Our Baby Girl

I'm not planning on returning to regular blogging anytime soon, but this was just one of those things I felt like needed a blog post versus just a Facebook post. So just for the sake of information here on the blog, I'll give you a quick recap of our last few months...

-On Christmas Eve we found out we were pregnant. It took us a long time to decide to try again and it was such perfect timing to find out that we were again.
-I saw the doctor and got a due date of September 2nd.
-At about 6 weeks I headed to the ER with some bleeding. We were terrified but after getting an exam and an ultrasound at the hospital, we found out that our little duck was still in there, still staying strong, with a steady heartbeat.
-At about 11 weeks, I started bleeding again. This time, much more badly. I thought FOR SURE I was miscarrying and it was very, very scary. But again after an exam and an ultrasound, we found out the baby still had a heartbeat. We also found out that I had a subchorionic hematoma (SCH), a blood clot near the baby that was causing me to bleed. After a follow-up with the doctor, we found out that we just had to hang tight, deal with the bleeding, and wait for the SCH to go away.
-After being seen about every 2-3 weeks for a few months, the SCH still has not gone away or decreased in size but our Little Duck is still hanging on, growing right on track, and giving us hope.
-We found out in at an Early Ultrasound Facility that we were expecting a GIRL! Chad and I are super excited. Jonah cried at first, but is now excited.

 Our girl at 13 weeks, at our gender reveal ultrasound. 

Jonah's favorite picture of her. He says he loves the "orange baby."

-I now see the doctor for a heartbeat check every two weeks to make sure baby girl is still maintaining a strong heartbeat and then every 4 weeks for an ultrasound to check on her growth and monitor the size of the SCH. My OB said that he has only seen one other patient with a SCH still present at birth, but he also teases me frequently about my inability to just have a normal pregnancy, so we'll see if I become number two or this thing really clears up. I am praying so hard that it does and that it doesn't impact our girl's growth!

My "baby bump" at 15 weeks.

Now, for the reason I'm writing this post. Her name.

Ever since we found out we were pregnant, there has been one name on the top of our girl list. Chad has loved it since we were talking about names with Jonah and has either been lukewarm or just flat-out hated every other name we come across. That name is...

Ellie.

It means "shining light" or "God is my light."

When I read the meaning of her name, that's when I fell in love with it. This girl is our light, just as God is our light, and we think it couldn't suit her better.

Her middle name will be...

Mareya.

It's pronounced Muh-ray-uh. Like Mariah but with an "aye" in the middle instead.

It means "miracle."

Each time we went in and thought I was miscarrying and then found out I wasn't, I'd say that she was our miracle. She definitely is our miracle and we think the whole name just has such a pretty ring to it.

Ellie Mareya

Our girl.

 Our 16 week ultrasound.

4D view of our girl at 16 weeks.