McBaby's First Pictures & Names

Yesterday, we saw McBaby during our anatomy ultrasound.  I was excited and nervous at the same time.  I couldn't wait to see how McBaby is growing, but I didn't want to discover that anything was wrong.  I believe every parent fears for the safety and health of their baby, and I know that this feeling will never go away even when he or she turns 45!  Everything looked wonderful, and Michael and I truly fell in love yesterday.  I cannot describe the feelings I have now, whether I should cry or smile or both, but I am so happy.

Some days I have struggled with being pregnant because McBaby was a total surprise.  I have encountered fear for so many reasons and have doubted my ability to be a mother.  But the precious part of this time is how God has held me and has guided me through, slowly opening my heart and filling it with love and courage.  This is His perfect plan...there is no more doubt.  Seeing McBaby on that monitor yesterday gave me such a sense of joy, and I am thankful I get to experience this awesome, unspeakable feeling.

Here are some pictures of McBaby yesterday.  I've been asked if we got to see the goods.  No we did not.  McBaby had his/her knees up the whole time blocking my view to be able to guess as though he/she knew we were not supposed to find out.  When the technician checked the gender, she turned the screen away so we couldn't see.  She is the only one who knows if we are having a boy or girl. She did not reveal the gender on our chart or in the ultrasound report, so our doctor does not even know.  To say it was hard for me not to find out is an understatement!!!

McBaby was awesome for the camera!

Flexing a bicep!

 Waving at us!

Since we don't have the opportunity to share with you whether we are having a boy or girl, I thought it would be fun to reveal our names.  As I mentioned last week, this was very easy for us for the most part.  Thankfully, Michael and I have the same taste in names.

This was our criteria for names:

1. Classic and Timeless.  The name has to grow with the baby and sound just as great reading it from a resume in 20 years as it does on a monogrammed onesie.

2. Family Names

3. Biblical Names

Some of the names that we really loved for a girl were Katherine and Rebekah, and I loved Olivia and a few double names like Emma Claire.  But I really wanted to incorporate a family name that reminded us of the people we love most, and when I said her name, we both agreed it was the one:

Annmarie Grace

Our daughter will be named after both of her grandmothers.  Michael's mom's middle name is Ann, and my mom's middle name is Marie.  We think it's perfect!

I would say I played a bigger role in choosing the name for a girl, while Michael chose our name for a boy.  We decided on the boy name quite early, but I wanted to be sure so I gave Michael a list of several additional names, and he vetoed them all.  He wanted a strong, biblical name for our son, and he also wanted to honor his father and brother with our son's middle name:

Noah Sean

In 21 weeks, we will get to meet our Annmarie or Noah.  It has been so fun to have our friends, family, and strangers tell me what I am having based on my symptoms, eating habits, or a hunch they have.  80% have told me I'm having a boy and 20% are hanging with Michael and believe I'm carrying a girl.  I am believing 100% that our little girl or boy will be healthy and perfect!