19-Weeks Pregnant!

I cannot believe I'm 19-weeks into this pregnancy!  I felt like being pregnant with Samuel lasted an eternity...not that I minded being pregnant, it was just the waiting and not know what to expect and working and wondering what it would be like to be a mommy! 

However, this pregnancy is FLYING by!  Under the circumstances that I found out I was pregnant, I spent most of my first trimester in a pure state of worry (I got a stomach flu, I turned 31, my mom got sick and was in the ICU at Wake Forest on a ventilator, I had just had a miscarriage two-months before, and it was Christmas!) Nonetheless, when we got that positive pregnancy test we were thrilled...and I kept my worrying to myself and just tried to be positive!  But now, look at us...19-weeks in and things are going great!

Last Friday was the BIG BIG BIG day!  Ultrasound day!!!!!!!!!!!  We had to have a special Level 2 ultrasound done because I was born with a birth defect.  We had to go to Frederick for the appointment, so we made a day of it.  Lunch at McDonalds (Samuels' favorite)!  He ate his entire Happy Meal!

Here is Samuel ready to head out for the day...sporting a Big Brother shirt!  My MOPS Secret Sister got it for him...how cute is he!  He's going to make the best big brother!!!

When we finally got to the appointment, we met with a genetic doctor (who was fascinated by my birth defect and my mom's adrenal tumor, both super rare, she was fascinated!) Then we got the Ultrasound!!! 

We were so worried as to how Samuel would do, it was a longer ultrasound (just under an hour), and it was to check every part of Baby Raines...but Samuel cooperated for the most part!  He liked the big screen TV on the wall, so he could see the baby.  We saw the brain, the face, the eyes (which are cataract free currently!  Thank goodness!!!), the heart chambers, the spine, the kidneys, stomach, the little hands reached out and showed all five fingers on each hand (the Ultrasound lady said that never happens, it was so cute to see the little wave to us!) and we saw both feet with all ten toes!  We weren't able to get a very good profile shot of the baby, because the baby kept using the placenta has a pillow, you would actually see it squeezing it over and over and over again!  It was really cute!!!

Of course, the best part was finding out if I was going to be blessed to be a momma to a boy or a girl...we had no preference (though, I kept thinking a boy would be handy, someone for Samuel to rough up with, get dirty with, and share clothes with...plus I saved some of Samuel's things for my future boy!)  Eric's guess was that it was a coffee bean considering how much coffee he drinks and the pictures from our 9 week ultrasound in which the baby resembled a coffee bean!

Alas, we were both wrong!  We are blessed with a little...

We were shocked, thrilled, and excited all at once!  It took DAYS for this information to sink in!!!  My mom and mother-in-law both guessed girls...my mother-in-law even bought dresses for her weeks ago!  We are currently without a name for the baby, so we just call her baby girl for now...though I have a lovely list of 8 names, none of which Eric is crazy about...and don't even get me started on his name choices!  He's throwing names out there like Chlamydia...his reasoning: no teenage boy would want to go out with a girl with a name like that!  That boy makes me laugh!  And Samuel's reaction...none!  He's happy as can be!  He didn't care if it was a boy or girl, he just likes the "baby" and hugs the ultrasound pictures!

To celebrate our wonderful news, we stopped by Target where I picked out a little dress for baby girl and Eric and Samuel picked out a pack of pink onesies.  We didn't go overboard since we are blessed with great friends who are generous and are willing to share baby clothes...but one day, I'm going to unleash and get her a few more pink things!  Come on now, after 3 years of buying blue, I deserve this opportunity!

And if she turns out to be a he, we are going to be equally as happy...and he'll just have to wear pink!  Already pink clothes are flowing in from my MOPS friends!  He'll just have to be secure with his masculinity!  I'm not too worried, both the ultrasound tech and perinatal doctor said their best guess was a girl (apparently you can't say 100% about gender anymore due to lawsuits) One saw 3 lines and the other saw folds...I had to ask for a translation from ultrasound terms into "I only have a little boy please speak so I understand" terms. 

I still haven't gained any weight.  The specialist assured me it was fine, and the baby is on target for growth (she is currently weighing 11oz!) So, as long as the baby is healthy and growing, then I'm not worrying about my lack of weigh gain!  I have a little belly popping out too!  I need maternity shirts, but can still fit in my jeans!