20 week ultrasound + gender reveal...

Today has been a whirlwind! I headed out just after noon to meet Ben, his mom, my mom and brother at my doctor's office for our big ultrasound! When Ben walked in he didn't look so great and he let me know he wasn't feeling well. Not great news 4 days after Malakai had a stomach bug, but he hung on.

Malakai + Desmond came back with us for the beginning of the appointment. Malakai was the most excited, he had a lot of questions and his favorite part was seeing the baby move. Almost immediately we saw the gender of our baby. I knew it before the tech said a word. She told us what she thought but said she would get a better look before really confirming it. 

Once the boys were more interested in the toy in the room than the ultrasound Ben took them to the waiting room to hang out with the grandmas + Cody for the rest of the appointment. After a few minutes, she confirmed the gender and we are expecting a baby girl!!! 

{that's my DAUGHTER!}

We are a little in shock, but beyond thrilled to have a daughter. We got a ton of photos of our sweet little girl and even a few videos. Our tech was so great, we really enjoyed the entire experience (except the part where Ben felt sick). 

After the appointment we went into the waiting room and Ben asked the boys if they thought it was a boy or a girl. Desmond was more interested in the water dispenser, but Kai answered girl (as he has from the very start) and Ben told him "you're right!" he jumped up and down and did a little fist pump. He hugged my belly, he is so thrilled to have a little sister. My mom and + Ben's mom hugged each other with excitement, this will be the first grand daughter for both of them. 

Poor Ben helped his mom get the boys out to the van and she took them to her house while I waited for my OB appointment. He went straight home, he was feeling so badly. My mom + brother waited with me for a bit while I texted + called family to tell them the good news and then I went back for my appointment. It was pretty quick, just some vitals and a chat with the nurse and my doctor about the ultrasound. Everything looks great, healthy baby + mama! She is measuring a few days small but not enough to make any changes. At this point she'd have to measure 2 weeks off to change her due date. 

After my appointments the boys and I hung out at their Grandma's house where they invited us to have a celebration dinner. Sadly, Ben was so sick that he couldn't come. We still had dinner but agreed to postpone the celebration part to when everyone could be there, especially daddy! 

{26 weeks + 2 days and 19 weeks + 4 days}

As I've mentioned before, my sister-in-law Kristi is expecting a baby boy in July. I love that coincidentally she was wearing blue and I wore pink today!

It's a bit surreal to think I won't be quite so drastically outnumbered. I'm just so elated and surprised. Thank you all for your congrats on facebook, and your patience as our odd day unfolded. Please pray for Ben as he's still very sick and for me to not get what has been making it's way through our family. 

As I mentioned on facebook earlier today, we don't announce the baby's name until they are born. We don't have a name yet, we have a very long list of girl's names so it may take us a while to narrow it down! We love having something stay a "surprise" for the day baby is born. It'll be harder to keep a secret this time around with a older kids in the house, but we'll do our best! 

And now I'm off to rummage through baby clothes!...

Baby P #3: 19 weeks

If you follow me on social media, you might already know the latest, but for those of you that just read updates here...our ultrasound was supposed to be this morning but was cancelled. That was the 2nd rotten thing to happen today. The 1st thing was that Malakai woke up hysterical at 4am and started throwing up shortly after for the next 3 hours (Des had been sick a few days earlier, we thought it was a food reaction, but clearly it was a stomach virus). I've never seen Malakai that sick, it was so sad. Ben + I discussed what we should do about our appointment and decided to ask his mom to still watch the boys, but at our place. She agreed and was about to head over, but we got a call from my OB's office saying that they had a tech call in sick and they might have another one and they could possibly get me in later this morning, but they would call me back to let us know... 

I was ready for whatever needed to happen. I thought worse case scenario, we'd get in tomorrow. Sadly there were no openings at any of their imaging offices until Monday afternoon. We were bummed, but it turned out to be better this way. Our original plan was for Malakai + Desmond to come to part of the ultrasound and then wait with his Grandma + Mima in the waiting room. With Kai sick that wouldn't have happened. God knows best, and I feel fine about the whole thing knowing the boys will likely still be able to come. I went from having 3 appointments today (including dental work) to none, but with my boy sick there is nowhere I'd rather be than taking care of him. 

We did really need groceries though, so Grandma still came over so I could get some shopping done. She generously handed my her Starbucks card to get myself a little treat while I was out, which was a definite "pick me up". I had my first "stranger comment" at the grocery store while bagging my groceries next to another mom and her boys she asked when I was due. She then asked if I knew boy or girl yet and I told her about this morning's cancellation. She was so sweet and sincerely bummed for me, it was an unexpected blessing to have a stranger be so concerned I truly felt God's love through her. We parted ways but after she left the next customer noticed her little boy had left his toy car, I offered to run it out since I was heading to my car but it's a BIG parking lot. I looked around for a while, then loaded my groceries and tried driving to find her and I did! I honked at her and waved the car out my window and she stopped and we met outside our cars, she was so thankful- I was just happy to return her kindness. It's funny how being on the giving end of a blessing can turn around a crummy day just as much as being on the receiving end. 

I picked up some essentials and found some goodies for the boys' Easter baskets and decor for Malakai's birthday party along the way. I also scored some coloring books to give the boys when I got home, they were so excited. When I got home Malakai assured me that he was "all the way better", now my biggest challenge is explaining to him that he can't eat for a while...

{this kid loves selfies}

Here is the latest on Baby P...

How far along:  19 weeks

How big is baby: comparable to a mango, approximately 6 inches long, 8.5 ounces

What have you been up to: getting everyone better, then taking care of sickies again...hope there's an end to this cycle. Regardless we have been enjoying the sunny spring weather!

Maternity clothes: I just went through another round of putting away clothes that don't fit and pulling out more maternity clothes. I'm running out of places to store my pre-pregnancy clothes!

{another photo by Kai}

Sleep: sporadic

Milestones: Ben felt baby move at 17 weeks, just after I posted the last update. 

Best Moment: how excited our friends + family are to find out more about our new little baby. It's fun to have so many people share in our anticipation! 

Worst Moment: Malakai + Desmond having a stomach virus

Food cravings:  pastries, specifically donuts. 

Food aversions: not as many as before, but I still avoid spicy and acidic foods due to heartburn. 

Symptoms: I went to the chiropractor earlier in the week and what I thought was sciatic pain is actually my hamstring, which explains why all the stretches I'd been doing weren't helping. He did an adjustment and it felt somewhat better, I'm trying some new stretches to get some relief. 

Movement: Baby started moving a lot more and for longer last night + earlier this morning. 

Gender: still a mystery!

What I’m looking forward to: our ultrasound, still! 

What I’m nervous about/praying for: I'm not nervous about anything, just praying for a healthy baby!

What I miss:  my appointment. haha, just kidding. I just miss having a healthy family honestly!

Next appointment: Monday's ultrasound

Weekly Wisdom: go with the flow, be flexible and let God bless you through the unexpected. 

Boy or Girl?

There has been a lot of "hype" about the gender of our 3rd child as it is our plan to only have 3 children, and because we already have 2 boys. The stakes seem higher now that my sister in law knows she's having a boy. If we have a girl she would be the 1st granddaughter on both sides.

I've recently found myself actually stressing out about our upcoming ultrasound (6 days away) and finally finding out the gender.