I just let The Mavis know that Leila is a girl and that she’s going to be Leila and she let me in on a second family connection for the name.

I knew that Leila was my paternal grandmother’s second name – Annette Leila Rodda. I also knew the Leila was the name given to my dad’s little sister who was stillborn, although I’ve been purposely not focusing on this point.

What I didn’t know is that Leila is the given name of The Mavis’ favourite cousin, whom we know as Margaret. Apparently she was baptised Leila Margaret Cull.

Exquisite rose by mikeworld

The front running first names were Lucinda and Leila and the frontrunning second names were Grace, Pearl, Mae and Rose.

We felt like we wanted to settle on something now so we went with Leila because we both like it and it’s a family name on Nicky’s side. I liked Mae and Rose as second names as we were having trouble deciding.

So I asked Nicky to just say which one she preferred without thinking and it was Leila Rose.

Of course we might just change our mind but for now that feels pretty right.

The only downside is that leilarose.com is already taken but she’ll live with the hardship of a .net domain.

Well Mark has told you that our little munchkin is a girl. The other relevant information from the ultrasound is that there are no visible structural defects (10 fingers, 10 toes, etc.) and no visible signs of Downs Syndrome, which is all very, very good news.

I am getting steadily bigger. As Rad noted yesterday, I’ve grown even in the last week and the wearable wardrobe is morphing more and more into the maternity clothes. This morning I went through about 4 tops to find one that didn’t look ridiculously short or tight on me.

My back is bothering me more too. I wake with it hurting during the night and find that it either continues to hurt or at least feels stiff throughout the day. The best remedy is to keep moving and to bend as little as possible, but it’s still a bit uncomfortable. I’ve ordered a body pillow off eBay and I’m hoping that will help me find a better sleeping position and ease things a bit.

Now that I know we’re having a girl I can really get stuck into the baby knitting. I knew there was a reason I’d kept all those balls of pink baby wool for so long!

And here are a couple of pictures from today. Normal ultrasound profile:

And the 3D alien baby shot:

IMG_2286_sugar_spice by wryonedwards

We went off for the twenty week ultrasound today and the doctor was really nice. She also told us the news that our baby is almost certainly a girl which is very exciting.

So now we just have to think about girl names and, down the track of course, ponies.

This time around I’m a bit frustrated by the naming thing. The first time there were names which jumped out at us and felt right and stuck almost immediately – Finn Henry for a boy and Lily Maeve for a girl. This time I’m not feeling that certainty.

I like Mark’s choices (Declan or Lucy), but they’re not ‘it’ for me and I don’t want to use Lily Maeve this time. I’m not really sure why, but it just doesn’t feel right for this baby.
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I haven’t had much to say but the new baby is very real to me and I am all excited. Possibly even more than when Finn was on the way because I know about all the good things to come and probably didn’t know about all of them last time.

Next week we have another ultrasound and we should know if we are expecting a boy or a girl. A boy would be nice for Finn because he is such a boy and a girl would be nice for Nicky and I since we just have a soft spot for the idea. But soon we’ll have a pretty good idea.

For names I quite like Declan for a boy or Lucy for a girl. We’ll see, twenty more weeks is a while.

For a few weeks now Finn has been including the baby in his topcis for conversation.

A very common exchange goes like this.

“Where’s your baby?

In my Mum’s tummy.

And when is it coming out?

When the doctor tells it to.”

We tell him this mainly so he won’t pester the baby to come out now and say hello.

Yesterday Mark & I were talking about how much more real the baby will feel once we know whether it’s a boy or a girl. It occurred to me that throughout the pregnancy there are layers of reality added as we find out more about the munchkin.

First there’s the lines on the stick that say that you’re not just suffering from really bad PMS. Then there’s the visit to the doctor to get the medical agreement that you’re pregnant and to put your on the baby track.

The next layer is the 12 week ultrasound. It’s the first time you see the baby and both times it’s been a little bit mind blowing for me. To see that there really is a baby in there is a huge thing.

The next reality layer really depends upon how the pregnancy is progressing and the decisions you’ve made. For some it will be test results which show chromosomal defects and the baby’s sex. For others – usually in their second or later pregnancy – it will be starting to feel the baby move. The little flutters and bumps that say there’s someone in there. I’ve had these and they’re both exciting and frustratingly elusive. The baby only moves when I’m not paying attention and as soon as I notice it stops.

And then there’s the 20 week ultrasound, the second time you see the baby. If you haven’t had tests this is when you find out the baby’s sex. For us this will mean knuckling down to the serious business of names. Thus far we’ve only been able to come up with a couple of girls’ names we like and there are no boys’ names which grab us. Knowing if we have a boy or a girl should focus things. Once we can refer to the baby by his or her name the experience becomes that little bit more real for us.

After this there’s the kicks, bumps and wriggles which become the bane of a pregnant woman’s existence, along with the very Alien-like experience of seeing the baby move under your skin. If you’re in any doubt that there’s someone inside you that should put them to rest.

Finally, of course, the whole thing becomes really real when you hold the little bundle in your arms. But it is still a little surreal and remains so – for me, at least. I still look at Finn and wonder at the fact that he was ever a little bundle of cells furiously dividing.

Not much has happened in the last week, except that I am looking more and more pregnant and we’re nearly at the halfway point. Fewer of my normal clothes are wearable and I’m not quite into most of the maternity stuff yet, so my wardrobe is a little limited.

I jumped on the scales this morning and I’ve put on about 5 kilos so far. I’m reasonably happy with that since I think, from memory, that the bulk of the weight gain should occur in the last 3 months as the baby bulks up.

The first 12 weeks or so of this pregnancy dragged and really had me wondering what I had let myself in for. The last few weeks have flown by, though, and it feels like the baby will be here all too soon. I’m hanging out for the ultrasound next week to find out the baby’s sex so that I can start some serious knitting and organising.

I would say I’m definitely looking pregnant now and Mark thinks that I’m bigger this time than I was at this stage last time. I’m hoping that’s because this baby is big and healthy, or because my stomach muscles are a bit weaker, rather than being because I’ve put on more weight. I don’t remember what I weighed at this point with Finn, but I do know that overall I put on about 14 or 15 kilos and I’ll be happy if it’s about the same for this one.

I’m in the midst of the wardrobe overhaul I mentioned last week. I dug out the clothes I’d kept from last time and was pleasantly surprised that there were more than I thought. I thought I’d thrown most of them out. I have heaps of pairs of trousers, but I was a bit short on tops that are suitable for the weather so we went shopping yesterday for tshirts, etc. This time, because I’m not working, I’m aiming for cheap and cheerful, so we stuck to Target and Big W. Target actually has some surprisingly nice maternity stuff. I only bought 2 proper maternity tops and stuck to larger tshirts and singlets and a big kaftan top for the rest of my purchases. I might go back later for a big, shapeless dress to deal with the really hot weather.

In other news, I think the iron tablets are starting to work. I’m not exactly jumping out of my skin with energy yet (and probably never will – it’s just not my style), but I am feeling better generally and I think I’m more up to getting some exercise and taking some of the day to day load off Mark.

I think I’ve felt some minor baby movements, but it’s hard tell if they’re the baby or indigestion and there’s nothing happening consistently yet. I know I’ll get sick of it as time goes on, but I’m looking forward to feeling the kicks. It’s one more way that this whole experience feels real and I can’t wait to let Finn feel them. He’ll be sooo excited!