Baby Girl

We're having a baby girl in October! Eeeek! We are absolutely thrilled. It took longer than I hoped it would to get pregnant after my miscarriage, but we are so grateful for a healthy pregnancy this time around!

To announce to the kids that I'm pregnant, we had the kids open a package with these shirts in them. When they saw the baby onesie, they asked if it was for their cousin George or Daisy. It was so cute.

I'm technically due Tuesday, October 17 (which could change), but I have already been given the green light to be induced a week early. After going through my miscarriage last summer, I wasn't sure that I wanted to continue going to my doctor's office. I was not impressed with them during that experience. In an emergency, getting a hold of them was extremely hard. Andrew pointed out how great my doctor was though. She came and performed my d&c even though she wasn't the doctor on call.

I'm so glad I stuck with Doctor Peacock! I am a big fan. I've never had a woman deliver my babies and I will never return to having a male ob-gyn. At first, it was hard to actually believe I was pregnant. Was this pregnancy going to last? I was worried. Early on in the pregnancy, my family got the stomach flu. I threw up and had stomach cramps. The cramping reminded me of my miscarriage and made me stressed. Thankfully it was just part of the stomach bug. Doctor Peacock monitored me closely in the beginning which helped provide peace of mind. I went in for 3 blood tests to ensure that my HCG levels were rising normally each week. This was helpful. I was also scheduled for an ultrasound extremely early and was so relieved to hear a heartbeat. At each appointment, hearing the heartbeat has been a priority. Also, I learned my doctor's office has an app and I message the nurse regularly and get very quick replies (this would have been extremely beneficial during the miscarriage).

Now that I'm out of the first trimester and 16 weeks pregnant, I'm feeling less anxious. The day I found out I was pregnant (Saturday, February 4) I could hardly believe it. Yes, we were actively trying and I was even using an ovulation kit, but there had been many months without success. My doctor told me after miscarrying, it can take up to a year to get pregnant. I had 7 cycles after the miscarriage and was blessed to get pregnant during my 8th cycle. I know some others who got pregnant immediately and was hoping that would be the case for me. 

One of the very first things I did after discovering the happy news I was pregnant is go get my Covid-19 booster. This was a huge priority for me. I have had the booster before, but it had been a while and then I ended up getting Covid and miscarrying (hard to pinpoint exactly what caused the miscarriage). This pregnancy, I have a fresh booster shot.

When my parent's left on their mission, I was pregnant. My dad gave us priesthood blessings and this experience was one of the most spiritual experiences of my life. Andrew's blessing was super neat and talked about his dad who has passed on. My blessing was a lot about my pregnancy. During the blessing, I was told that a baby was anxiously waiting to join our family. It was also mentioned that having 3 kids will be a lot of work and that I won't be able to get as much done which is okay. This is something I need to hear, I like to be busy. After the blessing, my dad told me he felt like I was going to have a baby boy. Soon after, I had a miscarriage.

With this pregnancy, we thought it was going to be a boy because of that experience. Though some specific details about spirits and death are murky. When I went in for my gender check, the baby's legs were crossed. No matter how hard the ultrasound tech tried, the baby would not move positions. I was sick with worry. Oh no! I'm not going to be able to find out the gender. This was not my first rodeo (ultrasound) and this had never happened before. After several minutes of no luck, it was suggested that I go to the bathroom and hope the baby's position changed. It did not. 

The baby is stubborn. The ultrasound technician poked around a bit and it made the baby mad. The baby finally moved, but had its hand between its legs. I guess my $35 was going to waste. Finally, the ultrasound technician said she was pretty sure she knew the gender but wanted to wait to say anything until she had a better view. She then said she was 90 percent certain. At one point, she referred to the baby as "he," so I assumed it was a boy. When she said it was a girl and that she was sure, I was ecstatic and absolutely shocked.  Here is the picture to prove it. 

We already have a girl name picked out. What! This is a first for me. In the past, I have taken a list of names to the hospital and discussed all the names at length with the nurse during labor. I'm so indecisive. After hearing it was a girl, Jessica and I immediately went shopping for baby girl clothes. I'm feeling so grateful and excited! Our kids talk about the baby non-stop. Both announced to their classes at school that I'm pregnant. When I asked James if he is glad kindergarten is ending, his response was, "Yes, because it means we're getting closer to having the baby." Amen!