adventures of an american housewife in the south of france

Knocked Up Abroad: It’s a ….!

From the beginning of this pregnancy, I had a very strong feeling that this little person inside of me was growing to be a girl. I just sort of knew it.  Everyone kind of assumed that I really wanted a girl and that's why I had this feeling, but the real honest truth is, I didn't have a preference.  A girl would be great because even though she wouldn't be the first grandchild on either side of our family, she'd be the first girl.  And a boy would be great too because he would already have instant buddies in his two boy cousins.  A whole family reunion of little boys!  That would be fun.  But I really felt in my heart that we were having a girl.  And I was very excited to see if I was right.

boy or girl? whooo is in there? (terrible joke, i know)

I had dreams about our baby girl (born with a head of bright red hair - where the heck did that come from?)  We've had a girl name picked out for a few years, so if we were having a girl, her name would be a no brainer.  But we really couldn't settle on a boy name.  Every time we talked about boy names, I would say, "well it doesn't really matter anyway, because we're having a girl."  Michael was convinced I had done some sort of voodoo to ensure that we were having a girl - but I swear! - I did nothing of the sort! By having this feeling and vocalizing it, I began to think I might be jinxing it.  Last year when my sister was pregnant, my family was really excited about the prospect of a little girl.  So excited in fact, that my mom went out and bought the baby a beautiful white dress.  When she told us about this, Michael just laughed and laughed and told her that she jinxed it and that now it was going to be a boy for sure.  And by now we all know, it was.  And it was the best thing that could have happened to our family, because we are all absolutely obsessed with that little boy.

I mean, honestly, could this kid get any freaking cuter?

So even though I had this strong "girl" feeling, was I jinxing it by being so convinced?  Maybe now we'd end up having a boy?  Either way, who cared!  We were having a baby - and boy or girl - we were just excited to welcome our own little child into the world.  Now some of you might be wondering what Michael thought we were having.  And some of you might assume, seeing that he's all sports all the time, that he really wanted a boy.  But you know what?  He also thought we were having a girl - he even had dreams about her too.  And he was really excited about it!  After all, who says girls can't wear baby Aaron Rodgers jerseys? So at the end of March, off we went to our 12-week appointment knowing that there was a possibility we might find out the sex of the baby.  Well, a guess at the sex of the baby.  During the ultrasound we listened to the heartbeat and the doctor pointed out 2 arms, 2 legs, the spine, stomach, umbilical cord and head.  Then she asked us if we wanted to know the sex.  Michael and I grinned at each other and said yes.  The doctor pointed out a line on the little Bonbon and said that while this is not 100% certain yet, this line is the baby's sex organs and its position (horizontal or vertical) is an indicator of the sex of the baby.  Later on, Michael and I joked about how we were both thinking, "just get on with it already!!" but honestly, I felt really calm because I already knew what she was going to tell us.

"C'est une jolie fille!"  

A girl.  I knew it.

first booties - a gift from Aunt Abby and Uncle Jim

We didn't cry or shout or jump up and down, because it really just felt so natural.  We'd already had a little girl in our minds and she had been a part of our lives for the last few months.  We just looked at each other and laughed and said, "we knew it!"  A different doctor confirmed the sex during our 15 week appointment in April, but we didn't need her to - baby girl had told us she was coming long before the ultrasound. I told my mom it's time to dig out that white dress, because soon there will be someone who can use it!  

5 Responses to “Knocked Up Abroad: It’s a ….!”

  1. Greer Huffman says:

    Even though I already knew…I loved reading this post, Natalie. It was heartfelt and beautifully written. I cannot wait to meet her! See you in 3 weeks ahhhhh! love you!

  2. Tamar says:

    YAY!!

  3. Shannon says:

    A little French Girl!! Rye and I are so excited for you two!! xo

  4. Adam Abatzis says:

    Nice work you two! Can’t wait to see your beautiful baby girl.

  5. Mom says:

    Although you had already told us, I love hearing you tell the story! All these “firsts” will forever hold a special place in your heart. It’s exciting, scary and wondrous all at the same time! Can’t wait to see you two in a few weeks :))) xoxo Love you!

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