It's a Girl!

We’re having a girl! I’m so excited to finally share the news. Hubby and I are beyond excited, and our families are couldn’t be happier. The gender reveal party was a huge success; it was definitely worth getting to see the looks on everyone’s face as they anxiously awaited the cake cutting. It was very important to me that we made this day special for our son, Evan. We wanted him to have a chance to know before everyone else, but without enough time to let his excitement cause him to share. When it came time to cut the cake, Tom and I asked everyone to leave the kitchen so we could cut the cake with Evan. I helped Evan cut into the cake and as we slid the knife out, pink frosting was visible. As soon as Evan saw this, his eyes got big and he excitedly whispered, “It’s a girl!” A few minutes later, we took the cake out to the guests, and Evan helped me lift up the slice of cake to reveal to our families that we were having a girl.

I thought for sure that baby Floyd was a boy for no other reason than a feeling. Hubby on the other hand, knew for sure that she was a girl. Right before we knew that we were pregnant, he had a dream of me in our bedroom holding a little baby girl. Looks like his dream will come true.  I know I am looking forward to not being the only girl in our house full of boys.

Now that we know baby Floyd is a girl, the search has begun for everything pink. I’ve promised to not go too crazy with the pink, but I must admit that I am very excited. Now that we know, I can’t wait to get started on the nursery! We have lots of shopping to do, poor daddy. 

Pink or Blue?

Tom and I already know, but what do you think the gender is? We're enjoying the fact that it's our little secret, for now. It has been fun to narrow our name search and finally look at baby bedroom items. This is such a special time for us and I am loving every minute. I cannot wait to share the news with everyone, but until the gender reveal party, our lips are sealed!

I am happy to note that our baby was not camera shy; we were able to get a good look at all of the anatomy. Our little peanut is already quite obedient. The ultrasound tech needed baby to turn over to get a full view of its spin -- as soon the tech said this, baby rolled right over. It even looked like the baby smiled for us, which the wonderful tech caught on film for us. :) It was such an exciting day, just knowing that our peanut is looking healthy.

All the details for the party have come together. Invitations have been sent, the menu is done and the cake has been ordered. Don’t go getting any ideas -- the bakers have been sworn to secrecy too! Now all we need is for the party date to get here quickly so we can share the news. I’ve decided to add a fun, surprise gender reveal for my coworkers. I’ve ordered cupcakes with filling in the center to match the color of baby’s gender. I thought this would be a cute way to share the news with them too.

Check back for next week's post when we'll finally reveal pink or blue!

Daddy Spills the Beans

As promised, I have a funny story about Tom to share with you all. After we finalized our ultrasound date, Tom and I discussed keeping the appointment information a secret. The most important reason for this was to keep family and friends from badgering us after our appointment. Or so I thought…

Tom’s birthday was that week and I decided to throw him a little surprise dinner that weekend at one of his favorite restaurants. Of course everyone wanted to talk about the gender reveal party at dinner. My mother-in-law, Sam, was sitting next to me. During dinner, she leans over to me and asks, “When is your appointment?” I grin and tell her that we are keeping it a secret. She laughs and the conversation takes a different direction. About five minutes later, my father-in-law, Mike, leans across the table and asks Tom the same question. Now, in his defense, it was loud in the restaurant and he probably had no idea that Sam had just asked me. Before I could give Tom the do-not-tell look, he happily responds with Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. Well, there goes that secret!

Planning a Party

I feel like this week is never going to end.  I’m sitting here trying to think of what to write and all I have on my mind is my doctor’s appointment next week!  It doesn’t help that the little dancer or soccer player in my tummy is practicing nonstop. Those little kicks are getting stronger every day. It’s fun and strange at the same time to lie down and watch my stomach move and to see a poke here and there. I’m even starting to feel these movements as I’m going about my day. Baby must be growing!

To help distract me from the appointment, I have been working on next weekend’s gender reveal party for our family and friends. Hubby and I thought it would be a great way to tell everyone simultaneously whether Baby Floyd is a boy or girl. This new party trend was something I discovered within the last year on Pinterest, and I knew it was something I wanted to do. And Tom, being the wonderful husband that he is, supported me in this party planning adventure.

Everything for the party is really coming together with one final detail remaining… invitations. I only had a matter of days to design, print and mail my invitations on top of my regular routine of work, and being a mom and wife. After some online research (aka typing gender reveal invitations in Google), I found the most adorable invites. I was able to enter my information into an already designed template; the company sent me the file and then I had them printed locally. They cost me almost nothing, which was the best part. If only I had these resources when planning my wedding, or when I had Evan.

My family and friends have been beyond supportive in helping me plan and execute all the party details. My mom and my mother-in-law are helping me with the food. We are not only going to serve typical party foods, but we will also have a table with all of my cravings -- Twizzlers, donuts, cinnamon buns and Chick-fil-A lemonade. Again, keeping things local, we are having Café Torino in Warrenton make our gender reveal cake. The icing on the inside of the cake is being tinted blue for a boy or pink for a girl. Evan, being only 8 years old, is still learning to keep secrets, so he will be surprised at the party as well. We are going to have him cut into the cake so he will be the first to know whether he going to be a big brother to a little boy or girl.

Because the party would not be complete without a party game, guests are asked to wear blue or pink based on their guesses. They will have an opportunity for a second vote at the party after reading all of the old wives’ tales. I am so excited for these next two weeks. I hope I can keep it a secret from everyone!

