Half Way There

I can't believe I'm 20 weeks along already.  An exciting thing happened....I FINALLY felt the baby, without a doubt, last night. I've been waiting and waiting and it finally happened.  I was laying on the couch and felt a small "twitch."  At first I thought it might just be gas :o} but it kept happening. It didn't feel like a flutter like the books said it would. It was more like a stomach spasm...kinda. I was just so happy that I finally felt Chicken Little and I know s/he is ok and moving around.

After this exciting milestone, I thought it would be a good idea to get a baby journal to log all of this stuff so we can share it with the baby later on.  Jesse & I went to Hastings today and bought "A Wish Upon A Star" keepsake journal. There's spots to put sonogram photos, baby shower pictures, information about the pregnancy, the homecoming, etc.

I can definitely feel a difference from last week to this week. My stomach feels twice the size and much more firm.  My back has also started to take a toll.  I haven't experienced any swelling in the hands and feet yet but I feel those are the next to go!  Here's a belly picture for week 20. 

We've also been looking around at baby gear and finally created a registry at Walmart...well...I did, and just asked Jesse if he liked the stuff I picked out.  Walmart seemed to have the best selection and the best prices but between butt paste and bottle warmers, we had no idea where to start so I asked the moms on Facebook to help me out with the essentials. 

We go to the doctor on the 12th and we have our fingers crossed that he will give us an order for an ultrasound. We're getting impatient and want to know the sex of the baby...NOW!!  As you can see from the last post, the gender poll is tied. Just as many people think it's a girl as well as a boy.  I like the idea of both. I think it would be great to have a boy for Jesse to have a hunting buddy and for Grandpa Mark to have a farming buddy.  I think it'd be great to have a girl because they're so much fun to shop for :o). 

Either way we have names picked out for both.  If it's a girl, we like Avery Jo (for Josephine, Jesse's mom) and Isabelle Monet.  Avery is a name that Jesse came up with and has loved since we got together...and yes, it's after the hunting brand.  We've struggled a little with the boy names but if it's a boy, we like Brennan Karl (after Jesse's dad).  We have yet to find a first name that we like that goes with Mark but are open to suggestions!