21 Weeks - Gender Reveal!

It has been a great couple of weeks around here!  Hope you all had a merry Christmas & great holiday! We had our fetal anatomy sonogram on the Wednesday before Christmas and it was so exciting to see the baby and how big the baby had grown.  We wanted to be completely surprised so the sonogram tech made us close our eyes as she looked to determine the baby's gender.  We chose to do a gender reveal party for our families and friends and decided that we also wanted to be surprised and find out at the same time as everyone else.  A few weeks ago, I arranged for a cake to be made from our favorite bakery and on the day of the sonogram the inside of the cake would be determined.  Our sonogram tech was so sweet and offered to call the bakery herself to tell them pink or blue once we left our appointment!  She also wrote the baby's gender down on an index card I had decorated and brought with me - she sealed it with "confidential do not open until tonight!!!"  I think she was just as excited as we were!  The drive home and waiting all day long with anticipation was killing me!  My hubby arrived later that night with the cake in hand and it was exactly how I had pictured it in my head.  The bakery did just a wonderful job! Once our family and friends arrived it was time for the big reveal...

*Inspired by Pinterest...clearly perfect for The Birds Nest*

Earlier, I swore the sonogram tech had said "he" once so after that I was convinced it was a boy.  The entire pregnancy so far I had a "girl feeling,"  but soon started to doubt myself when so many friends had voted boy! My mom and dad thought from the beginning that it was a girl, but most voted boy.  As we went around the room and videotaped everyone's guesses, I started to get so nervous!  This would determine everything from then on...as my mom pointed out it was determined about 20 weeks ago but whatever:)...as we were just about to cut the cake I made sure to tell my hubby not to press harder than me!!  So without further anticipation...it's a...

GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!  I cannot tell you how excited I was when I saw the pink!!  I was convinced it would be blue after the sonogram.  I couldn't believe it!! Definitely one of the best moments of my life, knowing that we would have our own little girl! Don't get me wrong, I would be so happy with a little boy and contrary to some peoples beliefs I would be just as excited for a boy.  But a girl...yes!!!! We've had a named picked out since basically before we were even married.  I've dreamed of her nursery and cannot wait to dress her up with headbands and tutus and glittery shoes!! I'm so happy to be able to share the pictures with you...the video was too big to upload so I'll figure that out soon.  Hope you enjoyed our gender reveal story and hope to inspire some of you to be surprised in a special way! 

*Chalkboard reads: Baby Bird is a Girl*

Happy New Year!!!

Baby Bird - 20 Weeks

Hello Everyone!

How far along? 20 Weeks

Total weight gain: Around 8 lbs.  starting to show:)

Maternity clothes? Still mostly jeans with my Bella band or leggings...tops aren't fitting too well anymore

Stretch marks? none yet…have been using Palmer's Cocoa Butter and that seems to be working nicely as a preventative measure:)

Sleep: Still restless in the early morning around 3-4am...otherwise sleeping pretty well

Best moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat again was nice :)

Miss Anything? Nothing really except not having heartburn 24/7

Movement: Have been feeling little wiggles

Food cravings: Not really...

Anything making you queasy or sick: No, feeling pretty good this week

Gender: Finding out tomorrow!  It is so exciting...part of me is so nervous to find out what the baby is! I'm still going back and forth on whether it is a girl or boy...my hubby is now convinced it's a boy

Labor Signs: Nope.

Symptoms: Just some joint pain and overall feeling cranky because of my heartburn.  I'm not sure if I've mentioned the reason for my heartburn - so you know I'm not just complaining!  I have a hiatal hernia, which causes heartburn pretty much all day everyday and I'm no longer able to take my daily medication so it has been very tough lately dealing with it.  On the other hand, I'm super thankful that is really the only thing bothering and I was lucky enough not to be sick! Ok...moving on :)

Belly Button in or out? in

Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time: So excited for tomorrow!  Cranky at times this week...whoops

Looking forward to: Finding out the baby's gender tomorrow & can't believe Christmas is a week away!!

