Week 19

Week 19 was filled with so many fun things:  Our 19 week ultrasound where we found out the sex of da widdle brioche, shopping and party preparation for our gender reveal party next week, and my 32nd birthday!  

The Bump

Maybe a little bit of growth?    

Gender 
I closed my eyes during our 19 week ultrasound so I wouldn't spoil the surprise for the gender reveal party.  This baby was so sleepy and lazy during the ultrasound, though.  Despite the tech giving it numerous little noogies with the ultrasound wand and pushing and prodding, baby was sound asleep.  Refused to move, in fact!  I hear little boys are pretty lazy womb-mates, which makes me lean toward boy again.

For now, the baby's sex is written on a tiny piece of paper safely sealed inside an envelope in my purse. I've just got to keep myself from peeking inside the envelope before I drop it off with the baker.  

Movement

Nope, not yet.  

Development

Da widdle brioche is now roughly the size of a mango weighs 9 oz.  Arms and legs are in proportion to its body, but they were all curled up during ultrasound.  Baby's heartbeat was slow and steady at 137 bpm (also a boy trait).  All of the important organs seems to be developing just right, but because baby was curled up so tightly during the ultrasound, we'll have to go back in two weeks to try and get some more snapshots of the four chambers of the heart and the lower spine.

The doctor's office made a video of the ultrasound for us, but I'm going to have to wait to see till after the reveal party.  Apparently Shawn and the tech were able to determine the sex...definitely.  :)    

  

Maternity Clothes  
My sweet momma bought me a bunch of maternity outfits for my birthday!  Some precious dresses and tops, and a good attempt at jeans (which will unfortunately need to go back--jeans are hard to buy, pregnant or not!) to start me off.  This is my favorite of all of the pieces--I'll be wearing the heck out of it over the summer.  

Food Cravings

Seafood!  All of the shellfish, boiled and broiled.

Sleep 

 I've been doing better this week, sleeping through the night.  Not drinking before bed time and going to sleep only once I'm super tired seems to help.

Baby Prep

We put a deposit on a crib set!  My mom is an amazing shopping partner--she buys what she likes as soon as she spots it, whereas I'm generally a waffler, especially when it comes to big ticket items.  We happened to be looking around in the second baby boutique of the day when she  spotted me taking a picture of a crib.  

Mom: "That's attractive.  Do you like it?"

Ashley: "Yeah, it's not bad.  I've got a picture for Shawn to look at, and we can check it out online.  I want something that isn't too dark and it might be a good price..."

Mom:  "Mmmhmm.  All three pieces are on sale?  With a free mattress?"
Mom:  "I'm putting a deposit down."   

So my mother goes to the counter to take care of business. The store owner can see that I'm obviously uncomfortable making this decision so quickly and senses that I'm about to back out, so he distracts me...

Owner: "I order all of these myself!  Beautiful things, really good things.  Everybody loves this set, but no one likes the lighter wood for some reason.  I think it's beautiful."

Ashley:  "Yes, I liked the lighter wood...it's very nice..."

Owner: "Did you lift it?

Ashley: "The crib?  Yes, I touched the crib."

Owner: "No, lift it!  Try to lift it."

Ashley: (strains to left the 100+ pound crib)

Ashley: "I can't lift it."

Owner:  (smugly) "I know!"

By far the most bizarre selling strategy to spring on pregnant women.  Lord knows how many ladies have dropped their babies trying to move furniture in this man's store.  But!  He accomplished his goal: I was distracted from stopping my mom and locked myself into some extremely sturdy baby furniture that I'll never be able to move on my own.  Hopefully my kiddo will move it by himself when he eventually goes off to college.

Missing Anything
Not this week.  :)

Thoughts & Feelings
Pretty happy that we purchased one of the big items off the baby list, even if it was a little fast for me.  For so long da widdle brioche has seemed half fantasy to me, but between the ultrasound and the baby furniture it's all getting real real, real fast.  
  
Looking Forward To

Our gender reveal party next week!