19 weeks!

nineteen weeks!

today i am 19 weeks along! that means that i am definitely halfway or more by this week! and as the weeks inch on by, i am feeling more and more pregnant every day. (mostly due to my size, ha.) when i tell people i'm halfway done, almost every person says something about how i don't look very big for being that far along. which is crazy because there are definitely days where i feel like a beached whale. 

our baby boy is the size of a grapefruit, heirloom tomato or a mango. (according to my various apps on my phone.) he is about half a foot long (from head to rump) and half a pound now! so exciting! in these next few weeks, his weight is going to increase "six-fold". yippee for a growing babe!

by now, he can sense light, taste, move around like crazy, and hear! so all of his necessary senses are starting to come together. he is developing a nice layer of baby fat that will make him extra cuddly when he makes his grand appearance. 

i am feeling great! i feel confident in saying that now, without the fear of it jinxing me. :) i am back to my normal appetite! (and it's ever-growing, as well) I can now eat all of my favorite fruits and vegetables! oh how i've missed that. don't worry, i still have a healthy craving for all my beloved favorite carbs as well ;) and this little boy of mine definitely has a taste for the sweet things. ice cream, brownies, pudding...you name it. maybe we won't be giving him very much sugar, as i'm afraid it might make him a little crazy.   

we are having so much fun thinking about our little boy every day. we don't have an official name picked out, but we like talking about different names that we like. we are making a list and going to look at it often so that we can find something that feels right. but we are most likely keeping it a secret! :) so come July, you will finally know. heck, we might not even know until then!

i love looking at little boy outfits. at first, i got a little discouraged because i felt like finding cute boy clothes that didn't have a truck or football on them was going to be next to impossible. but it is possible! it is dangerous to have me go to the store alone nowadays. luckily i've been able to be strong and not buy everything i set my eyes on. we've bought a couple cute things and also already received a couple things from family/friends! so nice and exciting! 

i've been looking at cribs, dressers, bedding, strollers...so much stuff. we are trying to find cute bedding online that isn't ridiculously expensive and isn't cheesy or silly. and by we i mostly mean me :) it'll take some thorough  research, that's for sure. but it's exciting! one daunting thing on my to do list: register for baby things....yikes. ha. 

we found out a few weeks ago that we are having a sweet little boy! we were surprised for sure (mostly me) but SO excited! i can't wait to have another sweet boy to call mine and for my darling taylor to have a little buddy to hang out with. here is the video from the gender ultrasound! 

it was so fun and exciting to finally see our sweet baby! (we had only had one ultrasound at 8 weeks and he mostly looked like a little peanut then) now he looks like a little baby! he was upside down in there and kicking and moving like crazy! it was surreal to watch him knowing he is growing in my tummy! 

the best has yet to come.

sixteen weeks!

in retrospect, this isn't the best outfit to show the bump. and i cut my head off because i am not having a good hair day. :)

today, we had our 16 week doctor's appointment. for the last two visits, we haven't had an ultrasound, but have been able to chat with the doctor about questions we have and update him on how i'm feeling and doing. and, of course, we got to hear our little one's heartbeat. today was the second time we've heard it. it is such an incredible thing! while we were listening, taylor exclaimed just that. "wow! that is incredible!" :) i loved seeing his cute face light up when we were listening to the heart for just a few seconds.

this is the video from our 12 week appointment where we heard the heartbeat for the first time. the heart rate was at 153 bpm this first time and today it was pretty consistent around 145 bpm.

today:

16 weeks along! that means i'm pretty close to half way there! being diabetic, they typically don't let the mothers carry the baby to full-term (40 weeks). so today i asked our doctor about that. he said that they will deliver anywhere from 37-39 weeks, but typically on the earlier side. so, i will make it to half-way sooner than twenty weeks! if the baby decides to come around 37 weeks, we could have a 4th of July babe!  

all of my pregnancy apps have finally agreed on a fruit/vegetable for this week. the baby is about the size of an avocado weighing in at 3.5 ounces and measuring at about 4.5 inches (crown to "rump" which doesn't include the baby's legs)! 

little one is pumping lots of blood each day- about 25 quarts! his or her bones are hardening and they can sense light with their little eyes, even though they will stay shut for a long time still.

i have been feeling so much better! on the whole, i am starting to feel more normal- thank goodness. i still definitely get nauseous, but usually a quick snack will fix that nowadays. i am still SO tired though. i joke with taylor that the very first thing i think of each morning before i get out of bed is "when am i going to be able to nap today?" haha. but seriously. the struggle is real. and i've unfortunately been getting up more frequently in the night to pee. they don't lie when they say that is a real problem! holy cow! haha. 

cravings are about the same. i definitely have more of an appetite now. which is great. i love baked potatoes (potatoes of any kind really), english egg muffins that taylor makes me, rice, and pasta, to name a few. mmm carbs. haha. 

i am pretty confident in saying that i think i have felt the baby move! the first time was last week. i can't feel the movements very often, because i have to be sitting or laying super still (and awake) to feel them. but sometimes i'll test it out and feel little flutters in my abdomen. so cool. 

the bump is ever-growing. maternity pants and maxi skirts and stretchy pants are my best friends. i have gained about 7 ish pounds so far. but i fluctuate a little every day.  i cannot wait till it gets warmer and school lets out and i can enjoy feeling pregnant more. hopefully the heat doesn't completely knock me out...ha.

we are finding out the gender of our sweet baby NEXT WEEK! on february 13th, which happens to be our 7 months wedding anniversary AND the day before Valentine's day. what could be a more perfect way to celebrate?? SO! everyone put your guesses in now! we will be revealing the result next week after we find out! so exciting!

please continue to pray and send positive thoughts our way! until next week!

the best is yet to come.