What a busy couple of weeks we've had! Two weekends ago, Allen, Lisa and I decided to treat ourselves to a fun weekend in downtown Atlanta. Saturday evening, we attended a Braves vs Colorado Rockies game. We won! It was miserably hot, even after the sun set but we still managed to have lots of fun. Sunday morning, we headed out to the Georgia Aquarium and spent a few hours exploring the all the huge tanks filled with so many interesting and beautiful creatures.

The workweek was quite hectic and wore me out quite a bit. I havent felt so exhausted since the first trimester. Thankfully, I had an extra day to recooperate.

This past Friday, I spent my day off pampering myself. I got a nice simple haircut (not too short!), which I havent done since January! Even though I wasnt able to get it colored, it still turned out quite lovely. Afterwards, I purchased a few more maternity shirts and slacks. I think have enough clothes to tide me over for the next few months. Yay!

Yesterday (Saturday), Allen and I spent the evening with a dear friend of mine and her amazing fiance (they are getting married next April!!) at Dave & Busters. We had a grand ole time catching up over dinner, playing pool, and testing our talents on trivia, ski ball, and other various games. We said our goodbyes and headed straight home. Allen and I ended the evening watching for shooting stars in our backyard. Fun!

Sunday, we relaxed, since we were so worn out from the night before. It was nice to just to kick back and do absolutely nothing for a day!

Anyway, all is well with baby and parents-to-be.  I have been enjoying little boy Lamb's acrobatics, but am frustrated that Daddy isn't able to yet. Hopefully, that will change soon! In other news, we have our 20 week check-up this coming Tuesday. This visit will involve a thorough ultrasound scan of our little boy to ensure he is developing properly. We cant wait to see the little guy!!

Symptoms:

mood swings, occasional dull headaches, round ligament pain, lower back pain, leg cramps, cravings (fruit, tuna, cheese, cereal), nausea whenever I roll over,  itchy/dry eyes, fast nail growth, nosebleeds, stuffy nose, frequent bathroom breaks, some sleeping difficulties (hard to stay asleep!), vivid dreams (one dream involved me having a lizard/snake as a baby!!)

Total Weight Gained: 20 pounds

Another great week for baby and me! Man, I am loving the second trimester!!

Our little boy is getting bigger - I can feel him getting heavier and longer. His movements are quite pronounced now, which makes it easier to tell the difference among his many different moves (kicking, punching, squirming, somersaults, rolling over, etc). He seems to be most active when Im sitting up and when nobody is touching my belly. Hopefully, he'll grow out of that shyness soon, because I would like his Daddy to be able to feel him move in the coming weeks!

Even though Im 5 months pregnant, I dont really look it. I was blessed with some height, so I guess that may have something to do with it. The annoying thing is that I haven't had a single passerby ask me if I am expecting yet. I mean, Im wearing maternity clothes and always rubbing my little belly and they are still scared to ask. Im really looking forward to that day!

I have some great news! This weekend is tax-free weekend for back-to-school shoppers. Im so excited, because Im in desperate need for more maternity clothes.  With the exception of a few pairs of stretchy yoga pants, tank tops, t-shirts, and socks, none of my pre-pregnancy clothes fit! I would like to find some summery clothes (capris/shorts, sleeveless shirts, dresses, and bathing suit), just so I can be prepared for a weekend trip down to Florida at the end of the month.

Food and exercise are ok, could be better. Im doing decent with my nutrition on the weekdays, however my weekends need improvement. I often use these days as an excuse to fulfill my bad cravings (junk food!!). The weather has been miserablely hot in the last week, which makes going outside very difficult for me. I get overheated and dizzy really easily whenever the temperature is over 80 degrees. I cant wait until fall!

In other news, I've had a lot of dreams revolving around family the past few weeks. Most have been bizarre or funny, but I've had a few sad ones too. For those who dont know, my mom passed away from a terminal illness when I was 14 years old. I would dream about her every now and then, especially during key events of my life (high school graduation, college graduation, wedding day, birthdays, the anniversary of her death - 8/23/92, and now pregnancy).

Thankfully, most of the dreams about her have been good, with her hanging out with me like she had never got sick and left. Its nice to see her smile, hear her laugh,and feel her warmth. But when I wake up, I cry. I realize then that she'll never hold, love, teach, and spoil her grandson. My son will never get to feel her loving arms and kisses, hear her soothing voice and bright laugh, or look into her soulful caring eyes as he drifts off to sleep.  I cant share my joys of pregnancy or my fears of childbirth and parenthood with her. I cant ask her for advice or just talk to her about my dreams for this child. Its just been really hard not being able to share this exciting and special time in my life with her.

Symptoms: 

reoccuring headaches, lower back pain, abdominal aches (uterus is continuing to stretch!), leg cramps (had my first pregnancy-related charlie horse in foot last night!),  emotions are a little out of whack (hyper to depressed - mainly when I start thinking about my mom too much),  occasional nausea whenever I lay down (probably due to motion sickness from feeling the sweet little bambino moving around),  itchy/dry eyes, fast nail growth, nosebleeds, stuffy nose, frequent bathroom breaks, cravings (milk, cheese, Ritz crackers, scrambled eggs, potatoes, Italian food, Mexican food, and tuna fish!), adversions (salad, dark green veggies, peanut butter without jelly), too hot at work, too cold at home, vivid dreams

Total Weight Gained: 19 pounds (its so hard seeing the scale register so high!!)

