Sweet Pea Delivery: a delightful GIRL!

Make an announcement

It's REALLY a GIRL! 

Are we ready?  Asked the Nurse Practitioner/Midwife at 36 weeks... knowing we have 2 kids... it meant something different... it's not like I haven't heard this question before or haven't had plenty of chances to respond with some quick retort like "In God's timing" or "Can't wait to have a girl!"  "So excited to meet her!" but somehow the "Are you ready?" hit me different.

I think part was because we are having a GIRL (and this is the first time we found out the gender prior to delivery) so we were SO curious about her... her hair, her eyes, her build, her personality, even quite frankly her name- that in itself has been a greater process than naming the boys!  Something feminine yet self assured that fits a baby and a grown woman.   

Looking back to right around Valentine's Day 2011 I went in for my ultrasound... we tried to go as a family and for all sorts of reasons that just didn't work out.  So I went to my appointment solo... and while they checked all sorts of health related items affirming there was a healthy baby growing well, I had them triple check that it was indeed a GIRL!  I was a bit stunned and yet overjoyed...

I had some solitude after the news and although I was SO excited to share this... I felt like God & I needed some quiet time just to celebrate His amazing gift; another confirmation that God is gracious...merciful... and since this pregnancy was His divine timing it really shouldn't have been a surprise that He knows what's best.  I LOVE my dear boys BUT I am a GIRL!

So being the shopper that I am... I literally just walked around looking at all things pink and girlie to just beginning to imagine what it might be like!  I knew we didn't really need many things... and it really doesn't matter what color they wear most of the time.  Also since we are blessed with a community of friends always willing to pass along hand me downs the girl stuff was ready...but there is something about picking out that first outfit and imagining your "daughter" in it... an adoreable dress, a pair of lil shoes and of course some pants with ruffle butt!!   I couldn't help but feel a little giddy at the vision of having someone else who cares a lil more about fashion, accessories, pamperful grooming and quiet activities like sewing and dolls in our midst. I was SO excited that my hubby would experience "Daddy's lil girl", truly one of the most precious influences in my upbringing!

David & I met for dinner a few hours later when I got to surprise him with a cute lil pink outfit proclaiming "Daddy's lil girl"... of course he was delighted, shocked and excited.  And a few days after we had let the news sink in between us and the boys we began to share with family and friends, of course making it all the more REAL: The Sabin Family: 2 boys and a GIRL! 

Now since I've done this not just once but twice before...I thought I knew a little bit more what to expect...BUT somehow I feel like it's all new!   Each pregnancy and child precious in their own way.

Well this pregnancy felt like warp speed... I felt more nausea than either other pregnancy... literally into my 4th month.  Then I felt like I "lost" 4-6 weeks somewhere right around 5 months after we found out it was a GIRL- when I had some bursts of energy and was living life, caring for my home and family and then found myself a little fatigued- all of a sudden I was 7 months along it was May 1 and I was having a baby shower tea with mom to be Becky, also expecting a girl! 

   

We hit the homestretch...with 8+ months to get prepared and my belly was showing it IS REAL!   

Funny how even with a EDD of June 24, 2011 (I laugh when asked for a due date because our babes hadn't complied to medical predictions... the boys delivered at 42 weeks and then 41 weeks and 3 days, they take their sweet time)... but lil miss began her much anticipated arrival the day after her due date!!

So what else exactly were we thinking when asked... Are We Ready?

The intimacy yet discomfort of carrying around 20+ extra pounds to cease, for the physical and emotional endurance needed for childbirth, the relational adjustment of adding another vibrant personality to our clan, for the emotional sensitivities of a GIRL and maybe even for the precious season of "expectancy"... "pregnancy", "delivery", "newborn" and "diapering" to be left behind?  I knew I'd have a lifetime ahead to get to know her; I find myself nostalgic near the end just soaking it all in!

David often reminded me-- sleep now-- because the precious yet demanding newborn phase of sleep deprivation is imminent!  But it is SO fleeting... I know that more now than either time before-- especially as I look at our BIG boys so independent and grown; they hardly are still enough for me to squeeze a hug, kiss or cuddle.  I sneak a quick one in now and again...

BUT the truth is I'm a GIRL...I'm sensitive, feminine, relational and I have always enjoyed quiet reflective activities.  I grew up with a single mom as a preschooler, then as time passed I was raised with half sisters and mostly girl cousins.  I did girl scouts, I loved playing dress up, I always loved art and crafting and spent many of my adolescent and young adult years sewing, baking and getting in touch with my feminine side- hair, makeup, clothes, pampering.  SO I'm EXCITED to relate to a GIRL... inside and out. 

I have much more life experience in this department than the BOY arena, feminine instincts, role expectations and rituals.  Princesses, dresses, ballet, not wanting to get dirty, being sweet, etc..  Although no doubt, #3, a girl, presents challenge- the emotions, the drama, the quest for individuality... oh paying for a wedding!!   But in a way I've been preparing for this ALL my life... like I'm a daughter, I now have a daugther. 

And I want to leave behind a legacy... sure to my boys and their families... but a bit like my great grandmother and my dear grandmothers have done for me... paving the way and giving me the courage to be authentic and true to who I am and inspired by who they discovered they were as women of faith.
I just know my heart and our lives will never be the same... we are ALL SO blessed by lil Reese and getting to know who God envisions for her to be.