And the Verdict Is...

We had our appointment today!  Phew.  We got to see "Tad" for a long time while the sonographer looked at every possible thing.  The brain, spine, bones, kidneys, etc all looked good.  The one thing they couldn't get a very good look at is the heart.  Baby is still quite small and is positioned in a difficult spot for good heart pictures.  They didn't see anything to cause concern at this point, but we really won't know any specifics until we see Samuel's pediatric cardiologist in three weeks.  I was disappointed to not get more info on the heart, but Bryan saw it as an answer to prayer.  He really doesn't want unnecessary speculation and feels like we've been spared the drama of "Well, we'd really like to see ________, but sometimes it just isn't clear yet at this gestational age.  We'll look more in a few weeks...."  After all the changing diagnoses with Samuel and all the ups and downs of those changes, we are happy to have no news for the time being.

We did find out that we're having a....

GIRL!  I am still in shock a little bit.  Bryan has predicted a girl from the beginning, but I have resisted believing it.  We have boys.  And on Bryan's dad's side of the family, in three generations, there have been 17 boys and only 3 girls.  The most recent girl is 24 years old!  So I kind of figured the odds were against a daughter.  However, I am THRILLED that we're having one.  I would have been equally thrilled with a boy.  I told Bryan that I will be asking at every sonogram if she is still a girl.  It's going to take awhile for me to really believe it.  I burst into tears when the sonographer told us, and every time I hear Bryan tell a family member on the phone, I start to cry again.  I called my mom shortly after the appointment with every intention of telling her myself, and I got as far as, "We're having a..." before I started crying and thrust the phone into Bryan's hands because I couldn't spit it out.

When we got home, we set up a little scavenger hunt for the boys to find out the gender.  They traipsed through the house following clues and eventually came to the bathtub where pink balloons were hiding.  Their reaction was completely anti-climactic because they were so enamored with the balloons that the girl factor barely phased them.  A couple of minutes later, though, they were both beaming and so proud and excited.  They're going to be GREAT big brothers to a baby sister.  Caleb has wanted a baby sister ever since I can remember.  With each pregnancy, he has consistently said he wants a sister.  His wish is finally coming true.  :)

God was gracious to us today in granting us a lot of peace before the appointment and even an abundance of joy during it, as we waited for news on baby's health.  I am sure some of that peace is because many of you were praying for us, and for that I cannot thank you enough.  Thank you!  We went to dinner tonight to celebrate, and tomorrow we're going to go get some special dessert as a family to celebrate some more.  We're thanking God tonight!

17 weeks pregnant