30 weeks and counting...

Maternity Photo Shoot Sneak Peak

More to come...

I had my 30 week appointment yesterday (at 30w5d).  Blood pressure is great, no swelling, weight was good (I'm officially up 18lbs), and no protein in my urine.  Baby boy was super active this morning, as he has been the past couple of weeks (more on that in a minute).  The nurse immediately found his heartbeat, but like last week, but couldn't get an accurate reading since he wouldn't sit still.  Think he's already ALL boy?!?!  Its kinda fun though because we got to hear the heart beating for several minutes.  Even with all that movement, heart rate was in the 130's, which is still good.  He wasn't so much kicking as he was rolling around.  That's his new thing.  I've been having a slight pain in my lower right abdominal area...it almost feels bruised form the inside, so I asked the doctor about it today and after feeling him out, she determined that its just from repeated movement in the same place.  Pretty much what I thought, but I just wanted to check!  Doctor measured my belly and as usual its a couple of weeks bigger than normal, but its been growing consistently over the last few weeks.  Nothing to worry about until I start having negative symptoms.  While she was measuring me, turns out I had a contraction (I had no stinking idea!).  She had the measuring tape spread out and let go of it and put both hands over my belly and said, "oh, you're having a contraction right now."  LOL, I had no idea!  I have been feeling a tightening in my belly periodically, nothing painful, so I figured those were braxton hicks contractions.  You can read about stuff all day, but until you experience it first hand, you have no idea what's going on.  For all you moms out there...I suppose I'll know for sure when I have a real contraction?!?  Honestly what I felt this morning, I feel all the time.  I thought it was little man stretching or moving around a lot.  She said when my whole belly gets hard for a short period of time that's a contraction.  Since he is mostly on my right side, she said when I feel that pressure, feel my left side and if its hard too then that's it.  I am supposed to start paying attention to their frequency.  Braxton Hicks are just like warm-up contractions for your uterus in preparation for the real deal.  Kinda freaky that we're already making plans for the big day!!!  She said its nothing to worry about unless I have 6 in an hour.  So I have to monitor myself and make sure they don't become more regular, especially at the end of the day.  That's also nature's way of telling your body to slow down a bit.

30 weeks

We got our hospital pre-registration turned in today, so when its time to go, we just show up huffing and puffing and all of the paperwork is done!  Insurance is covered, I've already paid my deductible, and signed consent forms today!  I got a pediatrician lined up for Ty a few days ago and turned that in to the hospital today too!  Talk about feeling like a grown-up...when you start finding a doctor for your own child!  We're actually using Cooter's pediatrician from when they lived in Spring years ago.  She has a practice with 6 doctors and a location not even 5 minutes away from here!  Just perfect!  We are also having Tyler's cord blood collected and stored, so I got that set up today as well.  Baby on the brain...big time!

Every time I blog, I feel like I talk about how active this little boy is...but if possible, he's even more so now.  What's neat is he's moving in different ways.  I already get that proud momma feeling like he's learned something new.  Surprisingly, as short waisted as I am, he has not reached the depth of my ribs more than a couple of times.  I also figured I would've become short of breath just short of showing, but he is so far down low (seriously, sometimes I feel like he might fall out!), and that's been my saving grace.  I think I get fewer kicks these days...either that or I'm so used to it that I don't notice as much until he gets a really good one in...and he does!  He knows how to kick me in ways that take my breath away...and I'm not talking aw so sweet take my breath away, I mean like he just got a penalty kick in a soccer game!  That's okay though, I love knowing he's getting strong.  =)  His new thing in the past couple of weeks is rolling around...at least that's what I've decided he's doing.  My entire belly will be shaking and shifting about, you'll see ripples in more than one place as he nuzzles into a new crevice.  It is a really freaky feeling to feel that much movement inside.  As we sat in the room waiting on the doctor yesterday, I was watching my belly move around.  Cooter could see it across the room.  He'd stretch a foot out (he LOVES to do that...at almost any given time, you can feel at least one foot sticking straight out), kick it out, and roll around.  Built in entertainment!  What's even more weird is watching a foot stick out, then watch it drag across your belly.  The other day you could see two lumps on top of my belly...he had both legs straight out and I had two little heels sticking up.  You can feel hands (or maybe they are elbows) way down low and on my side.  My favorite is when he gets done rolling around and settles this one certain way...it totally distorts my belly since he's all on the right, but you can feel his little butt sticking out just under my ribs.  Its such a cute little butt.  Can't wait to see some tiny wranglers on him!

