Week 20

At 20 Weeks, Baby:  

• is the size of a banana
• has got working taste buds.
• is gulping down several ounces of amniotic fluid each day -- that's significantly more than before.

June 25 (Day we found out) to 20 Weeks!!!!  That's a lot of belly!!

20 Weeks!!!  Half-way there!!!

 Week 20 Update:

Well, THIS was the week....Wednesday marked my 20 week doctor appointment and ultrasound...the ultrasound that would tell us if we were having a boy or a girl!  This was also MEA week at school, so it was a very exciting week any way you looked at it!!  

At school on Wednesday I had my kids vote--did they think Baby Wetterling would be a boy or a girl?  They were SO excited to do this and we had a lot of fun with it and made a math lesson out of it!  According to them, I was going to have a boy!

1st Graders say "BOY"

Wednesday I had to leave school a little early again which I really dislike doing, but this time it was a bit easier, because I was SO excited for my appointment.  Brittany walked my class to music and then Sarah watched them for the last 20 minutes of the school day, so my class was in good hands!  The trip to Fergus seemed to take FOREVER...I just wanted to get there and find out the big news.  We surprisingly got into the ultrasound right on time!  Words can't even come close to saying what it was like to see Baby again.  Those ultrasounds are AMAZING and it is unbelievable how many details of the Baby can be seen!  Right away, the ultrasound technician asked if we wanted to find out if we were having a boy or girl...ha ha ha...duh...dumb question for me! : )  YES, YES, YES, YES...WE WANT TO KNOW!!!!!  A few minutes after she asked that question, she was moving the ultrasound scanner around and said something like, "...and there is the boy part!"  I replied with some dazed comment like, "um, so boy part...does that mean we are having a boy?!!?!!?"  Yep, that sounds ridiculous, but I was so excited and nervous and anxious, I really didn't know what I was hearing or saying!! : )  BUT, she confirmed, 

Baby Wetterling IS A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow!  I was SO HAPPY to finally know!!!!!  The ultrasound was quite long...about 45 minutes.  She had to look at and measure every part of Baby!  She showed us all of Baby's  vital organs, including his heart!  She told us his heartbeat was 150 bpm--she said that was a strong heartbeat!  We saw his fingers and toes, his arms and legs, even his ears and nose and eye sockets!  I also got to find out that those belly sensations that I had been feeling over the past couple weeks (which I didn't know if they were Baby movements or not) WERE Baby movements!  On the ultrasound, we could see Baby moving and she asked if I felt anything...well, when we were watching this, I WAS feeling that sensation, SO now I knew that what I have been feeling IS Baby!  The most amazing part of the ultrasound, which I thought was absolutely amazing, was when we watched Baby opening his mouth and sticking his tongue out!  I didn't even know babies could do this in the tummy.  I couldn't help but giggle...it was almost like he was putting on a show for us!  UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Our Baby Boy

Leg

Foot

After the ultrasound, we met with our doctor.  The ultrasound technician said that he would discuss the ultrasound in more detail and point out if anything looked problematic.  I was SO happy to know the gender of Baby, but then I started to get worried again...what if something was wrong?!  I am SUCH a worrier and I've heard other people say that at their ultrasounds, the doctors found spots on the Baby's heart or other abnormalities...that would break my heart if that was the case with us.  I've been so nervous throughout the past 20 weeks...hoping that I am doing and eating the right things to make a healthy baby.  If something was wrong, I'd totally blame myself.  Well, THANKFULLY that was NOT the case.  Our meeting with the doctor was short, because he said that everything looked PERFECT on the ultrasound!  He said Baby weighed 14 ounces--that is 2 ounces over average--but the doctor said that at this point, that wasn't very significant, because Baby's weight can fluctuate a lot from week to week.  If anything, he said that this weight just might mean we would have a bigger baby and that there would be the possibility of delivering earlier than the expected due date.  However, at this point, the due date remains the same--March 1! 

 I left the clinic feeling SO relieved and happy!  For the past...well, really forever...I've always wondered if I would have a baby girl or baby boy.  Everyone asked me:  what are you hoping for, a boy or girl??  My first response:  healthy...I just want a healthy baby.  However, I had a funny feeling that we were having a boy...but yes, I'll admit, in the back of my mind, I was somewhat wishing for a girl...I'm such a girly girl myself...I like pink and bows and dresses and dolls and am completely used to taking care of little girls with our two nieces, BUT after finding out Baby is a boy, NONE of that matters one little bit anymore.  I couldn't be more thrilled that Baby Wetterling is exactly what Baby Wetterling is!  Although I'm a girly girl...I'm also a girly girl who LOVES sports and outside and I LOVE cuddling little boys in hooded sweatshirts...I am SO content and happy that we will have a little boy at home to love for the rest of our lives!!

After coming home from the doctor, I was so in awe of that ultrasound and how perfect Baby looked!  Pregnancy can be hard and it seems like SUCH long periods of time of just waiting and waiting, and waiting some more! I came home and looked at my belly and then looked at those ultrasound pictures again and was just so unbelievably thankful for the miracle inside my belly.  Not much else mattered...I just wanted to take care of our baby.  God's work...looking at those perfectly formed fingers and toes and tiny, functioning organs...nothing but a masterpiece from God. I heard a song on the radio driving home.  It was "I Saw God Today" by George Strait...it perfectly explained how I felt at the moment:  

"I've been to church, I've read the book, I know He's here, But I don't look, near as often as I should--His fingerprints are everywhere, I just slow down and stop and stare, open my eyes and then I swear, I Saw God Today....my brand new miracle...I Saw God Today."

Starting Thursday morning, I was in gender-reveal-party planning mode!!!  Holy cow was it difficult not to call and text our family and friends, telling them the news...BUT we managed.  I put all that excited energy into planning our fun, gender-reveal party.  I decorated, made food, and made a picture/song slideshow that I would play to reveal the big news as our family and friends took a bite of their blue-filled cupcake!
 Friday night we got together with Nancy and Brian and went to Tripwire in Fergus.  Wow...was that EVER hard spending the entire evening with my best friend and NOT telling her the biggest news of my life!!   

Taking a break from party planning:  Nancy and I at Tripwire!

Well, finally Saturday came and all of our guests started to arrive!!!  We also took some fun gender-reveal/20 week pictures!  We wanted to take more of these pictures, but the weather was NOT very nice this weekend, so we only got a few.  

Here are those 20 week/gender reveal pictures:

 

...and here are the party pictures!  It was SO much fun having our family and friends over.  They were all so excited! 

Decorations and cupcakes ready for the reveal!

Voting area! : )

The votes are in! : )

Pink or Blue...Which are YOU?!? 

Team Blue

Team Pink

The slideshow....

The slideshow...the reveal!

The cupcake!!!

It's a BOY!!

It was such a fun day!  I even got some presents for Baby!!  

What a week it was!!!!  20 weeks...half-way to March 1....WOW...I can hardly wait for the next 20 weeks and all the excitement that it will bring!!  Love you, Baby BOY!!!!!