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! :)