I fall more and more in love every day!  As much as I want him here, I am already nostalgic of the belly. I know I'm going to miss it so much when its gone.  I've waited a long time to be pregnant.  There's just something about having him with you all the time, safe and sound.  But I also can't wait to hold him in my arms...and more so, to see Cooter as a dad.  He's going to be such a good daddy.  Look at him reading to the kids the other day...warms my heart!

As promised, here's the rest of my maternity pictures...well some of the favorites!  These were taken in my parent's backyard by Cooter and my dad!  Thanks for putting up with me guys!

Hope you enjoyed!  I will always treasure this time of my life, just me and Ty!

Happy 31st Anniversary, Mom & Dad!

My parents are celebrating 31 years of marriage today.  That in itself is quite an accomplishment.  I am honored to have spent approximately 97.6% of their marriage with them (I did the math...).  My parents have set a wonderful example to myself and Jeremy to follow as we entered into marriages of our own.  Still to this day, I know we both find inspiration in them, as they continue to prove that love can stand the test of time.  Its not easy...marriage is work, but I have watched them work, and know its worth every step of the way.  My parents have taught me so much...I have learned how to share and show respect as a child, learned to work hard and persevere as a teenager and young adult, and learned how to love unconditionally.  Best of all, I get to take in everything my parents gave me, as I become a parent myself.

Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad!

third trimester!

First up...baby update! I am 29w2d now and have officially entered the third trimester since the last post! Feels like I was stuck in the first trimester forever...as I was terrifyingly scared daily. The second trimester still started off a little rough. Nausea stuck around until about 14wks for me. I never liked the term "morning sickness" since it is most definitely not limited to morning, but I was never sick...just didn't feel good or have any kind of energy whatsoever. Then I was a good 16-18wks before I got over the exhaustion. My time as a human incubator since then has been wonderful! Everything I read said to enjoy it while I could...so I'm trying to make the best of it!

28 weeks

28 weeks from the front...its looks way bigger from the front. No, it doesn't hurt...my sides stretching hurt worse than the front. My belly button is totally flat and about 30% of it has started poking outward! Pregnancy is weird...

Our appointments are slightly off of my weekly timeline now. We had our 28 week appointment at 28w5d. For the past month or so, we are consistently a week ahead...and baby boy is about 2 weeks ahead of that! At 26w5d we had an ultrasound and glucose test to rule out gestational diabetes (totally routine, but we had ours 2wks early due to my big belly). Although little man measured almost 2 weeks big, I passed my test (YAY!!!), so we'll just keep an eye on Ty's growth over the next few weeks. At my last appointment, everything was perfect! I received my rhogam shot (given because I have an rh- blood type)...and won't need another one until after birth, and only if Tyler is a positive blood type. Blood pressure was good 117/78, weight was good (super yay...I had only gained about a pound in the last 2 weeks), no protein in my urine. T-man sits SO low in my hips that I had to lay all the way back to find his heartbeat. He was showing off for the nurse too...kicking and moving all around. We got to hear his swishy little heart longer this time because he kept kicking the wand and disrupting her counts. Healthy, active boy though...his heart rate was in the 140's! The doctor measured my belly, but didn't say anything about size to me this time, so I'm guessing based on past week's measurements, I was within a normal range. Back in 2 weeks (next Thursday, April 14).

We are starting to be able to pick out body parts as they poke me about. Most particularly, his hands and feet. He stretches his foot straight up and makes a knot right around my belly button. Cooter plays with him and rubs his foot...Ty moves it down, then will push it right back up...like he's saying, "do it again, Dad!" As you'll see in the pics to follow...he is ALL on my right side. Over the weekend, his foot reached my left side. Its so awesome to know he's growing! I get punches and elbows in my right side and down by my bladder. He's got to be laying at an angle. He's head down though, no doubt about that! The belly has grown a lot in the last couple of weeks...scroll down to compare even 2 weeks ago!

29 weeks...left side (nothing but fluid)

29 weeks...right side (ALL baby...see him hanging over my hip?!?)

