20 Weeks!!! how time has flown!

***Updated with current belly shots***

Weeks in the nest: 20!

Steady growing belly. Taken 10/29/12

Maternity clothes: Yep! The clothes that have been loaned to me are starting to fit well or fit snug...lol Worried I am gonna loose my options that I already have. :)

Stretch marks: Not yet. My belly is growing slow enough or my genes are good that they are not present yet.

Sleep: Hasn't been the best lately...I've been grieving the loss of a close friend so dreams have turned into mini nightmares and sadness for this friend. I think I'm on the mend as I have found I do take lots of cat naps through out the day.

Best moment of the week: Finding out the gender of this baby!

What's it gonna bee??

Yep you see that right! We are having ourselves a baby BOY! I will reveal the name after my gender/name reveal party this Friday.

Food cravings:  So far this entire pregnancy I have craved MEAT...like cow meat...lol
Normally I don't eat red meat very often as I prefer lean meats like chicken and fish. Well this lil' man wants his RIBS, STEAK, BURGERS and side it with a Caesar salad and some times wants sugar treats like his daddy.

Belly button in or out: I'm gonna say its beginning to look half and half.

Looking forward to: My next OB appointment to see baby boy on the big screen again. Love that! Also buying things for him, I have only bought one thing for him since finding out that this baby is a he. The reason for this is as many of you have experienced- fear. I allowed myself to celebrate the gender and buy one thing for now...hopefully more to come. Here is what it is-

Soo cute! Buttons have anchors on them.

Cute right? I can picture him wearing this around town with me but also out to our meetings or telling others about our great God Jehovah! So adorable and appropriate for most occasions. :)

Okay now for some good medical news from my last OB appointment. We learned during my 20 week ultrasound that the umbilical cord is CENTERED where it should be on placenta!!!! (Recall TanaLee's was off to the side and restricted nutrition ect) Also the placenta looks to be functioning properly at this point. :)
Baby boy was looking to be in the 98% in growth! We are slightly worried about fluid levels...they are not dangerously low but we feel he should have a bit more (Have you or anyone you know experienced this?)...hence the ultrasound at my next appointment. My Dr doesn't seemed to be too worried about either of us at this point- She is a high risk OB and let me just tell you that she is NOT afraid to tell you how it is even if it puts fear in the forefront. So I am trying to trust her judgement and not worry about the fluid levels at this point...the pockets they measure could have been off too due to him squishing himself in between the placenta and my uterus wall. A side note to add, I have been grieving the loss of a close friend (mentioned above) and so my fluid intake was NOT good as well as the fact that my appetite was failing me during that first week of terrible news. Since then I have been focusing on my water intake and eating more...Dr says this should help the amniotic fluid too. Otherwise Dr is very happy with my progress and we are moving forward on this train. After my next appointment this upcoming month I will be seen every two weeks and then sometime around 30 weeks I will be seen weekly. This is subject to change if my vitals ect change drastically. Speaking of my blood pressures have been hanging around 120/78 which isn't far from my non pregnant 115/78 to 118/72.

Next to report, movement has been amazing! Baby boy moves quite a bit these days, sometimes the movements have been so big that it feels like someone poking me with a finger...like my arm recently was moved from its position on my lower abdomen. Movement for the most part is down around my scar (2-3 inches from belly button region) but more recently I have felt movement closer to my belly button so about 1/2 an inch to 1 inch from that region.

I think that's it for now on updates...so sorry that it's taken this long...I have had a lot going on and grieving on top of that has made for a slow desire to blog ect. But non the less I feel I am on the mend and can get back to that blogging I did before. :) See ya soon!