Baby Girl Update #4

Hi guys! You know, there is actually a reason I'm updating this a little later in the week....I wanted to wait until after my Dr's appointment (which was yesterday). I'm glad I did, too! Evangeline Grace has been so active the last couple of days that they had to do a sonogram to check for her heartbeat....she wouldn't stay still enough to just check for the beat. She is fine and dandy! Her heartbeat is strong, and she was even facing the camera for us. I was so excited to be able to see her again.

Also, our baby items are coming together. So far we have purchased her crib, her dresser/changing table, her stroller/car seat, and her bedding set. We have even received 2 ADORABLE baby girl gift baskets from friends! I was completely blown away by the pink cuteness they contained. This part is so much fun! And our church set my baby shower date. How exciting!

So, now for the update on baby girl and me:

How far along am I?  22 weeks (5 and a half months)

How big is the baby? About the size of a spaghetti squash! (Which seems huge to me!)

How am I feeling? Morning sickness is still there...but since I'm off most of this week from home, I'm hoping to have a week off from the nausea. And I'm really hoping my appetite lets me enjoy Thanksgiving! There are too many good dishes to pass up....or throw up!

What am I craving?  Well, the other day I devoured a bag of popcorn...and then a carton of ice cream. I don't know if one-time things count...but I can report that Evangeline seemed to have LOVED the ice cream! (Lots of movement afterwards.)

How is sleep going? Pretty good. I actually slept in really late today! That hasn't happened in a while.

How big am I? Well, even though my weight went down AGAIN this month (that's about 30 pounds total now), I definitely notice that my belly is more full and round than before. You probably can't notice a drastic change, but there is a change. 

Symptoms I hate: Nausea still. 

Symptoms I love: That I can feel her MOVE!!!! Soooooo happy about that! 

How's the hubs? He was even more thrilled than I was to be able to see his daughter on the screen again yesterday. Also, he is working on memorizing the song, "Ma Belle Evangeline" from Princess and the Frog. I cannot wait to hear him singing it to her while she rests in his arms, but for now, he sings it to my stomach....if he's not playing Allan Jackson into my belly button. lol.

My heart is very THANKFUL this evening! What about you? 

More Gender Reveal Insight

Hey everyone! Thank you for the love you have sent our way! We are so thrilled!

I just wanted to add some photos of our fun gender reveal (paint fight). Our wonderful photographer is Mary Pharris, owner and operator of Digital Beauty....and she is amazing. I highly recommend her! All of these photo credits go to her. (Let me know if you'd like her contact information.)

Enjoy!

Getting ready for our show down..I was still in the dark.

Let the fun begin....is that pink I see?

Ahhh! It's a girl!!!!

LOL! I'm so happy...and Matt's so, "Eh! Get that paint away from my face!"

I can't believe it!

Hello little girl! 

I am one happy mama!

Gender Reveal: It's a .....

We had the best time revealing the gender today! We invited friends and family over to our house and Matt and I held a paint fight! I really did not know the gender before hand. We had paint bottles filled with the color pain that would reveal boy or girl. We walked 5 paces away in our show down, then turned to each other and had at it, revealing the fact that.....

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!


I must admit that we were a little surprised. A lot of people, including us, thought it might be a boy, however we were also thrilled at the thought of a girl.

We also have the name picked out. Honestly, we've had our girl name picked out before we were married. We both were inspired by this name from the adorable movie, Princess and the Frog. Looking at the meaning of the name even closer, we were sure it was the name for our future daughter.

Evangeline Grace.

Her first name means "messenger of good news." This is our prayer for her: we pray that she will indeed be a messenger of good news - of God's grace.

Also, the radiologist said that all images look great. Nothing appears to be wrong, so I'm very happy about that. And she is moving in there, as the camera revealed, even if I can't feel it yet.

My heart is full right now! We're having a little girl!

Baby Update #3

Hello, hello! Another week, another update! I just love filling out these things; it helps make my pregnancy journey seem more real. During the work day, I forget ALL the time that I'm pregnant...partly because I'm very focused on my students, and partly because I'm expected to keep my condition a secret from my class for as long as possible. But when I'm here, sharing this wonderful news with you, I'm reminded again, and it brightens up my whole week!

