We're Having a Girl!

This past Wednesday we had our most recent ultrasound where we found out the gender of the baby. We found out we were having a hamburger and not a hot dog. This was the terminology provided by Joe and Lisa who happen to be visiting right before the ultrasound. Yes, for those who don't get it, we're having a girl. Before I go any further, let me introduce our beautiful girl's first picture.

So the way the story goes is this (and remember, this is from the father's view point). I'm looking up at the screen where the ultrasound is being shown. The ultrasound tech is going through all the checks to make sure that the baby is healthy and all measurements are within normal limits. I continue to look and look as the tech moves from the head all the way down to the feet. Of course, it is only toward the end that she then looks at what is between the legs. It was at that moment that I knew, we were having a girl. There was no hot dog to be seen at all. I was so happy at that moment and I looked at Mimi who was smiling as well. I know we were both just ecstatic about having this baby girl, but most of all we were so thankful to God that we have this gift given to us.

OK, so I also did say something like, "We had better start saving up for a wedding" since it is tradition here in the States that the girls family pays for the wedding. But you know what, after thinking that through, that is not necessarily true. I mean, look at Tim and I. We both pretty much paid for the weddings, well, actually it was Mom and Dad. Oh what the heck, I would pay for a huge party to celebrate the birth of this baby girl into our lives. It is worth it, every penny.

Let me share another picture/video with you. This is the coolest thing, a 3d ultrasound.

I have to say, today's technology is just amazing. You'll have to look closely, but you can see the picture of the baby right there, with her little eyes, nose, and even an ear. She is just beautiful. Mimi says that she might look like me and my nose. I think we'll have to find out.

OK, so here is the other aspect of our lives as new parents. So we started looking at daycare since both Mimi and I will need to be working. We have seen three different places, two from the same parent corporation. The two of the same corporation seem to be better. They were more organized, appeared to run more smoothly, less chaotic, and unfortunately, cost more. Well, one would not be that bad, the Redwood City Marin Day Care. Because I work for the County of San Mateo, I get priority and a discount for daycare for our baby. This is a real perk. The cost is just amazing. The regular cost of day care is anywhere between $1300-1600 per month. That is just a huge chunk of our pay check that is going to day care. In some ways, we are also considering to explore the use of a nanny. We often wonder if having a nanny might be better off, especially if we have more than one child, it would be one nanny for both. If we took them to a daycare, it would be the cost of two kids. That would really cost us quite a bit of money. Then I was thinking and have heard that there are some nanny's who actually will help out with cooking and cleaning, which would be an awesome help to us since we're both trying to finish up our training/work. I think Mimi and I are a little stressed about this, but at the same time we know that God will provide us with a good plan to take care of this precious one.

Needless to say, both Mimi and I are very excited and looking forward to the birth of our little girl. Now the birth seems a little more real and when we finally choose a name, that will make it even more real for me.

By the way, I wanted to just say that God is faithful in our prayers. Last week Mimi was having a terrible time with her sciatica nerve. I think I had written about it last week. Then on Sunday, we went to a new mommy's fair in Burlingame and there was a chiropractor there. He was able to do a small adjustment on her and she felt so much better. The pain later returned that evening, but the next day she felt like something had popped back into place and the pain was no longer there. This past week she has been moving around much more freely, nausea free, and overall doing well with the pregnancy. God is such a great and awesome God. The baby is healthy and mommy too.

So till next time when we might have a name picked out, we'll just have to continue to see how our baby girl does in the belly of mommy.