It's a GIRL!!

We're 90% sure it's a girl.  Two weeks ago we went for a test called the "first screen".  This test is a single tailed hypothesis test that determines whether we are in the 95% of women who are at low risk for delivering a fetus with chromosomal abnormalities, specifically down's syndrome and trisomes 13 and 18.  The test is offered to all women and we could have opted out.  We opted to have the information.  The best news is that we are in the low risk 95%.

As part of the test we were given a second ultrasound.  This is a picture of the baby looking right at us.  You can see the cavities in the skull that hold the eyes, the shape of the head, the large abdomen, a little hand and of course the belly button.

This second picture is of the phallus.  Look where the arrow is pointing.  All fetuses start with a phallus that will eventually form either the penis or the vagina.  If the phallus is in line with the body pointing down toward the foot then the fetus is a girl.  If the phallus is running perpendicular to the body pointing toward the hand then the fetus is a boy.  Our phallus points toward the foot and is therefore most likely a girl.  The doctor will confirm the sex when we return for a second screening in about 3 weeks.  However, the doctor was pretty experienced and seemed VERY sure of his theory.  Yes, we have begun buying fun girl things.

In all, the ultrasound technician gave us 6 photos.  I will only put 3 on the blog for now.  The blurry grey photographs can be redundant and require a shadow reading degree to understand.  

This last photo is pretty cool.  The baby is facing away from us and is curled into a fetal position.  Notice that you can clearly see the spine.  It's the dark line running the length of the body from the gigantic head all the way down to the little butt.  Look how strait it is!  I'm so proud.  

So, if you are still with me, I have a couple more pieces of information.  The first is that the baby is actually a week older than originally thought.  They took some measurements and at the time these pictures were taken.  She is either an abnormally large fetus or she was 14 weeks instead of 13 weeks.  The doctor suspects the latter.  The second item you should know is that we have chosen the name: GENEVA PEPPER STAMM.  If for some reason you are unhappy with the name - tell someone other than Jason or myself.  Write your displeasure on a piece of paper and throw it away.  I say that with all sincerity, love and good humor.  Doing so is in the best interest of a happy family.  We love her name and are very excited to know who she becomes.

Finally, we happily accept all enjoyable and funny nicknames you can concoct.  Jason and I, our family, and our friends offer this hopefully growing list, in the spirit of falling in love with a name and ultimately a child.

Gena (Dad)

GeePers (Mom)

GenaPer (Also Mom)

GiGi (so what? I'm good at this)

GenaStammbina (Grandpa)

Gena in the bottle (Meemaw)

GPeppa (Aunt Dori)

GiniP (Aunt Em)

GPS (Cousin Lex)

G-Clef (Also Lex)

G-Unit (nickname prowess runs in the family!)

Gena Ballerina (My fav contribution from Alexis - even if she isn't a dancer we have at least 13 Halloweens to use this nickname.)

Can you think of more?