Things have been a rather uneventful the past couple of weeks...which is okay by me! I'm getting bigger, little man is packing a more powerful punch, and I still haven't been hit by cravings. Is that weird? You hear about pregnancy cravings all the time, but I have yet to be in the mood for something in particular so badly that I'd consider it a craving. I always want fruit, more specifically smoothies (since I was early pregnant, they settled my upset tummy and ever since then, its like the perfect, but pricey treat). And chocolate...I love chocolate and could eat it at any hour, but I've always been that way, so I'm not limiting that to a pregnancy craving either. I am most definitely hungry more often (thank goodness for a recent speedy shift in my metabolism), but I still stand with the pantry or refrigerator door open and just stare...nothing looks good. I'm actually ready for some cravings. I just hope they are healthy...hahaha yeah right!

Cooter has been traveling a lot lately for work, so that leaves me with a lot of time on my hands. Somehow at the end of the day I am still wondering where the time went though. I get into the weirdest messes now. Nesting much?!? Keeping my house clean is of great importance to me right now...and if you know me, you know that I'm usually happy to clean once a week and having things picked up in the meantime is fine by me. Oh no, not now though. I need to dust, vacuum, sweep, swiffer, etc. every single day if possible. Some people probably do that already and think I'm disgusting for not doing so...oh well. I used to be happy with doing our laundry once a week, but I've decided recently, I like keeping up with it twice a week now. Maybe because I'm outgrowing most of my clothes, so I need to do it more often?!? I have cleaned out cabinets, the pantry, closets, and my office is clean for the first time since who knows when. And it just happens to be spring cleaning season...which I have never voluntarily participated in. New experiences every day!

So in the last couple of weeks, I turned my focus to the yard. The house cleaning can wait...besides, I'm like a machine now and can have the house spotless in no time. I move very slowly in the yard as I pull weeds, plant flowers and attempt to scoot from place to place. Its way more work to get up and down. So I was able to get all of the dead stuff leftover from the freezes out of the yard, pulled weeds and random grass from the beds and planted new flowers in the front and back yards (Alaina helped me in the back). Cooter spread more dirt and mulch for 2 days and we were done. I'm quite happy with the results. From what I hear, this insanity is only temporary and I will soon crash and burn. Good to know...

Before I got started on the yard, Grace took a moment to stop and smell the daisies!

Here's some of the evidence of our hard work!

Here's one of my flower pots I made. I love making these! I have 3 on the front porch now!

What will be the next project I get myself into?!?...

Laila loves to lay with me, especially on my belly! She does this all the time. Ty kicks her while she lays here. Not so comfy for me, but its sweet nonetheless.

My parents came over to visit on Sunday and delivered my first big baby gift...my jogging stroller! I was totally surprised! Of course its a Jeep Liberty, like my mom's car...complete with a steering wheel for baby and iPod hook-ups for me! Thanks Mom & Dad!!!

We only have a little over 10 weeks to go!!!

Ty-isms

Several of my friends keep me entertained on facebook with quirky little "isms" that their kids say or do. Kind of a kids-say the-darndest-things type of thing. I figured it would be quite some time before I could start posting my own "isms." Little did I know that a kid doesn't have to be able to speak to make you laugh...in fact, he doesn't even have to be born yet! On Saturday evening, we were sitting in the garage at the neighbor's house, trying to digest the immense amounts of BBQ we had just consumed. Food comas are awesome by the way... We had the radio playing and everyone was talking. When there's music on, I tend to tap my foot to the beat...subconsciously most of the time. I would think with all that tapping going on, I'd be rocking little man to sleep, but instead, he was rocking out! I swear, Ty was bustin a move in the belly! I stopped tapping long enough to feel him and sure enough, he was kicking and moving all over. I even had Cooter come feel him getting his groove on. Gave me the greatest giggles! Do we have another musician in the family?!?

27 weeks...3.19.11

Cooter, me and Ty at the BBQ

irrationally relieved...and SO in love!

Cooter, me and Tyler

Over the past couple of weeks, I have developed some rather irrational fears about the baby. My life was plagued with such fears the first 16 weeks of this pregnancy, understandably so. For the most part, I have lived the past 10ish weeks in pure pregnant bliss. With his movements becoming more frequent and predictable (and strong!), I am constantly reassured of his thriving existence. Then about a week ago, I suddenly found the most random things to worry about. Mostly premature birth. I got excited a few weeks ago when my baby bible (What to Expect) said that the baby was potentially viable if it was delivered at that point. Not that I would ever wish a preemie into this world, but to know that we had finally made it far enough that our baby could survive was a huge mental relief. Skip a few weeks ahead and that's the focus of my worries now. It doesn't help that several of the girls on my What to Expect message boards have been admitted to labor & delivery, 4 have had stillborns in the last few weeks (which seems alarmingly huge), and one had her baby last week at 24wks (a surprisingly stable, beautiful baby girl). Well get off the message boards, right? I can't, its addicting. Plus its really a great source of information. Other moms share great advice on everything from pains we're feeling to what brand of bottle they like best.

