It's a GIRL!

Once again - it is known by most people at this point that Baby #2 is a GIRL! We had our gender ultrasound on March 18 and just as it was with William, the ultrasound tech knew the gender immediately. He didn't do the "toilet seat" view, but the "dangle" view - which I had actually heard of a couple weeks prior because I had been Googling 12 week ultrasounds wondering if seeing "nothing" in our 12 week ultrasound meant it was going to be a girl... (yes, me again trying to figure out everything!). All babies have dangles and if the "dangle" is parallel to the body = 100% girl in the gender ultrasound world. If the dangle was more perpendicular it means boy. A little fun fact for you ;)

William waited patiently to find out he will have a little sister

I was shocked. It really took a week for the news to sink in. I wasn't walking around thinking it was a boy, but maybe subconsciously I was convinced it was a boy because it has been deja vu - every part of this pregnancy is reminiscent of William's pregnancy. I guess I couldn't imagine being told the baby is a girl! Though we all know it's always a 50/50 chance! I told Matt I was so nervous for the baby to be a girl and it feels like having a firstborn again! What do you do with a girl?! Matt reminded me that I was in a fact a girl, so it shouldn't be rocket science :)

First girl purchase - Lilly bathing suit!

Dinner at Houston's to celebrate "it's a GIRL"

We have a lot more preparation to do now for a girl! All those nice hand me downs from William will be on hold. But until we are settled in the new house I haven't had a chance to immediately jump into any fun girl things yet. We are moving out of our first home into an interim space until our new home is finished - so life is a little hectic at the moment (HENCE the poor show in blogging). I have picked up a few outfits here and there, and they sure are sweet!

No names yet. We haven't talked about it at all. I need to feel settled before I can think about it. There are a few names on the table from when we thought of both boy and girl possibilities before finding out William was a boy, but that's it. I will keep you all updated though! As soon as we decide, it will be shared.

Oh! And one big difference in this pregnancy is the fact that I've been feeling movement from the baby forever! I swear since week 14 I have felt "kicks" and moving. Since 16-17 weeks I really feel movement. None that Matt would be able to see or feel, since it is very faint.

We are so excited about our growing family and I know William will be the best big brother. He is so sweet and really loves to be affectionate, so hopefully he can be sympathetic to a little lady in the house :) I'm really looking forward to the 20 week ultrasound coming up shortly. I am 18 weeks and still no belly shot! My belly really popped over the last week, so it is definitely time to share one. Maybe this weekend we can sneak one in while we move boxes left and right...

Kicks

This past Saturday marked 21 weeks and every day leading up since 20 weeks was full of baby kicks. The first time I felt a kick was after hitting 19 weeks, but they were less frequent and I wasn't positive that was what I was feeling. Many people said it would feel like butterflies (nope), goldfish (nope), a drop on a rollercoaster (nope) -- but for me it felt like a very, very light kick. A tiny push inside my stomach. The kicks seem to come mostly after having a meal or when I'm laying in bed before hitting the hay at night. In fact, I can feel Baby O right now as I write (I just had some greek yogurt with granola). Crazy! Matt is eager to feel a kick and will even try to listen to my stomach (maybe he's hoping for a kick to the head?). But my Baby Center alerts tell me he won't be able to feel a kick for a few more weeks. Such an exciting feeling and I find myself looking forward to the little nudges every few hours!


Baby O has also been on the move travel wise. Matt and I were in Chicago over the weekend with some of my family to celebrate my cousin Megan's engagement. Her soon to be mother-in-law threw her a bridal shower in their hometown and it was a great chance to meet Megan's fiance's family before the wedding in November. I was also pretty thrilled with the weekend because of the weather -- some real Fall weather - crisp, cool and no humidity! 



Marie, the bride - Megan, and me at Megan's Chicago bridal shower

Megan and Kevin -- soon to be Mr. & Mrs. Kevin Daniele
(with a Wrigley - their dog - look-a-like)

Matt and I with the Chicago River behind us