It's a girl!

Last Friday was our 20-week ultrasound appointment.  It was an early one too.  We headed to the hospital at 6:45 that morning.  My mom met us to join in on the viewing.  We were escorted to the room by one of the nurses and waited patiently for the Ultrasound Technician to arrive.  He was very pleasant and informed us that he would be doing a DVD of the ultrasound and providing us with pictures.

Before the appointment Mike and I had been discussing whether or not to find out the gender.  I personally did not want to know the gender for the surprise factor and I am pretty old school when it comes to this stuff.  I mean people surely didn't know what they were having 30 years ago.  But after hearing Mike's reasons to know...ease of mind and preparation....I decided I would go along with finding out the gender.  Well let me tell you, whether or not I wanted to know, within 5 minutes of the ultrasound we could tell what b.o.b. "was".  The ultrasound tech. didn't even have to point it out.  It was so obvious.  So unless I had planned on not watching a majority of the ultrasound, we were bound to find out.

Needless to say we were excited to find out that we will be having a daughter!!!  We also were happy to see the four chambers of the heart, the liver, stomach, kidneys, brain, the spine (one of my favorites), and the 4D pictures.  It was amazing to see our little girl moving around, which she did a lot of towards the end of the visit.  All signs point to a healthy baby girl weighing in at 14 ounces right now.

Talk about moving around.  Ever since I felt her move last Monday, I am aware of every time she begins to dance.  Mike was talking about how he wanted to feel her and I let him know that it would probably be a few more weeks because of how small she still is.  However on Saturday morning before Mike left for work, she was moving around like crazy.  I called him over to place his hand on my belly to see if she might make a move for him.  What do you know, that girl gave a good "pop"!  Mike's eyes and face were amazed.  It was like she knew he was there because she didn't move after that.  I am so happy that he was able to feel her.  He is already in love with his little girl.  She will definitely be a "Daddy's girl".

Hello!

Pretty girl!

My personal favorite-her butt!

b.o.b. bump @ 20 weeks

The halfway point is here!  Time flies when you are having fun!  I must admit that this pregnancy has been nothing but amazing for me.  I have felt wonderful and I am enjoying all the new changes (both with my body and lifestyle) that I have encountered.

On another great note, I felt the movements of b.o.b. for the first time on Monday morning.  I had awoke around 3 a.m. for one of my many potty breaks and had a difficult time falling back asleep.  So while laying in the bed I felt something in my belly that reminded me of "popcorn popping."  It happened a couple of times and I just knew it was b.o.b.  I was overcome with happiness and needless to say falling back asleep became even more difficult.  So now every time I feel that "popping"  I know it's b.o.b. making sure s/he is known. :)

Another dose of the beach!

On Wednesday evening, Mike, his parents & brother, and myself made another visit to Oak Island.  What a wonderful trip it was.  Thursday's weather was a bit overcast, but Friday and Saturday turned out to be spectacular days.  We enjoyed the time spent together at such a wonderful location. 

 

b.o.b. making it's second appearance at the beach!

b.o.b. bump @ 19 weeks

Wow!  What a day.  I literally did not get home till 8:30 this evening.  After some quick packing for our trip to Oak Island tomorrow, I am ready for bed.  Here is a quick glimpse of the bump.  One more week and half-way through!

Swimsuits are not my friend

Tis' the time of year when the warm weather makes you want to put on your swimsuit and catch some rays.  Well not so much for the momma. Although I enjoy laying out, the beach, and the pool, I have not desired to do it as much because of the dreaded hunt for a new swimsuit.  With our upcoming beach trip this Wednesday I really wanted to get a new suit so that I could at least get somewhat of a tan. 

I began searching for a swimsuit this past weekend and immediately found out I could not longer fit my normal sizes.  For example, the top is now an XL.  The girls are just growing at a fast rate these days and have even made bra shopping difficult.  So I came home empty handed over the weekend, but headed back out today and made a purchase of a black bikini.  Black makes you look slimmer, right?!?!

It was still nice when I returned home and I decided to try out the suit and enjoy some evening rays.  Once in the lounge chair I began to think about how difficult laying out will actually be with a growing belly.  As I started out laying down on my back, I began to panic.  All the books say you shouldn't lay on your back for an extended period of time because it could interfere with the flow of blood and nutrients to the placenta and your developing baby.  So then I raised my chair.  Then it came to my attention that I will definitely not be laying on my stomach, so no sun for my back.  I guess I will just have to take some long walks on the beach to get the sun I really want. 
Oh well!

I did enjoy the fact that as I was sitting in the chair I looked down and now saw a raised bump....b.o.b.!  I even found myself rubbing my belly and thinking about all the acrobatic movies s/he was doing in there.  Even though I am not very fond of swimsuits right now, I can put up with it for all the joy that will be brought to my life in a few months!

Hiking Momma!

 Today was the first hike I have taken in my pregnancy.  It was a wonderful day to do so.  The weather was just right and my energy levels are at a high right now(which I know will not last).  My mom and I went to Cascades in Giles Co.  I have been doing this hike since I was a child.  It is nice to have local places to go for day hikes.  We did the the four mile hike in about 3 hours and then enjoyed a lunch together. I felt wonderful after the hike, but I was ready to put on my sandals as soon as it was over.  I think b.o.b. enjoyed the outing too.  There will be many more to come, but the majority of them may have to wait till after b.o.b. arrives.

b.o.b. bump @ 18 weeks

Once again I am a day late with the bump post.  I was just so wiped out yesterday evening.  After being off from school for 4 days, it was hard to get back into routine.

