37 Weeks: Moving Right Along!

My doctors appointment Thursday went really well.  I've started progressing toward labor which is good.  Her head is in the right place and she is low. They expect our girl to be right on time, which is in less than 3 weeks.  Yikes.  She is moving a lot still, depending on the time of day.  She has started to have more "rest times" recently.  Her movements are definitely different now as well.  I am now being poked and prodded more than kicked and punched. 
I've started to have little bouts of anxiousness that I'm not fond of at all.  They don't seem to be triggered by anything in particular but I guess the pressure of everything does weigh on my subconscious.  Don't get me wrong, I'm super excited to meet this girl and I'm really not that freaked out about labor and delivery.  It's one day of my life.  I could do pretty much anything for one day, right?  Especially when the reward is a sweet, cuddly baby!  If I'm being delusional here, please don't spoil it for me.  I guess it is really just the nesting instinct to have everything "ready" that is driving me insane.  I keep making list of things to stockpile like shampoo, paper towels, toilet paper, ect.  And I want ridiculous amounts of it.  I'm not sure if I think I'm having a baby or being trapped in my house for a year.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to be prepared for both circumstances. :)
We got a ton done in the nursery over the long holiday weekend and hope to finish up with most things this coming Monday.  We will see how it goes though.  I'm not going to freak out if she arrives and all the decorations aren't up yet.
In the midst of all my practicality and cleaning, I managed to make Cory a totally unpractical and mostly silly "Daddy Kit"  as part of his Christmas present.  It was small but cute I thought and he seemed to really like it. Here's what I put in it:

Baby books about dads for bedtime stories. 

New underwear for sports playing with passes for an extra night of basketball for "when living with two girls is a little too much" and he needs some extra "man time." 

A book of useless information to share with her/keep him entertained during the early parts of labor, which he LOVES.  He is always looking up websites with random facts on them and sharing them with me.  This is only annoying sometimes. :) 

Some reeses for a snack while he is waiting for our girl to arrive.

My favorite:  oreos for them to share a midnight snack.  She gets the milk.  He gets the cookies. :)

36 Weeks: Brain? What Brain?

I am pretty sure I no longer have a functioning brain or at least one that can only function on baby related tasks.  Sitting at work trying to focus on anything is a basically an exercise in futility.  I am working at about 10% of my normal right now.  I keep stopping what I'm doing to make yet another list.  I have about a million at this point.  I start thinking of things I need to do, then start freaking out a little, then make a list.  Making lists is comforting to me.  It tricks me into thinking I have control when really, I don't.  Hopefully with my days off I can actually being crossing more things off than adding them!
After Lydia Jane is born, I will have 6 weeks off and then I'm going back to work.  Right now it is what is best for our family, even though the thought of leaving her already stinks.  The good thing is that my mom will be the one keeping her so at least she will not be in daycare and will get a lot of one on one attention.  I struggled a lot with the idea of being a working mom.  Is my baby going to be well taken care of?  Will she still know I'm her mother?  And on and on.  What really helped me was seeing my sister in law, Jennifer, handle it so well.  We kept the boys one night for her and Mike to go on a date when Carson was about 8 months old.  I was holding him when Jenn walked in the house and he literally lit up the second he saw her, started kicking his little feet, and reaching for her.  Even though my nephew was doing everything possible to escape from me, it made me super happy because I was able to stop worrying my baby wouldn't love me as much if I wasn't the one caring for her 24/7.  Of course that is the ideal situation but it doesn't work out for everyone to do that right away and that's okay too.  You can still make it work.  I actually have a great job that I like with wonderful benefits.  I really couldn't have a better job than this one for being a working mom so I'm very grateful for that. 
I had my 36 weeks appointment today.  Everything still looks really good.  My blood pressure is normal, I didn't gain any weight and LJ's heartbeat is going strong.  I haven't dialated at all which doesn't bother me because I didn't really expect that I would have.  I'm content to let this girl grow in there for as long as she likes.  The doctor told me today that they would let me go up to 2 weeks late which means that she will be here February 1st at the absolute latest.  I'm super against being induced so I'm trying to start early having a patient attitude about it.  I know the bigger she gets, the harder that is going to be to do.  I actually feel really good right now though so hopefully that will continue.

Christmas Craftiness!

This year I have been a pretty big Scrooge.  I haven't put up a Christmas tree, nativity, stocking, anything.  I have been so focused on baby everything that I just decided I would be satisfied with my mom's decorations in Bishopville, which is where we spend Christmas eve and day, anyway.  I'm just stocking up on Christmas cheer for Lydia Jane's first Christmas next year!  That is what I tell myself to not feel so badly about it, at least.  I did put up a little Christmas flag outside and yesterday I finally finished the wreath for the front door.  Do not even mention that it is less than a week until Christmas.  I do not care.  I simply want to bask in the glory of this accomplishment.  I finished a wreath.  Hooray me!
This is the one I saw on Etsy and Pinterest.  I like it, but it is a little over the top for my taste.

This is the toned down version I made for our door.  I think next year I may add more ribbon to it, but I'm satisfied with it for this year.

At least now our visitors will get a nice warm Christmasy welcome before entering the Scrooge den! :)

35 Weeks: The Beginning of the End

As of today, there is less than a month until my due date.  I feel like I am now officially in the home stretch! Even though I'm not kidding myself into thinking she will definitely be here by then, it is still exciting.  From now on I will have a doctors appointment every week.  My appointment last Thursday was completely typical.  Everything looks good and I was in and out in less than 30 minutes.  I asked about her hiccups and the doctor said that was totally normal.  He asked if I was feeling them on the right side of my pelvis, which is exactly where I do feel them, and said that was good because it means she is already in the right position for birth.  So hooray for that! 
After feeling her little foot the other day, I have had to move it a few other times.  It is very strange to feel someone stretching out inside your belly and when it hurts, be able to push them back in.  I can't decide if Cory thinks it is more cool or freaky.  I don't think he can decide either. :) 
I am definitely looking forward to my 3 days off around Christmas!  We are staying in Columbia for the most part because Cory is on call next week so I'm hoping we can get the nursery close to finished.  We have definitely been working hard to get the rest of the house organized and I'm pretty proud of our progress!

Spartanburg Weekend

About a month ago Cory and I spent a weekend in Spartanburg running/walking a race and visiting some friends.  I left my camera at home and of course just got around to figuring out how to transfer pictures from my iphone to the computer.  So here are some pictures from our super fun weekend.

