Internal American

We learned some interesting things at our ultrasound today. First, our children were briefly interested in seeing their new sibling on screen, but faded quickly once they realized they couldn't see the actual baby. We'd like to send out so, so many thanks to Apa for wrangling them and giving us a chance to finish the appointment in peace. He got to see some cool stuff, including the baby's little four-chambered heart beating away and lots of wiggling around, so hopefully it was a worthwhile afternoon break from work for him!

Speaking of wiggling, we have a feisty one in there! The ultrasound tech could hardly get a couple of key measurements because of the baby's refusal to stay in one position. It was, in fact, extremely similar to Tali's 20-week ultrasound, in that Tali also refused to show her facial profile to the camera and generally really didn't want to cooperate.

Another similarity to Sacha's first pregnancy - she has an anterior placenta again, which is when the placenta is on the front of the belly instead of the back of the uterus. It makes it harder to feel the baby move early on, although Sacha has already felt Drizzle more than she had felt Talia by this point. Like I said, I think this one's going to be a feisty one! The baby is probably in there pummeling the heck out of that placenta. I fell asleep last night feeling her roll around in Sacha's belly, which has to be the greatest thing ever.

So, starting off right away with a strong sense of independence (or modesty?), the baby not only assumed a cross-legged position, but also had a hand down there to cover the important parts we were looking for. Eventually, she moved around enough for the tech to be pretty sure that we have a girl coming, but she wouldn't guarantee it. However, since the previous ultrasound in the OB's office made it very clear that the baby is a girl, we're pretty sure that Sacha is growing an internal American, as our friends at we are fambly might say.

It's funny, because we and almost everyone we knew (except my mom, who thought girl all along) thought this baby was a boy. We thought it would add balance to our family, and Mateo really wanted a little brother. However, I have been surprised by how little time it took me (and all of us) to get excited about having a little sister come along! I think it will be a ton of fun for Talia to have a sister, and Mateo will have an extra-special relationship with Apa (and the other men in his life) this way. And, we can go back to the original name of this blog (although for different reasons): Two Girls and One Boy!

I have to say, the magic of the big ultrasound does not wear off by the third time. It's just amazing to see the baby moving her little hands and feet and to see the heart beating and to be reassured that everything is as it should be. They even measured Sacha's cervix, which was nice and long, and that was reassuring, too, because she's already started having more Braxton Hicks contractions than during her last pregnancy. Of course, last time we only had one kid and she was working part-time, so this time is very different.

Anyway, this is all a very long way of saying that we are thrilled to have another daughter joining our family! On the way to the appointment, both kids were telling us how much Drizzle loved them, and us, which was incredibly cute, and we love her, too! Can't wait to meet her in person in April. Also, will post photos as soon as I can scan them.