appointment--she said we have a very active baby! She kept wiggling all over the place! It was fun to feel her moving and getting to see the same movements on the screen. Dean and I are wondering if we're going to have a crazy little baby...she'll be like her cousin, Haylee! Later on, in my regular appointment, my doctor said an active baby is a good sign...all that movement shows that there's healthy neurological development...if that's the case, then kick away!

The ultrasound tech let me go to the bathroom after she was done doing all the different types of measurements so we could get some different views of the baby. At that point, she hadn't told us what it was yet. When I came out of the bathroom, Dean said he thought he knew something I didn't know! After a couple minutes she captured a picture that showed that we were having a girl! I guess while I was in the bathroom, Dean said something about how he thought it was a girl and she said she thought so too, but wanted to get a clearer picture just to make sure. Dean said earlier during the appointment, he noticed there "wasn't any business" in between the legs.

Right after the ultrasound, we went to our regular appointment...well...not RIGHT after. We had to wait for my doctor, of course. A nurse practitioner came in and asked me all the usual questions...she said my ankles look good. Weird. We got to hear the heartbeat...it's at about 150 bpm. She also measured my belly...this was the first time I'd had it done. She said everything is looking great!

We waited a little while longer for my doctor...when she came in, she said she had another patient who was in labor at the hospital! She looked at my charts and like the nurse practitioner, said everything was looking good...weight gain, blood pressure, etc. She also said everything from the ultrasound came back great...the only thing that she saw was that the placenta is sitting low, which apparently is not an issue right now, but it's something they're going to keep an eye on. She said I'll have to have another ultrasound at 30 or 32 weeks (can't remember which one) to see if the placement of the placenta has changed...if not, she said it can cause issues with delivering the baby...it's basically in the way of where the baby would need to come out. If that's the case, I will have to have a c-section. I'm not too worried though...we'll deal with it when the time comes. I'm just really happy to hear that everything else is great, normal, and healthy!

We got some really cool pictures...I want to try and scan them onto here...last time I took a picture of the picture and it was kind of fuzzy. I'll see if I can figure it out! We also got a DVD of the ultrasound...our first baby video!

Dean and I went to lunch after the appointment and then he had to head to work, so I called my mom and we went shopping!! We just went to a couple stores...TJMaxx and Marshall's. I REALLY needed to get some shopping out of my system!!! It was so fun! I only spent $65 and got all kinds of cute things...and I'm proud to say that not everything is pink...we have a nice variety so far. Dean should be happy about that! Between my mom and I, we did some damage, but we didn't go overboard...I don't think. It'll be fun to hang everything up!

One more thing!! Everyone keep your fingers crossed for my friend, Meghan! She's due at the end of this week and is pretty miserable and so anxious to have her baby!! She's been a trooper through her whole pregnancy and is just ready for it to happen already!