Last summer, my cousin Karl passed away from congestive heart failure at the age of 19.  There is now a scholarship in his memory at Wofford College where he was a rising Sophomore at the time of his death.  To raise money for the scholarship, his fraternity puts on the 5K for Karl in the fall.  This was the 2nd annual race and it was a wonderful success.  Notice one of the sponsors:  Baby Girl Watts. :)

 Cory and my brother Gilliam.  I didn't get a picture of them running across the finish line because Cory was running across it as I was getting back from walking a mile and Gilliam was already finished.  Oh well, I will pull the pregnancy card to explain why my husband can run a 5k faster than I can walk a mile.

 My dad and brother after the race.  Gilliam had the fastest time for his age division!  He definitely takes after my dad in the running department!  In his younger days, my dad ran a couple marathons a year.

 Cory and me at the Travis home.  We may or may not have been tormenting Joel the whole night with these photos.  He was still at school in Utah and extremely jealous we were visiting with his sister and parents.

 Cory and Zach the dog who is super awesome.  Also, another picture for Joel.

 Joel really misses Zaxby's so of course we went there for dinner and took some photos.

 Adriane and Micah who we had such a fun time hanging out with!  We ate Mexican, went bowling, hung out watching football, ate Zaxby's and watched a movie.  The movie part was really just Cory and Micah.  Adriane is in her 1st trimester while I'm in my 3rd so we didn't make it much past the opening credits before falling asleep.

No trip is complete without a stoney face Sunday school shot! :)  Despite the looks on our faces, we had a wonderful weekend with fabulous family and friends! 

Maternity Photos!

My amazing friend/photographer Naomi took some maternity photos for me a few weeks ago. I love how they turned out even though towards the end I was getting pretty tired. I may or may not have resembled a grumpy two year old. Regardless, Naomi handled it like a champ. :) I suppose she is used to dealing with me in all my moods at this point. Anyway, here are some of my favorites. I'm 33 weeks in these.



 I love both our hands making the heart.  I'm going to frame this one in LJ's room.

 The old blue paint on these windows looks so cool.

I just like this one. 

And then there were three...

 The looking down shot so popular in maternity photos...

Me smiling: because in not too much longer that girl will be here!

34 Weeks: Under Pressure

The fact that I have made it to 34 weeks does not seem quite as monumental as that fact that I only have 6 weeks left.  6 weeks!  I feel like I have just come to terms with the idea of being pregnant and now it is time to start coming to terms with the idea of no longer being pregnant and being a real live mother instead.   Sometimes I feel that is the way my life works.  I work so hard to become comfortable with a situation I am in, go through all the tears and prayers and craziness, and then bam!  I finally realize I've come to accept and be comfortable with where I am because I see it changing and start to freak out a little.  I will definitely be glad once our girl is here and I'm holding her in my arms instead of feeling her kicks and punches from the inside, but I think I'm going to miss this a little too.  I'm also starting to get a little nervous about the whole birthing thing, which I know is ridiculous because it is what my body was made to do, but I still can't help it.  I ordered my first birthing book from Barnes & Noble, which was sort of a mistake.  Literally every person they show giving birth is completely naked.  Seriously, this book has more boobs than a National Geographic tribal special.  So lesson learned:  do not buy birthing books without looking through them in the store first.  I still have not decided what kind of birth I want to have.  The more I think about it, the more conflicted I feel.  How am I supposed to make a decision about an experience I've never been through before?  I can't say if I will be able to handle the pain or not because I have never felt anything like it.  So my plan is to basically do what feels right in the moment and listen to my body.  Maybe that sounds crazy, but oh well!  Women did this thing with no plan for thousands of years.  Certainly I can do it now in a hospital surrounded by doctors and nurses.
The good news is that I've been so busy that I haven't really had much time to worry about it.  In the last week and a half, I've had maternity pictures taken, two baby showers, done some Christmas shopping, had jury duty, chaperoned a youth dance and begun organizing the nursery, which is now covered in presents once again.  Oh well!  I will catch up with my to do list eventually, I hope! I'm going to try and do individual posts about some of those things but who knows when.  Tonight we have the youth Christmas party, Thursday we are cleaning the church, Friday is the ward Christmas party and Saturday is Thompson Family Christmas!  Don't you just love the holidays?!
Health wise, I'm doing really well which is a blessing for sure.  Lydia Jane is a super squirmer these days and the other day I even felt her foot or hand!  It was so cool but also weird.  I have felt her movements for a couple of months and my belly is in constant motion from her some days but that was the first time I actually felt her.  The best thing was that Cory was able to feel it too.  His response was "There is definitely an alien in there!" ha! Also, I've started to feel a little cramped.  I guess it is about time.  I can't bend over without feeling like my lungs are being flattened so I've started asking Cory to do a lot more for me.  Luckily, he is super awesome about helping me!  This girl definitely loves her personal space.  I can't even rest my arms on my belly without getting a nudge like "Excuse me, but this space belongs to me!"  AND she has started getting hiccups which is so weird.  My stomach will give a little shake every few seconds for five minutes or so and I get so distracted by it.  I try and shake my belly to scare her, but as far as I can tell, that doesn't work. :)

Two Years!

Today is our two year anniversary and I really can't believe it.  I simultaneously feel like it has been longer and shorter than that.  One thing I do know, it was the best decision I ever made.  I'm so grateful to be married to such a wonderful man for eternity!  Tonight we will be celebrating two years of awesome adventures and the many many more to come! :)

