Our results came back from the ultrasound yesterday – Baby Girl Vo is healthy and growing at the perfect rate. This is the best news we could expect!!
I, on the other hand, was told by my doctor that I am gaining a bit too much weight. Looks like I won’t be able to eat all the bread and pasta that I keep claiming is important for the pregnancy.
Today marked one of the biggest moments in my pregnancy thus far – we found out Baby Vo’s gender!! At around 4:18pm today, the ultrasound technician took a peek and showed us that Baby Vo is a little girl. I’ll be honest, we weren’t really expecting that, but we’re happy. It’s time to start picking out the shade of pink for Baby Vo’s nursery!
We were also able to see how active Baby Vo is inside me. She was kicking around a lot and gave the technician some difficulty in completing her measurements. Perhaps our little girl will be the athlete that Steve has always wanted…
To celebrate our newfound knowledge, Steve and I went to Mozza for a romantic dinner…and we finally started to talk about names!!
As I mentioned about our last ultrasound, we were a little disappointed with Baby Vo’s physique…not a whole lot going on other than nubs on a peanut. This time, however, Baby Vo actually looked like a baby. It was awesome!! We counted all ten of Baby Vo’s little fingers, saw what looks like Baby Vo’s nose (hopefully it looks more like Steve’s than mine), and witnessed Baby Vo squirm around a little. The ultrasound was technically our nuchal fold scan to look for soft signs of genetic disorders such as Down Syndrome and Trysome 18. It doesn’t look like Baby Vo has to worry about either of those chromosomal disorders, so that’s a relief!
Last night, we exchanged gifts with my family and the very last gift exchanged was the frame with Baby Vo’s picture inside. Both of my parents were completely and utterly surprised. Naturally, Steve and I enjoyed seeing their reactions (a mix of shock and excitement). On top of that, Amy and Jeremy were with us to hear the news and both seemed enthusiastic, too. Check out the video below:
After we told my parents about the baby, my dad and sister immediately started asking a million questions about the medical stats on Baby Vo. Meanwhile, my mom just sort of disappeared. A few minutes later, my mom wandered down the stairs with a UW bag full of the most adorable baby clothes, including a pair of newborn UW baby socks. Steve, of course, loves all of the items and can’t wait to see Baby Vo in his or her little UW overalls….I hope Steve’s not disappointed if Baby Vo decides to attend a different college. (Unless Baby Vo thinks Oregon is a good choice, in which case Steve might disown Baby Vo.)
This morning, my mom and I called my mom’s family in Orchard. They were all SUPER excited to hear the news. I really enjoyed hearing the excitement in all of their voices…Baby Vo is already very loved!!
Steve is one of the most creative people I know when it comes to surprises and he didn’t want the news of Baby Vo to be an exception. Before we went to Seattle, Steve bought frames that said “First Grandchild” and inserted copies of our ultrasound picture. (It was surprisingly difficult to find such frames.) I then wrapped the frames as Christmas gifts to look identical to the rest of the gifts that we carried up north. Today, we exchanged gifts with Steve’s parents. First, we gave Steve’s dad an antenna for his new TV. Then, we gave Steve’s mom a new camera. Finally, we handed the frame to Steve’s parents. As they opened the gift, Steve’s mom knew exactly what it was….Steve’s dad? Not so much. Once Steve explained what the picture was to his father, both of Steve’s parents hugged us with joy. Baby Vo will be their first grandchild!! As indicated by the title of this post, Baby Vo will call Steve’s parents the Vietnamese words for paternal grandfather and paternal grandmother – Ong Noi and Ba Noi.
Today was the most exciting day to date for my pregnancy because it was our first prenatal appointment and the first time we were able to see Baby Vo. I think Steve and I were expecting Baby Vo to look a little like us and to be just as excited to be viewed in the ultrasound picture as we were to view it. The reality was that Baby Vo looked like a little peanut with buds for arms and legs. Moreover, Baby Vo didn’t seem even remotely excited to see us. In fact, I’m not sure Baby Vo even has eyes yet.
Nevertheless, we were able to see Baby Vo’s little heart beat and even though it looked like a blob, it was exciting to see a living little being inside me. I can’t wait for the ultrasound next month when Baby Vo actually looks somewhat like a baby!!
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