Noah. That’s what we planned on naming him. My husband had bought me a little red teddy bear for Valentine’s Day and we affectionally called it Noah in honor of the bean-sized baby forming in my belly. We dreamed of what our little boy would look like. I secretly hoped he’d take after his handsome father. We doted over tiny blue outfits and I imagined photos in overalls, holding a tiny fishing pole. I knew in my heart that a strong son was growing inside me, so imagine my surprise when the ultrasound revealed a daughter.
I was shocked, and I even half expected it was wrong. I remember looking at the fuzzy, black and white image trying to discern the private parts and figure out how they could know for sure. We went for a 4D ultrasound, paid for it out of our own pocket, and I thought it might reveal my son. But as I looked on in living color at the little lady parts I knew I was going to be a girl mom.
I think I was scared. I had never really liked girls. I mean, I was one, and I liked that, but growing up I didn’t have very many girlfriends. Girls were mean. They were dramatic. Usually I had gotten along much better with boys. As a young girl I played war games in the back woods, road my bike barefoot through the dirt and gravel, and made pals with frogs, lizards, and bugs. Even when I grew older, and especially then, I preferred the company of males. They were easier to get along with. I just had trouble relating to other females a lot of the time.
Then there was the whole girly business. I was not a girly girl. I didn’t wear a lot of makeup and a pony tail or short cut was my go-to style. Baggy pants, bare nails, and I had never even gotten a pedicure or facial. Goodness. Wouldn’t a boy just be easier?!
But I settled into the fact that I was having a girl. Determined not to push too much “girliness” on her I painted her room yellow, bought my baby gear in neutral tones, and definitely didn’t purchase all the frilly, lace, and ruffles in differing hues of pepto bismol pink. I would let her decide just how girly she wanted to go!
This funny thing happened. As my firstborn daughter grew she blossomed into the most feminine thing I could have imagined. Drawn to pink, dolls, and the whole lot. So I began to embrace it too.
When I became pregnant with my second child I was certain it was a son. I felt it in my bones! I was going to name him Harrison. Yep, you guessed it; it was another girl. By the third pregnancy I didn’t even venture to guess, and so came my third daughter. My husband had a daughter from a previous marriage, and that gave us a whopping quartet of laughing ladies.
Everywhere we go people take notice of all the girls. We’ve heard it all!
Dad, you’re outnumbered!
Just wait until they’re all teenagers!
That’s four weddings to pay for!
Y’all gonna try again for a boy?
I get that last one a lot. And we did think about it. But we decided that our quiver was full. We didn’t want a son! We’re perfectly happy with our girls! We aren’t even sure we’d know what to do with a boy.
I’ve learned a lot these last eight years. A lot of everything! But most importantly I’ve learned that I’m a Girl Momma at heart. It’s what I was made for, it’s how I’m built, and God knew what He was doing when He gave us daughters. I watch their dainty play and smile. I mean, my girls can be rowdy, and they talk about farts and butts with the best of them, but at the core they are gentle, mild-mannered, and sweeter than sugar.
They’re so sensitive. Just like me! I worried I wouldn’t relate to a girl, but as I witness their caring attitudes, tender spirits, and thoughtful actions, I see myself mirrored. They feel so deeply, love so strongly, and have hearts of a giver. It melts me daily!
I love the dolls and all the pink. They all love pink. I never knew I loved pink until I saw it on my daughters, but I tend to think I’d fall in love with olive green if they wore it routinely.
Their laughter is musical, their voices like a song. Their hugs would cause the worst criminal to change their ways, and don’t get me started on what their sweet kisses could do. I’d almost venture world peace.
So dainty, so feminine, so tender, so sweet. So girly, and I can’t imagine my life any other way. Neither can my husband. He is outnumbered, but he loves it. He’s surrounded by lovely ladies who adore him. He’s our knight in shining armor, our protector, our big, strong guy.
Now don’t get me wrong! Our girls have strength too! They have passion, determination, and rock-solid will. I think it’s hard to be brought into the world through the pain of childbirth and it not instill a strength inside you. I mean, is there anything stronger than a woman’s pain threshold?! Haha!
So, they are strong, yet they are fragile. They are tender, but they are persistent. A perfect mix of grit and gentleness. A strong will and passionate heart. The ability to love like I’ve never been loved before. I never knew I wanted to be the mother of girls, but God did. He knew exactly what He was doing when He gave me girls, and I wouldn’t change it for the world!
Brenda Hughes says
I most definitely can relate to your girl story. I have two daughters and four granddaughters! No sons. No grandsons. But…I ONLY wanted two girls. I prayed & believed for girls and God gave me the desire of my heart! I didn’t need a sonogram to tell me my babies were girls…oh sure they DID do them but I told them NOT to say because I was believing for GIRLS! All during both pregnancies I was told by friends, family & strangers that I was having a boy because of the way I was carrying the baby. I don’t believe in that. I would smile & say “No, you’re wrong…she’s a girl”. And besides, I carried my first daughter up high and my youngest daughter low…so see…that does not determine the sex of your baby. Now it’s very possible that, like you Brie, that God wanted me to mother girls only. I had a very strong desire to have girls…I felt like I might have to raise them by myself some day & boys would be harder for me but as strong-willed as my girls were and still are, boys probably would not have been harder for me. I did raise my girls all by myself. They are 31 & 39 years old now & married. They made me a blessed Nana of four granddaughters between them ages 3, 9, 11 & 14! I am proud and thankful for my quiver full of girls!!!
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
So awesome! You are certainly blessed!
Our lives-His Purposes, Ruthie's impressions says
Nothing like a daughter!
Dave says
I love love love my daughters but really struggled when they started dating as there just wasn’t any respect for us as their parents from these guys! We were not controlling parents looking for that perfect son-in-law as they don’t exist but just wanted respect! I still struggle with a relationship with my oldest daughters husband so it is a mixed bag of emotions! You want to see your daughters grow up and find good men but it has been discouraging! We can thank God their husbands aren’t abusive to them but wish their husbands liked us! We have never tried to control their marriages! I did get upset one time when my grandson said he hated seeing his mama drunk but I think that has subsided so thank God! Our daughters are good good people but we just pray for better relationships with both their husbands! We have seen God move in our youngest daughters husband and still believing for the oldest daughters husband! There has been some signs of things being some better so just pray for us! We had just our daughters here recently for a weekend and it was so much fun! I wish I could say it was that way when their husbands come but it is getting better! But, daughters are wonderful especially for me as a dad! They have a special place in my heart!
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Praying for you and your daughters. May God bless you all.