You heard right, we had our ultrasound on Monday and we're having a BOY!!! My mom and Joe's mom were able to be there when we found out so that was a lot of fun.

We're so excited.  I didn't realize until about a week ago how much deep down Joe was hoping for a boy, and i didn't have a preference either way, so i am feeling fantastic about how it turned out.  Joe must have had his "pee-pee" eyes on that morning because he knew what he was looking at the split second it came on the screen.  After the lady had done all the boring measurement stuff, we were all staring at the screen still not knowing what we were looking at, and before the lady could get out of her mouth, "Guess what you're having"....  Joe said quietly, "We're having a boy".  She confirmed that what he was looking at was indeed a little penis, and a huge smile came across his face.

So on or around (hopefully before) June 7th, little Joseph Anthony Ewer will join our family.

I have some fun stuff and not so fun stuff to share.  First the un-fun stuff:  My head hurts so bad i want to cry.  They weren't so bad for about a week, but i've had a terrible one that's been going on for three days now.  I talked with another woman at work and she said she had them too when she was pregnant, and that Tylenol wouldn't even touch the pain.  I tried taking a couple, they didn't work for me either.  I'm hoping they end soon because i'm really no fun like this.  It's difficult to work and i feel useless around the house.  Please pray that i would get some relief.

So a lady called yesterday from my doctor's office, said they got the ultrasound results.  The baby is growing perfectly, looks great and healthy, however i have a low-lying placenta, which i guess is fairly common at this stage of pregnancy, and most likely will grow up to the position it is supposed to be at.  They want to do another ultrasound at 28 weeks to see if it's progressed as it should.  Below is some information that i gathered about it.

Low-lying placenta

In the majority of pregnancies, the placenta forms in the top half of the womb. In some cases, however, it forms in the lower half, so that it lies partly or completely over the cervix, blocking the baby's way out of the womb. This is known as a low-lying placenta .

The position of your placenta can be shown by an ultrasound. If you have a scan in the first half of your pregnancy that shows that your placenta is low-lying, this isn't usually any cause for concern. As many as one in four placentas may be low-lying in mid-pregnancy. The likelihood is that as your womb gets bigger, the placenta will move up (it doesn’t actually ‘move’ as such, but as the womb grows, the area to which the placenta is attached stretches upwards, away from the cervix). If your placenta is shown to be low-lying in mid-pregnancy, you’re likely to be offered another scan later on (usually around 32-34 weeks) to check that it has moved. Only 0.5 per cent -1 per cent of placentas remain low-lying at the end of pregnancy. However, when this happens, it can cause problems.

Okay, so some fun stuff.  Joe can now feel the baby move!  Yesterday during lunch i was laying down in front of the fireplace (because my head hurt) and the baby started moving quite a bit.  I told joe after i was sure that's what i was feeling, so he came over and as soon as he put his hand where i felt the movement, little Joey knew it and kicked harder than before so his daddy could feel that he was there.  Then right after we layed down for bed last night, the baby decided to do a little goodnight dance and Joe was able to feel him again. 

I love this baby more everyday.  I'll put pictures up soon, each morning i seem to be a little more round and full.

So my suspicions have been confirmed.  I have been feeling little tiny unidentifiable twinges inside my belly for weeks now that i thought might be the baby but didn't want to announce it to the world unless i was sure.  Well, they've been getting stronger over this period of time, and last night, i actually felt movement on the OUTSIDE of my belly.  So subtle.  My hand had been pressed down on my skin because i had felt a few movements inside, then all of a sudden it felt just like a tiny soft wave rolling over.  I told joe that maybe the baby flipped over and it's little butt brushed up against me.  i can't wait to see it's cute teeny tushy.  But anyway, it happened again while i was sitting at my desk at work.  So fun.  From what i've noticed, the baby seems to act up mostly right after i eat something.  I think my stomach making all its noises while going to town on my food must wake the baby up from its sleep.  I can't wait, in four days i can start saying either "he" or "she" instead of "it" and "baby".

I tried to wear my regular corduroy pants yesterday, man was that a mistake!  I dressed quickly cause i'm usually in a hurry in the morning and i really thought that i could get away with just leaving the top button undone like i had been doing with some other pants.  But the baby's saying "no way Jose, i need more room now!"    I ended up changing my pants at lunch because i couldn't even keep the zipper up.  My mom was incredibly generous and bought me a bunch of maternity clothes a couple weeks ago at JC Penney (who by the way have pretty good prices), but i need to get the pants hemmed before i can wear them and i think i look kinda silly in the shirts because i don't fill them out just yet.  I also just ordered some clothes off of Gap Maternity Online (which by the way do not have very good prices) and am really excited to get those in the mail.  My mother-in-law and aunt-in-law both gave me gap cards for Christmas.  Very cool.

Christmas was good, time with family is always fun.  Joe and i experienced our last Christmas as a twosome.  Next year sure will be different. 

I had my latest doctor's appointment this week and they did the routine stuff, everything looks good still.  The doctor said the heartbeat was in the 130's.  That seems kind of low to me compared to other journals i've read and the fact that it was in the 150's four weeks ago, but the doctor said it sounded just fine to him so i'll go with that.

The best news of all is that my next ultrasound is scheduled.  Joe and i will get to see in about a week and a half whether we have a baby girl or a baby boy!  Wow, will that be intense!!

Merry late Christmas and HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone!

The baby must be growing fast because there's no denying my belly now.  Some days it's more noticable than others but it's definitely there.  TWO people commented on my stomach yesterday!  That's something new that i know i'm going to have to get used to.  I see people stealing looks all the time, checking on my progress. 

A couple times yesterday Joe put his hand on my stomach and was very still and quiet, waiting to see if he could feel anything.  I tried to tell him that if i hadn't felt anything yet that it's unlikely that he would either.  but i still think it's sweet that he tries.  I'm really not in any rush to feel the baby move because i know that i'll have about four full months of feeling kicks and punches, probably more often than will be appreciated.

I finally broke down yesterday and took a Tylenol because my head hurt so bad.  I don't like taking any drugs at all even if it's said to be safe, but i couldn't even work, i just had my head in my hands at my desk.  I hope these headaches don't last, i wish my hormones would just regulate themselves already!  I'd say i've got it pretty good though if that's all i have to complain about.

By the way, Mom and Randy did make it back from Mexico okay, the email there was acting all screwy so i didn't get any of the messages she sent me.  She also bought a little Mexcian dress for her grandbaby that i haven't seen yet, but it sounds really cute.  Does that mean we're having a girl, you ask?  Nope, it's just wishful thinking on her part.

Speaking of the sex of the baby, i guess the wait to find out is killing Joe.  He asked me yesterday if it was getting to me yet, and i said not really.  He said he's really anxious to find out, and that if they say it's a girl he might faint right there in the doctor's office.  Girl = Much more responsibility and things to worry about he says.  He makes me laugh.