Baby H: Weeks 17-20

I'm almost caught up! I'm determined to push through and get these last few updates written so that I can start blogging on a regular basis in real-time. I think I can, I think I can!

Week 17 was a big one for Luke and me because it was the week we found out the gender of our baby! Being a first-time mom, I actually didn't know that gender is normally determined during the anatomy sonogram somewhere between weeks 18 and 22. I just assumed that at my 17-week appointment, our baby should be developed enough for the doctor to tell me if it was a girl or boy. So when we got there with our long list of questions in hand (remember last time, when I wasn't prepared with questions? That wasn't happening again!), I asked if we could find out the gender. My doctor explained that I'd need to go to the actual hospital for my anatomy sonogram and I was SUPER bummed. I explained to her that Luke was about to have to leave town for work for a little while and that there was a good chance he'd miss this. So my doctor, being as awesome as she is, said that if we could wait for her to see her last two patients of the day, she'd come back with her sonogram machine and see if she could determine the gender. Of course we said yes! About an hour later, we had confirmation that I was 17 weeks pregnant with a sweet baby BOY!!! I've never seen Luke look more proud of anything in his entire life. He walked out of the doctor's office with the cheesiest grin and was holding up the sonogram pics for all to see, ha! We've felt like from day 1, our baby was going to be a boy, but it was a really cool feeling finally knowing that he was truly a he and that we could call him by name.

{Right before we found out that our baby is a boy!} 

Pregnancy side notes (more for me so that I remember): Week 17 was when I really started to feel our baby boy move. Yes, I'd felt movement prior, but these were definitive turns/kicks/punches. Also, week 17 was when I noticed my belly button looked different. Our boy was finally getting to the size where momma's organs were being shifted around and my belly button was starting to get pushed out a little (no outie yet, but it could happen!). And at my 17 week appointment, I still hadn't gained but a pound or two. My doctor actually asked me, "Are you eating? Feeling ok?" and Luke blurted out, "Umm, yeah she is!" Rude Lukey! Haha! This had me a little worried, but I totally shouldn't have been. Be careful what you wish for, because little did I know, that weight gain was coming. ;)

That weekend, we drove to Hallettsville for a quick gender reveal party with my family, who could not wait any longer to find out if Baby Hinton was a boy or girl. Since Luke and I already knew the gender, we wore white, but we asked everyone to wear either pink or blue based on what their guess was. Becca's boyfriend, Braden, did a great job of BBQing and my mom did a wonderful job of decorating for the party. After dinner, we passed out cupcakes with white icing and yellow baby shoes on them. On the count of three, everyone bit into their cupcakes, which revealed blue icing on the inside for our baby boy, Luke Barrett Hinton!

{Poor sisters, they were really pulling for a girl, ha!}

{Social media announcement}
 

Week 18 was fairly chill; not much to report here. I went for a couple of runs, but I remember that around this time my workouts started to slow down a little bit. I'd been running since before I was pregnant, so it wasn't hard to continue throughout the first trimester and into the second. But it was around weeks 18/19 that I really started to feel the baby as I ran (or rather, my bladder did). So I switched from mostly running to a little running, walking, and elliptical at the gym. We also bought Luke a new lawnmower and weed eater this week so that he could get to work on our new yard. Haveto make sure that those new dads are still feeling the love. ;)

{New toys for dad} 

{18 weeks}

Week 19 was the week I scheduled our anatomy sonogram. We were very blessed that Luke got to be there for this sonogram after all. I really didn't know what to expect here, but this experience was so much more than I'd even imagined! Our sonogram tech was so smart and kind. She answered all of my questions and was so patient with us (I had to pee twice during the appointment - I mean, come on - they made me drink 24-30 oz. of water before hand!). We got to see all of Barrett's body parts, including all four chambers of his heart and the way his brain was coming together. It's amazing how far medicine has come. By the end of his photoshoot, he was covering up his face with his hands (no more pics mom!), but we did get a good profile pic of him right at the end. If you ask me, he has daddy's nose. :)

{Our (almost) family of three}

{Luke Barrett Hinton...we're in love!}

That weekend, an overwhelming desire to be super productive came over me. You see, when Luke and I bought this house, we had enough furniture to fill an apartment (a.k.a. not enough to fill a house). I have to constantly remind myself that filling and decorating a house takes time and love. This isn't going to happen overnight, nor do I want it to. I really want to buy furniture and decor that I love and want to have for a while. But for some reason, that weekend (and my preggo hormones) brought a strong desire to get the ball rolling. 

So, I decided to wake Luke up early on Saturday and make him go to Buy Buy Baby to begin a registry with me. Y'all, I can't even begin to start typing this paragraph without laughing. This trip was a MESS! I guess there are couples out there that can do this type of thing together, but Luke and I are not one of those couples. Luke had no desire to compare baby bottles and bassinets, but my emotional, pregnant self had this glorified idea of this perfect day of baby registering with my cute husband. Let's just say our trip to Buy Buy Baby ended with me overwhelmed and crying in the baby furniture section on the phone with my mother (goodness gracious!). My poor, sweet husband. I'm still apologizing for that trip!

Sunday was better. We made a quick trip to Lowe's to buy paint for Barrett's room and Luke got to work painting over the pink that was there from the previous owners. We decided on a shade of navy (Luke's choice) and it turned out SO good! A light tan/taupe color was already on the top half of the walls and we decided to leave it. I'm really loving the two-tone look here. 

{Bye pink!}

 

{Barrett's room}

 

20 weeks sort of snuck up on me! It was so weird to think that we were half way through this pregnancy already. It was around this time that I started noticing a difference on the scale. And in conjunction with this, I got a terrible back ache/spasm for about 3-4 days. I thought it was sciatic nerve pain, but it was in the upper left part of my back by my shoulder blade, so I'm not sure what the reason for this pain was. One morning, I actually had to have Luke lift me out of bed because I couldn't lift myself. It was the craziest thing!

That weekend, my mom drove up to Houston to help me with round 2 of baby registering (no husbands allowed!). There were no tears this go-around and I felt pretty good about the start of Barrett's registries. P.S. Umm, why are there so many options/brands/colors of baby stuff?? I'd seriously be happy with one or two options of everything, not 25-30!! I also bought a Snoogle that weekend. If you're pregnant and you haven't bought a pregnancy pillow, listen to all of the pregnant mommas out there and GO BUY ONE! I've slept with mine every night since I bought it and these pillows are seriously life changing!

{Jolly is the best! And it's her birthday today. Happy birthday mom!!}