Week 21 : Roller Coaster Rides and Surprises

As my tum-tum and my bum-bum continue to grow at the same pace: FAST, so does the baby. It is a little over 1 lb. (why-oh-why have I gained over twenty then?! Did I just admit that?!). Its heart beat is 144 beats per minute. And, I'm starting to believe that I am, indeed, actually-factually pregnant. It helps when the baby moves and I can feel it. I just can't get enough of that feeling! For that reason alone, I want my pregnancy to slow down. I know this will be the last time to ever feel and experience such a miracle and I don't want it to leave too soon. (Now, come the middle of a dead-hot summer, I might not feel this way... so I've gotta enjoy it while I can!)

Anywho, the baby is as perfect as we can see. We had my 21 week ultrasound and doctor consultation on Monday morning. It was a two-hour appointment of measuring all the body parts and organs of the baby and then meeting with the doc afterwards to discuss the numbers. We took Nathan out of school for the ultrasound part and I just have to say, seeing him that excited has to rate in my top-10 BEST life experiences! It was a dream ultrasound appointment! The baby was moving around quite a bit so it made it all the more real for Nathan and us. Then the tech did a 3D ultra sound (which we were not going to have done because of money - but there was no extra charge - Thank you God!). It. was. UNBELIEVABLE. We could see so much definition! The eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands, fingers, toes, etc.! It was seriously beyond cool. And, really beyond words!

As many of you know, we didn't find out the sex of the baby with Nathan and we had no intention of finding out with this one. Well maybe a little bit of curiosity but that's it. However, Nathan was so excited in the ultrasound appointment and he begged and begged (then begged some more) for us to find out. Because we had absolutely no intention of giving in, we looked at each other (Scott and I) and said, what the heck... if he wants to find out, then he should... it's not about just the two of us anymore, it's all about our children. So, we gave in and this is what we saw:
The "wenis" as Nathan called it. Or "hung like a horse" as Scott likes to say. :o)

It's a BOY! And, we couldn't be happier! We all thought it was a girl... almost everyone we know did. But, IT IS A BOY! I will be a mom of two boys! Yahoo! I will live in a house of all boys (including the dogs). And I feel so content and blessed that God wants me to be the mom of all these boys. He knows what is best and I trust in Him that He is giving me what I can handle!

Having a son has taught me to love being outside, the JOYS of camping, and just doing stuff that this girly-girl didn't do a whole lot of before I had a boy. And to my surprise, I would rather be camping than in a hotel. I would rather be at the lake than in a store. And for that, I'm so thankful that God brought boys in my life. Cheers to another one on the way!

Now... there is a bit of scary news to go along with the good. I have been having major skin problems: itching and several rashes since the beginning of January. To make a long story short, I have seen the docs 3 times regarding this and they have had no concerns. They are treating it with a steroid ointment that is safe for pregnancy's. It works on those spots but then spreads to many other spots and starts all over again. On Monday, after the ultrasound, we discussed this with the doc (again). She still wasn't concerned until I told her that I have a sore spot below my right breast. That is when she switched gears into being concerned that this was all related to my liver. The lab was immediately called over to get my blood work. She would NOT discuss the implications until she got the results. So we had to wait.... and let me tell ya... it was not a good wait... it was a depressing, slow-moving, lots of praying and crying 36 hours. However, Tuesday afternoon, they called and my liver showed normal levels! YAHOO! Then we had to wait for the bio-acid levels to come back... another 24 hours. However, yesterday morning, we got the GREAT news that those levels are normal too! YAHOO! Thank you GOD!

Now I feel like I can celebrate for so many reasons! We know what we are having! It's a boy! I have no regrets finding out the sex of the baby (like I thought I would). It was just so darn cool to see how excited Nathan is/was! In fact, as Scott was taking him to school that morning, he said, "Dad. My cheeks hurt." Scott asked why and Nathan replied, "'Cuz I've been smiling so much this morning!" Is that not the BESTEST?! Oh, he makes my heart skip a beat! I love him SO much! Then he said, "I think I've got butterflies in my tummy because I'm so excited to tell my class!" How can he be that sweet?! I hope his little brother is just like him! (Well minus the first 14 months of non-stop screaming.)

Now, let the boy shopping begin... Nathan didn't want to go so Scott and I made a lunch date complete with buying our first things for our future son. These pics are actually in Target... why not? It was the moment that I wanted to capture! Cheesy or not... here they are: