Cantaloupe

20 weeks pregnant, 20 weeks to go, and Baby Sophie is about the size of a cantaloupe!

Our sweet little munchkin is about 6.5 inches from head to bum and weighs a little less than average, around 10 ounces. I feel our Sophie bouncing around in my belly on a daily basis now! She is active at night and while I'm sitting still for long periods of time. Maybe it's just me, but she seems to like up-beat music, too!

"This week you're carrying around 10.5 inches (head to toe) and about 10.5 ounces of solid magical baby goodness!  Your fantastic fetus' fragile tiny bones continue to ossify and toughen while her itsy bitsy finger and toe pads (and unique finger prints) are finishing up.  Your little womb-dancer also has teeth buds sprouting beneath her gum line.  And finally! Your wee one's limbs have reached their relative proportions — no more bobble-head!  Her little pink lips are more defined, and might be helping out in a bit of prenatal thumb-sucking.  And in a final anti-alien development: the first of her tiny eyelashes and eyebrows are now present.  Essentially, your little one really does looks like a miniature baby — and we do mean miniature - your little swimmer currently weighs a mere eighth of their birth weight.  Good work mama! You're bakin' a beautiful baby and you're already half-done!" Baby Gaga

We're starting to finalize our baby registry, now that we know our baby is a girl!!! Baby Sophie. We love the name more than anything! Her middle name is still up in the air. We are teetering between Kayleen and Ann: both family middle names and important to each of us. Like I wrote in last week's post, we'll reveal Sophie's middle name when she comes into the world!

Still no weight gain on my end. I lost another pound, according to my Dr. appointment last week. That makes me 8 pounds down from pre-pregnancy weight. My doctor isn't worried about my continued weight loss, since I am eating steadily and started out over-weight as it was. No worries!

We're planning a trip (that has been delayed over and over) to visit my side of the family (Mom and Dave) in mid-August! We are so excited to see them and I'm happy that Drew will finally get to meet Dave's family.

We bought a futon (at a yard sale for an amazing price!) in preparation of our moms coming to visit when Sophie is born. We are also doing a lot of deep cleaning and moving furniture around so that it's easier up-keep in the coming months. Sophie, we are more anxious every day to meet you!

We're having a...

Girl!

We're having a girl!! We are so excited to get ready for our sweet baby Sophie!

I don't know why we were completely caught off guard at the news because the chances of having a girl are, after all, 50/50, but we were  expecting a little boy. Drew and I are still getting used to the idea, but it's definitely growing on us. We are so very happy to have a name and a gender to put to our little one!

At our appointment yesterday, Baby Sophie's body measurements were estimated to be 41% (with 50% being average growth). She weighed 9 ounces and her little femur was only 3 cm! Such a teeny little girl! Her heart rate was 150 beats per minute. Everything right on target... hopefully I'll have a small-ish baby to deliver!

There are some clear shots here (below)... We told the tech about Kelsey's mistaken gender recently (my sister's baby was expected to be a girl, but came out a boy!) so we made sure to get a good look all around. Our baby is definitely 100% a girl! We were shown another picture with three little lines that were "little girl parts".

Our little Sophie was quite the wiggler but was cooperative for most of the pictures. At the beginning, she was being quite modest, crossing her ankles and arms and showing her "girly ways" already by keeping her hands by her face. She was being quite dramatic. We have such a GIRL already! Hehe!

Definitely a GIRL!

A shot from the top: so cute!

She already has my wide feet... poor girl.

All scrunched up, trying to stretch!

Sophie wasn't being very cooperative for a good profile picture, but we finally got an okay one:

We already love our baby girl so much!

About her name: Sophie was a name thrown into the mix months ago, when we were trying to narrow down to just a few names. When I was a teenager, I babysat a wonderful family of 5 boys and a baby girl, named Sophie. Ever since babysitting "my angels", as I called them, I loved the name Sophie! When I brought the name up to Drew he said he really liked it. For those who know Drew, it's not very common for him to express how much he really likes something because he is so easy going and normally just agrees. But when we talked more and more about "Sophie", he said it was his favorite girl name of all.
As for our baby girl's middle name... I think Drew and I will be keeping that as a little surprise, only to be revealed when she is born. We have three middle names in mind.

There it is! Our baby girl: Sophie Barron!

18 weeks!

One more week! One more week! One more week and we get to see our little love on screen and find out if Baby is a boy or a girl (see previous post)!

This week, Baby is the size of a sweet potato!

As of today:

• How far along? 18 weeks!

• Food cravings or aversions - water is starting to make me gag... other than that, no other aversions or cravings

• Symptoms - energy! - lower back pain (sciatic nerve pain) - round ligament stretching/pains - head aches - NO swelling!

• Milestones - I have a baby bump! And it's cute and hard! I love the constant reminder that I'm growing something miraculous inside - We also found a ton of bargains on baby stuff at yard sales this weekend!

• What I miss - bending over easily - not being starving every hour

• What I'm looking forward to - finding out baby's gender, finally! ONE MORE WEEK! - shopping for Baby

• Gender - ??? - 1 more week! 1 more week!

• About Baby - about 5.6 inches from head to rump (which means even longer with legs!) - weighs about 6.7 ounces - Baby's nervous system is much more developed this week, with the nerves forming more complex connections, especially in the brain, where Baby's 5 senses are better developing - Baby can hiccup, yawn, kick, twist, roll, punch, grab, flex, swallow, suck, and is constantly practicing all the moves needed for karate or gymnastics!

We hit up some awesome yard sales on Saturday and came out a little poorer but are now bombarded with baby odds & ends and a futon! We found a $0.25 sale at Mommy 'N Me and got tons of baby clothes both there and at a $3 stuff-a-bag yard sale! We also got a baby bath, hats for winter, Pampered Chef measuring cups (what were they thinking selling those?! I'm happy though!), and a great futon for when our moms come to stay to help with the baby. I love "yard sale-ing"!

I found that I love my new belly. It's getting harder and harder and I now look pregnant! I am amazed at how courteous people are when you're pregnant... I wish it stayed that way afterward too. Unfortunately, a lot of people won't want a crying baby anywhere near, so I think the courtesy will end once Baby comes (except when other moms are around - thank goodness for the understanding mother!).

Drew has been exploring other options for post-grad schooling. Ironically, the more he considers other careers the more appealing law is to him. Drew'll be taking the LSAT in October and applying for law schools this fall!

We've been wondering whether moving to a new apartment or small house here in Rexburg would be a good choice for us. Fortunately, for all parties involved, it is better and much easier for us to stay here in our little apartment that we have come to love so much! We'll be able to fit the baby easily in our bedroom and rent will be just fine where it is. We love Rexburg (it's only temporary)!

2 more weeks

...until we find out if our sweet Baby Barron is a

James Conrad

or a

Sophie Kayleen

I've posted a poll on the right side of the blog, so vote what you think our baby is! I'll reveal the answer the day we find out, which is July 18!

I'm excited to see what you think!