In case you haven’t heard, we’ve picked a name for Zoe’s little sister: ELLA. Like Fitzgerald or “the Elephant“, but better.

Sure, we were tempted by the names our sweet Zoe suggested for her new sister:

• Zoe’s Very Own Little Sister
• Sparkle Fairy

After much discussion, we agreed that ELLA would be easier to spell ;) In fact, it was a happy accident that Zoe also ended up with a name that was easy to spell. As a first-time parent, I didn’t give it a second thought until I saw my daughter write her own name (slowly, carefully) and realized what a gift we’d given her (and ourselves – not sure I could have made it through a slow, careful J-A-C-Q-U-E-L-I-N-E, though thankfully that one was never on the table).

But back to Ella.

Let’s just say that it’s true that “every pregnancy is different”. With Zoe, I had a picture-perfect one. Sure I had some aches and pains later on and was less than “regular”, as most pregnant ladies are, but seriously, I was blessed. In fact, I only THOUGHT I had morning sickness, when it turns out I had none at all – I was just ravenously hungry so I ate small meals every 2 hours, and I never had a problem.

Not so much this time. In week 5, dearest Ella made herself known. When I first felt nauseous I thought “time for those small meals”, but NOTHING worked. I had waves of nausea for weeks, during which time I scoured the internet for reasons and cures. I found tons of resources that said “Nausea is a sign of  a healthy pregnancy”, to which I thought, “Thank goodness I didn’t know that the first time!”

Finally in week 15, the clouds parted and I felt like a normal human being again – I even got my energy back! Just in time to be HUGE… Second babies “show earlier” as it turns out, and while I really haven’t gained much weight overall, those “Didn’t this JUST fit last week?!” moments started early.

But on the really BRIGHT side, we had our 20-week ultrasound a few weeks ago (we’re now officially 23 weeks and counting!) and got an enthusiastic two thumbs up from the imaging doc, who has seen literally tens of thousands of babies – Ella is structurally awesome, weighs in right on track, and is as cute as an ultrasound baby can be ;)

We are thrilled! We’ve got a kicking, growing little girl, and the whole family is excited to meet her. In fact, Zoe keeps telling everyone we’re giving her “a baby for her birthday”. She’s not so good on the days/dates yet, though I keep telling her that Ella will be a little late for the party (Zoe’s birthday is Sept 1 and Ella’s is expected on Sept 23).

In the meantime, I’ll just keep enjoying all the belly kisses and “Night Night – I love you, Ella!” moments that we get with Zoe every single night. Can’t wait for her to be able to see little Ella’s booty poking out of my belly, as Zoe’s did. Up next: sleeping arrangements – though yes, I know, we shouldn’t count on that much sleep ;)