Some things that I don't want to forget...

My midwife's reaction:

Following the the sonogram, I had a routine check-up with one of the midwives. The one who told me that she'd be on call for my delivery. We just have this connection. Being that she has daughters around my age, I have to wonder if I remind her of one of them? Because she comes into the OB room, sits down, and immediately starts chatting about life. :)

After she saw that I was having another girl, she did the same thing she did when we found out our little Raegan Roo was a girl (via sonogram). She shared a few personal stories about her three daugthers (now grown) and the close bond she has with all of them.

This go round, she said, "You know, I just don't know how women get along without three daughters!" And here I'm going to have four! :)

She did ask me if I was going to let the two oldest girls have a part in the naming process. I'm thinking No. Being that a few months ago Selah announced that she was naming her child "Beauty and the Beast". :) Thankfully, when I mentioned that name to Selah again...she laughed and said "NO, silly! That's not a name for a person!" Apparently she's grown up a lot in the last few months.

And Charis? Well, she suddenly decided to get a definitive opinion about names. She's been shooting down our ideas left and right. Except for one name. The first part of it. She just won't allow the middle name. Which shocks me since it's a name that she chooses for herself all the time during pretend play...."Grace".


The girls' reaction:

We took the girls to IHOP. Our first as a family, so it will always hold the memory of this announcement for us.

After ordering, Jet and I told them. "God decided to give us another baby sister." They both smiled...letting the announcement sink in for a second before Selah perked up and said "I was right!" While Charis did get excited, I don't remember much of what she said.

All I remember was that she Charis became a little pouty. She didn't like what she assumed Jet would order for her. Or the fact that she got water and had to share a glass of OJ with Selah. Everything was making her sad and weepy to the point that I was getting a little annoyed.

But then I finally clued in. I realized that she was might be a little disappointed because she thought that God didn't answer her prayer for a boy.

So I took her in my lap and whispered in her ear, "I wanna tell you a secret." That peaked her curiousity. "Do you want to know why I wanted another girl so much? It's because I loved having you. God saw how happy I was with you for a daughter and decided to bless me by giving me more daughters. So the reason why I wanted another girl was because of YOU. Because I love YOU so much. You are the reason."

At that point, she just wrapped her arms around me, buried her face against my neck and said, "I love you so much, Mommy!

And that was the end of it. She was excited about the baby sister. :)


My mom's reaction:

It was, by far, the best reaction. And definitely my most favorite. She called from England...and I told her we were having another girl. She said nothing right away. She just screamed. loudly. And then said, "I was hoping it would be!"

She had told me a few weeks back, after asking how the girls were..."I won't be able to say that anymore if you have a boy, will I? I'll have to ask about the kids. not the 'girls'." My mom is so cute! She loves the thought of four stair-step girls as much as Jet and I do. :)


...Overall we've had varying reactions. Some that I don't want to remember. Some that seriously challenge me think before I speak to pregnant women. Some who understood our excitement, having come from a family of all/lots of girls. Some who questioned our excitement and poured out their words of pity for us. It's been all across the board. :)

Two people even told me...within two minutes of each other (via email)....that they had recently had dreams that I delivered a baby girl.

One man (Darrel) told Jet when he heard was "That's so great! I may only have one girl, but man, there's just something about having a girl. It changes you." :)

Another man told Jet (Norm) that when his father-in-law was expecting their 4th (or 5th?) girl, everyone kept spewing words of pity. His FIL got to the point that he said, "I want to name her Rejoice because I'm so overwhelmed with excitement even though all these people think I should be upset." Her name is now Joyce. :)


But regardless of all the varied reactions, the ones that really stand out in my heart, when all is said and done, are
-that Jet and I literally cheered when we saw her on the sonogram screen.
-that God obviously chose this little one for us. And that He must love our beautiful, little girls as much as we do to keep giving us more.

Now to find a name that fits the little one that we saw in the womb via sonogram. Any ideas? We like original names with powerful meanings....