So then the what-ifs started to scare me. Which is incredibly irresponsible to even let my mind wander there. A pregnant brain is so scattered, its ridiculous, but when you want to erase something out of your mind, it seems like its the first thing you focus on. From the fear of a stillborn, I started worrying every time I realized he wasn't moving, especially if it was during a time he's usually active (like when I lay down in bed). Then to top things off, as if I wasn't irrationally worried enough, I had a dream (oh and let me tell you, pregnancy dreams are surreal!) that my water broke. Oddly enough, they gave me 200 hours to safely deliver the baby LOL. We were ecstatic that he was finally coming. Hours later I realized I was only 26 weeks pregnant, its probably not a good thing if he's coming already. So all of this combined with the fact that the doctor was worried that baby was getting too big too fast caused unnecessary stress and wiped out my pregnant bliss this past week. It kind of makes me laugh now...

Here's me at 25w2d. I am WAY bigger by the evening. And that obviously isn't a maternity shirt...

26w1d belly

All fears erased (for now) and irrationally relieved, we have returned with smiles on our faces from today's appointment. I couldn't sleep last night. Cooter has been traveling a lot lately. Even his day trips have him coming home late. So about 11:30 he finally gets home from Corpus Christi, and I'm trying to stay asleep, but little man was just so excited. Think he could hear Cooter's voice? So I'm laying there until almost 1:30am feeling Ty do gymnastics in my uterus. Nothing painful, but definitely entertaining. He's been scooting around a lot lately...which I learned today is a foot dragging across the top of my belly. Freaky feeling, let me tell you, but so neat! Then he stuck his foot straight out just over my belly button so I had this knot sticking out for a while. Seriously, how do I sleep through all of that? Even if I could, I wouldn't want to miss it. Ask me again in 10 weeks how I feel about being woken up by kicks... As he finally settled down and I drifted to sleep, my appointment apprehensions floated right out the door.

I had the privilege of consuming glucola at 9am this morning. That's the glucose drink you have 5 minutes to chug in preparation to test your blood sugar. I have heard horror stories of this terrible drink. How nasty it is, how sick it makes you feel, etc. They gave me fruit punch flavor (although the orange was recommended to me by others, but I didn't have a choice). I was pleasantly surprised, however. Not that I would choose it for Sonic happy hour, but it most definitely wasn't awful. Kind of tasted like a sweet fruit punch flavored Hi-C. I finished it in about 2 and a half minutes, it wasn't near as big as I expected. Blame it on hunger (I hadn't eaten this morning so my levels wouldn't be high, and I'm always hungry in the morning), but it was do-able. Funny thing was I had to drink it in the LabCorp room with the nurse, as if I would pour it into a plant in the waiting room if they didn't supervise me. Good thing I didn't burp at the end or something. LOL.

Next, we had our ultrasound. The tech asked me if I knew why my doctor requested it and I just told her about the "hmmm, a little big" comment from my 24wk appointment. I always watch the measurements, and of course the baby, during the ultrasound. After having so many ultrasounds early on, I learned what to look for. She measured his head several times, and almost every time it measured about 29wks...I'm 26w5d by the way. His little body length measured about 28w6 days. His heart was ticking away at 138bpm. She measured his leg bones too and I kept trying to peek in between since we've already gone boy crazy. She asked if we already knew what we were having and I said, "is it still a boy?" That it most definitely is! I just needed to know if we need to change Tyler to Tyra or anything silly like that.