33 Weeks: Amazing Things

I had my "34 weeks" check up on Wednesday, again a week early. Maybe this will be a trend for everything pregnancy related from now on?!  *fingers crossed* :)  I was the very first appointment for the day and actually got there first so I was in and out in less than 30 minutes.  Everything looks good still and I only gained 2 pounds in the two weeks around Thanksgiving which I was super proud of! I've started taking salads for my lunches this week to be healthier and to hopefully keep my weight gain down to no more than a pound a week for the rest of the pregnancy.  I've done pretty well weight wise so hopefully I can do it.  I still have to make it through Christmas though...
Also, I've heard about 20 times in the past few weeks that I MUST be having a boy.  Ummm..no, it's a girl.  I don't really understand the need to even guess.  I realize there are good odds with 50/50, but still.  There is absolutely no way to tell from looking at me the gender of my unborn child. There also is no prize for guessing correctly, yet many people insist on trying. Someone asked my due date today and when I said January 18th she replied with "I thought you were going to say any day now!"  My response "I wish!" complete with a forced smile and laugh.  Pregnancy sure gives you lessons in holding your tongue!  I just wish all these inconsiderate people had the same ones.  I've learned to deal with it, it just never ceases to amaze me.  It reminds me of riding to church with my mom as a kid and passing the same man cutting his grass every week and my mom saying "I can't believe that man is out cutting his grass on Sunday!" every week.  Some things are just too amazing not to comment on no matter how frequently they occur, apparently. :)
The good thing is that even though there are people like that, there are also people like my best friend.  She read about the horrible week I was having and instead of leaving me a comment she brings me homemade blondies, which were super yummy.  Not that I do not appreciate the comments.  I definitely do, I just can't eat those. :)  She also brought along a super cute red head I was able to bribe into showing me her new walking skills with M&Ms.  There are people like my fellow counselor in YW who, after hearing me say how I was totally disappointed that the stake presidency had cancelled their weekly interview session, pulls out her phone, in which is programed Pres. Mayo's number, and calls him to find out what is going on.  First of all, the fact that she has a member of the stake presidency's number in her phone would surprise no one who knows her.  She is just that kind of girl, an awesome one.  Secondly, how great is it that she just does stuff like that without you having to ask her to do it?!  Turns out they were there and we were able to go and have our temple recommends renewed.  This was really important to me because they expired the next day and I wanted to be able to tell our children that we were never without a current temple recommend. And lastly, there are people like my husband who not only puts up with my ramblings about crazy hair brained schemes but has them completed as a surprise by the time I get home.   No matter how he feels about the state of my sanity these days, he is willing to do whatever he thinks will make me happy.  Or maybe he just doesn't want a crazy AND angry pregnant woman in the same house as him. :)  Either way, I'll take it.  I'm so very grateful to have so many people in my life who allow me to feel the love of my Heavenly Father through their love and service to me.  It is times like this that I am so thankful that there are so many people in my life who love the Lord because really, that's what it's all about.

This is how you have a breakdown.

The past couple days have not been good ones.  I've been exhausted.  Cory has had to work super late.  I haven't slept or felt well. I feel like Lydia Jane's due date gets closer and closer and our to do list keeps getting longer and longer.  I've felt a mixture of discouragement, exhaustion, anxiety and just plain grumpiness.   It's been really lame. 
This morning I got a summons for jury duty, my first ever.  Really, you want me to decide the fate of drug dealers and theives as an 8 month pregnant woman?  "Off with their heads!" is the only response that seems like a good one right now when I even think about it.  If I were drug dealer or other criminal type, I would definitely not want a crazy me on the jury. 
When I get to work, I have a million things to do.  This is because my boss is determined to get every last ounce of work out of me before I go out on maternity leave.  I had planned to have nice, simple projects and take it easy the last few months of my pregnancy but instead I'm having to figure out the design for a huge mapping project and then write instructions to show everyone else how to do it.  There are a million other reasons why this is annoying, but I will spare you.
While at work, I got an email about an activity tomorrow night I'm supposed to bring snacks to.  Of course I completely forgot about this just like everything else and had to stop by the grocery store on my way home where I realized my tire is going flat.
When I get home and Cory looks at it, there is a huge hole in the side wall and I need a new tire.  He is behind the car and tells me to pull forward some so he can get a better look at it.  My exhausted brain must have been on autopilot because I put the car in reverse instead of drive.  I start to freak out when my car starts going backwards and press the gas to help it up the hill.  This of course sends to car into my husband who starts rolling down the driveway. I slam on the breaks and burst into tears because after everything else, I have almost run him over.
At this point the missionaries call to remind him that he is going on splits with them tonight.  So now I am home alone having this breakdown in cyberspace.  It is oddly theraputic. 
Did I mention I have an 8:30 doctors appointment tomorrow morning so Cory is going to have to put the doughnut on my car after he gets home? 
So now that I have gotten that out of my system I will say that I am very grateful that:
I live in a free country that has a decent judicial system.
I have a job I enjoy doing most days and where my abilities are appreciated.
I work with some amazing women in my calling at church and groceries are so easy to find and purchase.
I realized I had a flat tire before it blew out while I was driving.
I did not run over my husband, only bumped him (quite hard, but he is fine).
My husband is so willing to serve the Lord.
I have access to wonderful medical care. 
My prayers are answered and the occasion vent session on my blog is allowed.

32 Weeks: Gobble! Gobble!

Not much exciting has been happening on the baby front this last week.  The kicks are getting stronger and the naps are getting longer.  That about covers it.  We did have a great time celebrating Thanksgiving though! I only took one picture the entire time and it was this one of Carson eating my blueberry pie.  He loved it and that made me super happy! :)

 I also took a belly picture in my same outfit from the first belly picture to really see how much bigger I've gotten. I probably should have taken the same side and angle as well, but you can definitely see how much the belly has grown!  I'm kind of afraid to see what it looks like in January!

26 Weeks

32 Weeks

Thankful

Today I'm feeling really thankful.  I sort of hesitated making the "thankful list" but I'm totally giving in.  Here are just a few of the things I'm super thankful for this holiday season.
*My husband, who, I'll be honest, has had to put up with quite a lot of crazy.  And sickness.  And extra work.  All without complaint.  I get to take naps while he does the laundry.  He has totally taken over so much and I've never been so grateful for his ability to make me laugh no matter how badly I am feeling.
*Our sweet little girl.  Even though it's started to feel like she is trying to kick her way out of there, I still love feeling her little kicks.  I love preparing for her arrival, wondering what she is going to look like and planning our future as a family.
*My family. Super supportive and awesome in so many ways.
*My friends, fellow blogging moms, everyone who has made this journey a little easier.
*My ward family, who can't keep secrets to save their lives and have been both secretly and not so secretly checking up on me since the very beginning.
*All the trials that have come from this pregnancy.  They have helped make me a mother.
*My Savior who has helped me to do so many hard things over the past few months.

31 Weeks: Growing Girl

I had my 32 weeks appointment today.  Somehow, I got a week ahead in my appointments.  Everything looks great.  I had an ultrasound to check Lydia Jane's growth and she has gained 3 pounds!  She now weighs 4lbs. 2oz. and is in the 65th percentile.  I'm definitely happy about that because she was only in the 10th percentile at 24 weeks.  Our girl is definitely catching up! 
She also has a big head. haha.  When they measured it, it measured 33 weeks 4 days and I said "She has a huge head doesn't she?"  The ultrasound tech just laughed and said "Not necessarily" which totally means yes.  As a big headed girl myself, I'm totally okay with that. 
I didn't get to see much of her face today which was sort of a bummer but when I told Cory that he just said "Well, we will see her for real soon enough so that's okay."  He is totally right but I still wanted to see her little face more! 
I'm now in the single digits for the due date count down!  Only 9 more weeks!  Even though I totally expect her to be late, I will still be happy to reach that point.  So I say now, right?
My health hasn't really changed much.  I have become a zombie again, falling asleep at 8 or so for the night.  I think Cory is starting to get a little bored. I feel badly that he is having to spend his nights alone these days but there is honestly nothing I can do about it. 
I guess my body is prepping to have a newborn by behaving like one.  I basically have two main wants:  to sleep and to eat.  I do both way more than I used to but I'm fine with that! :)

The Nursery: Phase 1

My mom came to Columbia on Friday to help me get started on Lydia Jane's nursery. We got all the current furniture arranged, picked out some fabrics and made lists of things still to make. Here's an overview:

 Her crib and dresser.  We are painting the dresser white and adding ruffles to the lampshade.

