An Exciting Announcement...

We had our 18 week ultra sound yesterday morning! When I was offered the chance to schedule this appointment on Valentine's Day, I jumped at the opportunity because what could be more romantic than discovering the gender of your baby and sharing in that excitement together? (Well, besides making the baby itself... sorry, mom!)

Anyway, Brian and I made this grand plan that we would have the ultra sound done in the morning and then have a triple valentine's date with our parents where we would all find out the gender together. We told the ultra sound tech our plan- she loved it and was very careful about having us look away when she was in gender-specific areas. She even printed us out pictures with the gender written on it for us to open later.

The ultra sound went well- everything appears normal. The baby measured about 10 ounces. We got to see it suck it's thumb, yawn, do some back flips, and kick it's little legs- kind of amazing, considering I still can't really feel any of it!

Well at the end of the appointment, Brian accidentally looked at the screen and saw the gender result- unbeknownst to me. Once we left the room, he admitted that he saw it. He felt bad but I was excited because I wanted to know so badly, so I was like, "Tell me! It's a girl, right?"

And wouldn't you know it...

Needless to say, we were both pretty psyched about that! Now I can't stop thinking about names and nursery ideas and little baby dresses...

It's helped to take my mind of of my ever-growing stomach. Speaking of which, here is the latest photographic update of that disaster:

It's definitely not as bad as it could be. I've gained 8 pounds. I just don't feel like I look pregnant. I want to pop a little so I have a clearly defined pregnant belly. Right now I think I look like a more fluffier version of my regular self... like I drank too much beer on Super Bowl Sunday. That's kind of how I feel too- bloated and full and a little sluggish. I will say this though- my energy seems to be coming back a little bit. For example, it's almost 9:00 pm and I'm still awake. That hasn't happened in quite some time.

I'm still a little frustrated because like I said, I still don't really feel pregnant. I've been feeling like I'm just me, gaining weight and looking fatter than ever. I'm still going to the gym almost every morning, but let's face it, working out is getting more difficult- I can't lift my legs as high as I used to be able to in class, I'm practically kneeing myself in the stomach in spin class every time one of my legs comes up to pedal, and I'm very aware of my heart rate now, so I try to tone it down instead of pushing myself when I feel like it's getting too high. Weird because I ALWAYS push myself. My whole life has always revolved around sports and fitness (helll-lo, athlete, coach, PE teacher) and so this is a very odd transition for me.

And like I've said before, I'm not a skinny person by nature. Though I've never really gone on a strict diet, I've always had to work at maintaining weight and I gain weight very easily. So to be gaining weight and not being to do anything about it is kind of freaking me out. I know I'm supposed to be gaining weight and I am actually slightly below the recommended weight gain allowance for my size, but I'm not comfortable with it yet. Here's a side by side from when I starting taking pictures of my belly at week 7 back in November to this last weekend at Week 18:

See how it's just looking kind of like a chubby gut? And to think I didn't like how big I looked before! :)

Okay, I'm done ranting. For now, anyway! I apologize if I sound ungrateful, because I promise, I'm not at all. I have had a fairly easy pregnancy so far and I cannot stress how much I have appreciated that. I'm just still trying to wrap my head around this new figure and the extra weight around my middle! The important thing is, I'm healthy, my baby girl is healthy, and Brian loves both of us. He's the best- he tells me I'm beautiful every day, and that means the world to me.