During the first half of pregnancy, I was so eager to find out whether our baby was a boy or a girl. We would have to wait for the anatomy scan at 20 weeks. That seemed forever away! As we got closer, we realized that we could schedule the anatomy scan for when Daniel’s parents were in town for Thanksgiving. That added an extra layer of excitement!
We anxiously waited. We had names picked out for a boy or a girl. We held off on buying any clothes. I didn’t really have an accurate hunch on the sex. One day I would say, “Yeah I think it’s definitely a girl!”, and then the next I would say, “Actually I’m feeling boy.” I had no idea! haha
I knew that the anatomy scan was to measure the growth and development of different parts of the body, but all I was really focused on was finding out the sex. I was too excited to worry about anything that could be wrong. Now after hearing so many baby loss stories, I know that the anatomy scan can be a very scary appointment. But then I was naive and hopeful.
The day finally arrived! Daniel’s parents and I parked and walked the long path to the NC Women’s Hospital. We eagerly sat and chatted in the waiting room, hoping to hear my name called any minute. This is the same waiting room and offices where we would come months later to learn the horrible news. But that room was untainted then.
My name was called! All four of us squeezed in the little ultrasound room. A very friendly ultrasound technician welcomed us. She asked questions about our family and whether we wanted to know whether it’s boy or girl. We quickly answered “YES!”. We were so excited!
She began the ultrasound. We could see our baby wiggling. We could see the heart beating and blood moving through the cord. She showed us the brain, kidneys, stomach, heart, lungs, liver, etc. Everything looked great! Growth was on track and healthy. When the technician framed the long-awaited “crotch shot”, there was no question. It was quite obvious….IT’S A GIRL! Daniel and I looked at each other, “We are going to have a little girl.” There was so much love in that moment. Daniel’s parents were so thrilled and happy.
The technician took some cute pictures of her feet, her face, her body. She even did a 3D scan of her face. I couldn’t believe we were looking at our daughter. I couldn’t be happier!
After the scan, a doctor came in to go over the results. The baby girl looked healthy! I did have a small intrauterine band (not amniotic band which the doctor told me not to google). The band would not cause a problem and was out of the way of the baby. I was relieved and not at all worried. Of all the things that could be abnormal, that’s probably the best.
We started walking out of the hospital. I whispered to Daniel, “Do you want to share the name?” He agreed. We stopped just outside the doors and told Daniel’s parents. Her name is Virginia Hope Jones; we would call her Ginny! We all teared up and hugged. Ginny was the name of Daniel’s great-grandmother who they were all very close to and I so wish I had the chance to meet.
I looked at my phone and realized I had several missed texts from my family. They were impatiently waiting to hear the results. I called my mom and told her, “It’s a girl! She is Virginia Hope Jones!” She was so excited and happy. My whole family guessed it would be a girl. I texted the rest of the family. They were all so excited!
From that point on, we really knew her – our daughter Ginny! She was cute and perfect and healthy. We couldn’t wait to meet her in April! Little did we know, that wouldn’t happen.
That day is probably the best memory I have of our pregnancy with Ginny. That was the most time we got to see her alive. I’m so incredibly grateful for that day. I knew it would be an important day, but I didn’t know just how precious those memories would become. November 20, 2018 is a day I will never forget!
Be-Still-and-Know 