 Her little animals!  My parents got the sheep for her in England this summer.

 Bed really not at all looking like it will.  We are making new drapes and adding lots of pillows.

The pink and brown fabric is to make my rocking chair cushion and the others are for pillows.

It's not much at the moment, but I think now that the basics are in place it will be a lot easier to add things.  I am starting to get a mental picture of how everything is going to fit and look now, which is exciting. 

Tonight I'm starting on my first craft for the nursery.  These pom poms:

Source: jessicademaio.blogspot.com via Emily on Pinterest

So I'm really excited about that even though it is most likely going to take forever.  Hopefully they will look really cute in the end though!  I will definitely post my progress!

30 Weeks: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

I can no longer make it through more than 5 minutes of testimony meeting without crying.  The absolute dumbest things irritate me beyond belief.  One minute I'm happy, the next I'm sad.   I literally do not enjoy being around myself most of the time.  Even I do not know which of my personalities I will be pulling out of the hat any given morning.  People of Columbia beware:  there's a mad woman on the loose and she looks a lot like me.
That may be a slight exaggeration, but only slight.  My emotions have been all over the place this past week and it is starting to make me a little nuts.  Also, I have been starving ALL THE TIME.  I will have just eaten breakfast and I'm already ready for second breakfast.  The other morning my stomach was growling after I had eaten a waffle and an apple.  I don't know what this little girl is doing in there, but she is burning up the calories!   She is starting to get more on a "normal" schedule.  Her daytime movements are becoming even more frequent and her nighttime movements are starting to slack off a bit.  Unfortunately, I've started to have a little trouble sleeping.  This week marked the beginning of Nighttime Pee Runs: Part 2.  Between that and my low iron, I am pretty exhausted most of the time.  In good news, I'm only 10 weeks away from my due date! AND Cory felt Lydia Jane kick for the first time this morning!
When I was having cory take my 30 weeks picture, he kept telling me to do all these silly things and I was cracking up the whole time.  I thought it was only appropriate to add one of them.  Please excuse the roughness.  I'm pregnant and do what I want, right?

Mom came today and we worked on the nursery a good bit.   Hopefully I will have time tomorrow to take and post some pictures of the progress!

Book Worm Wednesday: The Sources

It's been a while since I have done one of these so I thought I would do a quick one this week!  I have been so busy that I haven't really had time to read as much as I like to.  I still get to listen to audiobooks at work though, which is nice.  I always loved to read, but I really started to read a lot when I found a book I loved and then tried to find more like it.  When I discovered an author of a beloved series had an entire page of book suggestions on her website, I was in book worm heaven!   These days, almost all authors have a website or blog of some kind and most of them have lists of books similar to theirs and some of their personal favorites.  
One of my current favorite authors to get suggestions from is Sarah Rees Brennan.  She is very funny and periodically posts book recommendations on her blog.  Her most recent one is here: http://sarahtales.livejournal.com/191570.html
I have read books from her suggestions before, but none on this list yet so I can't say if they are good or not but her descriptions alone are very entertaining. Lots of other authors do similar things so if you have a favorite book or author, google them! Chances are you will find some great recommendations for new books to enjoy.

29 Weeks: Hopin' and Dreamin'

Things are moving right along with the pregnancy.  Lydia Jane's movements have become a lot more frequent throughout the day.  She still has some "super spurts" of movement but the random punches and kicks have become a lot more common.  I'm still the same health wise, I've just started having super vivid dreams.  I think I read somewhere that this happens sometimes during pregnancy but I'm not sure.  Also stretch marks:  why did I not know these things were going to hurt?!
This week we finally cleaned out Lydia Jane's nursery (for the most part, at least) and it is ready to be redecorated. My grandparents came in town on Saturday buy her crib. This is it:

 I love it!  We haven't gotten the bedding yet, but I wanted to see how the breathable bumpers worked and looked so we put those on.  I have to say, I like them a lot more than I thought I would.  When I woke up Sunday and walked out of our room to see her crib set up it made me so happy!  I can't wait until our sweet girl is in there for me to wake up!
And of course, a belly picture from this week!  Also, I think this picture is a little deceiving, it looks a lot bigger to me in real life. AND I have the stretch marks to prove it is indeed getting bigger!

29 weeks.

Halloween Weekend 2011

Friday night we had planned to go to our wards annual "just for adults" Halloween party.  By the time I got home from work though, it was evident my body was worn out and it was just not going to happen.  By 7 pm, I was asleep on the couch.  What can I say?  You win some, you loose some. 
I woke up Saturday morning ready to hit the ground running and did.  My craft room/library now looks really good!  I have a few more little things to do in there, but otherwise it is completely organized!  Considering it was a junk room in it's former life, this is a great accomplishment. 
Saturday afternoon we had our ward Halloween carnival.  I have never been to anything like it.  Insane doesn't even come close to describing it well.  I was in charge of monitoring the bounce house and basically had to become a nazi to have any type of order.  People let their kids run wild and free which was very unfortunate for the rest of us.  I somehow survived the night, but I don't know that I want to be involved in another Halloween carnival anytime soon.  It was exhausting and afterward there was more crashing on the couch.
Cory and I had originally planned to go as kissing cousins but he had to work in the haunted house so I switched.  Not the most flattering costume ever, but it was comfy!

Me as a basketball player.  Lydia Jane as a basketball. :)

 Me and Cory in his "costume" he put on for the last 10 minutes.  Someone asked him if he was Billy Ray Cyrus! haha. 

 Jenn with a not cooperating Carson.  He was a monkey and looked super cute walking around the carnival.  I still can't get used to him walking!

This is a little too close to tell what Trevor was, but he was a banana!  It was so cute!  I wanted a picture of him and Carson together but I waited until the end to take pictures and that boy was not in the picture taking mood.