Check back Thursday for a video of our gender reveal party!! Can't wait!

Baby Bird - 19 Weeks

Hello!  Hope you all had a great weekend!  19 weeks & counting...

Hmmm...too tired to move the lamp?  I guess it's adding a nice glow...whoops

How far along? 19 Weeks

Total weight gain: 6 lbs. since last appointment...warning tmi: I guarantee about 5+ lbs of that is now in my bra...I mean seriously?! 

Maternity clothes? Mostly jeans with my Bella band or leggings

Stretch marks? none yet…have been using Palmer's Cocoa Butter and that seems to be working nicely as a preventative measure:)

Sleep: Restless the past week or so.  I've been waking up at 3am or 4am every morning just wide awake...so annoying!  I've also been pretty uncomfortable but pillows seem to be helping...I'm looking into a pregnancy pillow thats been recommended

Best moment this week: Decorating for Christmas and ordering our gender reveal cake!  Of course we don't know whether it will be pink or blue yet but all of the other details are set and ready to go for the 19th!

Miss Anything? Normal sleeping

Movement: Felt a few wiggles and I swear there was one little pow (kick)

Food cravings: Not really... although I am drinking enough organic milk that I should buy some stock in the farms it comes from

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really...still the brushing teeth race in the mornings...

Gender: Next week! Next week! Next week! Can't wait! 

Labor Signs: Nope.

Symptoms: Some ligament pain, which my nurse sister informed me that there was indeed nothing wrong with me and the baby wasn't pulling away from my body...

Belly Button in or out? in

Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!

Looking forward to: Next week's sonogram! Christmas coming sooo soon!

This is what happens when you ask your hubby to just take the picture already...and he grabs the cat and poses her!

Baby Bird - 18 Weeks

Hello! I can't believe 18 weeks have flown by so quickly! The anticipation of knowing if the baby is a boy or girl in 14 days is killing me - I can't wait!! The house has been slowly transitioning into Christmas decorations, a fresh Christmas tree, and plenty of Christmas music!  Our board and batten is completely done and I love it!  I'm hoping to get a gallery wall of pictures up there shortly.  On to this past week's progress...just be warned belly may appear bigger in picture than in real life...also not sure why this picture is blurry

How far along? 18 Weeks

Total weight gain: 6 lbs. so far

Maternity clothes? I've been switching between my normal jeans and maternity jeans depending on the day and outfit 

Stretch marks? none yet…have been using Palmer's Cocoa Butter and that seems to be working nicely as a preventative measure:)

Sleep: Love our new mattress!  We ordered one from Macy's and it's been awesome so far...nice and supportive but plush and comfy.  Definitely having weird, vivid dreams and also waking up for an hour at a time just staring at the ceiling...that's gotta stop!

Best moment this week: Starting to feel little wiggles here and here...also getting a reindeer sippy cup for the little bambino from Target(ok so that was like two weeks ago but I just remembered it)...one can never be too prepared for next Christmas! 

Miss Anything? Not really

Movement: Felt a few wiggles...nothing too strong yet but I'm pretty sure it's the little one wiggling all around

Food cravings: Last night, my hubby came home with F'reals...milkshakes from QuickChek and it was so yummy! Other than that, just avocado whenever I can:)

Anything making you queasy or sick: Brushing my teeth has really been getting to me in the mornings...it's pretty much the how-fast-can-you-brush-without-gagging routine

Gender: Ahhh two weeks!!  I can't wait...everyone keeps saying girl but either way I won't be shocked (I say that as if it'll be a monkey)..I'm totally ok with boy or girl...although I would kind of miss headbands and tutu's...we'll see soon enough!

Labor Signs: Nope.

Symptoms: Heartburn but my headaches seemed to have gotten milder which is nice

Belly Button in or out? in

Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and super excited for Christmas! I can't believe it's only 20 days away...

Looking forward to: Decorating the tree for Christmas in our new home!

Leaving you with a close up of this week's chalkboard:

Did anyone else forget to take a Christmas picture?  I did and I'm bummed...too late to order? hmmm...