Sisters

The technician gave this "personalized" picture to A

It's official. Although I've long suspected it, our ultrasound confirmed it - we will be welcoming another little girl into our family.

The first time was a surprise (although I also suspected I was having a girl). It was a wonderful surprise to have at the moment of birth. I would have done the same again this time, if it were not for the 15 boxes of girls clothes we have packed away in our tiny storage area in the basement. I absolutely refused to worry about reorganizing/packing clothes if we ended up having a boy, as most of the stuff we have is not gender neutral.

This pregnancy seemed different from the start. I began having cravings almost immediately, in the form of lots of red, salty meat. Most people who know me know that I enjoy eating mostly vegetarian (although I'm not strict about this in the least - I also really enjoy fish and humanely-raised chicken). However, within days after conception, I was craving big steaks, meat pies and yes.....I'll admit it.....even a McDonald's hamburger (yuck, I hope I never have to write that again!)

So hubby and I started suspecting it might be a boy. Although we both desired a healthy baby, regardless of sex, I think hubby had a secret wish for a boy - who can blame him, growing up with two older sisters? Even our dog is a girl!

But when the midwife first heard the heartbeat at 9 weeks, I knew immediately it was another girl. I totally believe in the midwives' tale of determining sex by the heart rate - girls have higher heart rates, and boys have lower heart rates. This is, obviously, not always the norm (and if you have a baby in the middle, say around 135-140 beats/min, it's hard to tell!); but in a lot of the cases it can be a good predictor of sex.

So appointment after appointment, the heart beat has been a steady 150 beats/min. And I slowly realized that my daughter would have a younger sister. Plus, after the first inital cravings passed, my pregnancy has followed the same pattern as my first - lots of nausea, vomiting and headaches!

I don't have a sister - a super awesome brother, but no sister. Almost everyone I know who has sisters seem to have close relationships with them. Yes, I know, most of the time they fight like cats and dogs in childhood, but as adults, wonderful friendships can develop! (and if you have experienced otherwise, don't burst my bubble!)

Both hubby and I left the ultrasound very excited, and since then, we've been brainstorming names and talking to A about her new role as Big Sister. And although we've decided to reveal the sex of the baby, we will be keeping our name choices close to our hearts - no pregnant mama needs any opinions on her name choices!

I'll be back here again soon to post a belly pic and celebrate my 2-year blogiversary, so stay tuned!

Did you grow up with sisters? Tell me about the good experiences, and gloss over the bad :)