What a great Valentine's Day present!

We just got home from the baby's echocardiogram.  Everything went wonderfully!  The doctor did a sonogram, looked at, and listened to the baby's heart and she said everything looks perfect.  She also took several measurements and said that he's measuring exactly where he should be.  He weighs about 2 pounds and 4 ounces right now and he's still a boy! 

We've been praying for weeks that all would go well at this appointment, so it just goes to show that God does answer prayers...Thank you Jesus!   

Well, today is the day...we go at 3:15 for the baby's echocardiogram.  I've been praying  about this for weeks now, so I'm sure that everything will turn out fine.  I'll keep ya posted!

I can't believe that it's been 2 weeks since I've written.  Time is FLYING by lately!  Jared and I spent the last week in the Smoky Mountains.  We did lots of sight-seeing, ate some good food, and generally relaxed...read, watched some TV, swam (at the indoor pool), etc.  It snowed a good 4 inches the last day we were there.  I was so excited!  It was beautiful!  I would've been disappointed if we hadn't seen some "real" snow before we left. 

 

"Baby" has been more and more active lately.  I feel him all throughout the day.  It's funny to watch my stomach now.  Sometimes you can see my whole stomach jump when he moves.  He did NOT like the plane ride to Tennessee though.  On the way there, we hit quite a bit of turbulence and he made sure to let me know how happy he was when we finally landed (as was I)!

 

 

I feel like my belly is getting bigger by the day.  Maternity shirts that used to fit me are now becoming snug.  I don't know exactly how much pregnancy weight I've gained...my next prenatal appointment is this coming Tuesday.  I'm pretty sure I've crossed that 20 pound mark, though.  It's getting harder and harder to do everyday things, like put on my shoes and get up off the couch.

Thankfully I haven't had much heartburn in the last week or so.  About 2 weeks ago, I had it really bad almost every day.  Thank goodness for Maalox!  It's the only thing that seems to work.  My hip cramps have been getting worse though.  They don't really bother me much during the day, but when I sleep at night, I wake up pretty often in pain.  Whatever side I'm laying on starts to cramp up, so I roll over...but then shortly afterwards that side starts to cramp.  I need to do some internetting and see if there is anything I can do to "fight" this nightly annoyance.

Monday is my appointment for the baby echocardiogram.  We're going to check out the baby's heart and make sure that it's beating the way it should.  I was worried a few weeks ago, but Jared and I have done a lot of praying and now I'm sure that everything is going to be fine.  I bought a little monitor a while back, so that I could listen to the baby's heartbeat at home.  When I first got it, it was really hard to find the heartbeat and hear anything.  Lately though, I can find it almost instantly, and it's SO loud.  I know that the baby is fine and his heart is fine.  This appointment is just a technicality.

Our little baby boy has been extremely active lately.  For about the last 3 or 4 days, I've been feeling him move ALL the time!  Used to, I would only feel him a few times during the day, but now...it's all day long.  He's obviously getting bigger and stronger.  I can feel almost every kick and bump on the outside of my stomach now.  Plus, if I push in on my stomach (not too hard)...he kicks me!  It's like a little game.  I try not to do it too often, but it is kind of funny to feel him react to his mommy!  

It still amazes me to think about what is going on in my body.  It's so easy to forget that there is an actual, tiny person living inside me.  I can't wait to see what he looks like!   

I'm 23 weeks now, so we've got about 17 to go.