Little Kicks

The week was off to a great start with our visit to obstetrician, Dr. Wesley Hodgson. We were not only able to hear the baby’s heartbeat, but we were also able to hear the baby moving in my belly. Boy, was that little peanut putting on a show! Hopefully there will be another performance again in two weeks during our next appointment. What a wonderful way to brighten a Monday.

During this visit, Dr. Hodgson gave us more post-worthy news. Normally you find out the gender during the 20-week appointment, but we are going to find out in week 19! Hubby and I plan to keep the gender of Baby Floyd a secret until our gender reveal party. Stay tuned for more details on the planning and prep as we gear up for the big day!

Just when I thought the week couldn’t get any better, I felt the baby move for the first time. It was Thursday morning and I was still lying on my back in bed. At first I didn’t know what it was, and all of sudden it clicked- I mean kicked. I immediately woke hubby up, grabbed his hand and placed it on my tummy. He could feel it too! I’ve heard that the first time you feel the baby move; it is supposed to be like a flutter. I either missed those so-called “flutters” or I’ve got a future soccer player because it definitely felt more like little kicks.

We’re entering the fifth month next week, and I just can’t believe how fast the time is going!

Evan is excited to become a big brother and answers some tough questions about the new baby.

Bring on the Sugar Buffet!

Recently I’ve started to notice how much my appetite has increased. I used to be able to get by with a banana for breakfast and a small salad at lunch. Now, I feel like I’m eating everything! Grocery shopping with me these days is an adventure. I used to always dread going to the grocery store -- to the point that I mapped out a plan of attack and only bought what was on my list.  Now I wander down the aisles list free and have discovered a number of delicious new foods. Who knew?!  If you’ve never tried Pepperidge Farms Apple or Cherry Turnovers, don’t. Seriously, you will become addicted!

Not only has my appetite increased, but I’ve found that the foods I’m craving are not the healthiest. When I was pregnant with Evan, the unhealthiest craving I had was pancakes.  And boy did I eat a lot of pancakes. For the most part, I craved a lot of healthier foods like fruit.

Things are so different with this pregnancy! I try to eat healthy and do all the things they suggest,  but this little peanut must have a sweet tooth because I could eat ice cream, donuts and cinnamon buns all day long! While I was browsing the aisles at the store on Monday, I got this overwhelming craving for Twizzlers. And like most pregnant women, I gave into temptation.

It’s funny to be writing about how much I could eat right now, when last week I was complaining about not feeling pregnant.  I am slowly gaining weight week by week and while I may complain that I am not showing, I know that my body is doing all the things it needs to be doing. One day you will be able to tell on the outside that I’m pregnant.

Baby Bump Envy

Am I really pregnant? I know it seems like a silly question since I have the ultrasound photos to prove it, but I think I feel too great to be pregnant! In the past two weeks, the nausea has subsided and aside from looking like I just ate a cheeseburger, I am still not showing. 

I have been reading What to Expect When You’re Expecting (commonly referred to as my “pregnancy bible”) religiously. During last Sunday night’s weekly reading,  I realized I am not experiencing any of the typical “issues” or “symptoms” of a  typical pregnancy. At this point, you are probably thinking, why is she complaining- the typical symptoms are horrible! I guess I just thought my pregnancy would follow more in line with what I hear and read.

There are several people I know who are also pregnant and due around the same time as me.  When they post their growing belly photos, I have to admit I get a little jealous. Everyone keeps reminding me to enjoy it now, because in a few months it will be more than evident that I am pregnant.  Some say I am going through what is commonly referred to as “baby bump envy.” Maybe this little peanut is just shy and isn’t ready to start showing his/herself off to the world yet… At least that’s what I keep telling myself.

As promised, I have to share an experience my husband and I had during our 14 week doctor’s appointment.  During our visit, Dr. Wesley Hodgson, our obstetrician, wanted to hear the baby’s heartbeat, standard protocol. I could feel the anticipation building with excitement and worry.  After applying the belly goo, Dr. Hodgson puts the little microphone on my belly and as I glance at Tom, I see he is smiling.

Eagerly waiting for what feels like forever, I cannot help but worried that something in wrong. Finally we hear the strong and steady heartbeat and we know our little peanut is okay.

Two Faint Pink Lines

It is hard to believe that I am almost halfway through my pregnancy! I can still vividly recall the moment when we found out we were expecting our little peanut. It was the day before Thanksgiving and we were about to head to Tom’s family house for our annual turkey tradition -- wine drinking with Tom’s mom was also part of this tradition.  We had been trying to get pregnant and with my anticipated period only days away, I thought it was better to be safe before indulging in the dinner drinks. 

Tom and I met at home for lunch that afternoon, and I took a home pregnancy test. Five minutes later, the test showed one solid line and the faintest second line. Confused about what this might mean, we decided to wait to say anything and take the second test the next morning, since they say that’s when you’ll have the most HGC in your system.

On Thanksgiving morning I snuck down the hall at my in-laws house and took the second test. We I returned to the bedroom with the pregnancy test, the results were the same. We knew then that we were expecting another Floyd and couldn’t wait to share the new with Tom’s parents! 

They say that each pregnancy is unique and I have found that to be so very true. When I was pregnant with my son, Evan, I had no morning sickness whatsoever; I ate anything and everything that I wanted. Sadly, the same cannot be said about this pregnancy.  Although, I don’t think my morning sickness was as bad as they say it can be, it was still awful.

I found what worked best for me was eating something right after waking up and then eating small meals throughout the day, as well as maintaining daily exercise.  I am happy to report that over the last few weeks, the nausea has subsided and although the fatigue is still hanging around, I am really happy to be enjoying food again! Now if only my husband would let me enjoy more of that junk food I am craving. :)