Halftime Report
Well, here we are, at 20 weeks — already. When we were pregnant with our first child it seemed to take forever to get to 20 weeks and with this one, we can’t believe we only have 20 weeks left. ONLY 20 WEEKS.
Everything has been going very well, short of the feelings of being pregnant. During the first trimester it felt like I was car sick the whole time, which put me in bed for a few naps here and there. I feel like I am showing a bit sooner than I did last time and I assumed I’ve gained more weight, but my gain so far is the same at around 9 pounds. Now, well into the second trimester, the nausea has calmed but I wish Ellie still took naps. She is kind enough to play quietly when I feel the absolute need to rest.
Tailgating Cravings
After we tested positive at home it seemed there wasn’t enough food in the house to keep the belly full. Even Ellie’s plate was cleaned off if she didn’t finish her meals. I haven’t had too many weird cravings, but I did make Brian drive me to Burger King for 2 Wopper Jr.s and I polished off a jar of jalapeños in a weeks time — jalapeño popper bagels — who knew they were so delicious. Looking back at Ellie’s belly book, it appears I crave a lot of the same things; spicy foods, sausage (anxiously awaiting for the ND deer sausage to get here), as well as the salty and sweet things.
There really hasn’t been anything that hasn’t agreed with the belly with exception to the onions in a fajita chimichanga that I ordered from the Mexican restaurant — yes, me, at a Mexican restaurant. Nothing out of the norm there.
MVP Stats
The 20 week ultrasound revealed that the babe is at 11 ounces with a heart rate of 146. We still have the due date set at June 15 ± 4 days so it will be interesting to see how close to Ellie’s June 14th birthday this one will pick. Brian had thought it would be neat if this one was born on the 10th so their birth dates would be 6/14/10 and 6/10/14. I am crossing my fingers for about a weeks time between the two dates thinking that would alleviate a little party planning stress in the future.
The Big Reveal
The first question we often get asked is if we are going to find out what the sex of the baby is. We didn’t find out with Ellie and when asked Brian gave our answer that we would be waiting again until the baby is born. So for the last 10 weeks or so, I’ve been perfectly ok knowing that I have until the end of May to prepare the necessities — the crib, the changing pad and a dresser, and if by chance this one wears pink for a while when it should be in blue, it would be just fine — which lifted a ton of stress, leaving the “baby’s room” to be finished and decorated sometime after June.
When we got into the dark room of course one of the first questions the nurse asked us is if we wanted to find out the sex of the baby. I gladly said no and Brian, with this huge grin on his face said, YES we would like to find out — and then looked at me and said SURPRISE!
So we are happy to announce that we are having …………………………
………………………………………………………………………………… a baby.
After what probably seemed like a heated debate to the nurse it was determined that I still really didn’t want to know. She was kind enough to offer the envelope technique so we now have a sealed envelope hanging on our fridge which might be tucked away in a baby book to be opened years down the road. I even contemplated tossing it in the trash on the way out of the doctor’s office. Brian is pretty surprised it hasn’t been opened yet, but I honestly have no burning desire to look and see.
So there is still plenty of time — 20 weeks I remind you — to get your bets in. Ellie thinks she is getting a little sister but after seeing the 3D profile picture, I see a little Brian in there. I don’t have any strong intuitions like I did with Ellie, so it is still a 50/50 chance of a boy or a girl.