At 17 weeks and 5 days, things are going mighty fine with baby boy Lamb and me.  We're almost done with the fourth month of pregnancy already! Wow! Anyway, the doctor's office called on Tuesday to let us know that the results for the trimester screens and bloodwork all came back normal. Yay!

This week, I finally broke down and started storing away my pre-pregnancy clothes. I did ok until I ran across my University of Florida Gator gear. I realized then that I wouldn't be wearing those cute little tee's this football season! I cried a few tears, had a moment of silence,  and moved on. Hmm...I wonder if anyone sells cute maternity Gator gear? I hope! At any rate, my closet now looks quite barren with all my pre-mommy attire removed. Oh well, at least I will have plenty of room for additional maternity items as I get bigger!

Last night, Allen informed me that my belly was noticibly bigger from the day before. I honestly didn't notice that much of a difference, but thats not anything new. He noticed a physical change in me way before I did when I first started losing weight two years ago!  Also, Allen has been awfully sweet to me lately, by always complimenting me on my new figure. I dont always like what I see, but if he likes it, I guess thats good enough for me.

However, I have noticed that my belly is starting to feel a little firmer, which is a nice change from the jelly belly I had a few weeks ago. I think the top of my uterus is now level with my belly button, so it probably wont be too much longer until my belly button pops out. That will be an interesting day, lol!

Baby boy Lamb's activity has varied a lot this week. He was quite active on Saturday, at his Aunt Karen (aka Aunt KK) and Uncle Chris's house for a cookout. I think he was enjoying the abundance of food that Mommy consumed that evening, including two types of desserts!! He was quiet on Monday and Tuesday, which made Mommy feel sad. She really missed feeling her little boy move!  Then she felt much happier when he kicked her three times in a row under her belly button on the way to work this morning (Wednesday). Keep up the good work son!

Symptoms:

dizziness, minor headaches, round ligament pain (uterus is getting heavier and is causing strain on the supporting ligaments), lower back pain at the end of the day, vivid dreams (dreams about water and also lots of nightmares involving my family), cravings for dairy products and scrambled eggs, nosebleeds, long fingernails, occasional leg cramps (not fun!)

Total weight gained: 15-17 pounds (fluctuations galore this week!)

We had our 16 week prenatal appointment yesterday and all is well.

Originally, our certified nurse midwife just wanted to have some blood drawn for a variety of tests but we were granted a little wish after she asked us if we had any questions. I innocently asked when it was possible to find out the gender of the baby. She said, "Well, I hate to sound like a salesman, but it is possible to figure that out now, for $50."

My husband and I immediately agreed to pay the fee to solve the mystery of our baby's gender. The CNM also stated that it may not be possible for the sonographer to find the gender due to position and size. We told her that was ok, because it still meant we got to see the little lamb and waiting four more weeks to find out would be ok. So, we excitedly signed the paperwork, dumbfounded by the fact that we might be able to find out what the baby was in a few moments!

But first, a nurse took my blood. She was much better than the nurse-in-training I had last time. I didnt even feel the needle prick me. She was also a pro at keeping me distracted as she removed 7 tubes of blood from me. 

Then the big moment came - the gender check sonogram! The sonographer asked us what we thought it may be and we said we didnt have a clue. She told us to make a guess so I said "well, based on old wives tales, we are supposed to have a girl". She laid me down and gelled up my belly and started looking for the baby. The first thing she did was measure its heart rate. 152! For some reason, hearing that number immediately made me think "BOY!" Then I saw the anatomy that confirmed my suspicion a split second before the sonographer said "well, you can throw all those wives tales out of the window because you guys are having a boy! Congratulations!"

I immediately started crying because I was so happy that I finally know what Allen and I created together. The product of our love for each other is a baby BOY! So exciting!!

She burned us a photo cd as well as printed up a few hard copies of sonograms for us. Everyone in the doctor's office asked us what it was and we proudly exclaimed "Its a boy!" I could barely contain myself as we walked out the door. I felt like I was walking on air!

That same day, we also found out some more good news! My sister was offered a really good job in the metro Atlanta area. Her new employers are thrilled with her field experience and want her to start Thursday (7-20)!  

In honor of our little boy and my sister's new job, we had a celebratory dinner at a wonderful Japanese restaurant. I was starving, but was only able to eat half my delicious hibachi grill dinner. I was just too excited about all the good news!

We ended the day with phone calls to the grandparents, telling them about their grandson. Everyone was thrilled, of course!

Today,  I told my boss and co-workers about the pregnancy. Everyone is so happy for me, especially my boss and female co-workers. My boss has been extremely supportive, which is a huge relief! Im so glad that they know now because I no longer have to hide my pregnancy in oversized shirts and sweater jackets. I can officially start wearing my cute pregnancy shirts! YAY!

Oh, before I forget - I added some new pictures of our baby boy and finally posted some progress pictures of myself. Enjoy!

Symptoms:

Im feeling pretty normal. I experience occasional dizziness, frequent urination, and many headaches. I still crave dairy, usually milk and cheese. I havent had a strong craving for ice cream, but I did use my pregnancy as an excuse to try out my ice cream maker. It makes fantastic ice cream!! I no longer fit into my pre-pregnancy bras, so over the weekend, I was forced to buy some nursing bras a few cup sizes bigger. They are soooo comfy, even if they arent that pretty to look at! Dreams are still bizzarre. Im dreaming about water and food a lot (especially ones I've eaten or seen earlier in the day!). The baby is moving quite frequently, especially during the day when Im sitting at my desk at work. Its nice feeling him roll around and kick. It lets me know he's doing juuust fine!

Total Weight Gained: 15 pounds!