Sunday was wonderful, as I have already said.  All of our meetings were centered on missionary work and I felt the spirit so strongly all morning.  One of the talks that really hit me was by one of the members of the ward mission whose conversion story I already knew but the way he presented it was wonderful.  He talked about the friend he had who had to go to seminary and invited him to wait outside.  It was hot outside so he waited inside instead and really enjoyed the lesson.  Another boy in the class invited him to come back the next week.  And that was it.  Two simple invitations were all it took for his conversion to the gospel to begin.  He also talked about other times in his life when he was struggling with things and similar experiences happened to him.  One person issued one invitation and it had a huge impact on his life.  It really made me think about how simple it is to share the gospel with people the Lord has prepared to recieve it.  All we have to do is issue one invitation and He will take it from there.  In Sunday school, we have two great teachers.  They switch off Sundays and I just love them both.  They make the scriptures feel so relevant, which they definitely are but sometimes I think it is easy to get bogged down.  Anyway, they are fun and class is fun.  The ward mission leader spoke to the youth during our 3rd hour and I was pretty jealous of how many answers he got to his questions.  When I teach, I feel like I'm pulling teeth getting answers from these kids.  He did a great job though and the kids really liked him and seemed to pay attention which deserves some type of award in my opinion. 
On Monday we finished up Halloween weekend by passing out candy at our house for the first time.  Last year we went out with Mike, Jenn and the boys, which was way fun.  I also loved passing out candy at our house too.  Cory was super excited about it and you would have thought he just won a prize when the doorbell rang for the first time.  We had some super cute kids and they were all so polite.  I am pretty sure they all said "thank you" which is amazing these days.  We ended up having about 20 or 30, which isn't a ton but we don't have many young families in our neighborhood so I thought that was pretty good.  We still have more left over candy than I would have liked though!  I have avoided all stores the past few days.  Me and 50% off candy is definitely not a good mix!

Twenty Five!

I turned 25 last week.  I still can't decide how I feel about being that age but I can say I have loved celebrating it! 

On Tuesday, Sherry, Naomi, Grace and I went out to Yummilicous for frozen yogurt!  It was so fun to be able to chat and laugh with these girls!  They had the best music in there and Grace and I even got a little dancing in. :)

Someone was nice to enough to take a group shot of us!  Don't be fooled by Grace's face, she was having a great time.

 It really was yummy!  I had cheesecake yogurt with oreo crumbles and strawberries.  

 Sherry and Grace looking so cute!

 Grace was smiling and dancing until we got out the camera.  At least Naomi can make me laugh, right? 

 That is as close to a smile as she would give us!  

Thanks again Naomi and Sherry for a super fun night!

On Wednesday night we had a youth temple trip to do baptisms.  What better way to celebrate my birthday week than with a trip to the temple?!  All I do on these nights is hand out towels and remind the youth how they should behave in the temple, but I still really enjoy it.  Of course there are some really sweet moments too.  Most of our young men are 14 and under and I was sitting with them while they were waiting to be confirmed to keep the peace.  They had some special temple magazines on the benches and the boys were looking through them deciding which temple they wanted to be married in.  They are crazy so much of the time it was nice to see a different side to them and know that they see that in their future.  Overall, they baptized 200 people! That is like an entire ward.  Such a wonderful feeling! 

The bishop always takes them out somewhere for a little treat afterwards and this time we went to Krispy Kreme.  It was super yummy and it is fun to let them relax together after being reverent for so long, or close to it anyway. :)

 My super handsome hubby!

Our temple group!  Love them all!

On Thursday, my actual birthday, Cory, my dad and I went to Outback for dinner which was delicious. Over the weekend we celebrated Halloween, but that's a different post.  Sunday was super relaxing, just how I like.    There were some great talks and lessons at church and then my parents and littlest brother stopped by for a visit after church. Sunday night Cory and I made some delicious white chicken chili and watched The Lion King, one of my presents.  It was the perfect send off to a wonderful week!

28 Weeks: Plans? What plans?

I have officially reached the "I probably should have done more by this point" part of pregnancy. Everyone keeps asking me if I have done certain things with the tone of voice that makes me sure they assume I have.  They have assumed incorrectly.  We still haven't picked out a crib, let alone registered!  I need to pick out a pediatrician?  Really?  My birth plan consists of:  I will be in the hospital and have a baby.  Lydia Jane's nursery is not even an empty room yet. I can't even say we have a blank slate because really what we have is a slate full of things that need to be erased.  The big kicker:  none of this bothers me in the least.  I am totally calm about it.  I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not.  My goal for the month of November is to do all of those things.  And not to worry, I've made a bit of a start on them already. I'm pretty sure we have a pediatrician now, I just need to actually call them.  While I don't know which crib we are getting, I do know who will be purchasing it.  My grandparents told us last weekend that is what they want to get Lydia Jane, which is super generous and exciting! My mom is coming for 2 days in a couple of weeks to help me get the nursery together.  So while it still seems like I have a lot to do, I also think I'm making some progress or at least plans for progress.
In how the Watts girls are feeling news:
I'm still pretty much the same.  I have good days and I have bad days.  As I have said before, it is hard to get used to but I'm handling it.  In new developments, my feet were swollen for the first time last week.  It was only at the end of one day and I guess I should really be thankful it didn't happen sooner.  I'm not sure if I mentioned it last week or not but I've also started to have some Braxton Hicks contractions.  Not too many and not every day but they sure aren't comfortable!  I've tried to get up and move around more at work and that seems to be helping.
Lydia Jane is still kicking up a storm and Cory still hasn't felt it.  He did see her kicking me the other day though, which he thought was really cool.  I can definitely tell she is starting to get stronger!
She also got her first present in the mail the other day!  Aren't these the cutest?!  Thanks Joanie, Ryan and Jaxson!

 Joanie has the cutest etsy shop!  You should definitely check out her stuff!

