The Big Reveal! It's a...

GIRL!

We are so excited to share the news that our sweet baby is a little girl. We had our 21-week ultrasound on Thursday and waited anxiously to see that all of Baby's parts were there and healthy. We saw all four chambers of her heart (which was firing away at 145 bpm), the various parts of her brain, her arms, legs, fingers and toes. (She has cute little feet - at one point they were flexing over and over like she was hitting the gas pedal on a tiny car. Look out in 16 years!) R's favorite quote was when the tech told us, "Your baby is so photogenic! I mean look at that: those are some adorable kidneys!" We saw her face (which, truthfully, is still sort of Skeletor-ish) and her amazingly adorable profile. She had her mouth open for much of the scan, so we were able to see her cute little lips and button nose in all their sweet glory. We are smitten.

Finally, at the end of the scan, the tech asked if we'd like to know the gender. Of course!!! Well wouldn't you know that at that moment, the baby clamped her legs together like a vice?! The tech said we could wait a few minutes and try again, so she entered all of the measurements in a computer while we chatted. Maybe five minutes later, she came over to try again, this time with better luck. There were actually two techs in the room for our whole scan, so they conferred with one another as to what they were seeing. After several minutes of, "Do you see what I see?" "Yep, it looks that way to me." "I mean I keep seeing glimpses, so I just want to be sure..." we finally heard one of them say, "Looks pretty chick-ish!" The other confirmed: "It's a girl!" We saw the "three little lines" that indicate girl parts and that was all I needed!

I thought R would burst with happiness - he's been wanting a little girl all along. I remember soon after we found out we were pregnant, I asked him whether he thought it would be a boy or a girl and he said - full of confidence and swagger - "I gave you a girl." I've been feeling girl all along as well, and have had a dream or two with a little girl in it. I've always thought I wanted a boy, but based on how excited I am, I think my preference just didn't run all that deep. 

Also, remember back to when we had our 12-week scan? Here's the one ultrasound picture we didn't share at that point, which led the tech to guess girl even then:

See the bright white forked line on the right? It points straight down toward the baby's bottom, which is typically indicative of a girl. In a boy, that line would point upward at about a 30-degree angle. At least that's the theory - it's alternately called "Nub Theory" and "Angle of the Dangle Theory". At least in our case, it was right!

So now we can finally get busy preparing! We can start decorating the nursery, choose a name(!!), and wrap up much of our registry. We still want to be largely gender neutral with our registry picks - neither R nor I has any intent of raising a little flouncy pink princess - but surprisingly, it does help to know boy or girl. More importantly, it makes this pregnancy feel so real. We're not having just a baby, not an "it"... we're having a girl! A daughter! And you know what? I can't say I've ever been happier about anything in my life.

Twenty Weeks!!

Woo! We've made it to another milestone: the halfway mark! It is SUCH a great feeling to know that we're that much closer to meeting our baby!

Also, it helps that I'm officially in the "glowy & happy" stage of pregnancy, or so everyone keeps telling me. I should keep a tally of the number of people who tell me I'm glowing. I'll be completely honest with you: I love it! Everything about this pregnancy is just a joy to me, and I see the beauty in it all, but there are days I mourn the loss of control over my body. It's hard to look in the mirror and see myself expanding, even though I know it means the baby is growing and developing right on track. Call me vain, but I've always taken care of myself and tried to stay fit. Noting the numbers on the scale and inches around my belly creeping (or leaping!) upward feels like watching all of that effort slip away. I know I'll get it back, but how long - and how much work - will that take?! Lest this sound like too much complaining, let me reiterate that I am in love with being pregnant. I simply expressed all of that to explain why it honestly touches my heart when friends tell me I look great or I'm glowing or some other sweet compliment of the sort. It helps buoy my spirits and confidence when I otherwise might feel down. So throw me a life raft - I can use the pick me up!

How about some highlights from this week (and there were a few!):

• Strolling Right Along: Choosing a stroller felt a lot to me like buying a car. It seemed monumental, full of pressure to make the right choice (a choice we can live with for years to come), and surprisingly expensive! I did gobs of research and finally settled on the stroller for our munchkin. Luckily, there were two shops in the area that carried it, so we could go take a test drive (see?!). 

