The blog goes PINK

Brad and I decided to do something we never thought we would. We were fully planning to wait to find out the gender of our little one until he/she was born, as we did with Gavin. Given our new circumstances, we both were feeling a very strong desire to know whether we are carrying a son or a daughter. It seems more important than ever for our ability to plan appropriately. And given we are not able to tell gender from an ultrasound, but are having genetic testing done, we were able to find out.

We're elated to announce that IT'S A GIRL! We're having a daughter. Regardless of the circumstances and outcome of this pregnancy, she is our beautiful little girl. She will always be our daughter...and a member of our family - a daughter, a sister, a granddaughter, a niece...an angel.

I'm crying now, so I'm going to keep this blog post short and pull myself back together. A girl, wow! In honor of little GIRL Clark, the blog must go pink. I'll switch it back to a more neutral color soon, but for now, pink is what I'd like to see.

Also, as an important side note, the initial results of genetic testing are normal. We're awaiting the full chromosomal analysis. The amniocentesis didn't provide any results (fluid was too diluted with the saline infusion), so we were back in the specialist's office this past Monday for a different procedure, a chorionic villus sampling (CVS). Instead of taking amniotic fluid for the test, they took cells from my placenta. It has allowed for a better batch of cells for genetic testing.