Baby Bell is a Girl!

 

Michael and I are so excited to share that we will be having a baby girl! Even as I type those words, I still cannot believe it. Here is the story of our 20 week sonogram...

On July 30th, we had our second sonogram and anatomy scan. It was so amazing to see how much the baby has grown since our last sonogram at 13 weeks! As I mentioned in my 20 Week post, we were able to see all the different aspects of her little body, including her spine, her brain, the four chambers of her heart, her arm and leg bones, and her tiny hands and feet. Essentially, everything about her was textbook - weighing in at exactly 10oz.

Side profile of Baby Bell

Baby Bell's foot - so much bigger than the first sonogram!

There was never really a question in my mind as to whether or not we would find out the sex of the baby - I am a need to know type of person!

Baby Bell was in an awkward and unusual position during the sonogram. Her spine up was against my belly and her head was on my right side, facing my back. In addition, her legs were crossed and tucked up underneath her stomach and her hands were tucked into her face. Basically, she was in "cannon-ball" position. Of course, this position makes it extremely difficult for the sonographer to determine the sex of the baby. When she told us that it was going to be difficult to determine the sex, I almost started to cry. I was convinced we were going to have to leave the doctor's office not knowing. I think the sonographer could see the panic in my eyes because she started to reassure me that she would do whatever she could to make the baby change positions. We spent the next 30 minutes prodding and massaging my stomach and flipping over from side to side. Baby Bell was being pretty stubborn - she gets that from her Dad (and probably her Mom as well!). Finally she decided to uncross her legs and started to change positions. A few minutes later the sonographer finally felt confident enough to share that we are having a baby girl.

In this photo you can see Baby Bell's two femur (thigh) bones.
The white lines between the femur bones indicate that Baby Bell is a girl!

The moment she said "girl" - I completely lost it. We're talking some serious waterworks! I couldn't believe it and had to keep asking the sonographer if she was sure. With seven boys and only one girl amongst Michael's siblings, I had convinced myself that we were having a boy. Ultimately, I know I would have been completely happy and excited either way, but there is something so special about a "mother-daughter" relationship, and now I am sure that I will get to experience that from the mother's side!

134 days until our due date! Can't wait for baby girl to arrive!

And here are some photos of Michael being annoyed that he had to hold the balloons outside in the heat while I changed out the signs...