Baby Shower!

5 1/2 months!

Nerds at the baby shower

The Dangler Siblings

It was actually kind of intimidating to open these in front of everyone...

My awesome diaper cake made by Mary Dangler!

Guess the baby food.

Sam Sachs knows her baby food!

What candy bar is melted in this diaper?

I love my mommy.

I also love giraffes.

My mom is the BEST blanket maker.

Ben, Jack, Alex, Me, and Mom

Ward family

Wooooo 5 month check up!

Ben and I had our 5 month ultrasound and check up today!  

First thing she checked was the gender, and yes, she is definitely a girl!  Her heart looks perfect and the heart rate is 157.  Checked the cord, spine, arms, legs, brain, face, stomach, fluids, etc, and the doctor says that everything is right on track and she looks perfectly healthy.  I got my blood drawn and tested last month, and everything came back normal!  We got a dvd of the ultrasound, and luckily, she was moving around most of the time.  She sucked on her fingers and her arm at the end, I think she was getting tired.  (She's not tired right now, because she's kicking me!)  

It was really cool to see her movements AND feel them at the same time.  The other night, I actually felt one with my hand.  Very slight, but soon, Ben will be able to!  

We'll be coming home in a few days and I can't wait to see everyone!

_______________________

Talked to Aimee and Mary today (3 way call) and had a total rant about some stuff, and it felt AWESOME to get it out in the open.

______________________

I'm also doing really well in ignoring people's advice for me while pregnant.  Everything that I'm doing, I do for a reason.

There are plenty more things that I've gotten "advice" about, and it's all pretty annoying.  A lot of moms think that they know everything as soon as they squeeze the kid out.  Knowing it all and having an experience are 2 different things, let's remember that, folks.  Usually, I wouldn't mind this constant barrage of unsolicited knowledge being thrust at me, but it's hard to take in large doses and hard to take when my own thoughts and feelings are being tossed aside as if I don't have any idea what I'm talking about.  It's ok, I've actually talked to a lot of people, looked up a lot, and talked to my doctors, so I am on the right track.

I stink at the journaling thing, but here's why...

I AM HAVING A BABY GIRL!  Yes, soon, I will have a daughter, and I couldn't be more happy!

We went to Miracle in Progress and got an early ultrasound done (I'm 16 weeks and 6 days as of today) to check the gender.  If we waited for my next doctor's appointment, my mom and Mary would have 1 week to plan the baby shower around the gender.  Plus, now I can register for specific stuff.

ANYWAY, it was a totally amazing experience.  We go into this big room, and it's really nice and dimly lit.  There are 2 couches in there for visitors to come in with you for the experience.  There is a large bed (not the hospital bench things you lay on in the doctor's office) and right in front is a giant projector screen on the wall.  I don't have to look at a small monitor, I can see my baby on the big screen!  So we're checking everything out and the tech tells me that my baby has a very strong heartbeat.  I'm not ashamed to say that this made me tear up a bit, especially because I could SEE her heart beating when I was told that.  I had eaten before going in hopes of getting the baby to move around so we could have better luck checking the gender, but she was relatively calm.  The tech showed me that her belly was full, and then the baby started to suck on her fingers and yawned really big, stretched and then settled in!  I think she was about to take a nap.  It was absolutely amazing to see!  I was nervous that we wouldn't be able to see the gender, but the tech tapped on my belly and got a shot (after the baby finally moved her little feet out of the way).  Definitely a girl!

It is so real.  I am just so excited!