Surprise!!!

Soooo... we actually had our 20 week ultrasound on Wednesday, November 25th. We told everyone that the ultrasound was today (Friday, November 27th). We lied to everyone because we wanted to surprise our family members with the gender of the baby on Thanksgiving, and boy did we!

Chuck and I had been thinking for a long time how to tell our families the sex of the baby. We knew we were going to throw them off with the date, but how were we going to tell them the actual news? I came up with a BRILLIANT idea.... how about we make cupcakes for Thanksgiving and fill them with either blue or pink frosting, that way when someone bites into one, they should get the idea. I didn't want to make it obvious by writing "It's a boy" or "It's a girl" on top of a cake or cupcakes....that's no fun. Chuck loved the idea, so that is what we did.

A little bit about the ultrasound appointment...
I had my appointment scheduled for 4:00 pm at the Portage hospital. Chuck met me up there because it was on his way home from work. It was a dark and rainy afternoon, but sunny in my heart! :) We walked into the emergency room entrance (where they told us to go) and I signed in. I was so nervous/excited I could hardly sign my name. I was given a wristband and was pointed in the direction of the imaging center. Chuck and I waited there for about 15 minutes before my name got called. I was pretty bummed to find out they wouldn't let Chuck come in with me at first. The ultrasound technician said she wanted to get all of the important measurements first and then would call dad in to see baby and find out the gender. I complied.

SO I got in there, pulled up my shirt, and was ready for the fun to begin. She put that wonderful gel on my tummy and we began. At first I couldn't tell what ANYTHING was! She informed me that she was first looking at my cervix and then the placenta checking for placenta previa. She said everything looked good and I did not have placenta privia (yay!) She then moved onto the baby's spine. I could definitely tell it was a spine. She had to take a lot of pictures of the spine, she said it was one of the most important things. We then moved onto the brain, heart, kidneys, stomach, bladder, arms, and legs. They were all accounted for! Oh, and she also had to find the umbilical cord and where it inserted into the baby. All was good!!! It was pretty amazing to see the baby, I am not going to lie, even though it did look like a skeleton, but it was OUR skeleton! While the ultrasound technician was finding the heartbeat, the baby kept moving. It was so funny. She needed the baby to stay very still, but it was definitely not cooperating. She said we will have a fun time with this one when it's born! Haha.

When all the measurements had been taken she went and got Chuck, the big moment had arrived. She was showing him the arm and leg bones, the spine, and even how the baby was moving. He couldn't see what she was talking about at first, but then he got the hang of looking at the monitor. She then said, "Okay, lets travel down to those legs....." She asked if we were hoping for anything in particular, and Chuck just said it would be ideal for a daughter to have a big brother, but as long as the baby is healthy, that is all that matters. The technician then said, "It looks like it's going to be a big sister!" I could tell before she even said anything because I saw the "3 lines." I had been doing a lot of research on boy and girl ultrasound pictures. I knew it, I knew it! I would have seriously been ecstatic with either a boy or a girl. But I had been feeling it in my bones for a long time that it was a girl.

I forgot to mention that the baby (she) currently is in a breech position. The technician said it is nothing to worry about, most babies will turn on their own later on in the pregnancy. Because she was positioned like she was, we didn't get that great of pictures which I was a little disappointed with.

Chuck and I scheduled an appointment at this ultrasound place in Naperville (Stork Snapshots) for Wednesday, December 2nd to hopefully get some better pictures! I was so disheartened I couldn't get a true profile picture. She is being stubborn already!

After the appointment...
After the ultrasound Chuck and I were all smiles. He was like "I am going to have to lock her in her bedroom until she is 30." He is already thinking about her dating!!! It is so cute and funny. I really do feel sorry for her already, she is going to have one protective daddy!

We went to pizza hut for dinner right afterwards because we were absolutely starving!!! The whole time we talked about the little baby girl we will soon meet and how fun it was going to be to surprise our families the following day.

I have been obsessed with finding crib bedding that I like. It is all I have been doing, but I think I have finally found the one! Once I have made my final decision, I will post a picture of it. i have created registries on-line already and just put some bigger items on there. I think our registries will be at Babies R Us, Target, and Amazon.com. That's where I found the crib bedding and swing I liked. No one else had them!

Below you will find the 3 ultrasound pictures we were given on Wednesday. Enjoy!


This is a sideways picture of her face. Her mouth is open!!! It kind of looks like a skeleton.




This is one of her arms and fingers...




This is the picture that determined she was a she! No pee-pee in between the legs. Just the 3 lines!