20 WeeKs

HALF WAY!!! It's crazy to me how fast that went....not sure what will go faster, the first half or the second. If I had to make a guess it was the first :) for one, I felt great the whole time and two, I didn't "pop" until around 17 weeks......this next half, i'll be growing a belly whether I want to or not, i'll probably get uncomfortable and wish it was over already, so I can see this next half going a little slower. It's ok by me because I LOVE the holiday's so anything to make Thanksgiving and Christmas time last longer, i'm a fan of! Then of course January 2nd I head to Florida until the baby comes.

I'm not a fan of Drs. always doing ultra sounds at every appointment unless it's necessary so I didn't do one at my 16 weeks just to find out the sex like most because there's a chance it could be wrong and i'd have to do it again anyway, I wanted to wait until the full 20 weeks. It only took about 15 mins, but it was an awesome 15 mins. He took fun pictures of the baby, measured everything and we got to listen to the heartbeat good and loud! I haven't felt any movement just pokes so it was crazy to see the baby moving around in there and me not feel it. Baby was in a little ball, with the knees in it's chest, one arm to it's side and the other on the chin and side of face like the thinking pose. It was kinda freaky because little Doty was looking straight at us most of the ultra sound so you'd see the skeleton of the face lol. We got a few good pictures to keep and we were done. Now....about the sex, we've been on the "not finding out" train, so we had the Dr. put it in the envelope so if we wanted to find out and do a gender reveal at our upcoming shower we could, but we had time to decide. After our appointment Darin is D Y I N G to know lol....since the baby looks like an actual human and not a bean, he's nos insisting we find out, he said the profile looks like a boy, so now he's more convinced it's a boy and has to know if it's not! To be honest, it's very hard to have the envelope sitting on the counter, Darin's tried to hold it to the light but the Dr folded it so many times so we couldn't see, smart man lol! A friend of mine had a good point, although i'm wanting the big surprise at the end, if we know the sex we're still surprised with the features of our little Doty, what color the eyes are, dark or light hair, tan like mommy or white like daddy so there's many surprises still left.....and she REALLY wants me to open the envelope, so she'll say anything that sounds good :)

We'll see how long we last......

Prego Quirks, Symptoms & Info:

*i don't crave anything, but i do like my chocolate milk...a glass a day, usually at night, yummy :)

*maternity clothes...nope, i did order 3 pairs of shorts for my mom to bring in nov in case

*frequent bathroom visits, still

*feeling lots of pokes, i'm sure it's baby now and not gas :)

*i've gained 8lbs so far! ahhh!!

18 & 19 wEekS

Finally "POPPED"!! I have an actual perma belly.....no more skinny in the am and prego in the pm, it's now prego in the am and prego in the pm. I'm still feeling really good and looking forward to my half way point coming up as well as the "big scan". Can't wait to see how big baby is, how healthy baby is, listening to the heartbeat and seeing an actual form of a little human instead of a jelly bean like my 6wk apt. Being pregnant hasn't really affected anything I do yet in my normal routine (besides having wine at dinner) but i'm noticing it's taking a little extra effort to get off the couch and getting out of bed. I've recently started sleeping on my side instead of my belly, it's not bad but i'll definitely miss sleeping on my tummy for a while.

Last week, my sister was in Grenada visiting her boyfriend for a couple weeks and since they are so close to us (and there were waves here this weekend for the boys) they decided to pop over Friday night for a few days. Very unexpected but it was great seeing them. Laura and I did a little exploring on the beach Saturday while the boys surfed and Sunday Laura played photographer while I finally hooked up my hammock to some trees and relaxed. I'm always sad when my family leaves but this was the first time i've seen my sister super happy and in love in years, so I know I sent her off in good hands and that makes me smile even though she had to go. Next to visit is my parents in early November, so i'll be looking forward to that next.

Fantasy football has started and I had the wonderful spot of 10th pick.....I was a little worried at first but ended up liking my team in the end and it's been 2 weeks and i'm 2-0!! WINNER WINNER!! I like the thought of a prego girl beating guy after guy, week after week....maybe it's my year!!! Week 2 I had the highest points in our entire league, I think that says something. Coming up is week 3, and it's me vs. Darin.....needless to say nobody wants to be near this house sunday because there's a lot of arguing going on. I've volunteered to help my friend with a wedding shoot for a magazine so Darin and I can just stay far away from each other Sunday :) Please keep your fingers crossed for me, I greatly appreciate it! haha!

