Baby R Gender Reveal & 20 Week Update

For those of you who don’t follow Mark or myself on social media, you may have missed our BIG announcement! We finally found out what Baby R is!

Going to our 20 week ultrasound was incredible. We drove all the way home with our sealed envelope with the gender. We had a local friend make us some delicious cupcakes and videoed us finding out. Both the hubs and I were anxious to find out and we thought about cheating and opening the envelope, but I am glad we didn’t! This captures our true reactions to finding out the gender. When I re-watch this I have to laugh because I am totally so excited I can’t even finish chewing to talk. 

Clearly both the hubs and I are pretty excited to be parents of a little man! I love Mark’s little fist pump when he finds out. Of course, now that we know we have a little man on the way the shopping has begun. Both with me and my mom. This will be their first grandbaby so clearly they are over the moon! I got a package filled with Carhartt and John Deere things for our little guy from his Grandma about a week after we told all of our family. Look at the little overalls, I just die y’all!!! 

Another big milestone is that we have officially hit the halfway mark. I honestly can’t believe it. Time has gone by so quickly! I haven’t been super consistent in giving y’all updates so here’s what has been going on… 

How far along? 22 weeks today! 

How big is baby? 10 1/2 inches and weighing about 3/4 lb!! 

Maternity clothes? The baby belly is UNDENIABLE! It is amazing I don’t think I have grown that much…. UNTIL I try to put on clothes that USED TO fit me. It is truly remarkable what I no longer fit into: most leggings, non-flowy tanks or tops, any and all pants that aren’t maternity. I have hit the stage though where I can actually wear tight clothes and I LOOK pregnant, not just fat! HA!! So I have been embracing more body con type dresses as well as tighter tops than I usually feel comfortable in. And for the record, maternity fashion BLOWS y’all. I am looking forward to the nicer weather where I can just wear dresses and forget about pants all together! I did find a pair of maternity shorts that I love, so that is a huge win! 

Sleep: Sleep has been still pretty consistent. When I want to, I can still sleep like the dead which is AWESOME! I do have to get up to use the bathroom at least once a night. And I notice I have been shifting more as I get bigger. Otherwise, I am thankful to still be sleeping SO WELL and without much discomfort! Chalk that up as a win! 

Best moment this week: Our gender reveal AND getting to see our active little miracle on the ultrasound. It was so neat to be able to see all his little features. Check out those little feet below! Everything continues to look normal and good. We will get to see him again as they didn’t get a good look at his little profile. He enjoys being head down, which this momma definitely feels most of the time. He also really enjoys his hands near his face which makes me wonder if he will be a thumb sucker. Both my Dad and myself had a thumb sucking habit, I even sucked my thumb in the womb. We shall see! 

Movement: Two weeks ago everyone was asking me “have you felt it kick yet?” I kept saying no, I haven’t. I feel pressure but no definite kicks… Well, I spoke too soon. Now all I feel is our little munchkin kicking away most of the day. It’s been super fun to share those moments with friends and family when they are around. 

Food cravings: I keep waiting for a time where I become this maniac when it comes to food. And so far, it hasn’t come. I haven’t had a wake up in the middle of the night and NEED X or Y food. I haven’t cried over not being able to have something. I haven’t dreamed or thought about a certain food. Eating while pregnant for me has gone like this: if I am hungry, I eat. If I am not hungry, I don’t eat. I really haven’t been super anal or psycho about nutrition and for me that works. It is one less thing to worry about. Some days I find my appetite to be veracious and some days it is pretty normal. I do realize that as my uterus grows, I can’t eat as big of portions as I used BUT I do eat more frequently. 

Food Aversions: Still none. It is just if something doesn’t sound good, I don’t eat it. 

Gender Questions:

Do you have a name picked out? No we don’t… yet! And when we do, that name will remain a secret until our little man is born. 

Did either of you guess correctly? We never did any wives tales, etc. to guess beforehand. My momma’s gut feeling told me Baby R was always a boy. Mark refused to guess because he didn’t want to be wrong. Of course, we are just happy that Baby R is healthy and doing well! Having a little man to join us is icing on the cake. 

Pregnancy Symptoms: 

Physically: Heartburn and indigestion has continued to be a constant. Praise the Lord that Tums still work for me and in the worst case scenario, I’ll take a Zantac. During my trip to Savannah a combination of heat, not enough fluids, and lots of walking brought out a serious case of swollen ankles and feet. It was seriously awful. I am NOT looking forward to that becoming a thing. Second trimester has seriously been the best thus far. I’ve had the fewest negative symptoms all while having energy and still being able to sleep. Although while I AM keeping it real, chalk this TMI up into the things nobody tells you about being pregnant. At a certain point, whenever you cough really hard or sneeze, you pee a little. Hey, I am just trying to be honest. You’re welcome! 

Mentally: Our 20 week ultrasound really helped catapult me beyond the OMG this is happening stage into sheer excitement and joy. I honestly laid on the exam table the entire time in AWE. Every one of his little features was as clear as day, it was truly amazing. It cemented the fact for me that I am growing a little human miracle in there. I know that sounds stupid, but it has been really hard for me to process until now. I’ve also hit the Nesting phase, LOL. Nesting for me has consisted of nursery planning (stay tuned for a post on that), organizing our house, and also stressing about ensure we will have everything we need in place when our little man comes. I keep balancing this by telling myself that God will provide what we need when we need it. After all, this is His miracle he provided us and He will be faithful to ensure we are prepared. God has been really working on me and my heart to just let the anxieties fade and truly enjoy every moment and stage of this pregnancy. 

What I am looking forward to: I am looking forward to putting the nursery together and preparing for our little man to join us! Now that I am over the overwhelmed stage, it has been so fun! For a long time, a part of me felt like if I bought anything I would jinx this pregnancy. But now that God has worked on that part of me, I have done a complete 180. Mark is about ready to kill me based upon the boxes upon boxes of things that come that are ALL baby stuff! 😉 

Weekly Wisdom: Don’t let the anxieties run your life. There is so much to worry about during a pregnancy and honestly it takes away from the joy that is this journey of growing a life. Enjoy and savor every little moment, they go by so quickly.

Milestones: Feeling kicks, first baby items purchased, and finding out the gender! 

Again, THANK YOU all for the continued prayers and words of love! It continues to just make my heart swell knowing how loved our little man is already!! Y’all are honestly the BEST!