I had planned to take some cute pregnancy photos at the river last Saturday but that didn't work out.  My youngest brother was in a wreck on his way home and we had to rush to meet them at the emergency room.  He is fine, but it was definitely a crazy time!  So instead of pretty river pictures, you get another in our den picture.  From a different angle this time though, exciting! :)

27 weeks

27 Weeks Appointment: I Passed!

I had my 27 weeks appointment today with my full time doctor, Dr. Holladay, and it was great!  I had to take the sugar test today so ever since lunch yesterday, I avoided anything with sugar like the plague.  It paid off because I passed and won't have to take the three hour one!
Lydia Jane's heartbeat is 153, which is great and I'm measuring right at 27 weeks.  The only bad thing is that my iron is really low (9.3) and so I have to start taking iron pills.  I'm not really looking forward to adding another pill to my already ridiculous list, but you do what you have to do. 
I talked with Dr. Holladay about my recent bouts of yuckiness and basically found out that there isn't that much to be done about it.  He gave me some more medicine ideas (yay.:/) and told me to drink as many fluids as I can.  Hopefully that will help some but I get the feeling that it is one of those "It's going to get worse before it gets better" scenarios.  Unfortunately the "it gets better' part won't happen until Lydia Jane makes her appearance.  Oh well.
He also told me to google some pregnancy yoga poses and start doing those every night.  I didn't admit to him that I have a complete prenatal yoga video I have yet to actually try.  I have been walking at least a few times a week but I really need to get with the yoga program!  The 1st councilor in the YW when I was first called suggested it to me because she said it made her labor so much better.  The fact that I have yet to try it has nothing to do with how much faith I have in her advice, it is more a testament to my laziness.  After I get home from work, I am seriously zapped of energy.  I usually take at least 2 naps before I make it to bed every night.  I try and pack as much into Saturday as I can which totally wears me out so I do nothing but go to church and rest on Sunday. But it works and we are still making slow but steady progress on project organization!
Tomorrow we are taking a break though and heading down to Georgetown to see my family.  I haven't seen them since July 4th when I wasn't showing at all so I'm interested to see what they think of my new belly! :)

A Birthday and a Belly!

Saturday night we went out with Mike and Jenn and some friends to celebrate Jenn's birthday.  It was so much fun!  We split the table into guys and girls and just chatted and laughed the entire time.   It was really nice to actually get dressed up and go out as well.  I've gotten so slack about that kind of stuff lately.  I got my hair cut three weeks ago and people are just now noticing because I think I've only worn it down once since then.  Because of this, I never really feel like having my picture taken and documenting my hastily done make up, air dried pony tail, ect... Saturday though, I made a point to have Cory take a couple belly pictures before we left. 

26 weeks.

Me and my silly husband.  He loves giving himself crazy facial hair.  It usually only survives for a night though.

After we ate dinner we had planned to go back to Mike and Jenn's for cake and icecream but I just wasn't up to it.  Since it was a special occasion I went all out and ordered the strawberry peach lemonade.  It was really yummy but also a mistake.  I was feeling terrible by the time we got the check.  Sugary drinks just do not sit well with me at night I have discovered.  Luckily there wasn't another fiasco.  We just went home and chilled on the couch watching Clemson's ridiculous comeback victory.  I still can't stand Clemson, but it was pretty impressive.  Well, the parts I wasn't asleep for were. 

Sunday was wonderful.  Everyone at church was telling me how good I looked and it just made me feel so much better after all those terrible elevator conversations this week.  I really love my ward!  It is full of so many fabulous people who do their best to lift each other up every Sunday.  I've realized over and over that even though this wasn't where Cory and I planned to be, this is the place the Lord knew we needed to be all along.  I'm so grateful for His guiding hand in my life and the countless blessing that have come into my life because of it.

26 Weeks: What's in a Name?

This past week has not been a great one.  I'm pretty sure everyone in my building is running a contest to see who can say the most insensitive/annoying thing to me in the elevator.  Things I have gotten recently:
*"How many months are you?"  "About 6."  In a super shocked sounding voice "Well, you're pretty!"  Umm...I don't even understand.  Was this supposed to be a compliment?  Should have turned into a hag by this point in my pregnancy?  How I managed to hold that off while getting every other pregnancy side effect, I will never know...
*"You're STILL pregnant???" "Yes, I'm only 6 months" "Oh." I know I'm terrible about posting pregnant pictures of myself on here, but I've only gained 20 pounds.  I just checked and I haven't gained anything in the past two weeks.  It feels like baby girl has taken up an exercise routine so that is not really surprising. :) Granted, my belly has gotten bigger but I still haven't gained any weight.  So why people think I look 9 months pregnant already, I don't know.
*"Have you decided on a name yet?"  'Yes, it's _____." "Oh, well I guess those old fashioned names are coming back in style."  with a voice and face that make it obvious she doesn't like it.  Excuse me, but I did not pick out her name hoping anyone else other than myself and Cory would like it.  I especially do not care if you do not like it, woman with a bimbo name. 
This whole idea that when you are pregnant everything about you, your baby, and your pregnancy becomes public domain kind of bothers me. (I type on my blog. Yes, I realize the irony.) Why do people you don't know feel like it is okay to give you all kinds of opinions on what you should do ect. just because you are pregnant?  It makes me want to go up to them in the grocery store, start looking through their cart, and give them a critique about their choices. 
Sorry for the soapbox, but I really needed to get that off my chest.  I try really hard not to explode at these people, but it needs an outlet somewhere.  I've been physically sick this past week, which I know makes me really emotional and prone to irritation as a result.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
We actually missed church on Sunday because I was sick.  I was downstairs talking to my dad. Seriously, I don't know how people survive without their own personal doctor/dad.  I know I couldn't! Anyway, I was really upset and when I got off the phone with him and went upstairs to tell Cory I needed to stay home, he was just getting up from saying a prayer.  For me.  He heard me crying talking to my dad and his first response is to ask Heavenly Father to help me.  I don't think I have ever felt so blessed and loved. 
During all that drama, we have actually been able to make some progress.  We picked a name!  Cory still likes to tease my by periodically suggesting something ridiculous.  I doubt this will stop even when her name is on the birth certificate.  Poor girl isn't going to have a clue what her real name is because her daddy is going to call her so many different things!  The name we chose is:
Lydia Jane
I've loved the name Lydia since I was walking through Hyde Park in London and heard a mother call her daughter that.  I just thought it sounded so pretty.  I didn't know if I would like it as much without the British accent, but it turns out I do. :) Also, Lydia is the name of the first convert to Christianity, which is pretty cool. 
Jane has been on my "middle name list" for a while.  For a long time, I loved the name Isabelle but it is just too popular now (Thanks, Twilight.).  I never could decide on a middle name to go with it until I was doing baptisms at the temple one night and was baptised for a woman with the middle name Jane.  It would have been perfect!  Turns out, I think it goes really well with Lydia also.  So much so that we are going to call her by her first and middle names. 
So after looking through hundreds of names on the Internet, in baby books, and in family history we finally decided on one of our very first choices!  Go figure.  I really wanted a family name but when your choices are things like "Cora Elvira" and "Ethel May," (not making either of those up) giving her her own name to make a legacy for seems much more appealing.  :)
We have also made significant progress on what I like to call "Project Organization."  If this is what I'm like now, I really hate to see what I turn into when the nesting really starts.  I'm hoping to have some picture worthy projects done over the next month or so.  Right now it is all pretty boring stuff.  I have gotten rid of so much useless junk, it is crazy.  Moving so much during college created several "black hole" boxes of things that I hadn't looked at in years.  It feels really good to finally go through and get rid of things!  My goal for this week is just to keep it up!