Little man is getting harder to see via ultrasound since he's getting bigger. At the end of the measurements, the tech let us watch his face for a little bit. He opened and closed his mouth and at one point his cheeks moved and it sure looked like a smile! Melted my heart!!! His right hand has been up by his face every time we've seen him, but not this time. This time it was his feet! He was holding his legs and his piggies were up by his face. Probably learned that from all the yoga I've been doing... He's head down. So at least now I know when I'm feeling punches or kicks. See the foot up above his nose?!? =)

The rest of the appointment was as routine as you get, which is so reassuring at this point. Weight...good! Oh, Cooter weighed himself when I went to do my urine sample in the bathroom and conveniently left the scale on 208, so when I stepped on it, he said, "208 wow!" Not that anyone would fall for it, but I blushed all the same. Blood pressure...good! No protein my urine! Belly is still measuring a little big for my dates, but in accordance to the baby's size, so its just something they will watch from here on out. That could all change once we know the results of my bloodwork. My weight gain was steady, but normal, so she knows I'm not just eating too much. He's just a growing boy! As Jeremy put it, "he's gonna be a beast!"

Next appointment...March 31. I go every 2 weeks now!

Cooter's parents moved into their new house this past weekend. We went up to LaGrange to help (well Cooter helped, I did very little). It was a nice trip though because the whole family was there. Laila ended up having a couple tumors removed Saturday morning (her vet is in LaGrange), so I spent most of the day taking care of her. She is our baby right now! We got some good family pics on moving day. Its hard to get everyone in the same place at the same time!

The Maxwell/Gonzalez Family

Justin & Emily with Aunt Cooter and Uncle Tip

When you point to my belly and ask Justin who that is...he says, "that's my cousin in there!"

Sis, Cooter, and Lindsey

Here's a couple cute ones of the kids. They are getting SO big now!

Emi LOVES horsies!

Holding hands...SO sweet. They did this on their own!

Sweet boy

Refrigerator! That's sign language for the refrigerator.

6 months preggo!

I certainly did not mean to go almost 5 weeks with no post...my apologies! When our appointments started stretching to every 4 weeks, it didn't feel like there was much to report. Thinking back on the last month though, its been quite monumental! First of all, we are 25 weeks tomorrow...what a wonderfully big number that is! Only 15 weeks to go...just a little over a trimester left! Seems like the first 12 weeks passed at a snail's pace, but the last 12 have absolutely flown by (no complains from me...I cannot wait to hold this baby in my arms!!!). I guess passing that 12wk mark significantly calmed our nerves and I finally started to enjoy being pregnant...doesn't help that I started feeling better around that same time!

Since we found out it was a boy, things have started feeling even more real. We call him by name, ponder his personality traits, hunting skills, etc. LOL. I have pretty much finished his nursery. I got all of his bedding washed and put in place. Yes, I know I will need to do it all over again before he gets here, but let me be! I am nesting in a bad way... He has wall decor, fit for a little boy, of course! Letters spelling Tyler are painted and ready to be hung on the wall...I LOVE walking in and seeing his name...he's real!!! We just have to stain a few shelves I bought and its pretty much done except for a few things I am hoping to get at a shower!

The infamous belly shot... Every time I post I comment on how big it seems, only to take back my previous words in an insert-here type situation. So I will say it again...within the last week or so, the belly has really popped straight out. Seriously...scroll down and look at 20wks and see how round it is now! I'm starting to worry about getting top-heavy. By 36+ weeks, I might just fall over. I love it though. I have waited SO long to rub my belly. And it doesn't bother me one bit when people ask me when I'm due...that means I must look like I have a baby on board!

Let's talk about little man...since he's kicking me profusely while I'm typing. Talk about active! When he's awake, he's on the move! He's pretty routine with his activity patterns. He moves a little in the morning (he must be hungry), then he chills back out for a while. Laila and I usually take a morning walk, so I'm sure that rocks him to sleep. My stomach hardly ever growls anymore...Ty starts wiggling around before it ever has a chance to tell me I'm hungry. I end up eating and snacking like 6 times a day to keep him happy. About 2-4pm in the afternoon he puts on a pretty good show. I'm usually working at the computer right about then and he likes to claim he existence while I work (as if I have forgotten about him). Then he chills until right before bedtime. He loves for me to sit back and relax...that's when he really gets busy!

Baby Ty made show of his existence to the outside world about 3 weeks ago. I was sitting in bed with my iPad resting on my belly (makes for a great tabletop). I felt him kicking and moving about and all of a sudden, the whole iPad shifted! I thought maybe I had a muscle spasm in my arm so I laid everything down and stared at the belly . Sure enough, a little bump poked up! SO neat to see him moving from the outside! Of course Cooter was out of town that night...poor guy had waited for so long to feel him move. Before he could get back home, I had to leave for 2 days...so finally 4 days later, he got to feel his son for the first time. I teared up watching that connection. He laid his head on my belly to listen and Ty kicked his face. Giggles all around...

