Bumpdate: 19 weeks and Gender Reveal!!

I realize I am a bit behind on blogging and for that, I apologize.  Honestly, I have not been feeling very well the last couple of weeks.  I am having a lot of pain for a couple different reasons, one of which being I am definitely showing now and carrying the extra weight, putting a lot of extra strain on my joints, neck and back especially.  I am trying all kinds of alternative therapies to try to help since I am trying to wean on the pain medication but it has been uncomfortable to say the least.  I am seeing a chiropractor and a massage therapist almost every week now to try and keep loose and in alignment but these therapies only help temporarily.  I have also looked into and sampled some essential oils, but there are a lot of mixed reviews on which ones you can and can not use in pregnancy, so its all very confusing.  I'm just trying to take it a day at a time, rest as much as possible,  and manage the pain as best I can.

Bumpdate

How Far Along: 19 Weeks

Trimester: Second

Size of the baby: 6 inches and 9 ounces on ultrasound.  About the size of an heirloom tomato.

Gender: Keep reading to find out...

Maternity clothes:  Starting to wear some maternity pieces such as the maxi dress from Old Navy in the picture above.  T-shirts and things starting to get snug but still wearable and I have 2 pairs of non maternity stretchy jeans that still fit, although getting uncomfortable.  Any recommendations for the best maternity jeans are welcome!

Stretch Marks: Nope.  Trying to use Bio-Oil everyday to prevent them!

Sleep: Varies greatly depending on the night and on my pain. Some nights I sleep fine and others I spend tossing and turning and end up on the couch reading or watching TV in the wee hours of the morning.

Best Moment this week: This is a tie between our ultrasound and seeing baby on screen and our gender reveal party with so many wonderful friends and family!

Miss Anything: Having a lot of sushi cravings lately!

Movement: Baby is definitely a mover as seen on ultrasound.  If I lay in bed and put my hands on my belly, I can definitely feel some light movement.

Symptoms:  Still no morning sickness in about 2 weeks now but some moments of nausea if I that pass fairly quickly, hip and back pain, round ligament pain when I sneeze.

Cravings:  Still a lot of salty stuff and carbs

Looking forward to: Feeling some stronger kicks!

Ultrasound- 19 weeks

Baby looked really good on ultrasound.  We saw a beautiful healthy brain, heart, bones, kidneys, bladder, stomach, and 10 sweet fingers and toes.  Because of position they could not get all the measurements on the heart such a valves that they wanted to but said that is pretty typical and we will get another ultrasound at week 24.  They did see one issue with the connection of the cord at the placenta that could affect growth that they want to monitor us a little more closely and do growth check ultrasounds every 4 weeks to track progress.  Harrison and I found out the gender together at the appointment and kept it a secret for 48 hours from EVERYONE until we had a party with our family and friends.

Check out my mom's expression as she saw the color of the balloons!! Priceless!!  

IT'S A GIRL!!!  

We were pretty shocked, as were a lot of our family and friends that it is a girl.  Almost everyone thought it was a boy and Harrison's family has a lot of boys.  Needless to say, we are thrilled, ecstatic, and can't wait to welcome our precious daughter.  Thanks so much to a dear, talented friend Tara with Silver Reflections Photography for our wonderful photos and to all our family and friends who made the party and the reveal so special!  

Till next time...