Evie

We found out this afternoon that Little Two is a girl!
So this poster I created earlier was uploaded onto Facebook to make the grand announcement.
Worked pretty well ;)
Our little family of four will be completed with a little girl named Evangeline come March next year.
I think I'm still coming to terms with the news, but am super excited to finally know the gender of Little Two.
Throughout this pregnancy so far, my basic intuition always told me that it would be a girl.
But I was in a kind of denial and just kept telling and convincing myself that it's a boy because I just feel more comfortable with boys!
I guess we should never ignore that mother's instincts :p

I think I'm still a little bit scared about having a daughter.
Just a little scared that she would have to experience the world the way I did while I was growing up and I really don't want that for her.
I don't wish my experiences upon anyone, let alone my own little girl.
So I guess it is up to us, her parents and her family, to guide her well and prepare her for the world.
It will be okay.
I'll be sure of it.
But I'm human and no human being is without fears right?
Just being real here.

Nevertheless, I AM excited, and over-the-moon happy to know that we're having a little girl.
Either way, boy or girl, our family would have been completed.
But perhaps this way, no one will ever question us about our decision to stop at two.
After all, what more can we ask for right? ;)

Oh my god.
A little girl.
I'm having a daughter.
Wow.

Just yesterday, Jude came home from work and told me that he just has this feeling that we're having a girl.
No logic, no basis, just a feeling.
So he simply brushed it off.
I think he was in denial too.
So I told him that I felt the same way.
Somehow I could never imagine us having an Everett.
But I totally imagined an Evie.
Xander and Evie. Evie and Xander.
Alexander and Evangeline.
A & E.
Accident & Emergency?!
LOL.

Besides the gender, we saw that Evie appears to be perfectly healthy and beautiful.
Perfect little fingers and toes.
Spine.
Legs.
Arms.
Brain.
Heart.
Everything.
And for that I am SUPER grateful.

Just look at this gorgeous little face.



Actually, I think this face looks exactly like Xander's did at the same gestational age too :p

The only small little thing that came up was that my placenta appears to be quite low-lying, only about 2 centimetres clear of my cervix so that will likely have to be followed up with another ultrasound at 32 weeks according to the radiologist.
He was not worried, saying that it usually moves up and away later on.
He also told me that I was having Braxton Hicks contractions the whole time I was getting the ultrasound done, so that might have made the placenta appear lower than it actually is.
I am just glad that it is not completely covering the cervix because that would mean bedrest and a C-section for sure.
So looking at the bright side of things, I'm quite confident that all will be fine so we'll see :)

I have to say also that this was by far my best experience with a pregnancy ultrasound, ever.
The irony is that all my previous ultrasounds cost me an arm and a leg, but this was done by the public hospital booked into and was completely covered by Medicare. Not a single cent that I had to pay.
It was a 45 minute ultrasound where the radiologist measured every single damn thing he could see.
This is not my first rodeo and I definitely saw him being FAR more detailed and precise than any other radiologist I've seen.
Last time round with X, I paid more than $300 for his 20-week ultrasound at a private place and it was over and done with in less than 20 minutes, with a grumpy lady who definitely did not take as many measurements as he did.
He was friendly, we did not have to wait a minute past our appointment time, he was thorough, gentle, understanding, and everything I could have asked for and more.
It really was a great experience.
I am really really grateful that we made the decision early on to go public and trust the midwives and public hospital instead of spending more than $6000 with a private OB and hospital.
I hope this is a good sign and the awesome experiences keep coming over the next 6 months or so :)

The only downer is that he gave us a DVD that was supposed to have all the ultrasound images on it (more than 100!) but we came home to find out that it was completely empty :(
Thankfully, he told us to snap a picture of Evie's profile from the screen with our iPhones before we left, just in case the DVD didn't work.
So not completely empty handed, but still a little disappointed.
Not his fault, these things just happen.
It's alright though... not a big deal.
At least we got that one shot :)

Xander spent the whole time watching the ultrasound and kept saying "Baby!" "Tummy!"
So super cute.
I still don't think he has gotten the whole concept of a baby growing in mama's tummy yet, let alone what it really means, but that's okay.
I don't really expect him to understand yet.

I keep looking at my little boy now, and marvelling at the fact that about 2 years ago, he was still in my tummy, just like Evie now is.
And in the blink of an eye, he is a talking, walking toddler with a mind and personality of his own.
It's so incredible to imagine that in about 2 years, I'll be watching another child of mine grow into her own little person the way Xander is now too.
Life is pretty amazing.

One last thing.
I noticed the other day, and told Jude that this little one seems to have a completely different personality already, if her behaviour now is anything to go by.
She just seems so chillax, laid back, and mellow.
It'll be so interesting to see if it's true after she's born :)

Oh I so love being able to say "she" and "her" and call her "Evie" and "my little girl".
A little bit surreal.
But I'm in love already...
:)