It's a girl!!! Meet Hailey Adelyn :)

December 10, 2012, was a much anticipated day!! It was the day of our anatomy scan for our sweet baby #2. In the beginning of this pregnancy, I actually didn't mind the whole not knowing whether it was a boy or a girl. It was kind of fun to guess and to wait in anticipation of the surprise. About a month before the ultrasound, though, I started getting antsy to know. Maybe it was just that I actually had a date to look forward to all labeled on the calendar, staring at me, or maybe it was just that I wanted to start getting ready for the baby, which I couldn't do until I knew the gender. I think it was mostly that I find it so much easier to bond with the baby once I know who is actually in there! It's really important for me to be able to call the baby by her name, and I certainly couldn't do that until I knew if it was a little pink or blue bundle!

I had some trouble sleeping the night before the ultrasound and woke up very excited. Our appointment wasn't until 4 in the afternoon, because Matt wanted to be able to join us without having to use a vacation day (he was able to leave work just an hour or so early to make the appointment.) I somehow managed to get through the day, and the time to leave was finally upon us! I had Matt take a few belly shots before going (I have been horrible about documenting this pregnancy through photos, probably because I usually feel and look pretty cruddy!) and then we were on our way.

We got to the appointment and were called back by the ultrasound tech right away. At our ultrasound with Savannah, we had a male tech who moved very quickly through things and did not really spend much time showing us our baby and making it a fun experience. This time, the tech was very friendly and she did a great job at making the whole experience really fun and special for our little family, which I really appreciated! She was very thorough, and although she checked right away to see if we were planning to find out the gender, she methodically got all of her measurements before revealing the gender to us. As she was moving around and we were able to watch our baby on the screen, I was pretty sure right away that I saw a lack of boy parts in between the legs, but I had to wait awhile to know for sure! Our baby was VERY active, and it was so fun to watch her flipping around and kicking like crazy!

Finally, the tech told us that she knew the gender. She asked us if we had a name, because she said that she could write the baby's name on the screen as a way of revealing it to us. At the time we were not sure of a girl name, so I told her names were still in progress. She moved down by the baby's legs and said, "Okay, do you see those three white lines?" And I said, "Yes! Is that a little girl??" The tech confirmed that it was and said she was 100% certain.

This is a profile view of the baby. The legs are curled up and bent at the knee over her belly.

Another profile shot, closer up to the baby's face.

This is the baby looking at you head-on. I think these shots are always kind of creepy!

I was not at all shocked to hear that this is another girl. For most of the pregnancy I have been pretty convinved that this is another girl, because this pregnancy feels a lot like my first. I have had the same nasuea and lightheadedness and the same cravings for fruit, carbs, sweets, and spicy foods. I had tried to prepare Matt by telling him prior to the appointment that I felt very strongly that it would be another girl, but he was pretty shocked! He really thought it was going to be a boy. It took awhile for us to get used to the idea of having two little girls so close in age, but we really are so very excited!!

Once we knew she was a girl, I was eager to choose a name. As I said earlier, being able to call the baby by her name is very important to me and really helps me to bond with the baby throughout the pregnancy. All along we had said that we might use the name Sophia Grace for a girl, but for some reason the name just didn't feel right. I liked the names Charlotte and Elizabeth, but Matt did not. Matt liked Madison and Alexis, but I did not. We had a few other names that we tossed around, including Lily. About one day after learning she was a girl, Matt brought up the name Hailey. At first I was like, "Where did that come from? We never talked about that name!" But the more I tried the name out, the more right it felt. I also really liked the way Savannah and Hailey sounded together. Furthermore, I picked Savannah's name, so I liked the idea of Matt choosing this little girl's name. Once we were pretty sure that we wanted Hailey, Matt said, "How about Hailey Adelyn?" He knew that I liked the name Adelyn; he wasn't as fond of it, but he liked it as a middle name. So there we have it! I think it's a perfect fit for the spunky little girl that we saw on the ultrasound screen.

Now only a bit over four more months until we can meet sweet Hailey in person and see her beautiful face! I can't wait!