We went on Saturday and were able to check out many of the items we've registered for in person for the first time, which was great. When we finally made it to the back of the store - to the strollers - we were greeted by the shop owner, who took the time to demonstrate all the bells and whistles on the model we came in to see, as well as the one additional model I was sort of eyeing longingly. He then showed us a completely different model and we fell hard. We both tried our hand at folding and opening it, taking it for a stroll through the store, and asking that poor man dozens of questions. After patiently answering all of them, he knew we were hooked (just like a car salesman!), so he offered us 10% off if we wanted to buy that day. We knew we'd buy it at some point, so we pounced. Here - in all of its shiny glory - is Baby's new stroller (and bassinet stand so Baby can sleep in our room for a little while):

• Hard to Please: Sunday, R and I went to see our crib at the only store in Minnesota that carries it (we were reminded again of how much we love living here). Sneak peak:

There was a lovely woman at the shop who took the time to answer our questions. After several minutes of chatting about cribs, changing tables, and the like, the shopkeeper asked, "So, are you two thinking about having a baby at some point in the future?" Stunned that she had been standing in the presence of my very obvious bump and still felt the need to ask, I pointed at my belly and said, "Oh, we're well beyond thinking about it!" She was very sweet and helpful, but I'll tell you what, it bothered me the rest of the day! I kept asking Ryan, "Did she just think I had a giant stomach tumor or what? How could she not tell?!"

Fast forward one day and I was at a work meeting. A colleague - who presumably did not know I am pregnant - approached me and said, "You're looking sort of pregnant. Are you?" I was shocked - gutsy move! As the day went on, I felt more and more put out. "Am I that huge? Do I look grotesque?!"

I told R when I went home, "Well, I realized that I'm apparently impossible to please." He laughed... and concurred!

• Walk This Way: I noticed when walking toward a mirror the other day that my gait is changing! I have the beginnings of a pregnant waddle... oh dear!

Last, but certainly not least, tomorrow is our much-anticipated anatomy scan. By the end of the day, we'll know whether we're bringing home a little guy or gal in December! We are SO excited - it seemed like this day would never arrive. Once we share the news with our families, you'll be the next to know - more to come!

Okay, on to the tracker:

Week: 20!

Weight: +5 so far (weigh in at our appointment tomorrow)!

Baby is the Size of a(n): Cantaloupe! 

Symptoms: insatiably hungry, dizzy when I get up too quickly, round ligament pain when sneezing/coughing/shifting positions (and lately, walking), tailbone pain when sitting for awhile, very vivid dreams, and moodiness (noteworthy breakdown: cried uncontrollably when R read Baby The Little House before bed one evening, apparently overcome by the sweetness of the act and the sadness of the story!)

Current Obsession: watermelon, pancakes, heirloom tomatoes, all the vegetables from our farm share, apples, peanut butter, red meat, and lemonade

Current Aversion: eggs (this is pretty bearable now)

Thinking About: whether we're having a boy or girl (one more day to wonder!); designing a nursery; finishing up our registry; and dreaming up names (we have a strong contender for favorite right now!)

Picture: 

20 Weeks: Halfway to Baby!

Eighteen AND Nineteen Weeks!

Okay, okay. I missed a week of updating, but you'll have to cut me some slack - we were babymooning!

For much of Week 18 and a smidgen of Week 19, R and I were in Bay View, Michigan. We have so many wonderful memories of time spent there while we were dating, engaged, and honeymooning/newly-married, but we hadn't been in four years! It's such a long drive from where we live, and we had so many other places we wanted to see and experience while young and free that we just hadn't made it back. When we started thinking about a pre-baby getaway, we knew we wanted to go to Bay View - it's the perfect spot to enjoy time together. Here we are after watching a sunset!

Here are some highlights from the past few weeks, including several from our trip:

• Can You Feel It? Right around the time we flipped over from 17 to 18 weeks, R was able to feel the baby moving (kicking!) for the first time. It was so special to finally get to share that incredible magic with him. I'd previously tried to put his hand on my belly when I felt movement, but inevitably the little one would stop moving. R was (jokingly) convinced that the baby hated him, but clearly that's not the case! Since then, he's been able to share that feeling with me several times.
• Seeing Is Believing: Not long after R felt the baby move, I had the wildest experience: I sat and watched my abdomen while the baby was kicking and could actually see my skin poke out with every kick. It was so amazing to observe the baby with another sense, thereby making it all feel even more real. Now, truthfully, there was a vaguely alien feeling to the whole experience (can you think of any other instance where something inside of you can be seen visibly moving under your skin?!), but it's so amusing and special that I was glad to witness it. While in Bay View, R was able to see the kicks happening too. We just sat and laughed with every little jab - it gave new meaning to the notion of "navel-gazing."
• The BEST Present: Uncle S, Aunt A, and Cousin E sent the very first present for the baby: an adorable holiday onesie! They found it while out shopping and wanted to express their shared excitement at adding this little one to the family. We were so touched - what a thoughtful gesture! We just can't wait to snap some photos of the baby in his/her very first outfit! Here's a picture to whet your appetite:

