Halfway Point

Our baby boy's 20 week photo shoot:

I swear it looks like he's blowing bubbles!!

At 20 weeks he is measuring 20 weeks 5 days with a heart rate of 161 bpm

How Far Along: 20 weeks


How Big is Baby? Baby's now the size of a cantaloupe! Baby gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, those taste buds actually work! Studies show that after birth, babies respond best to tastes they've already had via amniotic fluid. Meaning, think about what you'd like your future child to eat as you prepare your own lunch.

Maternity Clothes: Ohh yeah! Wearing all maternity pants and rotating between maternity and non-maternity shirts.
Gender: BOY

Movement: This past week we've had a major increase in movement! Feeling kicks, rolls and jabs everyday....I love it! I think Dave felt the baby move for the first time too. When MJ is low in my abdomen you can feel where it's really hard. But the other day I had him hold his hand for awhile on my belly since MJ had been moving alot. The first kick he didn't notice (he was paying attention to the TV!) but the second time he thought he did. Just still to soft for him since I can feel both inside and out.

Sleep: It comes and goes

Belly button in or out? In.

What I miss: Nothing! Although I wish I could eat a Crazy Tuna Roll from one of the sushi bars.

Food Cravings: Nothing this week

Aversions: Not currently....

Symptoms: Back pain, thank you sciatic nerve! Still getting up to pee at least once every night.

Best Moment(s) this week: Signed up for Childbirth class, met with Katie from Diaper Parties at Everything Birth about cloth diapers, interviewed our our first daycare provider yesterday, found out we're having a boy, and seeing our little man.

Milestones: Hitting the halfway point!!

What I'm looking forward to: Shopping :)

Surprise!

No need to have a pending grounding for baby, MJ cooperated!!!

We're having a...

BOY!!!!!!! 

He gave us his money shot and we got to see his winky!

Baby Boy was very active during our ultrasound and we were able to watch him for 30 minutes while the tech took all his measurements. He is healthy, strong and everything looks perfect!! Dave is seriously on cloud 9! The tech found his junk at the very beginning of our appointment, Dave was so happy he kept shaking my leg with excitement that the tech thought it was the baby moving like crazy, so she had to tell him to stop.

I'm still in a bit of shock! I would be either way but knowing the sex just makes it so much more real!! There really is a healthy baby growing in my belly, we have a gender and we have a name picked out already! We had a list of 3 names each we narrowed down to about 2 months ago but really haven't talked about it since. After our u/s while we waited to see the midwife, Dave decided we should name baby boy the name I LOVE! I of course agreed and now we are settled on a first name!!! Now we just have to decide on the middle. We are definitely going to try our best to keep the name a secret till he arrives... 

We had our families over for dinner last night and revealed the gender. As soon as I get my pictures uploaded I will post all about that but wanted to share our news till then!

Predictions

Tomorrow is the big day!

I can't believe it's finally here! It seems like it took forever for us to get here. 20 weeks. That's halfway!

We figured the weekend would go by so slow since all we want is Monday afternoon to get here. But we were able to survive the weekend by keeping pretty busy. As soon as I was off work on Friday I picked Dave up and we met my friend Brittany at the movie theater to see The Hunger games, which was pretty good and followed the movie really well, then we went to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings afterwards so Dave could watch some basketball and Brit and I could catch up.

I no longer sleep in on weekends, so Saturday I was up at 7:00am to bake a cake. My wonderful mother took me maternity clothes shopping and we met my dad for lunch. I actually have comfy pants to wear to work now that I'm really looking forward to wearing! Along with a few new shirts and a long dress for both work and the wonderfully hot Midwest heat we are bound to have. After shopping I came back home to decorate the cake. We then meet a group of friends out at Buffalo Wild Wings again for dinner and basketball then went back to Chad and Kelsey's for a bit. As a fun Saturday night activity Kelsey, Annette and I tried out the Pencil/needle gender predictor test.

And as for today, I constructed my own cupcake stand which I will be posting about on my baking blog later this week so check that out here. This evening we met with Katie from Diaper Parties by Everything Birth. She brought her 18 month old daughter along with a tub of all sorts of cloth diapers. She went through them all and how each of them worked. From all the research I've done the past 8 months or so, the majority of it I already knew but it was definitely nice to be able to sit and talk to someone else about it who is experienced and for Dave to hear a first hand opinion on just how easy it can be. And now tonight, I have cupcakes in the oven as we speak to prepare for our small little gender reveal party tomorrow night (fingers crossed!).  

