Baby update

Eighteen weeks along, I can hardly stand the anticipation! In a little over a week, we find out if our third child is a boy or a girl.

My belly is definitely growing and the movement inside becoming more frequent and stronger as the days go by. While I thought I felt some flutters very early (as early as 9.5 weeks), I was unsure if I was imagining it. Having felt and seen Hadley move during the first trimester though, I knew it could happen and kept watching. At 12.5 weeks (April 16th), with Dave as my witness, I definitely felt and saw this baby move too. That's when it really started feeling real!

The maternity clothes are still in the closet waiting to be used; right now I'm still fitting snugly in my normal ones. While I might not really need shirts and pants with a little more give in the belly at this point, I've debated pulling them out to wear already so that people can begin to tell that there's a baby bump there instead of just thinking I finished a big meal. Several friends and family members who know we are expecting have mentioned being able to see a small bump, but I haven't had any strangers comment yet.

3 months (13 weeks)

4 months (18 weeks)

Though it might not be apparent to the world yet that there's a new little one on the way, it's on my mind every day. Having a son and daughter already, I keep imagining how sweet it would be for each of them to have a same gender sibling to enjoy a special bond with. During both my other pregnancies, while I TRULY would have been completely happy either way, I was sort of leaning towards a boy the first time and a girl the second - a boy at first because my dad had no sons and I knew he'd enjoy a grandson, and a girl the second round because I wanted to give her all the special treasures saved from my childhood and was anxious to dress her up in those adorable clothes I kept having to pass over. This time I am completely on the fence, imagining one day how nice another snuggly little boy would be and the next how precious it would be to have another daughter.

With Caleb, my pregnancy followed a lot of the traditional boy baby wives tales - carrying low, craving salty foods, etc. The second pregnancy, being opposite from the first, also measured up to those old sayings - a little bit of acne (girls take their mother's beauty, right?), carrying high, craving sweets, and more nausea than the first round. While those sayings don't really hold any weight and I know it was coincidence,  I couldn't measure whether we're having a boy or girl based off them anyway this time because there's no pattern. As most women say about each time around, this pregnancy is definitely different from the others. I have a perplexing mix of symptoms -  a little acne, craving salty food mostly, nausea like with Hadley but achy like with Caleb, and the list goes on. Needless to say, you're guess is as good as mine! Only eight more days until we'll hopefully know what God already knows and planned for our family way before we even imagined it.

While I am so excited to know the gender, I also feel somewhat anxious because that's when the real planning and nesting begin. Right now all I really have to do is sit back and imagine life with either scenario. Once the tell tale shot is revealed, there will be shopping to do, reorganizing to happen, lots of details to sort out, and - the big one - a name to choose. Choosing a name is one of the most stressful parts of pregnancy to me. Knowing that a name can make the difference in who a person becomes and that my child will have it his/her whole life, I feel a lot of pressure to make the right decision. Some people decide months before their child arrives and others before they even know they're expecting. With both Caleb and Hadley though, Dave and I didn't completely settle on their names until we were on our way to the hospital to deliver them.  After searching through names for both genders during my first pregnancy, I learned the stress can be cut down somewhat if  you wait until you know if it's a boy or girl. I've thought about it some of course already, but the serious name hunt begins next week! 

With Hadley, I debated between two names for months and started praying regularly, asking God to reveal her name to me since He already knew it. As the anxiety started rising about naming this third child, God gave me a song to remind me that He knew this child already too. Standing in church as the congregation sang this beautiful piece, I was teary eyed with thanksgiving for His message specifically for me and with awe at His love for my baby already. The song entitled "He Knows My Name" was written by Tommy Walker. Here are the lyrics and a video for you to enjoy and soak in as I did:

"I have a Maker
He formed my heart
Before even time began
My life was in his hands

I have a Father
He calls me His own
He'll never leave me
No matter where I go

He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And He hears me when I call"

Look for another update next week and pray that our child is cooperative, letting us know clearly if we'll be welcoming a son or a daughter in October!