Baby kicks are indescribable. I almost always feel him right at or just under my belly button several times a day. That's his sweet spot. But when he's on the go, he is everywhere! I'll call Cooter over to feel him, put his hand on my belly and then he moves somewhere else! He not only kicks, he punches! If he kicks me in the side, you can see it really well. Since I'm all belly out front, my sides are stretched much tighter so he's easy to see. Ty gets hiccups all the time now too! I wasn't sure at first, but after a few times, I figured it out...the same rhythmic feeling in my belly. WIthin the last week or so he's gotten big enough that the hiccups sometimes show from the outside. My belly will twitch every few seconds. Cooter got to feel them the other night too! It's such a reassuring blessing to feel life moving inside you.

We thank God everyday for Tyler.

24 week prenatal check-up... I actually went at 24w5d (we scheduled a late appointment so Cooter could get home from a business trip, but his flight got in within minutes of my appointment, so he missed it). Blood pressure is normal (yay...that was a slight concern at 16wks), weight was good (super yay...since the dr got on to me at the last appointment for that), and no protein in my urine. Momma's good! They gave me a 28 week to-do list to prepare me for my next appointment when I get to do the wonderful glucose test. Baby had a good, healthy heartbeat again...in the 130's, which is where it was for our 20wk ultrasound. I haven't heart that swishy thump-thump of his heart beating in 8 weeks! Such a sweet, sweet sound! The doctor came in to get her measurements (and I was all smiles, thinking HA, nothing wrong with me this time!). She measured my belly circumference for the first time. I have no idea what the measurements were, but all she said was, "hmmm, a little big." Then she said she wanted me to come back in 2 weeks for an ultrasound so we can measure the baby. I will be almost 27 weeks at that point. So, I will also be doing my glucose test early. Since my belly measured big, they will be determining if I have gestational diabetes or will rule it out. I'm not worried about it at all. I have measured at least a week big on ultrasound since Ty was 10.5 weeks. Since we were medically controlled to ovulate, I actually got pregnant about a week early than a natural cycle would have allowed me. The doctor's office still goes by the date of my last period, which I've corrected them...but they don't listen. I won't turn down an extra ultrasound...another chance to see my sweet little man?!? Yes, please!!! I might just start my 2 week check-ups a little earlier than normal. As long as I'm feeling good and he's moving everyday, then I refuse to let anything get my nerves going. I did enough worrying early on...its time to enjoy it all before its over!

Happy me going out to book club with the girls the other night...

oh boy, oh boy!

...just had to get that out of my system, so I can go on with the rest of my post!

Sorry for the delay in my 20 week post...I am actually almost 21 weeks now! Between text messages and facebook, baby updates spread fast this past week. Huge week for us by the way! Our family experienced some major milestones in the past week! The inevitable came and went...and my 30th birthday was rather uneventful, but I wouldn't have had it any other way! Mom called the night before and asked if it would be okay if she called me at 4:10am (the time of my momentous birth) as I officially turned 30. We both agreed that sleep was probably a wiser choice. Although chances are good that I was up going to the bathroom around that time of morning anyway. My day was filled with birthday wishes via text, phone and facebook (thank you, technology)...which just reminds me how blessed I am to have so many close friends and family in my life. Cooter brought home a cookie cake with hot pink icing (my cake request, but he picked out the pink himself!) and waaaaay too many candles! He insisted on lighting all 30 candles, although it was just the two (and a half) of us and the fur babies celebrating. Candles didn't stay lit long though...I didn't want to the fire department to know I was turning 30 as well!

We spent the next night with our amazing neighbors, who cooked me a homemade chicken pot pie and baked cookies and sang me happy birthday! Good times as always, I laughed till my belly hurt. Everyone made their official belly prediction...boy or girl? I stood by my prediction that its a boy.

Last Saturday I hit 20 weeks...officially halfway through the pregnancy! Although it feels like I've already been pregnant for quite some time, this next half is sure to be much more exciting than the first. I remember being excited when I hit double digits back at 10 weeks, then watching 12 weeks come and go, knowing that I finally made it past the first trimester. Now here I am, a mere 7 weeks from starting my third trimester...WOW. My belly has definitely made itself known, especially in the past few weeks. I go through numerous shirts a day until I find one that fits me right. Most maternity shirts are too big for me...I have pretty much just grown a belly and nothing else, so all the shirts are too big elsewhere. I squeeze into my pre-pregnancy shirts, only to find that thanks to the burgeoning belly, they aren't quite long enough anymore! My mom did find some XS maternity shirts at Motherhood this past weekend, and I ordered 2 tank tops a size bigger than usual from Old Navy, so I now have 4 new favorite shirts!

Baby is on the move now! It always was, but I feel it everyday now! Some days more than others, but I'm sure it's the baby now! Cooter still can't feel it yet, but sometimes I feel a stronger one here or there, but hopefully he gets to join in on the fun soon! Baby loves fruit and smoothies! He almost always wiggles when I eat fruit...keeps me eating well!

We also finished painting the nursery this past week. I know we have plenty of time to do all of this, but I was glad to be able to paint (with a mask and plenty of ventilation of course) before I get too big to help. You also have to remember that we've been planning that room's future since the day we moved in this house...so nothing is done too early for us! I got Cooter to take a few pics of me in the nursery to document being 20 weeks!
When I went to my show last Sunday, Cooter decided to put the crib together. When I came home, the whole room was set up...brought tears to my eyes. I don't have a mattress yet, so the bedding isn't set up, but here's a few pics of the furniture and the quilt that matches the bedding.

So, now for the real exciting news! We had the much awaited 20 week ultrasound on Tuesday (I was officially 20w3d). It seems like I have been counting down the days till that appointment for as long as I have been pregnant! We really, truly did not have a gender preference. When people would ask Cooter if he hoped for a boy or a girl, he would just answer, "healthy." That's the bottom line...and boy is he! They have such an awesome set up at our doctor's office for ultrasounds. There's a 42 inch TV on the wall for us to watch while she's taking her measurements. This was a longer than normal ultrasound, called an anatomy scan..but of course I didn't mind at all! (except for the 32oz of liquid they made me consume prior to my appointment...ugh, I felt SO sick) I soaked in every second we got to see our baby, our life...wiggling around, hands moving, heart beating. We got to see his head, his face, that adorable profile fit with the perfect little nose! She measured his bones, found his hands, his feet, even his kidneys. We saw a tiny rib cage and spine...and all four chambers of his heart beating away at 130bpm. I watched the tech fill out her checklist at the end of the ultrasound, noting he was an active baby! Most of his measurements put him around 21+ weeks at that time. Baby has been measuring a little big since about 10 weeks. He weighs 13oz (almost a whole pound!)...and his weight matches more closely with the 21+ weeks measurements. She waited until the end of the ultrasound to ask if we wanted to know what we were having. Before she even got him back on the screen, she said its a boy! I knew it! I also thought I saw a little something when she was measuring his legs earlier, but I waited patiently!

The rest of the appointment went well. Doctor and ultrasound tech said everything looked good with the baby and his measurements. No blood work for the first time since I was 3 and a half weeks preggo! My blood pressure was back down to 124/72...so apparently the last trip was just nerves. The only negative was that my doctor told me I was gaining too much weight! My jaw dropped. Here I am, struggling to find maternity clothes that aren't too big for me and I'm gaining too much?!? I'm seriously ALL belly! I even said that to her and she looked at me like I was nuts. Cooter just laughed. I'm blaming the water. Seriously 32oz or more of liquid not even consumed 30 minutes beforehand...and then they want me on a scale? I've been paranoid and checking the scale all the time now...this morning I was 7lbs less than I weighed at my appointment...so take that doctor! All of my friends said just expect that. They are always going to tell you its too much, but as long as the baby is good and your blood pressure is good, then take care of yourself and who cares what they think. I'm only up 10-12lbs since the beginning of my pregnancy...I didn't think that was so bad. According to the doctor, I gained 10lbs in the last month...seriously, blaming the water! Plus I have almost 1lb of baby in there now! =)

Here's the much awaited snap shots of baby Ty! His little hand is up by his ear in the first pic. You can see arm bones and fingers on the side of his head. He's had his right hand up by his head since our early ultrasounds...he's going to sleep like Superman!

No doubt its definitely a boy!!! Think he'll be mortified down the road when he finds out I posted this for all to see?!?

Only 19ish weeks to go!