Now, I just hope tomorrow will go by just as fast. Our appointment isn't till the afternoon so I'm sure the work day is going to drag by.


Onto our predictions....

Chinese Gender Chart: There are a few different once out there but the majority all say Girl, expect one said Boy... so we're going with GIRL.

Pencil Prediction Test: GIRL.  Although Dave doesn't count this since we didn't actually do it correctly, we kind of guessed and then got the directions of how it works after the fact. We even tested it out on Annette's son which it completely stopped moving, we took his arm away and Kelsey put hers under it and it started moving again...it as so creepy!

Needle Prediction: BOY.

Heart Rate: The theory states that if your baby’s heart rate was 140 beats per minute and above, you would be having a girl. If the heart rate was under 140 beats per minute, then you would be having a boy. GIRL

Dreams: I've actually have only had two dreams about MJ. The first I can no longer remember, it might have been about labor, however I do remember in both baby was a girl. In the second dream we were at the hospital after having given birth to a girl. Although she was not the size of an newborn but more a 9 month old, she could already hold her head up and stand up! GIRL

Blog Poll: Out of 23 votes 65% said Girl compared to 34% who said Boy, GIRL

Dave's Guess: BOY Dave has already threatened MJ that if "he" doesn't cooperate on Monday he will be grounded for a week once he turned 5 years old, LOL!!!! 

My Guess: This is so hard for me as over the last 20 weeks I've never had an actually feeling of thinking "it's totally a girl or I just know it's a boy". I go back and forth all the time. So I'll just stay neutral with EITHER!

Odds are pointing to a Girl but we have a 50/50 chance so only time will tell. MJ, you better behave for mommy and daddy tomorrow cause I don't want you to be awaiting a grounding before your even born! :)

Less Than A Week!!!!

Monday's the BIG appointment!! YAY! Counting down the days....

So I'm completely shocked at the things people say out loud to pregnant people!!  Yesterday I was told by a lady I work with that "the baby sure is getting big" and "I think the baby might need to go on a diet here soon". Today I walked by her and she told me "Maybe it's just the shirts you wear Brenda because today I can hardly tell your pregnant but yesterday I was like Holy Cow that Baby is getting Big!" Seriously, who says that?!?! To anyone let a long a pregnant women!
How Far Along: 19 weeks (and 2 days)
How Big is Baby? Baby's now the size of a mango! Vernix caseosa, a greasy white substance made of lanugo, oil, and dead skin cells (yum) now coats  baby's skin, shielding it from the amniotic fluid. (Picture yourself after a nine-month bath, and the need for protection makes sense.) You might get to see the vernix at birth, especially if baby is premature.
Maternity Clothes: I've come to the realization I'm getting to point were I'll be in only maternity pants very VERY soon...I feel some major maternity shopping coming this weekend.
Gender: Boy I think? Really it could go either way
Movement: Yes, some days more than other. Still feeling more rolls of pressure low in my abdomen with random kicks or pokes.
Sleep: It comes and goes
Belly button in or out? In.
What I miss: Nothing!
Food Cravings: Cheeseburgers and Chocolate Chip bagels with plain cream cheese
Aversions: Not currently....
Symptoms: Back pain, thank you sciatic nerve! Nasal congestion.
Best Moment this past week:  signed up for Childbirth class, it's not till the end of June but since you have to be 34-36 weeks at the end of the class that is prime baseball season meaning we have limited options since baseball is pretty much everyday but Sunday's.
Milestones: feeling MJ move more and hitting 19 weeks!
What I'm looking forward to: 20 week ultrasound appointment....5 more days (but whose counting!)

It appears...

I figured it's been a while since a picture

the bump has started to make it's appearance!

Funny Advice: I was told by a friend to be careful not to pee your pants...always remember to make sure you pull your underwear down when going to the bathroom. Yes she did this multiple times because she couldn't see over her belly and thought it was down!!!!! 