25 Weeks: Is it January yet???/AHHHHHH! It's October!

So now we know she is a girl, I'm starting to be impatient.  Some days I just want her to be here so badly I can hardly stand it.  Waiting until January to hold our sweet girl seems like an impossible task.  It's just SO far way!  Then I think about all the things I have to accomplish before she arrives, begin to panic, and become okay with idea of her being a week overdue.  Since she is measuring about 4 days behind her due date, this is a real possibility. 
Since last week, I haven't done much at all.  I did buy a baby name book because we still can not decide on a name.  We have a middle name pretty much picked out but keep changing our minds about her first name.  We may just have to wait until we see her to decide. 
My mom, on the other hand, is going crazy.  Baby girl already has outfits for every major holiday next year and she doesn't even have a name yet!  I definitely don't dislike my mom buying things for her, it is just overwhelming to me how much she is getting her already!
This weekend my plan is to finish the consolidation of our two guest rooms into one.  We started that a few weeks ago but going to football games has prevented us from finishing.  We are skipping this week so I'm hopeful of getting a lot done so we can start on the nursery soon. 
Baby girl continues to kick around in there.  She doesn't move as much early in the day but from about 3pm onwards the girl is a dancing machine.  Cory still can't feel the kicks, but that doesn't stop him from shaking my belly and saying "Hey in there!" periodically.
I just loved General Conference this past weekend, especially the talk from Sister Dalton.  It was so special to listen to that talk so soon after we found out we'll be raising a little girl. :)
I guess I would say my two major feelings right now are impatience and panic.  Not a great combination, but I suspect I should get used to it.  Even though those two extremes are present, most of the time I feel very content to just chill out and let her grow, even though I definitely wish I had an ultrasound machine so I could check on her every once in a while, or day.  You know, whenever. :)

24 Weeks: Hello Baby GIRL!

When my ultrasound started this morning, this is what we saw:

SUPER tightly closed legs!  So on we moved to her brain, heart, ect.  Finally we were able to catch a glimpse of her "girly parts."  They look a little blur to me, so I just took her word for it.  I asked Cory if he was surprised he said "No, I've always thought it was a girl."  "But you keep talking about it being a boy! "  I replied.  "Yeah, that's because I wanted it to be a boy."  Men!  They make no sense!  I think he is secretly (or maybe not so secretly) happy about her being a girl.  He always talks about how cute the little girls in our ward are.  I'm pretty sure we are going to have a Daddy's girl on our hands! 

Here are some pictures of her adorable little face.  We both think she looks like Cory's sister, Katherine.  She has the same cute little button nose, at least she seems to.  

3D of her face.  I love how she has her hand under her chin.

Profile view.

All her organs look good so that is definitely good news.  She is kind of small at 1lbs. 4oz. but my doctor told me not to worry about that because it is so early still.  She moves around like crazy.  It was so cool to see and feel her moving at the same time.  We also saw her swallowing some fluid (gross, I know) but it was so neat to see her little mouth moving.  I think she has just the cutest mouth!  

Now if we can just think of a cute name to match our super cute girl! 

Yep, Still Crazy

This weekend when I was so sick I woke up at least once an hour all night...didn't cry.
Monday morning when I go out to my car for work and discover it has been broken into...didn't cry.
Last night when my husband kissed me with his terrible, no good, very itchy beard...burst into tears.

He was pretty shocked and kept asking what was wrong.  All I could say was "I just hate that beard."  *sniffle, sniffle*

He shaved.

Baby Playlist #1

Since I made this a few weeks ago, there are already several I want to change.  Some of my choices seem downright weird to me now, but they make me happy all the same.  I'm planning to make another once we find out boy or girl.  Most of them are love songs because I feel like a huge part of pregnancy is falling in love with the little baby you are growing.  Some of them just make me laugh and dance.  Others have helped me through the hard days.  It really is a big mix, but I feel like it represents how I've felt pretty accurately as well.


The House that Built Me- Miranda Lambert: This song represents how I feel about the home I grew up in and I hope Cory and I are doing a good job building that place for our little baby.


Haven’t Met You Yet- Michael Buble: Already I’m so in love with someone I haven’t met.

Dancing With Myself- Billy Idol: Dancing to this song just makes me happy. Can’t wait to embarrass the munchkin…

Fireflies- Owl City: Being pregnant is sort of like being in an alternate universe. I feel like this song represents that well.

Obsessed- Mariah Carey: Sorry baby, I’m so obsessed with you.

I’ve Got You Under My Skin- Michael Buble- This is the kind of thing I find humorous.

I Can Transform Ya- Chris Brown featuring Lil Wayne: Personally, I don’t think any mix is complete without Lil Wayne, especially when he says: “Hey Little Momma, I can transform ya.” I have definitely been transformed.

Baby- Justin Bieber: The chorus of this song appears in my head all the time. Also, I've become slightly obsessed with Justin Bieber.  Don't judge me.

Can’t Help Falling in Love- UB40: Love the vibe of this song and I can’t help falling in love with our little munchkin!

Feeling Good- Michael Buble: Obviously, I really like Michael Buble. Also, this is my favorite “feel good” song. It reminds me I do feel good sometimes.

Bach’s Suite for Solo Cello No. 1- Yo-Yo Ma: I LOVE this so much it is my ringtone and will be the first music we play for baby.

December- Norah Jones- I’m not due until January but I love this song about longing for something.

In the Strength of the Lord- Jenny Phillips: The weekend they thought I was having a miscarriage I listened to this song what felt like a million times. It’s been my go to song on hard days ever since. “He believes I can do hard things if I will trust Him and walk forward in the strength of the Lord.”

Where Can I Turn for Peace?- Katherine Nelson: “Constant, He is, and kind. Love without end.”

