Pregnancy Progress: Week 20

Week 20 was a huge week for us!  We had our second ultrasound and found out that IT'S A GIRL!!!  We were pretty shocked.  Through what I had heard and old wives tales I read, AND the Chinese calendar, I came to believe that it was going to be a boy.  I think I also convinced others that it would be a boy.  When we were looking at the ultrasound, we saw her bottom side and legs, and he said, "Yep, nothing there.  It's a girl!"  We both started laughing and said, "are you sure?  Can you check?  Maybe we're missing something?"  His kind response, "I've been doing this for 15 years.  I am pretty positive it's a girl, but technically I can't say I am 100% sure."

Well we didn't see anything there either.

 

Aside from the gender, it was amazing what we got to see.  We saw her bladder, her kidneys, her heart, the 4 chambers of the heart, her brain, her spine, almost every vertebrae in her spine, her face, her hands, her arms, each one of her arm and leg bones.  It was awesome.  It was such a blessing to find out that she is healthy and growing.  She was 12 ounces.  He didn't say how long, but our books are telling us she is around 7 or 8 inches.

I am getting more and more excited about having a sweet little baby girl.  It was funny, as we walked out of the appointment, it was like Bryce was a different man.  It finally hit him that we are HAVING A BABY.  He smiled the entire way home from the Radford hospital and is so excited to take her fishing, hiking, canoeing, camping, and the like.

We also picked out a name: Madison Anne.  (although I haven't decided if it will be Ann or Anne).  We have always loved the name Madison.  It was actually the only name we fully agreed on before we even thought about gender.  Her middle name is actually both of our mothers' middle names.  I also knew that my family is a big nickname family, so we would need to pick a name that has a nickname that we love.  We love Maddie.

Cravings:  Not any particular ones lately.  Mainly just craving more SLEEP.

Aches and Pains: I have some ligament pain in my lower left stomach, which the doctor said was normal.  It's because my belly is stretching and little girl is growing.

Exercise:  Still trying to run about 3 times a week.  I'm only going 3 miles and sometimes I walk half a mile in the middle.  It's getting harder and harder!  I really just want to keep it up.  We'll see how it goes.  If I get to a point where I really can't, I am determined to keep exercising whether it's walking or yoga or whatever.

Belly:  This week was also big for me because I think week 19 and 20 were the first weeks that people started noticing that I am actually pregnant (mainly those who don't know me).  This is a great feeling when I haven't felt pregnant or sick or anything.  It's a sign that I AM ACTUALLY PREGNANT!!

19 weeks:

20 weeks: