Meet Baby Jacobs!

Yesterday we went to our ultrasound appointment and got to see our new little one on the screen! Everything--spine, brain, heart, stomach, etc.--is healthy and developing right on schedule. Last night, Todd was kind enough to dig his printer out of a box and set it up so he could scan the precious pictures of our baby into his computer and transfer them over for me so I could blog today. He did the same thing with Evie, so for the convenience of my readers, I'm including a link to Evie's ultrasound story here.
Todd and I are very excited to announce that our baby is...(drum roll, please!)...a GIRL!!! That's right, we're expecting another little daughter around July 10th, and her name is Elizabeth Claire Jacobs! She's sitting breech right now, but that's nothing to worry about right now because she still has lots of time and space to flip around. Other than that, she looks healthy and perfect, and she weighs between 14 and 15 ounces! I, on the other hand, have gained 7 pounds since my last appointment, bringing my total thus far to 10 pounds--Woohoo!
After Evie's WIC appointment, we had our ultrasound appointment. I was told a couple of days before to empty my bladder about 45 minutes before my appointment, and then drink 20 ounces of water so that my bladder would be full. I just figured that the water would help bounce the sound waves for a better picture of the baby. Once we were in the car after going grocery shopping, it was 12:15, and I had to check in at the hospital at 12:45 for my 1:00 appointment. I hurried and drove to the hospital and went to the bathroom. Then I filled up my 32 ounce water bottle and hurried and drank 20 ounces while waiting for all of the nurses to come back from lunch. Todd got there just after one, and we were called back shortly after he arrived. There was an embarrassing moment when the sonographer told me that the water I'd drunk was supposed to make it easier to check my cervix. I wasn't thrilled, but I kicked off one shoe. Then she said she could do it while I was lying down; I just needed to have my pants around my hips. I figured I'd give her easier access, so I shucked everything down to my knees. She started laughing; it turns out that she meant she could check my cervix through the ultrasound. I felt stupid, so I edged my pants back up to my hips and got a little jelly on them in the process. Oh well, it got better from there.
Just a couple of minutes into the ultrasound, the lady asked us if we had any strong feelings about what we were having. I told her that I'd had a feeling we were having a boy from the very beginning, and I'd had a very vivid dream a couple of nights ago in which there was no doubt we were having a boy. But as soon as I woke up from that dream, I had the urge to refer to "my girls" and "my daughters." My subconsciousness kept sending me signals for each gender, and I was thoroughly confused. But at least I'd be right either way! She laughed and said that, at the end of the ultrasound, she points the camera up between the legs and has the parents tell her what they're having. Then she tells them if they're right or not. I asked if she already knew what we were having and she said yes, which really surprised me because I had only seen gray blobs fleeting by so far while she was getting into position--nothing that looked like legs let alone between them.
We started by looking at the head and measuring circumference. We looked at her face, both straight on and in profile, to make sure she has a nasal bone and doesn't have a cleft palate. The lady printed off this adorable picture of her face in which you can see her eyeball and her little tongue poking out!

Next we moved on to her profile, and Elizabeth was a very good girl and, unlike her big sister, gave us no trouble:

To make sure she didn't have any Downs Syndrome markers, we checked the back of her neck and the middle knuckles of her pinky fingers. Apparently, the pinky fingers are the hardest pictures to get, but the lady was able to get them almost immediately. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get any pictures of my baby's little fingers, but I did get several very cute pictures, so I guess I can't complain too much. The camera followed the abdomen down to make sure that all of the vital organs were working properly and then measured the femur. Just like Evie, Elizabeth had her ankles crossed and the sonographer was unable to pry her ankles apart for a single shot of both feet. She finally compromised with a double picture with little arrows pointing to each one:

