21 weeks...It's a BOY!

Shux, I never did get around to blogging last week. I was too distracted by the news...It's a BOY!!!

I had been counting down the days for WEEKS. Every morning I wake up and read my IPhone baby update apps to get all sorts of information, tips, and my favorite thing, updates on weekly fetal development. And on the days leading up to the sonogram I would check off the previous day and count down. I couldn't wait! On Monday I was so excited and nervous. You always hear how excited moms are to know their baby's gender, but this sonogram was also really important as far as baby's health and development. My heart was in knots when they called my name! It happened really fast. I barely hit the table before they had that jelly on my tummy and immediately we could see our baby! The feeling I had was pure amazement. I remember thinking how incredible and miraculous it was to actually see a fully formed human on the screen. Last time it was just a little tadpole! And when the tech said, "It's in the breeched position so it will be a miracle if we can determine gender," I felt disappointed, but then she went on to take measurements and I was too much in awe to be too upset. But then, we all know how the story ends. He did reveal himself only a few minutes into it. He did a full on flip while she was trying to take measurements and he flashed us good! Chad and I being like most people when it comes to sonograms couldn't tell what the tech was looking at when she said, "There we go!" But then she pointed to his "winky" as she called it and I yelled, "It's a boy?!!!" and smiled really, really big. And I will never forget Chad taking my hand and breathing a huge sigh of relief. :) She took lots of measurements and I loved every single minute. She kept saying more things that were exactly how they should be: 2 lobes in his brain, 4 chambers in his heart, all his limbs, organs, everything was in place. We got to see him move around a TON and my very favorite part was when he opened and shut his mouth a few times, like he was curious about the sensation. It was sooo cute. She took tons of photos and gave us 15. My favorite thing she said, besides that everything seemed perfectly normal, was that he was so photogenic she took way more photos than she was supposed to. I told her that he knows his mama is a photographer!


So life since then has been pretty dreamy. We can now start planning his baby room and it just seems more official. As far as names go, we definitely have a favorite, but we decided to make a list, narrow it down, and decide for sure once we meet him. We have a dear friend who is a nurse and was there when I was being born! She set up a 3D ultrasound for us next Friday and I am excited to see if he reveals more of himself! WIth any sonogram you run the risk of seeing only one part and not always a favorable part. I want to see his little face!

As far as his development goes, he is now measured from head to toe so he is about 10.5 inches and weighs about 3/4 of a pound! His vegetable/fruit this week is a carrot/banana. I hate bananas with a passion but carrots aren't that fun either. What can I do? :) His movements get stronger and stronger every day and I absolutely love my time at the end of a long day on my feet when I can just be still and feel him move around.

Me, I am feeling pretty pregnant these days. My first trimester was a breeze and now I am feeling some of the aches and pains. Nothing serious and nothing to complain about (though Chad will tell you that I do sometimes:) ) But I am getting bigger fast and with it comes many little "perks" like having to go to the bathroom a million times a night, and the stretched out feeling of my tummy. It gets so tight sometimes, and it's weird that it gets in the way. But my biggest complaint is that it just seems so far away until he arrives and we can meet him. I get so anxious, like, come on already! I can't wait 19 weeks! But I hear this second half goes by really quickly....too quickly. So I'm trying to let it all in. And thank goodness I can now focus on preparing his room and our house.

Thanks to you all for reading and for caring and for loving all of us so much. Baby Boy Petersen says thanks too and he just did a flip for you! :)

19 weeks

Only one week to go until we find out if it's a boy or girl! We are both really excited! Baby has been moving a LOT this week and I love it. Though Chad has only felt it once, even though I feel sure he should feel it every time. He thinks it's a girl and that she's being shy when dad tries to feel her kick. But really we're pretty sure I can just feel it stronger from the inside than the outside.

Baby is about six inches long this week, the size of a large heirloom tomato. Whatever that is! The most exciting thing this week is that his/her senses are "exploding". I am especially excited that he/she can probably hear voices, so you all better get your tummy talk time in so you are familiar! I already do a lot of talking and singing, so I'm pretty sure I'm set. :) The other exciting development is that it's little body is now proportionate, so the limbs are the right size as compared to the rest of the body.

7 days and counting!!!

18 weeks

This week has been amazing! Baby is moving a LOT! The fluttering has intensified and now I also feel kicks on the inside and outside! On Sunday it even had hiccups and Chad felt it move for the first time. :)

Baby is about 5.5 inches long and weighs about 7 oz. This is about the size of a bell pepper. In the next two weeks it will grow significantly, just another reason I am counting down for week 20. The reason I am probably feeling stronger kicks and movement is that his/her little bones are turning harder, so there is more force backing the kicks.

As far as my own changes, I can no longer sleep on my belly or back because there is too much weight there now and it hurts too much. This really restricts me, as if getting up to go pee 34739 times a night doesn't wake me up enough! But other than that, I still can't complain about being pregnant. I have had a really easy one so far!

17 Weeks

Well I have one especially exciting piece of news. I for SURE felt my little one swimming around in my tummy! I had felt quirky little bubbles and what not, but this was unmistakable. I felt the thing everyone describes as butterflies fluttering. And I would add one more super cheesy comparison...fairy dust. It was tickly, and unlike anything I've ever felt. I was of course in the middle of working and had all sorts of commotion around me, yet I froze. What a blessing to start to feel your baby inside, proof that it's really happening!

We had another OB appointment last week and again heard the heart beat. It was just right. :) Chad is secretly a superstitious old lady and thought the heart beat sounded more like a washing machine than galloping horses so it MUST be a girl. He swears it's not a sexist wives tale. I just hope if it is a girl that she ends up doing "girl chores" like the dishes about as much as I do, which is to say, not at all.

Little one is around 5 ounces and 5 inches long, about the size of a turnip. It drives me mad that for about 5 weeks all the vegetables they compare baby's size to are about the same. What's the dang difference between a large orange to a heirloom tomato to a turnip? I am ready for baby to be an eggplant on week 20. Speaking of week 20, that's the happy happy week when we find out the baby's sex! I couldn't be more excited and actually, I'm tired of waiting. Come on already, week 20! Anyway, the major developments this week are that baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and can move his or her joints. Probably why I'm feeling movement for the first time. :)