OB appointments are very anti-climactic

So, there's really nothing new going on. I am currently at 23 weeks and everyone says that I definitely look pregnant now. This is good news as I'd rather look pregnant than fat (or JUST fat)!

I had my 22 week check up last week, and I guess everything seemed to be going along normally. Usually I get numbers for the baby's heart rate and how my belly is measuring, but they didn't give me anything this time. Well, the only thing I got was my blood pressure which was around 175/65 or something like that, which she said was very good and pretty close to where it always is, so that wasn't anything too exciting. The only news I got was the knowledge that the pain I've been having (I'll spare you the details) is totally normal, there's nothing I can do about it, and it's just going to get worse! I'm really looking forward to the next 4 months after hearing that, let me tell you! It's very sad because I always get excited leading up to an appointment, but nothing ever happens so I'm not sure why. I mean, unless it's an ultrasound, or closer to the end when some "progress" might be going on, but even then... what are you going to do about it until December? But I guess I should be thankful that nothing more exciting is going on, because if there was, it probably wouldn't be a good thing.

I found out at my benefits fair last week that my bone density is on the low side. It's barely low, but low nonetheless, especially for someone my age.  I figure Cranberry must like to suck me dry of my calcium like Nate did with my iron, so I have been trying very hard since then to get in at least 4 servings per day. It's really not that hard, especially when one can be a bowl of ice cream! Speaking of which, this girl definitely seems to like her ice cream because every time I have it she moves and grooves for awhile afterward. Peter even got to feel her doing her ice cream dance last night!

Nate left for an 8 day trip with his Grandpa Jack and Nana Dianne on Friday. I tried not to think about it too much before he left, and even on the drive to the airport, but as soon as they started wheeling his stroller away I started to break down! I don't know if it was pregnancy hormones or just a concerned mom (or both), but, yeah, I was the crazy pregnant lady crying at the airport. Oh well. They started the trip in Minnesota where Peter's sister Patty and her family live. Nate had a great time there because he got to play with his cousin Georgia - she will be 4 next month. From there they drove to Wisconsin where Dianne's sister lives, and should currently be in or around Illinois where Peter's sister Beth lives. He will get to see some cousins there too, but they're pretty much my age. I've gotten to talk to him every night and he seems to be missing us, but not TOO much. That's exactly how I want it! :)

Nate, Georgia and Henry

*Update - Just got a call from Jack, Dianne and Nate and he's doing fine. He didn't want to talk to me so he could play the piano!

With Nate gone, Peter and I are taking advantage of the "free" time by painting the nursery! We got the majority of the painting done, but were having some issues with our stencil and are currently at an impasse as to how the pattern should continue at certain corners. We really should have planned better. I will post some "in progress" pictures, then post some when it's done a little later.

Step one - "Vanilla" about halfway down

Step 2 - Purple about halfway up

Step 3 - Polka dots!

We also took a day off on Sunday to celebrate our 4th anniversary a few days late. We went to brunch in Flat Rock, a little mountain town in NC and it was delicious! We then went to a pick your own orchard and got a peck of apples. MMMMM... I love apple season! We had planned on driving to see some waterfalls, but decided it was a little too far (a total of a 3 hour drive there and back) so we came home, and went to see a movie. We have to keep our anniversary tradition alive! the rest of the week we've just been hanging out at home and getting as much done as we can without a little guy to worry about running off or feeding. As nice as the free time has been I really miss the little monkey and can't wait for him to be home on Sunday!

It's A...

GIRL!!!!

I was right! I told Peter that it is going to be a source of pride that I have known what both of my children were before the ultrasound.

So, we had our ultrasound today... The first thing she did was to ask if we wanted to find out the gender and then go looking for it. It's a good thing she did it right away too because she had her legs crossed tight toward the end. Actually when she was first looking, Peter and I both saw something we thought might be BOY, but it turned out to be the umbilical cord or something because once she got her little wand in the right position it showed girl!

Of course she went through the rest of the important stuff too to make sure everything was functioning properly. The first thing she looked at was her kidneys to make sure she doesn't have any problems like Nate. The kidneys were empty, but the bladder had fluid, so they appear to be perfect! She went through everything else too like the heart, brain, spine... and they are all perfect as well. No markers for down syndrome, spots on the heart or any other defects. She said, unlike with Nate, that we wouldn't need a follow-up appointment to this ultrasound since everything looks just as it should. This was the best thing I could have heard - girl or boy!

Looking at the shots it seems to us like her legs are long and feet are big... just like Nate and Peter. She also seems to have a nice pointy chin just like Nate had, which definitely comes from Peter as well. I was really hoping this one would like like me, but I'm not so sure it will happen. :( I made sure to drink OJ before I went so she would be active and boy did that work! She was dancing in there... All the measurements indicate she's growing right on time with an actual due date of 12/20, which I think I've said before is what I think it is, but they just use the same formula for everyone.

When I got back to work I made the ladies wait a little while (which they really didn't like) before I told them with a fun reveal. Last night I baked a pink cake and a friend baked a blue one, and we cut into the appropriate cake to tell everyone what Cranberry was. They had taken a poll yesterday that was pretty evenly split, but when they saw the pink cake they all let out a great cheer! 

Of course now we're starting to think about how we are going to decorate her nursery and what we're going to name her... Now the fun begins!

Congratulations to the 11 of you who voted in the poll and were correct! I'm glad you all trusted my instincts. :)

18 week Drs appointment

So, we had our 18 week check-up and it was as boring as the first few months usually are. Of course, our doctor was almost an hour late, which was kinda annoying because that means I had to use extra sick time, but also broke up my 10 hour day a little more. But he still answered our questions and listened for Cranberry's heartbeat. It was coming in at a healthy 145-150bpm. This still points to girl, but a lot less than the 160s from the previous appointment. But, we don't have too much longer to wait to find out as we were able to schedule our ultrasound for this Tuesday! Since I'm still only feeling movement every once in awhile it will be nice to see little Cranberry again and, of course, start planning for the nursery! Check back Tuesday for more big news... assuming Cranberry plays along. :)