It's A Girl!!

20 weeks
How your baby's growing:
Your baby weighs about 10-1/2 ounces now. She's also around 6-1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel - the length of a banana.

She's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for her digestive system.

How your life's changing:
Congratulations! You've hit the halfway mark in your pregnancy. The top of your uterus is about level with your belly button. Expect to gain another pound or so each week from now on.

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We had our ultrasound last Friday, July 17th. It was an amazing experience! And you will never understand until you have had one for yourself. I always admired those darling black and white photos of a baby in-utero. I would celebrate along with mom-to-be, recognizing the excitement in the air and truly rejoicing. However, I never understood what it meant to actually be the mom-to-be, and to have a personal connection with that black and white photo. The pictures (which are only a snapshot of a live moment in time) are not what I hold close to my heart, but what those pictures represent: the life of my child growing and moving inside me with a personality all it's own already.

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Mike and I walk into the small, dark room where the technician stands by a fancy "tv screen". As soon as he places the magic wand on my belly, the first image that appears are two little legs (spread WIDE apart).

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"Well, there's no doubting that it's a girl," the technician remarks.

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It was hard to miss. Our little girl was not, in the least bit, shy. She left nothing to the imagination!

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The technician proceeded to maneuver along our baby's entire body, checking for her anatomy and size. We got to see her little tiny feet dancing around. Her head move side to side. Her arms moving again and again up over her little face. We saw her skull and brain. We heard and saw, at the same time, her tiny heart pump blood. Her right and left kidney, both present. Ribs, spine, fingers...we saw it all.

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But the most precious of moments to Mike and I was when she yawned. That's right. She yawned. Her mouth opened wide as her little lungs inhaled. It was both the sweetest moment and the funniest moment. We were instantly connected with her. She was our sweet little girl.

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So those black and white photos (which she did not want to pose for - hands in front of her face each time the picture was about to be taken) aren't just photos of our baby. They remind me of that little girl that yawned so sweetly as we watched her on the screen. They remind me of the little feet that couldn't stay still. Or her heart pump so strong and healthy.

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Nothing so humbling as God allowing you to help in one of His miracles. Because truly, our little girl is a miracle of life that only the Father in Heaven could have woven together so perfectly, so beautifully, so healthy. Thank you, Lord, for this gift.