and then there were three...

We had our 20 week check up and ultrasound yesterday. Indeed, good things come in threes because we are having our third little GIRL!

We invited the grandmas to join us for the ultrasound (we did during Ladybug's ultrasound too) and we decided to take Butterfly in with us as well. Grandpa took Ladybug for a walk during the ultrasound. We didn't think she would sit still and allow us the concentration we wanted for baby 3. Instead, I think she would try to push every button in the room. So while she walked with Grandpa, me, Butterfly, Daddy and the grandmas took a peek at our stubborn little baby. The baby was not positioned well for an ultrasound, sitting very low and facing away from us, refusing to turn over. So getting a clear picture of baby's face was especially difficult. As soon as the exam began, the technician asked Butterfly if the baby was a boy or girl and she declared girl. Turns out she was right.

Daddy had guessed from the beginning that Butterfly was a girl and while not quite as confident, guessed Ladybug was a girl too. The evening Ladybug was born, we cuddled her in our hospital room and he said to me that he suspected baby 3 would be a girl as well. I thought he was just teasing but turns out he was right again! So when we first realized we were expecting baby 3, he guessed girl but as we progressed, he wavered and said perhaps boy. I wavered as well, never really committing to a guess but probably leaned towards boy more often than girl.

So the technician began the exam, taking the necessary measurements as she went, pointing out the baby's features and explaining the blurry blob images to us. I love the technology that allows us to see the baby and watch her movements. The image is often confusing, looking like shapeless inkblots but then will suddenly focus with brilliant clarity and we can see details as tiny as the individual vertebrae of her spine or the separate chambers of her heart. So the technician continued and then suddenly said, "she was right. this baby is a girl" and showed the incriminating evidence that baby had been trying to hide.

Baby also stubbornly refused to show us her face. The technician even had me get up and walk around to see if the baby would change positions and we could get a more clear view. And while she did not change positions, we were able to get a brief glimpse of her little face and could see her eyes, nose and mouth. Her mouth was slightly open and we could see her tongue moving a bit.

I think Butterfly really enjoyed being a part of it and was really well behaved. Sometimes we distracted her with a game on daddy's phone but she definitely watched and understood that the images were pictures of the baby. I especially liked when she giggling declared the "baby was wiggling, silly baby".

So we spent the rest of the evening reveling in the discovery of our third little girl and teasing ourselves about it. We are surprised, excited, grateful, nervous and all of those other wonderful things that come with the windstorm of emotion at the prospect of being a parent again. Here's to another beautiful baby girl!