Sooner in the Heart of Texas: Halfway There!

It has been a very busy 4 weeks for me. The last month of school is a brutal one with so many activities planned and trying to keep the students focused enough to still learn a little something! My belly has continued to grow and right now I'm thankful that I'm not growing too much anywhere else (except my chest, of course, which is an added bonus!)! At my 16-week appointment, the doctor told me that I should start feeling the baby move in the next few weeks. I was really anticipating that first feeling, but after 2 weeks, I still hadn't felt any movement. I wasn't really concerned, but was just a tad impatient (surprise, surprise)! Finally, on Friday night, May 28th, I felt the slightest movement in my lower abdomen that felt like a bubble. I really wasn't sure if I was feeling the baby or if it was just gas :), but when I felt it occasionally the next day, I was pretty certain that's what it was. It still isn't something I notice all the time, but when I'm still in the evenings, I tend to notice it more. It is such a cool feeling and although I'm sure I'll regret saying this, I'm looking forward to the movements being more clear and Tim being able to feel them too.

In a way, I am thankful that this last week was so hectic because it kept me from obsessing about my sonogram this morning. I had so many other things to keep up with that I just pushed it to the back of my mind until the weekend. On my first official day of summer (today), I had to set my alarm, but I didn't mind. I was so excited to find out whether this little life was a boy or a girl! My appointment was at 9:20 and we barely had to wait. Before I had a chance to weigh in or give a urine sample, the tech had me come back to the sonogram room. She asked if we wanted to find out and we didn't hesitate one bit to say "YES!" She was great. She showed us all of the anatomy and took measurements to make sure the baby was growing appropriately. She told us that everything looked great. The baby was moving a lot, so it was difficult to get a great profile shot like she wanted. She was pushing the instrument on my belly so hard, I didn't think it could go anymore. We ended up with some great pictures. When she moved to the baby's bottom, we both knew without a doubt...we are having a BOY!! There is no doubt on the sonogram! We were beaming and I haven't been able to stop smiling all day. It turns out that neither of us thought we were having a boy, so we were a bit surprised. It will take some getting used to, but I am very excited! The tech asked us if big babies run in our families and we told her no. She said that they won't change my due date, but that this boy is ahead of schedule. Instead of being 9 ounces as expected at this point, he is weighing in at 14 ounces! She said there's a possibility he'll be earlier than my due date. Let's hope he doesn't end up being a 10 pounder!

After the sonogram, we had a quick appointment with the doctor, this time with Dr. Heather Sloane. My blood pressure was good...126/78 and the baby's fetal heartrate was 147. When we left the appointment, I wanted to go to a maternity store to look for something that indicated I was having a boy. We went to Pickles and Ice Cream and I found some cute flip flops that say "It's a boy!" on them. We were starving at that point, so we went to Breadwinners for the first time and had some delicious pancakes. Although we wanted to surprise the Kerbys by having cookies decorated in baby blue at a local Leesburg bakery, it didn't work out. It would take a week for them to make 6 cookies!! Valerie called while we were eating and she begged for Tim to tell her. He couldn't resist, so he ended up calling the whole family. After brunch, we went to Tim's office and then to my mom's office to share the news. Crystal came by our house after that to bring me a little present...some OU booties, which I love!! It was great having so many people share in our joy :)! Here are some pictures to comemorate this event!