Prego Quirks, Symptoms & Info:

*yep, that is 2 scoops of cookies and cream ice cream....still haven't finished it from Saturday, but i'll go for      3rds tonight and finish it off :)

*maternity clothes...still fitting, but continue to get tight

*frequent bathroom visits, still

*big exciting scan coming up, can't wait!

*movements...i think some baby pokes but not sure if it's just gas, haha

15, 16 & 17 WeeKs

I hated skipping some weeks recently but I haven't felt any different than great, and the belly was the same so I didn't really have anything fun to report. Forgive me :) I'll fill you in right now....

To find out or not to find out....that's our issue lately. A long time ago I used to say I was finding out the sex because I just had to know, my personality is a planner and organizing maniac so it seemed only right that I must find out this info when it came time. Darin didn't want to know at all, pff what does he know!! Since living in the Caribbean for 3+ years it's made my obsession with planning every detail a lot less, you have to learn to live by the moments here and to suck in the sea air when you pass and slow down to island time and enjoy everything from foods to traffic to the shell you picked up on the beach. All this "laid backness" has made me not want to find out the sex, I don't need to plan anything, so I don't need to know, i'd rather wait and be surprised in the end. I like neutral colors anyways so I always planned on a neutral room, nothing crazy pink or blue. So here I am, 15 wks pregnant and I know that appointment is coming up quick. Along with me changing my mind to not finding out, Darin has also changed his to wanting to find out so we've completely switched how we felt about the whole "to know or not to know" situation.

I have a feeling i'll probably be the one to give in on this one. Even though I don't want to know I feel like Darin doesn't really have an actual part in this 9 months except to deal with me. He'll never actually get to feel the baby inside, he doesn't go day to day having symptoms (neither do I but still), he won't get uncomfortable because of a belly and although he may understand it all and be super helpful and get to feel the baby kick from the outside, he and all men are kind of helpless. A woman feels everything, good or bad you're connected and that feeling for me will be there everyday all day. I feel like for him to know the sex is a way he'll be able to connect better or relate, calling the baby by it's name or a he or she might help him feel like he's a part of this and better connected to his baby. Plus he says he needs to mentally prepare for a girl if thats what it is, but I somehow think that's all men lol. 

We're at the point now when we have to decided what we can get here in our suitcases and what we have to ship, what's cheaper to buy here or what's cheaper to ship.....it's consumed so much of my time this week going back and forth with 2 shipping companies. We decided on all of the furniture to ship, so i've got all the weights and dimensions sent off for a few quotes, so now we wait. My shower won't be until I get to Orlando in Jan so by then I have to decide what I want to bring with me in my suitcase and what I can buy here and what I should have extra at my parents house for when I visit. There are so many things to make decisions on it's a little crazy....i've decided to focus on the shower gifts when it gets closer to that so I don't stress now over it, I think it's gonna be a lot of cash so I can use it here to get the things I can't bring in a suitcase. Living on an island definitely has it's challenges but it's worth it. 

17 weeks, and my brother came to visit and also a friend of mine surprised me and flew down with him. I was so excited my brother was coming, I miss him all the time and love him so much so when he wanted to come for his birthday I was so happy!! I got to show them my island...they've been to visit us in the Bahamas but not yet Barbados (which is WAY better of a place to visit and live). We went paddle boarding, ate some local foods, went to plenty of beaches, did an island tour, hung out on the porch one night because Darin got a new smoker and wanted to make some ribs, he's an easy going guy, doesn't take much to please him so it's great when he comes because it's so easy and fun. I was sad to see him go and cried like a baby when I dropped him off but i'll get to see him in a few months....can't wait for him to be an uncle, he's gonna be the best!

Prego Quirks, Symptoms & Info:

*maternity clothes...maybe in a month, things are tight 

*frequent bathroom visits

*decisions on finding out
*i gained 1 lb at my 16week apt (WHOA!!)