Mystery Revealed

First I will start with my most recent belly pic. Here I am:




Not whale status yet, although that will come about soon enough. Here I am at 19 weeks, 4 days, and everything is progressing beautifully and as it should be progressing. Today I had my monthly check-up AND my 5-month sonogram. This is the time when the sonogram tech checks to see that the baby's development is correct: fingers, toes, bone structure, vital organs, etc. (if there is any etc.). This is also when parents find out if they are having a boy or girl.

First let me say that everything looked great. All the vital organs were developing as they should, 10 fingers, 10 toes, the spine looked perfect...everything was normal and as it should be. So for that we say THANK YOU, LORD! Your handiwork is amazing!

Next we found out what we are having. If you recall, I was absolutely certain we were having a boy. (For that post, click here.) The HOFFER, however, was convinced it was a girl. Little Bit didn't really know but really hoped for a girl. She was being told by friends and classmates that little brothers were Satan's direct attack on big sisters and were to be avoided at all costs. Either way, whether boy or girl, it didn't matter to me. I was just grateful for the privilege of being a mommy again.

I went in for my appointment this morning all alone. The HOFFER had a regrettable scheduling conflict that really couldn't be avoided, so it was just me. I was actually okay with that...as long as he's there when the baby arrives!!!! I walked in with a VCR tape and an envelope for keeping the news a secret till we could get together as a family. As I said before, the appointment went very well...all is normal, and normal is good. My sonogram tech took a picture of the baby's privates, made sure it said either boy or girl, slipped it in the envelope, and sealed it.

After I came home, I let Chester the Wonderdog out for a bathroom break, then brought him back in so the two of us could take a nap together. I was running on about 4 hours of sleep and was really ready for some rest. Ten minutes into our nap Wonderdog let me know in no uncertain terms that he needed to go back outside for another potty break. I reluctantly got up and took him back outside. After all, it beat having pee or poop on my bed. Unfortunately for me, a short section of our fence is missing and in the process of being repaired, so he ran to one of his favorite places to potty: our next-door neighbor's yard. As if that weren't bad enough, he hasn't mastered the art of coming when called and COMPLETELY ignored my desperate pleas to come back to our yard. Right as he squats for a poop break, my neighbor walks out of her back door. Oh, how embarrassing!!!! I cringe. "I am so sorry! I will clean this up...I PROMISE!" She told me that she was only coming out because she saw me and wanted to find out what we were having. (She really is a sweet neighbor.) I explained the situation, that I didn't know and that results were in a sealed envelope, but that I would be glad to let her peek inside. (I felt a bit obligated since Wonderdog had soiled her lovely lawn!) So I cleaned up the poop while she checked the envelope. She made one comment that made me think it was a girl, then said something else that made me think boy. She was nice enough to keep the secret.

We went to dinner with some close family friends to share our big news. After ordering our meal, we handed the envelope to Little Bit to let her reveal the Big Secret. It took her a minute to figure the picture, but then finally found the answer to our question:

"GIRL!"

Her name is Sarah Grace.