Halfway There!

I cannot believe I am halfway through my pregnancy! I was so scared for most of the first trimester that I would miscarry that it was hard to just relax and enjoy being pregnant. Once we cleared that first hurdle, my thyroid leveled out and I started to feel so much better. I wasn't so bone achingly tired all the time, the nausea faded, and I am actually in the stage where I really enjoy being pregnant. I can go without the waking up many times a night thing but beggars can't be choosers. Some photo updates...

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am so not a fan of the 20 week picture. My husband refused to stand up to take it! Unflattering angle!

When I was about 17 weeks pregnant my friend had her baby shower so I got to pose alongside another pregnant lady! Kristin was about 25 weeks along at this time and she had her shower early so she could be in the state with her family and still travel! Her husband is stationed in Texas. I didn't know I was having a boy yet (as is Kristin) but a lot of people thought I was having a girl because of these pictures since I appear to be carrying higher than her. Just goes to show you every pregnancy is different!

During this time I was also acting in a local community theatre production of A Time to Kill playing Judge Olga Noose. Fortunately I got to wear a baggy judge's robe and sit behind at the bench most of the play, so most people had no idea I was even pregnant! The weekend the show went on I was maybe 19 weeks along.

Of course a major highlight was our anatomy scan right as I hit 19 weeks. We got to see how much our Bean has grown and our tech was wonderful. She gamely turned off the screens to inspect the gender area and wrote down the results in an envelope for us to do our gender reveal that weekend.

On to the survey!

What Fruit are you? According to the Ovia app I am a baby bok choy, the What to Expect app says banana, and my Baby Pics app says pomegranate. Geeze y'all, can't you compare notes?
Due date: August 5, 2016
How far along: 21 weeks 4 days
Next appointment: April 15th for scan at Maternal Fetal Medicine, April 21 for OBGYN
Gender: Baby Boy!
Total weight gain/loss: I have officially gained close to 15-20lbs. I know I am supposed to, but it still wigs me out a bit to see numbers that big on a scale!
Exercise: Lots of walking. Now that the weather has warmed up the Dup and I try and go for walks daily.
Stretch marks: No new noticeable ones yet.
Swelling: I officially cannot wear my rings anymore. It was actually traumatic getting my husband to get my wedding band off after a walk one night. My hands swelled so bad and I nearly threw up when he finally got the thing off my finger, man did it hurt! I also may have started to go into shock. Yea, I will be a peach in labor! It honestly took close to an hour with ice, string and other things and my husband finally just yanking the hell out of it. I now wear my wedding band on my necklace and a giant fake ring I got from a Diamond Candle a few years ago that now fits. 

This was my poor finger not too long after we got the ring off. At least it wasn't as red but it swelled like that for a few days.

Maternity clothes: Yes. I still fit in some old shirts and a stretchy pair of work pants or two but majority of my wardrobe is maternity.
Belly button: Normal but I think starting to get shallower.
Sleep: I wake up between 1 and 4 times a night, usually to pee. I am trying to sleep on my side since I am supposed to, but I keep waking up on my back!
Food cravings: Blood oranges, I have at least one a day! Also still loving sweets but trying to be smart.
Symptoms: Still a little tired sometimes, occasionally a leg cramp or two, hunger... the usual.
Movement: Yes! Bean started moving noticeably for me right before my show! When I was on stage a few times I had to fight to stay in character because that was when he decided it would be a good time to move around. Ryan finally felt him officially kick for sure during this past week. Last week he kind of thought he might have, but a good kick last Saturday night was definite.
Labor signs: None yet thankfully!
What I miss: I did kind of want a drink the other night, but that is so rare it even surprised me!
What I'm loving: Feeling official kicks and movements from Bean. It is wonderful!
What I'm looking forward to: Having the bump be a bit more pronounced and then of course eventually meeting the little stinker.
Best moment this week: Seeing Ryan's expression when he finally felt a good, hard kick from Bean.
News: It's a boy! Thyroid levels are normal, things look good.
Milestones: Anatomy scan, Halfway point, official kicks, Finding out the gender
Words of wisdom: I am ready for any that people may want to share.

Anatomy Scan

One of our big worries with my Hashimoto's Hypothyroiditis was how it would effect our little Bean, as we have been calling our baby to be. Since my diagnosis did not occur until well into my first trimester there is they worry that my thyroid could hurt how Bean was developing. I was classified as a high risk pregnancy because of this and I am being seen by the OBGYN and the Maternal Fetal Medicine Clinic. One bright side is that I will have routine ultrasounds until the end of my pregnancy to make sure Bean is on track instead of just having my 20 week anatomy scan and being done. Well yesterday was our big anatomy scan and a big source of my anxiety for sure! I know everyone hopes for a healthy baby, but with the thyroid issues I was terrified I could have inadvertently hurt Bean. We have to check that all organs (especially the heart) were formed and correct as well as many other things.

Well, let me tell you, our little Bean looks fantastic so far.

Baby toes!!!

Bean has ten fingers, ten toes, an adorable little nose and mouth, all four chambers of the heart (working!), as well as a spine that has a healthy taper (so no signs of spinal bifida), ribs, functioning kidneys... everything looked good from what our tech Sara could tell. Our tech was so fabulous. She had us relaxed, played some wonderful taste in music, and just helped put us two high strung first time parents to be at ease. Bean's heartbeat filled that little room at 151 beats per minute and it is a sound I will never tire of hearing. My placenta is right on top so she warned me it may take a little longer to feel kicks, especially for Ryan to feel from the outside. Occasionally I feel like I can feel little swooshes or bubbles, but it is hard to know for sure!

We told Sara we wanted to know the gender, but not right then. We asked her to write it down and seal it in an envelope for us. Then we gave that envelope to our friend Donna who will put together a box for us to open on Saturday. This weekend I am acting in a local community theatre production of A Time to Kill as the judge and both of our families are coming to see the show. We figured having everyone together, siblings included, would be the perfect time to all find out together!

The only down side is I was dying to open that envelope!!!

I had to keep it away from Ryan as he kept trying to hold it up to the light to see the picture inside, so he wasn't allowed to hold the envelope anymore after that. I then put it in the glove compartment of my car until I got to rehearsal and was able to give Donna the envelope. She refused to look at it last night as she wanted to give nothing away... so as of right now only Sara (our tech) and Donna know what Bean is for sure!

So, what do you think? Is our Bean going to be a girl or a boy? I will post after this weekend with the results!!!