21 Weeks

I am really late for this one but between the BabyQ Reveal and having Grandpa Mike and Marilyn here it got pretty crazy!  What a week and now that it's out I will tell everyone on here, we are having a little Girl. 

So when we had our a/s ultrasound the one thing Katie couldn't tell was whether or not we had a little girl or boy in there.  All through the ultrasound she kept saying, I think but can't be sure or the umbilical cord is really in the way.  We took our envelope and went home without hesitation but as the day wore on we got more and more nervous about Katie's comments and the fact that the results in the envelope were "unsure", how could we do a cake reveal like that!?  Danny and I decided we would open the envelope together and move forward from there.  We went to Old Chicago (for a piece of Chicago during this) and gave the waitress the piece of paper, we asked her to bring back shirley temples if it said girl and sprite if it said boy.  She came back a few minutes later with nothing, just as we suspected, and said I am so sorry there is nothing written on that paper.  I gave her the pictures that were included in the envelope, in case there was some evidence there and back she went.  She did come back with two SHIRLEY TEMPLES, we were having a little girl!!  But she had the same warnings as Katie as she requested we look at the pictures before getting too excited.  Just as we suspected, it said "I think I am a girl", what would the bakery have done with that :)  We sat stunned for a few minutes as we really thought it was a little boy giving Mommy all those problems in there but after those couple minutes we had tears in our eyes and huge smiles on our faces.  A precious baby girl!  Danny's first words were "do you know where we can buy a chastity belt".

Danny and I really wanted a special Reveal for our families so we decided to opt for an optional 3D/4D ultrasound to confirm the results.  We went to the clinic, sat in the big comfy bed (leather couch for Danny) and the tech got down to business.  He said "wow, no confusion here, see these three lines - it's a girl"!  We got to see our little girls cheeks, lips, little fingers, shoulders, etc, etc - she was absolutely perfect.  We went home that night and decided on her name. 

We did tell our families that we found out that night and asked my Grandma to cut the cake, as all the little ones stood around (Katie and Qui in their pink outfits - their votes), out came that bright pink frosting and all the smiles from our families.  Shortly after we announced her name, Braelyn Samantha Sax, Samantha after Grandpa Sam on Danny's side and Braelyn  was a combination of Brian (Danny's middle name) and Lynn (my middle name).  After finding this out Grandma Nancy sent me an email with the name meaning: Braelyn comes from the Welsh word which means, "Name's original meaning: "Strong; virtuous, honorable." Irish word which means, "strong ." 

Baby is measuring at the size of a Banana this week!  

"Baby's digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion, and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And, if baby is a girl, her womb is now stocked up with her lifetime supply of six million eggs (the number will drop to around one million by birth)."

How far along? 21 weeks and 11 days today (I think).

Maternity clothes? A little Old Navy maternity shopping never hurt anyone ;)

Stretch marks? Still none yet, keep 'em crossed! 

Sleep? I have noticed I am clenching my fists in my sleep and have been waking up at all hours with hand cramps, pair that with the bathroom breaks and general tossing and turning... not so much sleep.

Best moment this week? Announcing our baby girl to the family!

Food cravings: Not really?

Movement? Braelyn decided not to move for a couple days and scared me to death but she is back with some fierce kicking and pushing.

What I miss? Sleeeeeeep, I guess I am just getting myself used to things.

What I'm looking forward to: Week 24 - Viability!!

Milestones: Finding out we are having a baby GIRL :)