• Show Me the Money: Believe it of not, we hadn't purchased a single item for the baby prior to our trip to Bay View. At first, we were just so anxious to find out whether or not this baby would "stick" that we didn't want to count our little chick until it was hatched. As time went on and we grew more cautiously optimistic, I think we were just busy thinking, researching and planning to actually pull the trigger and buy. While poking around a store in Petoskey, MI we made the leap and purchased... three Little Golden Books. Both R and I have strong memories of reading and a shared love of books, so we cannot wait to build an inspiring library for our baby. Those three books opened a floodgate, and we are now the proud owners of ten others (Caldecott Award winners, no less). It's a nice start to what we hope will be a cherished collection of favorite stories. (Along those lines, we created an entire separate registry dedicated to books!)
• Room to Breathe: I've finally made the leap to a 100% maternity wardrobe at work. I cannot express the relief I feel at no longer having painful "button" marks on my belly after squeezing myself into pre-baby work pants all day, or the uncomfortably "exposed" feeling of wearing my pants unbottoned/unzipped with a Bella Band holding them up. Also, why didn't I know how comfortable maternity clothes are?! It's like wearing yoga pants 24/7!! I might never go back to regular clothes, honestly. Also, I splurged on one pair of designer maternity jeans and I'm in heaven: I could wear them to bed. All of the items I've purchased are so flattering and comfortable - it just makes me feel prettier and happier, which is really saying something, as I slowly but surely inch toward the day when I lose sight of my toes. Incredible!
• Head to Toe's the Way to Go! This is Baby's last week being measured "crown to rump". Starting next week, the fruit size will jump dramatically, because medical professionals begin measuring babies from head to toe. It will be startling to hold up next week's fruit, so for enjoy the Week 18 (sweet potato!) and Week 19 (mango!) photos!

With that, how about the tracker?

Week: 18 & 19

Weight: +5 so far (officially as of Week 17)!

Baby is the Size of a(n): Sweet Potato (18) and Mango (19)

Symptoms: hungry, dizzy when I get up too quickly, round ligament pain when sneezing/coughing/shifting positions (and lately, walking), tailbone pain when sitting for awhile, very vivid dreams, and moodiness (noteworthy breakdown: cried when R's Aunt N sent photos of R & his cousin as babies/kids - so adorable I couldn't help but shed a few tears!)

Current Obsession: watermelon, pancakes, heirloom tomatoes, all the vegetables from our farm share, peanut butter, red meat, and lemonade

Current Aversion: eggs and anything greasy (this is pretty bearable now)

Thinking About: whether we're having a boy or girl (just over a week until D-Day!); designing a nursery; finishing up our registry; and dreaming up names (we have a strong contender for favorite right now!)

Pictures: 

(I couldn't find any bigger mangos!)

Seventeen Weeks!

Another week has hit the books! Because I traveled this week, I'm a little thrown off. Apologies in advance if I duplicate items from last week. It's all blurring together! That said, here are the highlights:

• Pop Goes My Belly: R and I looked through my bump photos for the past few weeks and realized that - holy cow - I "popped" sometime in the past week. I look huge! You can definitely tell there's a baby growing in there, as you'll see in this week's photo.
• I Feel Bad About My Belly Button: have you heard of that Nora Ephron book I Feel Bad About My Neck? Well, I relate, except my bad feelings are in regards to my belly button. The aforementioned popping seems to have turned my adorable innie into an outie! It is squishy and pokes out. To make him understand why it's freaking me out, I had R stop while walking down the street yesterday so I could lift up my shirt and have him poke it. It's so weird!! I heard two teenagers making fun of a pregnant woman with a really noticeable outie at R's tri last weekend. Now I'm obsessed. Chalk it up to yet another unexpected side effect!
• Give It to Me Straight, Doc: we had our monthly OB appointment on Friday. It was very uneventful, as they all are now. I weighed in (moment of truth!), had my bp checked (120/60 - same as every other appointment), had my belly poked and prodded (baby's still growing), and listened to the heartbeat (fast and strong). We got to ask our questions, though this particular doctor was pretty business-like and not very loquacious. My practice has 12 doctors and whomever is on call when it's time to deliver is the designated baby catcher. I'm endeavoring to meet all of the doctors before that time comes, so I see a different doc at each appointment. This one was decidedly not my favorite so far, but I'm trying not to let it bother me. The highlight of the appointment was scheduling our anatomy scan for August 11 - exactly 21 weeks!
• We Are Family: during our trip to Seattle this week, Baby and I got the chance to hang out with Aunt K & PV! It was so fun to see them - we had lunch at Elliott's, toured Pike Place Market (fish throwers! cherry samples! art!), wandered down to Pioneer Square for some insane caramel apples, visited Salumi (the Batali family's Italian deli), poked around a Finnish store, and purchased a gift for friends of K & PV. We then hiked back to my hotel and spent some time just chatting. It was just the loveliest visit and I felt so lucky to have the free afternoon of my work trip overlap with their vacation. Always fun to see family! 
• Cold in a Heat Wave: of course, after my travel, I seem to have come down with a summer cold. The neti pot is saving my life, but I can't believe how sluggish, weak, and foggy-headed I feel. It's a bummer, but I know pregnant gals are more prone to picking up bugs, so I've sort of been anticipating this for awhile. I'm sure I'll shake it sometime this week, which will be just in time for our pre-baby getaway... more on that next week!

