Dear Baby,
Today I had my third doctor’s appointment. I am now 16 weeks pregnant. Your daddy and I were excited for this appointment more than usual as we were hoping we would get to find out if you were a boy or a girl. My appointment wasn’t until the afternoon so I worked most of the day, and it was torture! I was so anxious and excited I looked at the clock at least every hour. I left work around two and drove home to pick up your dad. We excitedly tried to guess what you would be, but neither of us had a strong feeling one way or the other.
We got all checked in at the doctor’s office and only had to wait a couple of minutes until we were called back to see the doctor. He reviewed my chart and excitedly asked, “Well are we finding out what you’re having today?” I laughed and said “I hope so!” I got up on the table and the doctor started the ultrasound. First the doctor checked your heartbeat and said it was at a perfect 140 beats per minute. I smiled and felt relieved. I still get a little nervous before every appointment. I worry about you all the time already. Next the doctor checked your fluid levels, organs, and measured your size. He said you were exactly where you should be at 16 weeks and right on track for your due date of January 19th.
The doctor changed views and explained we were looking at the signifier of the big news. He asked what we thought and your dad trying to see what he was referring to on the ultrasound asked, “Is it a….boy?” The doctor smiled and replied, “Nope it is definitely a girl.” Then he showed us how he could tell. He said he was positive you were a girl and we were safe to start buying girl clothes.
We were so happy! We didn’t care either way but we were thrilled to find out you were a girl. I’ve always wanted a little girl and hoped I would get at least one! Your dad was pretty surprised as boys seem to be a little more common in his family. He grew up with four brothers & only one sister, and had five nephews before his first niece came along.
You will have lots of cousins you will get to grow up with. Your aunt Laci is due with her baby girl, Lydia, on September 14. You and Lydia will only be four months apart. Laci and I are hoping you will be best friends! Your Grandma and Grandpa Mecham will get two granddaughters for their first grandchildren. You will bring the count on the Leishman side of the family to 10 grandchildren; 6 boys and 4 girls.
Your daddy and I have decided to name you Claire. Your Great-Grandma Susan Mecham (your Grandpa Mecham’s mom) had a daughter named Marni Claire who passed away when she was a baby. You are going to be named after her, in honor of my dad’s little sister I never got to meet. We are not a hundred percent sure on a middle name yet, but we really like Amelia. If we go with that your full name will be Claire Amelia Leishman.
I can’t wait to be your mama! You are going to be so loved. I hope to teach you to be kind, charitable, smart, hard-working, brave, and proud of who you are. I hope to teach you about your Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ. I promise to share my testimony with you often and to help you build your own by teaching you, reading scriptures with you, and praying with you every day. And I really can’t wait for you to meet your daddy. He is so wonderful and is working so hard in school right now so he can get a good job to provide for our family in the future. I think he will be your favorite. He will play with you, tickle you, talk in silly voices, and make you laugh all the time. I know this because he already does all of that with me.
We are finally announcing that we are pregnant tonight. We have kept it a secret for a long time but we wanted to be sure that you were healthy and that things were going okay before we told everyone. We are going to have to wait a week to tell everyone that you are a girl though. We want all of your family to be there but having the whole family come makes scheduling a little difficult. We are having a party next Monday to share the news that we will be having a baby girl join our family. We love you so much already and we cannot wait for you to get here! See you soon little one.
Love,
Mom
*I have been writing letters to my baby once a month to put in her baby book. I don't know if I will share all of them, but I may every now and then since this blog is like my little family's journal. I like knowing that I can go back and read through old blog posts like this later in life.
-Kami
