20 weeks...ITS A GIRL!!!

Has it really been since week 17 that I've posted?? I can't even imagine what I've been doing. Well first things first...ITS A GIRL!!! YAY!! We found out today at our ultrasound appointment (which was a very cool experience). Bryan is pumped since he's wanted a girl since the beginning and I'm just thrilled that we finally know...you know, it didn't really matter either way, but little girls are just so darn cute! And what's better than having a mini me?! ...even though I have a feeling she's going to be a daddy's girl ; ) I am excited to take the next steps...names, clothes, nursery, etc because I just feel like we've been on hold this whole time.

So the ultrasound place was at this doc office that specializes in fetal genetics and they were raved about by my gyno and boy was he right. These people know their stuff! We were in there for a good 45 minutes looking at our baby's organs (heart, stomach, bladder, kidneys, etc), bones, brain and of course female parts to determine she was a she! What a cool and informative experience! And what a movin' and shakin' baby we have! On top of the info session and pics, the lady also recorded our entire session so we have a good 20 minutes worth of our little girl in action....SUPER COOL!




Now that she's getting bigger I can definitely feel her kicking and punching more. I now feel her every single day and multiple times throughout the day as well. I'm getting used to the feeling but it still takes me by surprise sometimes to really picture her moving around in there! Bryan has felt her once too which was very cool for him. I think it shocked him a bit how forceful it felt.

Looks like she has Bryan's feet - cute!!

GIRL!

Her little nose and mouth.

17 weeks and little pokes

Well I think it's safe to say that I've officially felt the little baby poking me from the inside. I might have felt something earlier but I don't want to say for sure because it could have easily been some other movement going on in my insides...but now FOR SURE I can say that I've felt the baby. Sadly no one else has felt it because it doesn't seem to be strong enough to feel from the outside. So what it feels like: like a little poke from the inside of my belly in the region under my belly button...and sometimes it feels like a swish like some sort of water movement. I can usually feel it when I'm sitting quietly. I haven't noticed a particular time of day or anything but I read the babies are usually most active around 9pm-11pmish...or in other words late night and past my bedtime. I do sometimes notice some movement in the very early mornings like after I get up to go to the bathroom and then lay back down trying to fall back asleep...but its definitely not forceful enough to keep me up, wake me up, etc...except for the one last night at dinner. We were out at a restaurant and I was eating my Mediterranean salad, minding my own business, when WHAM! A swift boot (or maybe it was a karate elbow punch or maybe a head butt) straight to my belly. I almost choked on my salad leaves! My eyes went wide and I let out a muffled yelp...not that it hurt at all, just that it caught me so off guard. At that moment I wished we were at home so I could grab Bryan's hand and have him grope around to try and feel another one. That was an unmistakable kick (or punch) letting me know that I'm not the only one around here who likes Mediterranean salad...or maybe it was more like "enough with the salads, give me a frickin cheeseburger!"...am I right? :)

Only a little over two weeks until we find out the sex (April 27)! It is going by a little quicker than it seemed to be before which is great. We have our predictions from friends and family and so far the girls side is winning. I have no idea anymore...I used to think definitely girl...then I thought ok it could be a boy but now I'm sort of thinking girl...? Just like last night, when I felt the kick, I said "she just kicked me super hard!"...I have no idea what made me say she but I did. I do have a preference but I don't really want to say because I would feel sort of bad if it turned out being the opposite. Not that they would know, but I don't want any hint of them thinking I prefered them to be something other than who they are. I just want a healthy baby...and I'm sure it won't make any difference when it comes right down to it!