Half Way There!

I hit the half way mark yesterday!! And I figured I should start taking belly pictures, even though it horrifies me how big I look. Not just my belly, but everywhere else. I actually had Josh take a picture of me last week in a tighter shirt, and it made me cry. At least in this picture you can only see how fat my arms are! And how white I am - it sure does make a difference when I'm not in the sun or a tanning bed!

But even with how large I am feeling, I wouldn't trade it, knowing that in 20 weeks, give or take, I will have a little human life, part of me and part of Josh, to show for it. And although that thought terrifies me, I am also so excited that I seem to cry tears of joy every time I see a newborn.

And by the way - I changed my vote. I now think that tomorrow's ultrasound is going to show a boy. We'll see in 25 hours!

Take a Guess

So my ultrasound is a week from today - and we have been counting down the days!! I desperately want to know what we're having. But do you believe in the mother's first intuition, or the old wives tales?

• First intuition - BOY
• Heart Rate - GIRL
• Carrying High or Low - I'm not sure on this, because I don't know how to really tell the difference, but I feel like I'm carrying low, so - BOY
• but another says that if you can tell that you are pregnant from behind because of the weight gain, it's a girl, where if it's a boy, you'll carry all of your weight up front - GIRL (can we say back fat and love handles??!!)
• Craving sweet or salty - Definitely salty - BOY
• Breast size - weird one, but it says if your left one is larger, it's a girl, and if the right one is larger it's a boy - GIRL
• Acne - if you get acne, it's supposed to be a girl, stealing your beauty. Well, I always do, but it's actually better now, so - BOY
• Here's a new one I just found - The Mayans determined the sex of the baby by taking the mother's age at conception, and the year of conception. If both are even or both are odd...it's a girl. If one is even and one odd it's a boy. - GIRL
• If you crave the heels of the bread, it's a boy, but if you crave the middle of the loaf, it's a girl - GIRL
• Chinese Gender Chart - GIRL

Right now, it's barely leaning towards a girl. And I know that my initial first intuition was a boy, but if I had to bet right now, I'd say it's going to be a girl. So were any of these true for you? And what is your guess to what we're having? And I know there are a few more old wives tales that I can't think of right now, (blame it on pregnancy brain), so let me know if you know of any!

Baby Kicks

I'm feeling my baby!! On Tuesday, I was sitting at my desk at work and started getting this funny feeling in my belly. It was about an inch above and to the side of my belly button, so I figured it couldn't be the baby, since the baby isn't that high yet. But it went on for about 20 minutes, not really consistent, but one or two twitches every 15-20 seconds. I started thinking that maybe it was the baby, and I was just feeling it so high because I was sitting down and my insides are scrunched together. I didn't want to move, just in case it was the baby, because I wanted to keep feeling it.

I got up, because it was lunch time, and sure enough, I couldn't feel it anymore. But then when I was sitting in my car on the way home for lunch, I felt it again!! I urgently called my sisters, asking their opinions on if it could be the baby or not.

I now really think that it was. I've had the same sensations, but in different parts of my belly since then. Yesterday, I felt it on the same side, but further down. I only felt it a little in the morning. But today I'm feeling it to the opposite side of my belly button and further down. It's not really a lot at once - like the 20 minutes that first day - but a little kick or nudge every now and again. It's only when I'm sitting down, so I guess that's the best position for me to feel it right now.

I can't wait until I start feeling him/her more consistently!

The Preggos

A few months ago, we decided to take a monthly picture of the pregnant girls in my family at our monthly family get-together. Well, I hated the picture from the first month, so I never posted it. And then I didn't end up going last month because Josh was sick. So this is the first one I'm posting! We all started out pregnant, but Amy gave birth to cute little Gavin about a month ago. Kacy is due next, at the end of September, then Janell is due the beginning of November. I'm at the end, due the end of January. I'm so excited to have this experience with my sisters and my sister-in-law!!

I have actually been feeling like I look quite pregnant until I saw this picture. No offense to Janell and Kacy, because I think you make the cutest pregnant girls, but I felt like my belly wasn't quite so big!! Until you look at Amy, who looks amazing, especially considering she only gave birth a month ago.

We'll see if Kacy has a new baby next month for our picture!

What to Buy?

Back before I discovered I was pregnant, I had a dream. I was pregnant, and in labor, but very early. Josh kept saying that we needed to go to the hospital, but I was freaking out because we had not bought 1 thing for the baby. We didn't even have a car seat yet. So ever since I learned I was pregnant, I have been wanting to be prepared.

I decided to start buying little things - diapers, onesies, etc - little by little. I'll pick something up every time I'm in Target. I've got a few things now, but then I learn that people are pretty particular in EVERYTHING baby that they buy. People swear by one brand of diapers over the other. Some people have always used the same, and some people say it depends on the sex of the baby to know which brand of diaper to use. I've been buying Gerber onesies, because that's the brand that the white onesies are at Target, but then I read something that says that they shrink really badly. I'm really more confused now, more than ever, about what to buy for my baby. Do I just wait until the baby comes to test things out? I have newborn and size 1 diapers, and now I'm worried that I bought the "wrong" brand. Or maybe I'm simply reading too much and listening too much to so many opinions. I swear things couldn't have been this hard for our parents when they were preparing for us.

But here's my main question - what do I buy now? My sister mentioned something about throwing a baby shower, and this morning, Josh told me that his mom and sister-in-law want to throw me a shower. I figure we'll combine it into one, because really - I don't know enough people to invite to 2 showers. But I'm starting to make a list of all things baby that I want, and I don't know what to leave until after the shower, and what is ok to buy now. I'm almost to the halfway point, and that kind of freaks me out. My sister-in-law is giving me her crib, which I'm very grateful for, but it's the only "big" thing we have. So how do I get to the point where I feel more prepared, but where I'm not going overboard?

My Baby's Heartbeat

I had my 16 week appointment yesterday. Josh wasn't able to go with me, so I thought I'd be a dork and bring along my camera so I could record the heartbeat. I acted like i did this for Josh, but really, I wanted it so I can listen to it whenever I want to! Ignore the video, it's just the ceiling. I didn't really want to record my belly, but I just did it for the sound. The heartbeat started out around 155 and then jumped up to 160.

I am scheduled for my ultrasound on September 9th. I can't wait to find out the sex of this little person inside of me!! It all still seems so surreal. It really felt real when Amy and Charlie had their baby, and I realized that I would be there in 6 months. But some days, it's still a hard concept to grasp. I guess the whole idea of creating life is just amazing!!

What??

So a blogging friend posted about this website on her blog. And I thought I'd give it a try. And now I'm laughing at what they came up with. You upload a picture of yourself and your spouse, and they show you a picture of what your child will look like. This is what I got:

For a boy...

and our little girl...


How do they come up with this? I don't get it! Maybe I shouldn't have chosen a picture where Josh's face is shadowed...