I will be honest and tell you that this week hasn't been very exciting as far as progress goes. However, NEXT week is set to be VERY exciting because next week I will be sharing the gender reveal! Yup. If all goes well on Thursday, Matt and I will finally know the secret...and we're planning an awesome photo shoot on Saturday pass it on with our loved ones. (I'm extremely excited about it!)

Before I finally share my little weekly survey, I do want to ask for prayers. This is going to be the first sonogram since our first doctor's appointment when the pregnancy was actually confirmed at 9 weeks. I'm battling fear again because I still have not felt the baby move inside me. The heartbeat has always been fine, but I can't help but worry a little that something might be wrong. When we see our baby, I pray that we will also see that he or she looks very healthy and fine. (And in case you are wondering, I have chosen not to do the blood test that could reveal anything wrong, such as down syndrom, because of a couple reasons: 1) the test would not change our view of the child or our decision to carry the baby to longest term possible, and 2) I feel that it would only cause me stress...I've known many parents who were told that their children would be born with special needs, and the babies were born to reveal it was a misdiagnosis....so I denied that certain test, and my doctor was very understanding. He also said that most of the time the sonogram would reveal anything majorly wrong. I also ask that you don't try to change my mind about the blood test, because I'm not going to change it. It's our decisions as parents.)

Ok, now for the official update:

How far along am I?  20 weeks (5 months)

How big is the baby? About the size of a banana...and again, I still haven't felt any movement.

How am I feeling? Morning sickness has been more constant than ever! At the same time, it's only in the morning...the rest of the day I am fine. I'm also slowly getting my normal appetite back, so that makes me happy. 

What am I craving? Not really anything in particular, although I'm trying very hard to DRINK a lot more water.

How is sleep going? Fine...until about 5:30 - 6:30 a.m. when my achy tummy wakes me up if my alarm hasn't already. 

How big am I? Still about the same; I have a belly, but it's not any bigger than the one I already had. lol. Just firmer.

Symptoms I hate: It's more so that I hate the LACK of the symptom I've been waiting for: I hate that I haven't been able to feel my baby, which is supposed to happen 17-20 weeks. 

Symptoms I love: ....hmm...well, I love that I get to see him or her in a couple of days! Does that count?

How's the hubs? He gets sweeter every week. Right now he's cleaning the kitchen while also cooking dinner...after getting home from grocery shopping. He's very protective. When he greets me now, he says, "Hey babies!" It's cute. 

Baby Update #2

It's been so wonderful to be back at blogging again, especially since I am in the middle of such an exciting time. Well, it's been about a week, and since the doctor tells me to measure everything by weeks, its is TIME for a new update!

How far along am I?   19 weeks on Monday

How big is the baby? About the size of an heirloom tomato; arms and legs are now pretty proportionate to the body, and the scalp could possible be growing some hair!

Just to answer this question off the bat...although the baby is moving, I still do not feel any movement. No quickening, no kicking, no hiccups. But I'm looking forward to the moment (which could be any time now) when I can feel it. Don't worry; I'll let you know when it happens. 

How am I feeling? Ugh! Seriously, this morning sickness needs to stop! I had to leave from work on Friday because it was really bad ...the whole day. Not every mom-to-be stops feeling queasy around week 14...so we'll see how long it lasts for me. 

What am I craving? Milk. It's not that I crave it all the time, but I definitely want a couple of glasses of it a day. String cheese has also been high on my list...I guess I have a thing for calcium. Hm.

How is sleep going? I wish I could stop my habit of rolling over on my belly because it wakes me up since it's uncomfortable. 

How big am I? Well...I went to the doctor this week, and I've lost more weight, which normally would make me ecstatic. lol. I'm hoping to carry this luck AFTER the baby is born. Anyway, the doctor's not worried about it. My belly is still growing more firm, and I'm pretty positive I'm going to need to buy a new pair of jeans soon. So, it's not overly obvious yet (remember, I started with a belly), but it's cool to see the growth from my eyes.

Symptoms I hate: Ugh Ugh Morning Sickness!!!

Symptoms I love: I love poking my belly to feel how FIRM it is. lol. .....is that weird?

How's the hubs? Oh so very anxious to find out the gender...which could be next week! And he, as well as I, love to go to our doctor's visits. Even hearing the heartbeat is the highlight of our month!