I wanted to take some time to write in detail about the experience we had at the elective ultrasound last week. I know in the years to come this will be a beautiful memory to come back and read about.
Friday, the 4th, I drove to Miami and met my Mom and my sisters. My sisters had absolutely no idea. :) They thought they were coming for a convention they had been chosen to represent for, but they soon found out that there was no convention to be had. After we ate lunch together, we checked in at a motel (that my Dad so graciously used his reward points for.....which he had been planning to use for a date weekend with my Mom). We stayed in the hotel for a couple of hours and then decided to hit the mall. We looked at lots of baby clothes, and I remember starting to feel little knots in my stomach and thinking, "Will I be starting to purchase pretty pink and sparkly clothes, or will I be switching gears and looking at little firefighter outfits and overalls?" Over the course of the evening, I gradually started feeling more and more anxious! I anticipated having a difficult time falling asleep that night, but I was exhausted from our retail therapy and it didn't take me long to knock out. I actually got a very good night's rest, ASIDE from my mom being a blanket thief!
The next morning we got up and ate breakfast at the hotel. As I started thinking about the fact that I was going to find out what this little one was gonna be in just a matter of hours, I started feeling more and more antsy. Daniel, his Mom, his Grandma, and his sister Eba were all on there way to Miami as well so that they could be there for the special occasion. The more anxious I got, the more I watched the clock for when he was supposed to arrive. I felt anxious and just needed him to calm me down. :)
When they arrived in Miami, we decided to meet at the ultrasound location, despite the fact that we were still 2 hours early for the appointment. We just wanted to make sure we knew where we were headed. All of us had difficulties finding the address, and I started to panic that I had signed us up for a scam!!! Daniel called the phone number and quickly got directions, and we were able to find the location without an issue. That made me feel world's better! After we figured out where it was, we decided to run to Wendy's for lunch and to kill time.
Someone had given me the advice to make sure I ate lots of sweet stuff right before the ultrasound, so that the baby would be active and moving around alot. So I got a Strawberry lemonade and a chocolate frosty hoping that would do the trick!
When we arrived back at the ultrasound location, all nine of us filed in and sat in the waiting room. My Mom then informed me that my Dad was trying to get Skype to work so that he could see when they told us the gender of the baby. We had difficulty getting that to work, so I felt myself getting more and more anxious about everything! Finally we got the Skype up and running, and we told my Dad we would Skype him as soon as everyone else came into the room.
When it was finally our turn, the tech took Daniel and I back by ourselves because we wanted to share a special moment before the rest of the family came in. When I laid down, the tech asked me if I was nervous. I told her yes I was, because I wanted a girl, and he wanted a boy, so I was anxious to finally see what it was! As soon as she placed the wand on my stomach, the baby was upside down with butt directly facing the camera. The tech immediately said "okay, well are you ready to know?" Daniel squeezed my hand tight and we both said we were ready. She smiled, and said, "Congratulations you're having a baby girl!" I honestly don't quite remember how exactly things went after that. I know that I covered my mouth with my hand, because I didn't want our family members to hear me and get a clue of what we had just found out. My tears started coming and I just couldn't stop them! I remember asking the tech multiple times, "Are you positive?" And she kept snapping more photos and reassuring me that she was 100% sure. At one point, I got overly excited and Daniel told me "Be quiet they're going to hear you!!!" When I finally regained composure, he went out to get the family, and the tech gave me a cloth to lay over my face because I knew if they saw my face I wouldn't be able to hide what the baby was. They all filed in, and nothing was happening.....so I peeked out to figure out what was going on, and I could see that Daniel was having issues getting my Dad on Skype. He finally got him on, and pointed the phone at the screen so Dad could see the baby. The Skype only lasted about 10-20 seconds and shut off because the phone lost signal. :( So my mom called my Dad and put him on speaker phone, and the tech asked everyone if they were ready to know. They quietly waited, and when she finally told them our baby was a girl, you would have thought we were at a football game from all the cheering. :) I started crying all over again. I wish my Dad could have been there in person, but it was nice to have him on the phone and be able to talk to him right when I found out! After we finished the session, they gave us a DVD of the session, and also a CD with 52 images. We also were able to choose 2 pictures to be printed.
Our original plan was not to tell anyone else until we took my planned reveal photo, but I knew that wouldn't work. While we were walking back outside, we were all trying to figure out a cute and simple photo to take so that we could reveal to all of our friends and family and not keep them waiting. As soon as we got outside, my Mom went to her van and handed me a beautiful pink dress, with a white sweater, and a headband with a huge bow (that she made for me). Somehow she just knew :) (or she really was hoping hard!!!) When she gave me that, we quickly figured out an easy and cute photo to take so that we could reveal the baby's gender to the world. :)
It really was quite an experience. Definitely worth paying the money for. I don't think either of us will ever forget the incredible feeling of seeing our baby on the big screen and being told we were having a little girl!!!
Mommy and Daddy can't wait to meet you, Little Miss Skylee Rae Hester.
