It's My Baby!

Minutes after our new addition was born

No, I haven't stopped writing. I know you've all been wondering ;). I'm going to play the "I just had a baby" card, since I have yet to use that excuse for anything. I think it's about time. And for those that missed the fun (it's a boy, no wait, it's a girl) story of getting our little Alana, here goes:

I found out I was pregnant the first week of October of 2012, just four days before the St. George Marathon. I decided to run the marathon anyway since I was only a month along and I'd trained all year. I ran the race - not my best time, but it was still a good race for me.

About six weeks later, I went in to get an ultrasound, thinking I was about 11 weeks along.  As soon as the ultrasound technician placed the probe on my abdomen, she asked if I wanted to know the sex of the baby.  My response was,"You can tell this early?" She replied that I was 15 weeks along and I was having a boy. Wait, what?!? 

I was shocked and excited by the news that I was four weeks further along than I thought.  Though I was slightly disappointed by the news I was having a boy (I already had 3 boys at home and I really wanted a sister for my daughter, Charly), it only took the 20 minute drive home to get excited about our new boy.  I secretly began calling him Oliver. 

Five weeks later, I went in for the official 20 week ultrasound.  Different ultrasound machine, different ultrasound technician. She confirmed that I was 20 weeks along and I was having a boy.  

Fast forward to about 8 months pregnant. "Oliver" felt like he had turned breech, so they did an ultrasound to verify.  Yep "he" was breech and still a boy.  Now, I didn't specifically ask if it was still a boy (why would I?), but I swear they checked the head and bum and didn't mention anything. Thankfully, at my next appointment, the baby had turned around. I was excited that I wasn't going to have to have a C-section again (I'd previously had two of them).

Meanwhile, my husband and I still hadn't officially decided on a baby name. Though I loved Oliver and we had a few other possibilities, nothing seemed quite right.  I also decided to put off redecorating the nursery since our two-year old daughter still slept there. I planned on transforming it to a boy room after the baby was born.

About a week and a half before my due date, I decided to go for a run.  I figured it could be my last run for a few weeks.  I barely made it a mile before I started feeling some pressure.  I ended up walk/running back home. The pressure went away after a few hours, so I figured I was safe.  My mom wasn't going to be able to drive the 12 hours from Washington until the next day. Of course my husband told me that since she wouldn't be there until Sunday night, I would go into labor before then because my mom has unsuccessfully tried to be at each of my baby's births.  Poor Mom!

A contraction woke me up at about 4am that next day, Sunday, Mother's Day.  I waited for two more contractions before dragging my hubby out of bed.  We arrived at the hospital around 530 or 6am. I'll admit that I was worried we wouldn't make it in time.  

A little before 8am, I was ready to push.  One push and I see a head.  My husband yells out jokingly, "This is where we find out it's really a girl!" We all laugh and I push again.  Our baby is here. **sigh of relief, tears of joy** THEN, I look at our "boy" and realize something's not quite right.  HE doesn't look like a boy.  The room is silent for several seconds and I'm getting a little worried because no one else seems to notice that there's a problem.  For a fraction of a second, I think that maybe he has some anatomy issues.  Finally, our doctor says, "You were supposed to have a boy, right?"  I shout, "YES! That's not a boy?" The doctor then verifies that our boy is actually a girl - a perfect girl. **shouts of surprise, more tears of joy**

After all the hysteria, the doctor shows us that our baby girl's umbilical cord was abnormally short (only 8-10 inches long when they are usually 20 inches or more).  He thinks that maybe the cord was running between her legs the whole time and that's why we had the mistaken gender, even with 3 ultrasounds.  No matter the explanation, our family was thrilled for the surprise. 

Here's our new angel: