Halfway There!

Well, I am officially halfway through my pregnancy!  Thank goodness!  Up until now the pregnancy has gone by SOOOOO slow!  I think that’s because I am counting every single day and every single hour that passes by waiting for this little guy to get here!  I am just so excited for all the firsts that have occurred and will keep on occurring that I am thinking about it way too much!  Thus, the time goes by very slow.  However, since I have started school back again I think the time will go by faster and as I start to “show” more I will find more enjoyment in being pregnant.  So, here are the highlights and lowlights of the first half of my pregnancy!

Highlights

1.     Seeing the two little lines on the pregnancy test and seeing Greg’s face when I told him.  Priceless.

2.     Being able to tell me parents they are going to be grandparents for the first time!

3.     Seeing my baby for the first time at 12 weeks.

4.     Finding out we were having a boy!

5.     The first time I felt him move.

6.     The little kicks that get stronger and stronger as each week passes.

7.     Registering for all the fun baby stuff!

8.     Getting my stroller and car seat from Momma Verhoeven in the mail.  I had so much fun putting it together, figuring it out, and pretending to push my baby around the house!  It got me excited to be a mom J

9.     Finding out that our little boy is a “textbook” baby…healthy!

10.  People telling me that I have a glow and touching my little baby bump.  So fun that I am getting to experience the miracle of life growing inside me!

Lowlights

1.     Being sick for a LONG time…last time I upchucked was week 20 L

2.     Heartburn/Acid Reflux

3.     The feeling of being tired ALL the time.

4.     NONE of my clothes fitting anymore because every part of my body has become larger.  It makes it hard to want to get dressed in the morning.

5.     The mood swings…sorry Greg.

6.     Not knowing what I want to eat and nothing sounding good.

7.     Not being able to sleep on my stomach, so sad!

8.     Having to get up in the middle of every night to pee.

9.     Having to ask people for help all time with lifting, I don’t like to do it!

10.  My body just doing wierd things!  I dont think Ill ever get used to that!

Here are some pictures from my 21 week ultrasound.  Praise God everything looks normal and we are going to have a healthy baby boy!

I love this picture because he looks exactly like he did in his 12 week picture only bigger!

Here he is getting a good stretch in!

A picture of the little foot that has started to kick me :)

God is so good and I praise Him for what He is creating inside of me!!

Boy or Girl? The Reveal Dinner...

The moment I have been waiting for since I first found out I was pregnant....boy or girl?!?!  We had all of our ultrasounds planned out and the dinner party with our families prepared.  Now all we needed to do was wait till the day we could finally find out what we were having.  And the wait seemed like FOREVER!  People always told me that your first pregnancy seems slower because you are counting each day and boy are they right!  I feel like this pregnancy is taking forever!  Everyday I am counting down and the days seem endless...however, I know that our little bean will be worth the wait!

So, here is how it went....

Greg and I had an ultrasound planned with Baby Sightings, a place in Bakersfield that does an ultrasound, gives you pictures and a DVD of your baby, and just treats you very well.  We had heard good things about this place and so we decided to check it out!  About 3 weeks before our appointment a friend recommended that we get an ultrasound through our doctor as well so they can take the measurements, etc.  Although I didnt want to go back to the mean lady I decided that it might not be a bad idea to get two opinions.  So, we scheduled both ultrasounds. 

Greg and I were on vacation a lot in July, which you would think would pass the time by faster, but NOPE!  Still went as slow as can be!  lol.  But at last the time finally came for us to have our ultrasounds.  I was so nervous!  Which some of you are thinking, what is new?!  I think I was nervous because I knida thought it was going to be a boy, but secretly thinking I would be a good mom to a girl and you know when your pregnant you're just not in your right mind anyway so I just had all these emotions running through me.  As always it was so great to see our little baby on the screen kicking and moving and growing.  We had our results placed into an envelope and it was off to the bakery for me!

How we decided to reveal the gender was through a cake. We found a bakery that would make a cake for us and put either blue or pink frosting in the middle of the cake so that way when we cut it open, we would see what we were having.  The cake was white with white frosting on the outside and pink and blue polka dots on it.  Here is a picture of it below:

When we reached Greg's parents house I was all smiles!  I couldnt help but be excited to be with everyone and share in this joyous occasion! We had a yummy dinner with all my favorite things and it was good to be surrounded by family.  The second dinner was over I announced..."Who wants dessert?!"  We had waited long enough and Greg and I wanted to know what little alien was inside my stomach already!  So...we gathered around the table and took some pictures as I prepared to cut into the cake.  For some reason I felt sick to my stomach because there was no turning back now!  It was do or die!  haha...ok maybe not that but I did feel kinda sick.  And, the result was....

IT'S A BOY!!!!  It may look like Greg is mad in this picture but he's actually holding back tears :)  I love my sensitive husband!  So, now that we know it is a baby boy that I growing in my stomach, let me tell you all the myths that pointed toward me having a girl...
Myth 1: Chineese Baby Calendar said I was having a girl.
Myth 2: I peed on baking soda and that said I was having a girl.
Myth 3: I was sick up until week 16, also signs that you may be having a girl.
Myth 4: I am carrying my weight all over!  In my arms, legs, face, everywhere!  This is said to be common with girls.
So...if you are pregnant NONE of these things may be true for you!  Although for some people it may be true, for me it was most definately not :) 

Now the truth is, since all of these things pointed toward me having a girl, and thinking that I would be a much better mom to a girl because I understand them, I think I was secretely hoping for a girl (maybe 51% more).  So when we found out it was a boy I was in shock (because it was set in stone, lol) and most of all nervous!  All these thoughts were running through my head about being able to raise a boy and my capabilities as a mother.  I so badly want to be a good mom and doubts were swarming my head!  However, over the next few days God reassured me that His plans are good and He knows me better than I know myself.  I have a peace about raising a little boy now and could not be more excited!!! 

I cant wait to start the process of registering and preparing for our little guy's arrival :) May God continue to give Greg and I peace and assurance as He prepares us for parenthood!  Here are some more pictures from our special evening...


It's a BOY!



Opening my Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag from Nani!  (Greg's mom)



Pure happiness :)



The grandma's and grandpa's! 
From left to right: Poppy and Grammy,  Nani and Grandpa