Today's picture is not the best.  I feel as though it makes me look like I have just gained weight....no real bump effect.  The clothing choice isn't that great either, but today's weather did not make it easy to get dressed.  We experienced a dramatic drop to the mid-40s today from our usual 60-70 and even upper 70 degree weather.  Since I made the wardrobe change a few weeks ago, the choices for clothing today were slim pickings.  I decided a pair of my regular jeans, which had to be held together with the lovely rubber band and a fall type bubble shirt would get me through the day.  A shirt that bubbles around the belly is nice some days.  Comfort is my biggest decider on clothing at this point in the game.

Still can't believe how quickly the time is passing by.  Crazy to think that in two more weeks I will be halfway through the pregnancy!

A most informative check-up

I went for my routine check-up today.  It comes in as a top visit (after our initial one of course)!  I saw one of the two midwives at the practice I go to and I came prepared with my list of questions.  Since before getting pregnant, I knew that I wanted to have the most natural childbirth possible. I have even been tossing around the idea of a home birth.  Most recently I have been considering having a Doula at my child's birth.

There is so much research out there that shows natural is such a better way for the mother and the baby.  I have been reading up a lot and have come across a book that is most informative, "The Doula Guide to Birth."  So with the information I have acquired, I wanted to find out what the thoughts of the doctors and midwives of the practice I go to were.

I was grinning ear to ear after my conversation with the midwife.  I found out that they are completely open to a woman's birth plan, multiple positions during the birthing process, the use of tubs and showers, and they don't push for inductions, epidurals, or episiotomies.  I was so relieved to hear all this information and felt  comfortable with the outcome of our conversation.  So even though I have been leaning towards a home birth, the thought of having a birth in the hospital is not as frightening to me anymore.

After our long conversation, the midwife felt for my uterus, which was exactly where she expected it to be.  Then came the sound of our child's wonderful heartbeat!  Nice and strong, between 140-150 beats a minute.  Also on another good note, I have only gained 1 pound in 4 weeks!!!

Here is a clip of b.o.b's heart beat today:

b.o.b.'s first beach trip!

My mom and I left Thursday evening for a trip to Oak Island, N.C.  The trip down went well.  We stopped at a Trader Joe's (my favorite grocery store) and had dinner at a K&W Cafeteria.  We arrived around 10:30, got settled and went to bed. 

The next morning I did not feel so hot.  My back was aching and I felt sick to my stomach.  I am not sure if it was something I ate or if I caught a stomach bug.  I have been experiencing the back/tailbone pain for quite sometime if I sit for a long period.  Since Friday was a rainy day anyways, it worked out that I was not feeling well.  We went to Southport to do a little shopping and stopped at the natural foods store so I could pick up some ginger and Reed's ginger ale (this is the real stuff).  Towards the end of the day I was beginning to feel better.  I took a nap, we had dinner, and then I was in bed by 9:00. 

Saturday was a whole new day!  I woke up feeling 100% better.  We headed to Southport for the Spring Festival.  It was nice to get out and enjoy the weather.  We returned to the house to go for a walk with of course a visit to the beach.  Then dinner was at The Oak Island Restaurant.  I was able to get grilled scallops and oysters, two of my favorite sea foods!  Then mom and I rented a movie to watch for the night. 

Sunday was the dreaded day because I knew we had to head back.  It was also the nicest of the days that we had been there.   We got up, took our walks and visit to the beach.  Cleaned the house some.  Had lunch and were on our way by 2:30. 

I was sad to leave, but am happy about our return in less than two weeks with Mike's parents.  I am so thankful to have a place to retreat to at the beach.  I look forward to the many visits we will get to take when b.o.b. arrives.  B.o.b. will most definitely be a "beach baby"!

Here are a few pics that I was able to take of the beach:

b.o.b. bump @ 17 weeks (a day late)

Well I have been slacking a little on the blog, but not in other areas of my life!

My little sister moved out of our house this past Sunday.  She had been rooming with us until she found just the right place.  She finally found her pot of gold.  This past week she became a homeowner! I am so happy for her :)  So, while a little bit of remodeling is taking place she decided to shack up with some good friends.

With the vacancy of our guest bedroom, I began an overhaul of rearranging "things".  The guest room will now become the guest room with a touch of nursery.  We have a trundle bed that is currently in the room and have talked about how it will be nice to have this bed on those nights when one of us will want some extra sleep or for those late nights that we never seem to get to bed :)  We also purchased the crib this past weekend after finding one that is very similar to the look of our trundle bed.

Tonight was a fun-filled night!  Our friends, the Lamberts, came over to help us set up the crib.  The men put together the crib and also mounted a t.v., while us ladies played with the babes.  It was a great night full of successful work and a pizza dinner to top it off!

I am also in a very happy mood tonight because my mom and I are headed to one of my favorite places tomorrow.....the house at Oak Island, N.C. (I like to consider it my second home, although it belongs to my parents).  This will be my Spring Break trip.  I am looking forward to the time away from the routine of everyday life.  It will be nice to finally get in some reading and hopefully lots of sun!!!

 

 The ever-growing belly!

And the completed crib!