the big reveal

We've known whether we're having a boy or girl for seven days now.  For those who are family or on facebook, you already know, but for my loyal readers, I dearly apologize for taking so long to post the gender reveal.  Ty got sick and it took him down hard (and I'm pretty sure its taking me with it now).  Enough suspense...

Although she remains nameless, baby girl is doing just perfect.  We had our ultrasound last week with Texas Children's and once again it was a phenomenal experience.  We got to watch her wiggling all over for a good 45+ minutes.  Besides enjoying the show, I thoroughly enjoyed being able to lay still in the middle of the day with no one asking me for anything.  They have a nice linen covered bed with a pillow to lay on, in a dimly lit room...they're lucky I didn't fall asleep!  Being that this was the anatomy ultrasound we  got to see the works.  Within minutes of starting the tech asked us if we wanted to know what we were having.  Um, yes please!  She said she would let us know as soon as she could see anything, but first she was going to start on the heart.  Next thing out of her mouth was, "oh the legs just crossed...wait a minute...its a girl!"  She even stopped what she was measuring to go show us her goods.  Definitely a girl!  Everything measured well, exactly where it should be.  Ty always measured ahead of his due date, especially in his head circumference, but baby girl looks to be right on time.  All body parts measured anywhere from 20w3d to 21w4d, and I was exactly 21 weeks at the time.  Her head, just like big brothers, is perfectly round.  Heart looked perfect, showing all 4 chambers and beating away.  They did a couple of averages because the baby was busy that morning.  On average, her heart rate was 155bpm.  Way higher than Ty's at this point.  Her spine is forming perfectly.  We got to see her bladder, stomach and kidneys.  We also got great images of her arms, legs, hands and feet.  Beautiful little blessing!  Busy is an under statement though.  I have mentioned before that she seems to be moving much more and much earlier than Ty at this time.  Now I know why!  At one point we could see five fingers spread out over hear cheek, then the next time she got a shot of her head, her knee was next to her face and foot way over her head!  It made me laugh out loud.  Overall it was a wonderful experience and we were left with such good feelings in our hearts about this baby's future.

sweet girl's profile

a little freaky, but here's her face...she's waving lol

little piggies

Not sure if I posted this already, but around 19 weeks, Cooter was able to feel her move on the outside for the first time.  I'll be 22 weeks tomorrow and in just 3 short weeks, baby girl has become so much more active.  As I was laying down to go to sleep last night, Cooter reached for my hand, which was on my belly.  He could feel her moving over and over again.  You can see movement on the outside already too.  I keep trying to get Ty to feel her, but he isn't really still enough to wait for it.  Sister is a night owl too.  Although I feel her throughout the day, the evenings and middle of the night are her exercise time.

here's me the morning of our ultrasound...21 weeks

We are beyond thrilled that we're having a girl.  Of course, the planner in me already had bedding picked out for both a boy and girl prior to our ultrasound.  The girl bedding was on sale though, so as soon as we got home from the ultrasound, I was online making a purchase!  Should be delivered today (although I have nothing I can do with it right now, it just excites me to see something PINK in the house )!  I also hit up a great consignment sale last Friday.  I scored huge on clothes that were barely worn and some still had tags on them!  I had my stroller piled with newborn and 3 month clothes, but had to get going because Ty had a dr appointment.  I ended up with 20+ outfits for $40.  I had a huge itch to go back, but Ty was not doing well following his appointment.  Cooter happened to get home early that day, so I shot back off to the sale to shop some more!  I ended up getting 31 onesies/tops, 11 pairs of pants (many are outfits with the onesies/tops), 4 pairs of jammies, 3 sleep sacks, and 2 burp cloths for $97.  I was so proud of my finds!  They are nicely sorted into size and folded in the guest room awaiting the move of the nursery furniture.  So much fun!

As I mentioned before, this sweet baby remains nameless.  We had Ty's name picked out before I got pregnant.  I had been compiling a list of names for the past month or so, but between Cooter and myself, we vetoed several and narrowed it down to 3 or 4.  We have looked at countless lists of baby names.  Friends and family keep sending us name suggestions.  We must decide soon.  Last night we narrowed it down to 2.  Cooter keeps telling me I can choose from here because he feels like he named Ty.  I'm freaking out because its such a huge decision!  I secretly have a favorite in my head, just not ready to announce it just yet.  I will give you the final two (middle names are not set in stone just yet)...

Elliot Leigh (we will call her Ellie)
Annie Marie

Thoughts, opinions?!?