It's a....

I mentioned in my last blog that prior to finding out I was pregnant, that I had a dream that I was pregnant and it was a boy. Upon finding out I was pregnant, I just KNEW the whole time that this little thing growing I my tummy was a little dude.

From the get go, I felt pretty good overall. Throughout the day I didn't have much of an appetite, but I wasn't sick. I could stomach a few things (applesauce, Cheerios, tortilla chips) but really, that was all I wanted. I lost nearly ten pounds in the beginning of my pregnancy just because I really wasn't hungry. My evenings were a different story. It was like my body knew I was on my way home from school, and when it was I started feeling like poo. Every day I would come home to my couch nest and just crash. I'd be exhausted, and I usually was just super nauseous. I can't tell you how many times I told Jack just to go get Zaxbys- it was all I could stomach for dinner. You can see I looked trim and tone at the start! The only thing big was my boobs. Ohhh pregnancy boobs.

Come to find out, my sister Carly actually craved Zaxbys. This confirmed even more what I suspected- BOY! I even began calling the baby by the boy name we had picked out and referred to the baby as "he" or "him." Jack did NOT like this because he's been Team Girl from day one! Other things that confirmed my suspicions were that I only craved salty foods! (And still do- hence I've had onion rings for breakfast the past two days!) Believe it or not, a whole bag of Hershey kisses sat in my desk drawer for three months without being touched. I KNOW. And even then I gave them away to students. I craved vegetables, pickles, French fries- salt salt salt! I also craved some sour things- sweettarts and sour punch straws. (Carly also craved those with Jonah!) My skin was beautiful! Glowing! Never looked better! My hair was lush, shiny, and full of body. My newly appearing bump was forming low. Even the pencil test performed early on indicated boy. I literally convinced myself and everyone it was a sweet little boy!

The first weekend in March I was just over 15 weeks pregnant. My family and Jack's family came in to town so that we could all go to the ultrasound place together and find out if my suspicions were in fact correct. A couple of days prior to this though, I started to have my doubts. I even texted my mom and told her of these doubts.

The morning of March 5 we went to Nashville 3D/4D Baby Ultrasounds. This place was fantastic and I highly recommend them to my local Tennessee friends! The room was huge with a couple of couches and plenty of room for everyone. The screen was up on a huge wall, so there were no straining eyes or necks to get a glimpse of Baby. Finally, the moment of truth was HERE. I have no clue how people wait to find out the gender of their baby. I am a planner. I like to have a game plan. I HAVE TO BE PREPARED! Literally, the very second the ultrasound popped up on the wall, I knew.

I have done extensive research on the skull and nub theory, and the moment I saw the perfectlly rounded head shape I knew what my baby was. It took a second for the ultrasound technician to show everyone the sex, as the cord was between the baby's legs. But a little wiggling and finagling revealed to us our sweet Baby Sadie Reese. We were all thrilled! Seeing the happiness on Jack's face was like no other happy moment I've had in my life. It was such a special moment for us as husband and wife.

Up until this moment I really had not felt this huge, overwhelming bond with my baby. I know it sounds strange and even mean, but really I had only got to see the baby one other time. Then, the baby didn't even look like anything close to human. And we had only heard the heartbeat once at that point. But that day, seeing MY baby, OUR baby, OUR GIRL up on the monitor- I lost it. I literally wept the rest of the ultrasound. I cried so much I got a terrible nosebleed right after. The rest of the day I would tear up or cry at the words "she", "her", "girl", and "Sadie." I was SO emotional. I was super excited to be having a girl, because truly I had no preference but for a healthy baby. However, I felt somewhat grieved because I almost felt as though I "lost" my boy. I know that's strange and most probably won't get that, but I know surely someone out there will! In several pictures from that day I kind of just have this stunned look on my face. I promise promise PROMISE I was happy. :)

That night when everyone was in bed and the excitement of the day was winding down, Jack and I fell into one another's arm and just cried for nearly an hour. Like ugly, had to change the pillow case, nose blowing cry. But it was awesome. Never in my life have I felt closer to someone, and NEVER have I loved another person more. Our sweet, sweet Sadie Reese is the light of our lives and is loved beyond words. Thank you Lord, for this sweet blessing upon us!