Lexi Belle

Turns out, her name HAD to start with an L. That's the pattern, right? Chris and I couldn't agree on anything. Not even her middle name. Did I mention I can't stand naming babies? Especially girls. Who needs that kind of pressure? Eventually I found the name Lexi, and Chris, of course, didn't like it. When she was penciled in as a boy, we agreed on a name fairly quickly. Caleb Charles. Why did it have to be so hard.

Little by little, Chris started to like the name. He'd bring it up random-like. Standing in the kitchen, cooking dinner, he'd come in and say "I kind of like Lexi." This happened more than once, so we started to settle in. Then my aunt told me of a student she had in her PE class who had Lexi A written on her PE clothes and instantly knew it was meant to be. We looked through French dictionaries, books, hymn books, looking for a good french name (word) that would work for a middle name. Chris wanted Belle. That was it. He wasn't hearing anything else. Yes, it took me awhile, but I came around. It's even the title of the hit song from Notre Dame de Paris, which I was okay with.

My new doctor, Dr. Langford, was highly recommended. On my first visit, in January, he read through my history and we talked for what seemed like forever as I recounted the drama and also lack of drama with all my previous pregnancies. He looked like a seasoned doctor who had seen and experienced a lot with bringing babies into the world and after that first visit, I felt so much peace and knowing I and my baby were well taken care of.

Each visit I had an in-depth ultrasound, more in-depth than I had ever had. He checked the baby's heart every visit. Not just a sonogram. He checked it's growth down to the last detail. But he never revealed what IT was! I guess I could have asked? Maybe. It obviously wasn't as much a priority to him. And for me, I was 100% positive BOY or GIRL...I was DONE. My body hated me the whole pregnancy. I was sick. Forever. My skin was itchy. I got hemmorroids right from the start. Acid reflux (that was new). In the middle of the night, I'd wake up choking, not being able to breath with my throat on fire! Leg cramps. I was moody. I was miserable. And I made sure my family knew it. Too bad for them.

In February Chris had apparently had enough. He called me up one day and told him to meet him in Old Town at a small ultrasound boutique. We were going to do it right. We all went down to this small place. I was totally bitter, feeling like it was a waste of money to find out what we already knew. A boy. We were taken to a dark room with a raised bed for mom, a couch for the family, and a large projection screen on a wall by itself. She pulled out the cold slime gel, pulled up my shirt and started. There's the baby. Baby's head. Baby's heart. Going lower. I'll never forget what she said "Ummm, I hope you haven't bought all boy stuff for this baby." Not really, I said, I have stuff leftover from the other boys. "Because this baby is a GIRL!" Wait WHAT? Are you serious? "See the three shapes stacked, we call that the hamburger. Hamburger means girl." Oh my gosh. I couldn't believe it. I was shocked. Best day of pregnancy so far.



We took the kids across the street to a park and plopped down on a bench. Chris was beside himself. He was so excited. This is what he wanted. He would have been happy with a boy, but more than anything he wanted a baby girl. 2 and 2. We felt like we had won the lottery. We felt like celebrating. This was for real and I felt complete joy for this amazing gift. My amazing family.