For now, on to the tracker!

Week: 17

Weight: +5 so far!

Baby is the Size of a(n): Pear

Symptoms: tired, hungry, dizzy when I get up too quickly, round ligament pain when sneezing/coughing/shifting positions (sneezed in bed last night and actually cried because I felt like I was being torn in half), tailbone pain when sitting for awhile, heavy & crampy feeling in lower abdomen, very vivid dreams, and serious moodiness (still rocking the waterworks, plus my filter is broken: I commented loudly that I'm 'breathing for two, here' when passing a smoker on the street in Seattle. Yikes!)

Current Obsession: sweets, blueberries, cherries, PANCAKES, tomatoes, all the vegetables from our farm share, peanut butter, red meat, and whole wheat English muffins

Current Aversion: eggs and anything greasy (this is pretty bearable now)

Thinking About: when R will be able to feel the baby move; whether we're having a boy or girl (we find out on 8/11!); designing a nursery; finishing up our registry; and dreaming up names (we have a strong contender for favorite right now!)

Picture: 

Sixteen Weeks!

Another week, another post. So far, week sixteen has been pretty delightful. Here are the highlights:

• Moving and grooving! Our little babe has been wiggly and squirmy all week, leaving me smiling several times throughout the day. There are times when the thumps (kicks, maybe? They feel like I'm being lightly 'flicked' from the inside...) are strong enough - or well-positioned enough - that I can lightly press my hand on my belly and feel them both inside and outside! I think the fact that I can feel them inside makes the outside feeling more noticeable to me, because R still hasn't been able to feel anything. Won't be long now, I'm sure!
• New job! I started a new job this week and am finally settled in to my new office, organized, and ready to dig in. It's not as though there's nothing else going on in my life, but it's still fun to take on a new challenge. The wiggling babe in my belly keeps me centered and keeps life in perspective, for which I'm very thankful.
• Cheer, cheer! R had a major triathlon yesterday, so I went out to support him, and baby - by default - came along. After a good luck kiss, R was in the water for the swim, so I hightailed it out onto the bike course to wait for him. As I walked along, I found a perfect spot where the riders would go by on their way out onto the course, and then back by again in the second half of the ride. My choice of a spot to set up may admittedly have been impacted by the delicious donut smell wafting out of a corner bakery. I plunked down my camp chair on the corner, ordered a glazed donut twist and a water, and sat outside to wait. When R went by, he grinned at me, knowing full well why I was sitting where I was. Around the time he went by, Baby starting wiggling around. Whether excited about the donut or the race, we'll never know. ;)
• Jet-setting! I'll round out week sixteen with a trip to Seattle for three days of meetings and recreation. It'll be my first time out there, and I'm pretty excited! Luckily, the extreme aversion to seafood has passed, so I'll be enjoying some good eats in addition to taking in the sights. I'll share photos on the week seventeen post. :)

Until that time, how about the tracker?

Week: 16

Weight: -2 during first trimester (will update every four weeks when I visit the doctor for an official measurement, and I go in again on Friday)

Baby is the Size of a(n): Avocado!

Symptoms: tired, hungry, dizzy when I get up too quickly, round ligament pain when sneezing/coughing/shifting positions, tailbone pain when sitting for awhile, heavy & crampy feeling in lower abdomen, very vivid dreams, and serious moodiness (ask R about the multiple times he's come into the kitchen to find me bawling!)

Current Obsession: sweets, blueberries, cherries (we enjoyed many, many cherry treats this week such as jam, pie, pound cake sundaes, and cherry chocolate smoothies thanks to an incredible sale on organic cherries at WFM), waffles/pancakes/French toast, oatmeal, tomatoes, all the vegetables from our farm share, and whole wheat English muffins

Current Aversion: eggs and anything greasy (this is pretty bearable now)

Thinking About: when I'll really pop so that other people can tell I'm pregnant; when R will be able to feel the baby move; whether we're having a boy or girl (should be scheduling our anatomy scan at my appointment on Friday!); designing a nursery; finishing up our registry; and dreaming up names (we have a strong contender for favorite right now!)

Picture: 

Fifteen Weeks!

Oh dear, another week where I'm just barely squeaking in with the update in time. I'd blame it on how busy we are, but we were enjoying a stay-cation for the past 5 days, so that's not really true. Let's just got with pregnancy brain. :) Yeah, it just slipped my mind.

The biggest and most exciting news to report this week is that I am all but certain now that I'm feeling our squirmy little baby wiggling and thumping away in my belly! It's just about the most magical sensation I can imagine, but it's very hard to describe. In some ways it feels like I swallowed a gold fish, in others it's like that nervous "butterflies in the stomach" feeling you get sometimes. I told R it's almost like that feeling you get when you unexpectedly go over a little hill in the car and it "gets" your stomach (you know, a tiny version of that over-the-top roller coaster feeling?). I feel like the baby is saying, "Don't worry, Mama, I'm still in here growing!" I don't know quite how to explain it, but it's a feeling I've waited almost four months to feel, it makes me smile every time, and it's something I know I'll always remember.

The other noteworthy things from this week were:

• Nearly fainting in the (packed) Apple Store on Saturday. There we were, sitting on stools at the Genius Bar when out of nowhere, the feeling hit. I suddenly felt uncomfortable: hot, short of breath, and just generally out of sorts. Now, I've passed out before, and I recognize the feeling of impending loss of consciousness. I told R I needed to go walk around because I didn't quite feel right. I stood up and as I tried to make my way out of the store, my vision started going black around the edges, my face and arms went tingly, and my ears started buzzing... I held onto tables as I kept walking and willed myself to make it to a bench outside. I just kept thinking, "If you fall, try not to hit your head on one of these tables." Wouldn't that have killed the vibe of the Apple Store?! ;) Anyway, I made it to the mall rotunda area and sat with my head between my knees until the world righted itself. R took me to get a bottle of water when we left and I felt much better in no time. I have been feeling much dizzier and more prone to blacking out lately, so getting plenty of food and water, plus being more slow and deliberate with my movements seems to be the best game plan.
• Buying some of my first maternity clothes (all shirts, so far). The Fourth of July sales were pretty compelling, so I snagged a few cute tops that fit me like sacks right now, but will be perfect for work in a few weeks/months. I'm not used to buying clothes in the hopes that they will fit me soon, and it's even weirder to think, "I hope I get big enough that these don't look silly." Pregnancy is very strange.
• Sort of popping this week. I've been having twinges and aches deep in my abdomen, which I can only describe as "stretching". It actually hurts a little, but it's another reassuring sign that things are going as they should. I woke up one morning this weekend and said, "Well, there's a baby in there." I have a little tummy now that I can't suck in, so I think that's the real deal. The average onlooker still wouldn't guess that I'm pregnant, I think. In fact - confession time - I find myself rubbing my belly in public so people realize I'm pregnant and not just putting on weight. ;)
• Hitting a new clothing low this morning: the button on my jeans ripped out (as in, the button is no longer attached to the pants). Talk about "under pressure"! Truthfully, it was more an impeachment of the jeans than my belly - they're pretty worn. That said, this incident lends further support to the "time to buy some clothes that fit" pressure I've been feeling for some time now... it's hard to say goodbye to my clothes, though, as that feels like it means saying goodbye to my body! (Luckily, my burgeoning little belly is pretty cute - at least that's what R tells me!)

Okay, the tracker:

Week: 15

Weight: -2 during first trimester (will update every four weeks when I visit the doctor for an official measurement)

Baby is the Size of a(n): Orange!

Symptoms: tired, hungry, dizzy when I get up too quickly, round ligament pain when sneezing/coughing/shifting positions, tailbone pain when sitting for awhile, heavy & crampy feeling in lower abdomen, very vivid dreams, and serious moodiness (waterworks!)

Current Obsession: sweets (I have been baking like a maniac!), blueberries, cherries, waffles/pancakes/French toast, oatmeal, tomatoes, all the vegetables from our farm share, and whole wheat English muffins

Current Aversion: beef, eggs, seafood, and anything greasy (this is basically a non-issue now - I'll eat these things, but they don't sound the best)

Thinking About: when I'll really pop so that other people can tell I'm pregnant; when R will be able to feel the baby move; whether we're having a boy or girl; designing a nursery; finishing up our registry; and dreaming up names (we have a strong contender for favorite right now!)

Picture: