20 Weeks

Baby boy is now the size of a cantaloupe! He weighs as much as 1 pound now.

Halfway there! 19 weeks was all about celebrating that it's a boy. 20 weeks and beyond is going to be all about decisions, decisions, and decisions. I am suddenly in major planning mode. My doctor told me last week that I have about an 8 to 10 week window of feeling great. She said at around 28 weeks I would start to feel very pregnant. She encouraged me to get a lot done during this window of time and I am going to do just that. I pretty much have what I want the baby bedding to look like in my mind, but haven't fully decided on nursery colors, furniture, etc. Hopefully I can make these decisions soon. I have been researching strollers, carseats, and other gear. Of course my main thing is safety, so I have been researching on consumer reports and think I have it narrowed down.

I really like the jogging strollers. I have heard they are the most convenient. This one was ranked high on reviews and I like the colors!

The Chicco Keyfit 30 is ranked very high for safety. Haven't decided which color I will get but know this is the carseat I want.

Still have to decide on the high chair and pack and play. Then I will feel like I have all of the big items finished. Here is a pick of the baby bedding that I have in mind. It may not be the exact same thing, but will look very similar. I found this on modpeapod.com.

Naturally, everyone is asking us about names. Well, the battle continues. I wouldn't necessarily say there is a battle going on, but we are exploring all of our options before I make we make the decision : ). Boy names are hard! I am ready to be able to call him by his name though, so hopefully we can come to a decision soon.



First Baby Stuff Purchase

We found out the gender at a very convenient time. The day after was the New 2 You consignment sale. Matt, Mom, Erica, and I all went to try and find some good deals. I was hoping to find a good jogging stroller, but they didn't have what I was looking for. We didn't come away with much, but I was so excited about what we did find. What a great feeling to finally get to buy things for our baby boy! It was so much fun!

And my favorite item.......

Babies look so cute sitting in these bumbo seats. Got this one for more than half off! Yay! Can't wait to see him in it.

It's A..................

......Sweet baby boy! And I am shocked! I just knew deep down it was a girl, but I wouldn't change a thing. I couldn't be happier about this precious little boy! Matt and I both are just overjoyed. Today was amazing! First of all, none of our family knew (except Lauren) that we were finding out today. Our doctor moved our sonogram up from 20 wks to 19 wks. So we continued to let our family think our appointment wasn't until next week. I made ribbons, one for boy and one for girl. I decided to tie the ribbon around my baby bump and let that do the announcing. I made the ribbons the night before. For some reason, I was a nervous wreck sitting in that waiting room! All the excitement and anxiety was killing me. And of course, our sonogram tech was behind so we had to wait an extra 30 minutes. Torture! Once we got started, she didn't give us a warning that she was about to look, but I was pretty sure I saw a little something when she was trying to get a clear enough view to snap the shot. She finally got the right view and wrote the "It's a boy!". Like I said, I was shocked but thrilled! He has the sweetest little face and I just can't wait to kiss it!

Getting ready to start!

Here is our adorable baby boy....

Love this profile shot...that is his knee over his nose...he appears to have long legs like his daddy!

 He'll hate me for this one day but I wanted to show how obvious it was..no doubts here!

 Sweet little foot

Proud Daddy

 Proud Mommy

So we went straight from the doctor to share the news with our families. On the way, we called and announced the news to Chad, Beth, and the boys. I had called Lauren as soon as I stepped out of the door of the doctor's office because she already knew what was going on. They were all, of course, excited for us. We stopped at my parent's first. Mom, Dad, and Michael were all in the kitchen. They are always wanting to see my growing belly, so I casually told them to look at how big my belly looked today. And of course when I pulled up my shirt I had the blue ribbon tied around it. They were so surprised! What a fun moment! They had no clue!

Next we went to tell Matt's family. His dad was out of town, so Mrs. Pam was the only one to get the ribbon surprise. This will be their 5th grandson! Matt called his dad to tell him the news.

Today has been such a blessing. Not only did we find out the gender, but everything else looked great on the sonogram. He is a very healthy little boy and we are so humbled and grateful for that! God is so so good! I just can't stop thanking Him for this little life inside of me. We already love this baby boy so much!

Now about the name....let the battle begin! And I do mean battle. We just have totally different taste when it comes to boy names. My taste = good, Matt's taste = not so good : ). This may be a long process but hopefully the little guy will have a name before his birthday. 





19 Weeks

Matt has finally felt the baby move! Actually he has caught it three times now. Such a fun experience! My mom has been able to feel it too. My poor brother, Michael, tried and tried all weekend to feel a kick but he/she just wouldn't cooperate. This was the scene most of the weekend with Michael and Mom....

Our baby is now the size of a mango. Getting big! I can't wait to see how he/she looks in the next ultrasound. We haven't seen our baby since week 8. That is coming up very soon and we can't wait! That's when we will find out the gender. I have been completely neutral about gender since finding out I was pregnant. Two weeks ago I started feeling very strongly that it was a girl. As of this week I am back to feeling neutral. Matt's guess was girl but has recently changed to boy. Everyone else is guessing girl except maybe 4 or 5 people (Mom, Josh, Lauren, Beth...to name a few). I think it is because most everyone sees me with a girl. We have a little time of peace between Matt and I left before the war over names begins. If it's a girl, we will probably agree pretty easily. If it's a boy....oh my. We have completely different ideas. Completely.

 As far as symptoms go, I feel like the 'tired' feeling has returned. All I think about is laying in the bed and sleeping...and sleeping some more. I look forward to my Saturdays more than ever now!

18 Weeks

18 weeks and still growing rapidly! I read in my pregnancy book that the baby will double its weight from 17 to 20 weeks. I guess that explains why I notice a difference in the baby bump each week. He/She is now the size of a sweet potato. I am continuing to feel the baby move more and more. The past two days he/she has been very active and I love it! Matt still hasn't been able to feel a kick yet. The baby will be kicking and kicking and as soon as he puts his hand there it stops. Stubborn little thing. I had my first craving tonight...Halloween oreos. Actually I crave them every year. There's something about the Halloween kind that just draw me in. My sweet husband went to Walmart tonight and bought me some. After several minutes of eating them on the couch Matt decided to join me. He started laughing because I had already eaten a whole sleeve. I honestly didn't believe him and thought he had grabbed some while I wasn't looking to make me think I had eaten them. Not the case. I really had eaten a sleeve and was working on another! Impressive. Don't need to let that happen too often. No wonder my face is already looking chubby. Here is the week 18 pic....

Poor oreos didn't stand a chance

17 Weeks

This post is very late. I turned 17 weeks last Friday. We have been in New York for a wedding so I have not had time to post. From 16 to 17 weeks I have grown ALOT. People are now starting to notice the bump more often. All of my family members have commented on the growth that took place in just one week. Ha! I love it though! I am starting to really look pregnant and not just "thick". I feel like everything is happening early especially with this being my first pregnancy. I had symptoms early, started showing early, and started feeling the baby move very early. (I am starting to think maybe I am further along than the doctor thinks..scary thought!) Around the end of 15 weeks I thought I was feeling the "flutters" but wasn't completely sure. At 16 weeks I definitely knew I was feeling movement. Now at 17 weeks I can feel those precious kicks on my hand. They are getting stronger everyday. Love love love it! Poor Matt has been trying to feel a kick all week, but of course the baby never cooperates with him. All I do all day now is wait for those little kicks. It pretty much keeps me entertained all day. Ha!

17 week facts:

• Our sweet baby is now the size of an onion, about 8 to 9 inches
• He/She is definitely moving!
• I am feeling great and loving this stage of pregnancy!
• From 17 wks to 20 wks the baby will double it's size...maybe that's the reason for the sudden bump growth
• I outgrew 3 pairs of my scrubs in just one week...yikes!
• I have ONE pair of pants I can fit into plus leggings (which are even starting to get tight)

 This was at the West Point campus..had to throw it in just for the background

 This dress seemed to emphasize the bump