Kicks & Rolls

How Far Along: 18 weeks
How Big is Baby? Baby's now the size of an sweet potato! Baby's become amazingly mobile (compared to you, at least), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, and swallowing. And baby is finally big enough that you'll soon be able to feel her movements.
Maternity Clothes: Some, still getting away with regular tops but only maternity jeans so far.
Gender: Boy this week
Movement: Yes, I felt MJ's first two kicks late Saturday night!!!! We got home from our friends 30th birthday party, I was relaxing on the couch with the puppies before heading off to bed when I felt the first kick....I put my hand there and waited, a few seconds later another kick!! Yesterday I started feeling pressure low in my abdomen and when I pressed on it, it felt really hard in that spot, then after a minute it was gone and felt normal again...feeling baby roll! Felt him again tonight on the other side rolling around. I wanna feel more!!!! ;-)
Sleep: It comes and goes
Belly button in or out? In.
What I miss: Nothing! I have absolutely no desire for beer or wine when we are out at the bar or with friends who are all drinking
Food Cravings: Cheeseburgers! Big fat juicy cheeseburgers, yummm!
Aversions: Not currently....
Symptoms: Back pain, back pain, back pain thank you sciatic nerve! Nasal congestion.
Best Moment this past week: Feeling real movement, getting more Fluff Mail (aka cloth diapers in the mail) and being told I'm starting to look pregnant.
Milestones: Feeling the first kicks and baby rolls, there really IS a baby in there!
What I'm looking forward to: 20 week appointment....2 weeks! I'm attending my first bachelorette party knocked up this weekend but I will definitely not be the only one pregnant there, more on that later.

17 Weeks

So I'm a few days late on this.....I've been fighting a cold. Dave had it last week but only for 3-4 days, I started getting a sore throat last Tuesday night, by Friday and Saturday I thought I was getting better until Sunday morning rolled around, I felt like I got hit by a bus and it knocked my on my ass until Tuesday. I'm finally feeling better but it would have helped to be able to take the cold meds we had at our house.

How Far Along: 17 weeks (and 3 days!)

How Big is Baby? Baby's now the size of an onion! Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. His umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes now feature one-of-a-kind prints.

Maternity Clothes: Let's just say I love leggings! Still using the BeBand with the majority of all my pants now, but I still have one pair of dress pants (not for much longer!) and one pair of jeans that fit which I alternate with 2 pairs of maternity jeans.

Gender: Boy this week

Movement: Yes but only every once in awhile. Although today there's a lot of poppin' going on...still feels like popcorn popping in my belly :)

Sleep: It comes and goes

Belly button in or out? In.

What I miss: Being able to load up on cold meds when I need them!

Food Cravings: I had a Whitey's Chocolate Peanut Butter Revel Malt a week and half ago and now it's all I think about.

Aversions: Not currently....

Symptoms: Back pain, back pain, back pain thank you sciatic nerve! Nasal congestion.

Best Moment this past week: Sara's baby shower Saturday morning and babysitting the cutest little boy ever, Carter Thomas. Our friends Dan and Katie came over with dinner and their two girls so Anna and Carter could play together, it was a blast and Dave was awesome! He entertained them pretty well, although he tried his best to bribe a 2 1/2 year old to eat his dinner to no avail. We learned it's been way too long since we changed a diaper, as Dave didn't think the way I put Carter's diaper was right so he took it off and ended up putting it on backwards, oops! When it was time for bed Carter was awesome for the first time going to bed at BrendaDave's house. He walked straight to the bedroom with us, climbed up on bed with his Hawkeye van and Cars toy and laid down. I thought "This was way too easy" and just when we went to walk out of the room Carter started crying "I want my mommy!". Dave laid down with him, rubbed his back for a bit until he feel asleep about 5-10 minutes later. Even Waveland got the courage to cuddle with him until he fell asleep ;)

Milestones: Getting over my first cold during pregnancy, does that count?

What I'm looking forward to: 20 week appointment....2 1/2 weeks!

Happy March!

Did you notice that ticker over there? ---------------------->
I sure did!!! Under 165 days, yay!

Just over a week till daylight savings....one step closer to Spring, my favorite time of year!

I'm attending my 1st bachelorette party as a pregnant lady :)

Just 2 1/2 weeks till the 1st day of Spring!

AND just over 3 weeks till our 20 week appointment and hopefully finding out MJ's gender!!!!!

Happy March Everyone!