Drum roll please...

I can't believe it but we are almost halfway through pregnancy.  Only a few more days and we'll be at the 20 week mark.  Which means only another 4 (or 5) months until we get to meet Baby J and only 4 more months to get ready.  So far up until this point, my pregnancy has been largely enjoyable.  Of course it's not all roses and sunshine, but I am very lucky to not have not suffered through morning sickness or bouts of nausea.  I feel physically, emotionally and mentally healthy despite my growing size.  I am always surprised when people tell me I'm not very big yet because I feel much bigger than I am (my belly photos make me look huge). I am still able to do almost everything I enjoy (except running because it makes me pee and drinking alcohol for obvious reasons). Every now and again my back will start to ache, but I broke down and bought a pregnancy pillow that has saved me from sleepless nights.  

Let's just take a moment to send a shout out to the brilliant people and Leachco, the makers of the Snoogle. This pillow is brilliant. It supports your neck, provides a comfy rest for your back (or belly depending on which direction you are using it, and aligns your hips to keep you in perfect sleeping position. I have a hard time staying asleep on my sides and usually wake up on my back in the middle of the night - a big no-no for pregnant women in their second trimester because the weight of the belly puts pressure on the spine and can cut off blood/oxygen supply to the baby. They say even the right side isn't that great because there is a main artery on that side that can get compromised.  So left side it is! While not perfect, this pillow helps keep me in check - and I love it for that.  I would recommend this pillow to anyone who wants a little extra support throughout the night.  The only downside is the size.  I call it the "marriage wrecker" because it takes up so much of the bed puts a wall between Tom and I.  Not conducive to snuggling at all.  But for the next few months, it's worth it to get a good nights sleep!

Look, even this dog likes the Snoogle!

We had our big Anatomy ultrasound last Friday.  The appointment lasted about an hour and the technician preformed a detailed scan of the baby's anatomy and physical structure to determine if it was healthy and growing as expected.  I have decided that Baby J is going to be stubborn (like an unnamed parent with a Y chromosome) because almost the entire time the baby had it's hands crossed in front of it's face like like it was saying "Oh no! You're not going to get a picture of me!".  As Tom said, the baby looks like a skeletor because you could very clearly see the bone structure and organs.  At one point, we could even see the mouth moving like it was trying to talk!  The technician was having a hard time getting all the images she needed, so she had me roll over on my left and then quickly roll back, over and over again trying to trick the baby into moving.  At one point, I went into the bathroom and jumped up and down and that seemed to help.  The reason I call this the "big" appointment is because at this ultrasound they are supposed to be able to determine the baby's sex.  We have been dying to know what we were going to be having, so we were very excited when Friday finally rolled around.  So now, without further ado, the baby's sex is....*drum roll*...

...UNDETERMINED.  What?! Yes, that's right.  The technician spent an hour plus looking at the baby, but she wasn't able to tell from the genitals if it was going to be a boy or a girl.  The baby had it's legs crossed and it was hard to tell.  She said she didn't see a penis, so it must be a girl.  Ummm, no...just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it's not there!  I asked her how certain she was, and she said she was 70% sure it was a girl.  Well, I'm sorry but 70% isn't enough for me to feel confident about.  She did disclose that she was new to PAMF and like I said, she seemed to be having some trouble getting what she needed.  But to be fair, a lot of babies don't cooperate during ultrasounds.  It's not an exact science.  I whined about it to my doctor and she assured me that most ultrasound technicians throw out a percentage like 70-80% because they can only go on what they see - and often it's very hard to see.  She assured me that we could look again at my next appointment - 8 weeks from now. GAH!! We had wanted to send out a fun announcement with the babies ultrasound picture and announce the sex, but we can't in good conscience do it now because there is a 30% chance that baby J could be a boy.  I'd hate to get inundated with pink dresses just to find out that our baby is indeed a male.  Poor little guy would have lots of effeminate clothing.

19 weeks

So for now, the baby's nursery is going to be decorated in yellow, green and blue and we'll just have to wait like back in the "old fashioned days" to find out.  Either way, we are more than relieved that they baby is healthy and growing.  We won't have to wait too much longer until we can hold him or her in our arms.