I mentioned how Evie had had her ankles crossed as well, and how I'd thought it was really dainty and lady-like. Then I started feeling guilty because maybe this one was a boy and I'd just called my son feminine! Of course, since we're having a girl, I don't have to worry about offending her sensibilities after all, but I AM curious about what my boys' feet will look like on the ultrasound! This whole time, I was becoming more and more uncomfortable because I'd drunk so much water, and finally I asked her if there was anyway we could pause so I could use the bathroom. She asked, "Are you starting to feel very full?" Then, without my saying anything, she took a quick look at my bladder and said, "Oh my goodness! I just have to get pictures of the feet and then I can let you use the bathroom." She took the above pictures of the baby's feet, wiped the jelly off my belly, and helped me down from the table, telling me to leave a urine sample in the box while I was in there. When I came back, I felt tons better, and she apologized for making me go so long. Since the baby was sitting breech with her head under my left ribs, we'd been mostly focused on that side, and the sonographer hadn't had cause to look at the lower right side of my abdomen where my bladder is at all. I told her it was no problem, as long as she was fine, and she said "Oh, sweetie, I interrupt these things all the time to let ladies use the restroom. You're not the first one I've ever done this for." That made me feel better too, and we resumed our ultrasound journey. We followed Elizabeth's spine to check for spina bifida, and then focused on the heart. All four chambers were pumping, and she very easily got great shots of the aortal and ductal arches, the second hardest picture to get.
Finally, it was time to find out the gender of our little one! The lady focused up between the legs with no trouble at all and said, "Okay, now, Mom and Dad. Does that look like a penis and scrotum to you, or like lips...?" I barely let her finish before exclaiming, "Those are labia! We're having a little girl!" She smiled and said, "Yes, you're having another little girl. Congratulations!" She printed off a picture for us, but Todd won't let me post pictures of his daughters' "girly parts" on the Internet. Because I'd seen Evie's picture, though, I knew what I was looking for and was able to immediately identify that we were having a little girl. Strangely, I had very mixed feelings about having another daughter. When anyone asked me what I was hoping for, I said, "Oh, I don't really have a preference this time. I really wanted a little girl first, and I'm glad I did, but this time I don't care." And that was true. But because I didn't have a preference, I found I had very mixed feelings once we finally found out. On one hand, I was a little disappointed that I wasn't going to have the "new" experience of having a little boy. On the other hand, I was very excited and relieved that we were having another little girl so close after Evie so that they can be best friends all their lives. Besides, I love being Mommy of a little girl and I know what to expect with girls. This will be so much fun! But I know I would have had similar feelings if we'd ended up having a boy: disappointment that we weren't having another little sister for Evie to play with, but excitement for the adventure that is boyhood. I told my mom that I'd doomed myself to failure either way and she said, "You've doomed yourself to success; this is not a failure in any way, shape or form." And she's right! I don't want anyone to take any of this as anything but pure delight that I get to have another precious daughter. I'm absolutely thrilled that she's beautiful and healthy. I think this is turning out for the absolute best.
The final pictures are of the whole baby. You can see she's curled up in a tight little ball on her head with her elbows touching her knees:

After we were done examining her, she apparently decided that she was tired and politely told us she wanted us to go away so she could sleep. Just like with Evie, this ultrasound experience told me so much about my daughter's personality. She seems like a very laid-back and cooperative baby. The sonographer was surprised at how quickly she was able to get perfect shots of the most difficult areas (pinky finger, ductal arch, etc.) It seemed that the baby knew exactly what we were looking for, and did her best to be accommodating. The only trouble that we had at all was that little Elizabeth didn't want to uncross her ankles, but other than that, our experience was everything that it could have been. We were easily able to get pictures of her profile and gender, for instance! I think (and hope!) that she turns out to be as easy a baby as she seems to be on screen. Sure, she has a funny and mischievous little sense of humor (just look at that little tongue poking out already! And she's sitting the exact opposite of where she's "supposed" to be), but I think that, where Evie has a personality similar to mine, little Elizabeth will take after her Daddy.
Speaking of Todd, we were sitting in the waiting room afterwards, waiting to get called back so the doctor could talk with us, and I asked him how he was feeling. He was just sitting there quietly, talking to Evie, and I said, "So, are you excited to be having another little girl? Are you disappointed you're not having a son? How do you feel about this? You're being so calm and quiet; I don't know what you're thinking!" and he turned to me and smirked his cute little smirk and said, "Well, aren't you relieved that I'm not a pod-person?" I said, "Yes, but tell me what you're thinking!" He shrugged and said, "I'm excited." That's it. I have a feeling, though, that he was secretly hoping for a girl. When we first found out we were pregnant, I had a feeling we were having a boy and kept using male pronouns to refer to the baby. He kept using female pronouns. I asked him why and he said he thought we were having another girl. I asked how he'd feel about that, and he smiled and said, "I like little girls. They're fun." I asked how he'd feel if he was like Mr. Bennett from Pride and Prejudice and ended up with 5 daughters and he replied with, "Well, as long as you don't act like Mrs. Bennett, that would be fine." I know that he adores Evie, and I'm pretty sure that Elizabeth has already got her Daddy wrapped around her tiny finger, too. I know he'll deny it if you ask him, but I think he got exactly what he wanted. We're both very excited and pleased to welcome little Elizabeth into our family, and I think Evie's excited in her own little way to welcome her little sister!