And the baby is....

Hello family & friends-

We headed to the doctor this morning, excited and ready to find out the sex of the baby. Little did I know that they had to measure every possible thing, from the little head to the little feet...literally.

As we were patiently waiting to get down to the business we expected, we got the chance to really meet our baby for the first time. They measured the circumference of of the skull, showed us the skull, cerebral fluid, the facial structure (in a profile and face forward with the facial bone structure showing). We were able to see the bones of the arms & legs, the ribcage, the spine, and even the little fingers. We could see that the baby started with the legs straight out and then the legs tucked and the ankles stayed crossed. This didn't change, so they finally did pictures of the bottom to figure out the sex. Ha! We were able to see the chambers of the heart beating back and forth, see the stomach, and see the aortic valve. It was a head to toe assessment of the baby, and we were able to see how healthy the baby really is.

For your viewing pleasure, here are a few of the ultrasound pics:

Pic #1: This is the profile picture. You can see the profile of the face, with a little nose and mouth. You can also see the spine, and the legs tucked up. So cute! I am a little biased, though! :)

Pic #2: You can see the hand up by the face.  At first glance you can see a finger extended.  I thought this might be the baby's way of expressing unhappiness with the ultrasound tech poking at my belly and trying to get the legs uncrossed, but a closer inspection shows it is the first finger. Ha!



Pic #3: Just in time for Halloween.  A frontal picture of the face, with all of the front facial bone structure, like a traditional skull picture.  The baby seems little more sinister now, huh?  Just kidding!  Another interesting note - the black spot in the middle of the torso is the developing stomach.  I thought that was interesting.

Pic #4: AND now...the moment everyone has been waiting for...

IT'S A GIRL!!  Like I said before, they had to take the picture from below, and this is a shot like the baby is sitting.  This is the only way she could get a clear picture because she would not uncross those ankles for anything (good girl!). :):)

We have a video, too, but it won't play here.  I will try to upload it once I am home this afternoon! 

Love to all!

Julie & JP