(Almost) 20 Weeks

Time for a monthly update on the little one - quite a bit has happened in November!

A few days after the twins' birthday party I noticed a bit of lower abdomen pressure.  I remembered a similar feeling with the twins, though it was not until much later in the pregnancy.  I went ahead and called the doctor that morning just to be safe and she had me come in for a quick ultrasound.  Michael was working from home that day so he was able to join me.

She did a few measurements and was able to ease my worries immediately - everything looked great and the baby was quite secure in its spot.  In my best nonchalant voice I asked, "While we're here, could you do a quick look at the baby and see if you can tell if it's a boy or a girl?"  She did and told us it looked like a girl.

A GIRL.

From about 10 weeks on, I just knew it was a boy.  No real reason why, just a gut feeling.  I asked her how sure she was and she replied, "I wouldn't paint the nursery, but I'm pretty sure."  I had a quick chat with the doctor and we were on our way.  I kept looking at Michael and saying, "A girl!  Can you believe it?"  He politely reminded me I was the only one who was convinced it was a boy so a girl was very easy for him to believe.

The next two weeks were hard because I felt a bit in limbo.  I didn't want to start growing attached to the idea of a girl only to find out a few weeks later it was indeed a boy.  I swore I saw a little something during the scan so I almost convinced myself it was a boy and she was mistaken.

When I was 18.5 weeks we went in for the scheduled anatomy scan.  Michael was able to come to this appointment as well, which made me so happy.  She checked the brain, heart, kidneys, and spine.  Everything looked perfect and about a week ahead of schedule.  Not shocking as the twins always measured one if not two weeks ahead.  The baby was, once again, bouncing all over the place and gave us several great shots so we walked away fully confident it was a girl.

sucking her thumb :)

I was both ecstatic and a little sad, as I would've been regardless of the outcome.  I'd already daydreamed two difference scenarios - a baby brother and a baby sister.  Hearing that it was a girl made me so excited (if not a little jealous) for Sloane to have a little sister, but I also knew how wonderful it would've been for Jude to have a little brother.  Regardless, I know they will both be amazing older siblings and this little one is the absolute luckiest to have these two as friends and mentors. :)

Once the kids were out of MDO I drove them to a park near Michael's work so we could do the gender reveal as a family.   I'd made confetti poppers the night before and we had a quick run-through as to what they'd do.  As you can see, Jude got a little confused and forgot to actually pop it.  Meh, whatever works.

I'd told Sloane we could purchase a pair of pajamas for the baby once we knew what we were having so once we'd vacuumed up our confetti (yes, I brought a dustbuster to the park), the kids and I drove to the mall.  We found a pair we loved and then Jude requested we go to the boys side and get a matching pair for his little brother.  It was then I realized... he thinks all babies come in pairs.  I knelt down and gently reminded him there was only one baby and it was a little girl.  He immediately started crying.  "But what about my brother?  What about the other baby?"  It was incredibly sweet and heartbreaking all at once.

We ended up not purchasing the pajamas that day and instead went to the shop next door for cookies.  When in doubt, give Jude food and he will cheer up immediately.  We had our cookies and visited the Disney store before heading home.

So that brings us to today.  I'm almost 20 weeks and feeling pretty great!  I've definitely popped and now look very pregnant - about the same size as I was with the twins at this stage.  It's a little disheartening but I'm telling my ego to shut it and just be thankful for a healthy pregnancy.  I've put off maternity tops as long as possible but my non-maternity tops are getting fairly short. I ordered a few recently and have lots of plans for layering this winter.  I've gained 12 pounds so far, which puts me at the weight I started the twins' pregnancy so it'll be interesting to see how this continues!  I also finally felt her (for sure) around 17.5 weeks and now get swift kicks and jabs quite often.  It is, by far, my favorite part of pregnancy.

Moving onto far more exciting stuff - a NAME and a NURSERY!  Not ready to reveal either yet, but we think we may have a first name and are trying to decide on the perfect middle name (which is ridiculously hard).  I am very protective of this third child and want to make sure she doesn't feel excluded from the twins but also realizes she is so special and unique.  While I didn't want the name to sound terrible with Jude & Sloane, I also didn't mind if it veered away from the one syllable names we chose for them.  And if you're rolling your eyes because I thought through all of this for a name, join Michael's club.

I also created a secret Pinterest board and went to town on her nursery.  When we first found out we were having a baby I was all, "Psh, we'll just throw something together last minute."  Ha.  HAAAA.  That plan lasted a few weeks.  She will be in the office, which is a tiny room with no closet.  We're going to have to get really creative with space.  I'm excited because it's super close to our room, has a large window (which has its drawbacks for a nursery but for someone who loves photography it is THRILLING), french doors, and pretty crown molding.  I'm fairly sure when we're done it'll be my favorite room in the house.

That's about it for now.  By my next update we will (surely?) have a name to share.  While the first trimester was painfully slow, the second trimester is flying by and I feel like I hit a new week every few days.  April 6 will be here before we know it!

ps.  If you were curious, I did end up getting the pajamas we picked out that day.  First purchase for our baby girl!

SaveSave