*Also, in case you're wondering why I posted this today, the internet filter is down at work and since I wrote this post on my work computer, it makes posting it from here way easier.  Thank you evil basement nerds (aka the IT department) for making this rainy Friday a bit better! :)

23 Weeks: Dancing with Myself

23 weeks.  Wow.  When I think about it, it seems crazy.  People usually ask me when my due date is and when I respond with "Mid-January"  that seems so far away.  It's NEXT YEAR, for goodness sake!  It's also only 4 months away.  4 months!  I don't even know if it is a boy or girl yet!  How can I only have 4 more months to prepare??  I haven't even started on the nursery.  I don't even have a crib picked out.  I've bought two sets of diapers and wipes and thats about it.  For a complusive planner and list maker, this is not good.  I have a feeling I'm just going start spitting out lists the minute we know boy or girl to make up for all this lost time. 
On how the baby and mommy are feeling front, things are great.  I still have bad days but my good days have become MUCH better. Kind of sad how much medicine it take to make that happen, but I'll take it. 
You can definitely tell I'm pregnant now as well.  I'm terrible at taking belly pictures though.  I literally have only taken one.  But people have started asking about the baby now instead of just looking questionably at my stomach area.   I consider this an improvement. 
I can also feel the baby moving around and kicking now which is so strange.  Also strange is how normal it feels already.  Last Friday morning I was laying down for a few minutes watching my tummy and all the sudden I saw and felt it kick simultaneously.  I burst out laughing it was so cool!  Right now the kicks still aren't super consistent and they are mostly after I've eaten.  When I get around 28 weeks the baby will be big enough that I can feel most of his or her movements.  Right now it really depends on what he or she is doing and his or her location. 
Less than a week now until the ultrasound and I'm so excited to be able to stop saying "him or her"  and "he or she."  The grammar freak in me just won't let me say "their" or "they."  Both of our moms are coming to the ultrasound and I'm really excited about that.  I think it will be a really special experience to share with both of them.
Earlier this month, it was suggested to me that I make a "baby playlist."  I loved the idea and made one pretty much immediately. It has helped me feel so much better.  It sets my mood for me and I spend a lot of time dancing at my desk these days.  :)  I wrote a post about all the songs a few weeks ago but for various reasons, mostly me being lazy, I haven't gotten around to transferring it from word to my blog.  Maybe I'll do that next week to keep my mind off the ultrasound countdown...Only 6 more days! :)

Tender Mercies

"But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance."
- 1 Nephi 1:20
A few weeks ago, I decided that I wanted to read the Book of Mormon before the baby is born. I've read it several times but I just have really been feeling the need to do so again lately.  I finally started last night I'm so glad I did because it has already been a huge blessing. That scripture was the last one I read and it really hit me.
Pregnancy has not been an easy thing for me. Any side effect you can think of, I've probably experienced it. Some days, it's all I can do not to burst into tears; however, it has also been one of the most spiritual times in my life. I have never been so grateful for a trial or felt the love of the Lord so strongly and consistently. I know that He is aware of how I feel and I have felt His tender mercies as He makes me the mighty person I can become.  I'm so thankful for the gospel that gives a rhyme and reason to this crazy world we live in.  I don't think I could get by without it.

Halftee Love!

Earlier this week I ordered some Halftees. They came in the mail today and I totally love them! I heard about them from reading C. Jane, who always gives the best suggestions for mormon girl clothes. You can see her sporting some halftees in this post. I ordered the original in black and the boyfriend in white. On me the sleeves seemed a little shorter than on the model, like the boyfriend just looks like a regular t-shirt. I'm okay with that but it's definitely not as long as you would think from the picture. I followed their sizing chart and they both fit great! I've only worn them around the house so far but they don't ride up at all, which I was a little worried about. I would say they are comfortably snug around the rib cage.
So hooray for:
No more constantly tugging down my pre-pregnancy shirts when I wear my maxi dresses.
No more worrying about my garmets showing when the top I have on is cut really low in the arm.
Super fast shipping. I ordered them on Monday (a holiday) and they got here on Thursday.
AND I can wear them while I'm pregnant and afterward.
I'll update this with a picture of my outfit complete with a halftee tomorrow.
Update: This is the best I could do taking a picture with my phone at the office. I'm wearing the black original and its great!

20 Weeks Appointment

I had my 20 weeks appointment today.  It was wonderful.  The doctor I was supposed to see was on call and off delivering a baby so I had a different doctor in the group.  He walks in and says : “Hi Emily, I’m Dr. Y. Sorry, Dr. Z is in delivery so I’ll be seeing you today.”  I loved this because he says my name which shows he looked at my chart before coming into the room.  I want to hug him, especially when he says “You’re 20 weeks so that means you’re halfway there.  Congratulations!” My first halfway done congratulations and he said it like he really meant it.  He tells me specific things that look good and even mentions things from my pregnancy history.  As he is checking the baby’s heartbeat he explains to me about where the baby is positioned now (around my bellybutton, fyi).  When he measures my stomach, he explains all that too and about how much growth I will have throughout the pregnancy.   After that he asks if I have any questions for him.  At this point I’m tempted to say “Can I give you a hug?”  but I restrain myself and say no.  I don’t mention that I’ve called with questions several times since my last visit so that’s why I don’t have any now.  I think they may recognize my voice at the OB reception desk now.  I then checked out and got the earliest possible appointment for my ultrasound:  September 29th at 8:45.   I’m so excited to have an actual date when we will know if it is a guy or gal in there.   Everything about the experience was so positive that I’m still feeling super happy about it.  So today has been a nice escape from the moodiness I’ve been experiencing lately.  I always know that I’m happy; it just gets buried under all the other crazy emotions so it’s nice to have a day when I can actually feel how happy I am. 

The Baby/Mommy Lowdown:

*I’ve gained about 10 pounds so far which the doctor says is really good.  My blood pressure looks good also.  I can remember one of the numbers was 60 but that’s it.

*My tummy is measuring right at 20 weeks.

*The baby’s heartbeat is still going strong.  I just love hearing it!

*I think I’ve started to feel the baby move a little.  I’m not really sure and the more people tell me about how it should feel, the more unsure I become.  I will just say that I feel something which may or may not be the baby.  

*The ultrasound on the 29th is going to not only tell us the sex of the baby but it will check out its health as well.  It is an hour long and I am so excited about seeing our baby wiggling around on the screen for an entire hour!

*I picked up some tips for the sugar test I will take at 28 weeks.  I’m not sure how common these tips are, but I thought I would share them anyway.  Stick to protein and vegetables for the 2 meals before you come in for the test.  Don’t drink juice or eat starches or fruit.  Sugar is obviously a no-no as well.  The best breakfast to eat is eggs.  Since I’ve already had one 1 hour test, I’m really hoping I pass the one at 28 weeks.  That stuff is gross and holding your nose when you drink it doesn’t help. 

*I’m halfway done!  At the beginning that seemed so far away but I feel like it sort of snuck up on me.  I was honestly surprised by it when the doctor said something today.  I hope my due date will do the same! :)