It's a.........

Week 24. This week we had our parents over for a small gender reveal. My parents were coming for Easter so we thought it would be a good time to let them in on our secret. Dean's parents came down Friday night and all were surprised. I made a cake but forgot about taking pictures until it was gone. :( We gave each person a scratch off card with a poem on it. Under the seal, revealed the gender. Our parents also brought a few little gifts for Bo. All very gender neutral and nice. I don't think they were super surprised we were having a boy.

Overall, this week was much better than the last. Bo must have shifted positions or something because my back pain has been almost none existant. It comes back every so often if I sit in the same position or stand for a long time. I have switched to only wearing tennis shoes and am still exercising every day. I feel pretty good but do notice I get tired more easily. No sickness or extreme cravings. I still love chips and salsa and chicken strips. Pretty much everything that I ate before. I still really want Tuna but Dean says No. We really enjoy feeling him kick and squirm around. If he is anything like Dean, I will have my hands full.

The poem says:
As you know we have been blessed


(Minus all the pain and stress)

Now it’s time for you to guess

A little wrangler or princess?

Predict what baby Orvis will be

Then scratch the ‘O’ and you will see.

Weeks 22 and 23

First off, I am skipping week 21 because I don't have the picture on my phone or email. I will post it eventually. Nothing really special happened that week and I don't think my belly grew much so you aren't really missing anything.

Week 22
This was a pretty good week for me. I slept pretty well all week and had lots of energy. I craved No Bake Cookies all week. Good thing for my Ladies Book Club I got to make some at the end of the week. I pretty much put away all my non maternity pants. They just don't fit. Even with a belly band they slide down and are uncomfortable. So I just decided to forgot it and just wear my maternity pants. They really are more comfortable and still look great. At the beginning of this week, we went to Chicago for Dean's birthday. We stayed at this hotel with an incredible breakfast buffet and stuffed ourselves. Donuts, potatoes, bacon, granola, omelets. Yum, Yum!! We also bought Bo an outfit. It was quite a daunting task walking into Carter's and trying to decide what to get and then what size. I am getting a little more excited about buying baby clothes. Bo also started moving a lot this week. Kicking, rolling, and pushing. It still surprises me every time.

Week 23
This was probably the worst week of my second trimester so far. Why? Everyday I have had terrible back pain. I woke up about every two hours each night and had to get out of bed to stretch. I tried really hard to avoid using Tylenol but I finally broke down and started taking one pill every few hours overnight. I slept a little better but have still woke up at least twice. I hate complaining about my pregnancy since it has been relatively easy so far. I know that it is from my muscles and ligaments stretching with the expanding of my stomach and the position that Bo loves best. Bo is always hanging out on my right side kicking and squirming. Dean has made me switch to wearing tennis shoes only and I have been trying to stretch even more after exercising and throughout the day. As long as I stay relaxed it isn't so bad. Once I get stressed or rushed it just won't go away. Hopefully after going to the doctor next week, we can come up with some other things also that will make me a little more comfortable. Dean and I have been amazed at the strength of Bo's kicks already. Sometimes they are so hard and go on for a long time. Just like I am a punching bag. We love it! Even though we are very excited to meet Bo in July, we are trying to enjoy these last few months of just the two of us and get as much work done as possible.

Halfway there!!

This week marked the halfway point in my pregnancy. It seems like such a long time, yet it has gone so fast. This was a very good week for us. We finally got to have our ultrasound. I had been anxiously waiting for this and bothering Dean constantly with how excited I was. He on the other hand was quite calm and collected about the whole thing. It was amazing!! At first, I couldn't really tell what the doctor was looking at and figured it would probably all look like black fuzz. I didn't really get why people got so excited. But once he was able to find the baby's face and hands it was really clear and easy to see. The doctor said that Bo cooperated really well during the whole thing and he got to see all he needed. We got to see Bo waving and kicking. The heartbeat was good and everything looks healthy. We were able to see whether Bo is a boy or girl, of course we aren't telling. That is probably the hardest thing to do. We have to avoid the he/she words when talking about Bo and have found it hard not to just blurt it out. We made the decision to wait and so we are. Nothing has really changed for me as far as foods or anything. I ate a donut a day as a treat for drinking all my water. Other than that no particular cravings. An aversion to McDonalds has developed, which I know Dean is happy about. We are really looking forward to this second half of pregnancy. As long as Bo is healthy and growing we will be happy.