weeks 20 & 21....they are going to quickly!

i cannot believe that we are beyond the half way point...ALREADY!  it's crazy to me how fast the weeks are flying by suddenly.  but whats even more amazing is how active you are becoming!  you sure do love to dance around little baby.  and i love feeling your movements inside me.  i have to say though, your daddy is becoming quite discouraged because he hasn't actually had the pleasure of feeling you kick yet.  I'm not sure how he hasn't, since i can feel you nearly all day long...but you are so comfy deep inside my belly, many of your kicks don't quite make it to the surface i guess! you should know though, the closer we get to your birth, the more and more we have to be ok with the idea of sharing you!  i cant keep you to myself forever :)

i have discovered this week that your sense of sound seems to be fully functioning.  whenever i turn on the coffee grinder at work you do a little dance until the very second i turn it back off!  I'm not sure if that means you like it or you hate it, but either way, it puts a smile on my face pretty early in the morning!  i also have outgrown nearly every sweatshirt i own and spent a few days this week wearing one of your dads shirts!  the heartburn has been coming and going, we have good days and bad.  the back pain is settling in for the long haul, especially on the nights when i wake up laying on my back!  i think you have found comfort somewhere near a nerve in my lower right side because i often get a numbing sort of pain in my right thigh!  the winter weather and stretching of my skin is making my belly quite itchy, but your brothers put much love and effort into rubbing lotion all over your growing space!  they think they are doing it for you, so someday, be sure to thank them!

i think we may have also settled on your potential names!  well, incase you might be a girl, we have had your name picked out for quite a while!  but in the event that you may join in the brood of boys, with your brothers, we needed to come up with a name that we loved as much as we love theirs! and im not going to lie, it wasnt easy...there were some that sounded ok, but we didnt love them.  then we thought we found the perfect name, until we were told what its true italian translation was - our minds were quickly made up that Vitelli would not be your name. we just couldnt see naming our baby "herd of cows"!!  but i think we have come to a final conclusion and so far we have gotten wonderful reactions to both the boy and girl choices, so the rest is up to you!!  you are the one that will make the ultimate decision!

as for you and your personal developments, you apparently are learning and practicing swallowing.  you have grown to weigh nearly 3/4 of a pound and you are about the length of a full size carrot (10.5 inches)  you also have been busy developing your eyelids and growing some eyebrows!  so many of the tiny details that will make you who you are!  and pretty soon your biggest accomplishments with be putting on weight, growing nearly a pound per week until you are big enough to join us on the outside of your well known comfort zone!

and so we continue, on the downward slope towards the finish line...counting down the days until you are in my arms!!

i love you so much baby

  millions

    ~ mommy

waist = 37 inches!

19 weeks....i see you!

we had our sonogram today!!  and what a blessing it was...not only to see you in action, to see your heart beating, to see the sections of your brain, and the details of your little body...but then to also be told that you are absolutely perfect!  everything about you, my precious baby, is measuring right on track!  you are just as you should be!  and for the record, your dad and i did make it through the whole sonogram without finding out your true identity...we are leaving that a surprise for us and everyone else, something extra special to look forward to on your birthday!  all i can say is that as we were watching your leg measurements, it was not obvious one way or the other...i didn't sneak a peek at any boy parts but to say that makes you a girl could be so far from the truth.  I'm sort of amazed with myself, at how patient i am feeling about waiting until your grand appearance!  something you should probably know about your mom is that i try very hard to be a planner.  i like to try to be organized and one step ahead!  but with the blessing of you growing inside me, i have found a new sense of peace...or maybe its grace - whatever it is, i believe in my heart that its a special gift from God!  i get the sense he is preparing me for the busy road ahead!

it will be interesting to see if your reaction to the sonogram is anything like the personality you will have growing up!  you were not being very photogenic for us.  and although we didn't get many "great" photos of you, it was enough to make my heart melt.  your tiny little feet...your profile - even with your knees above your head!  your brother Tuscan loves showing me his interpretation of you in my belly folded up like a pretzel!

from the sono we headed to our doctors appointment, there we heard your heart beating...once again, right at 150 beats per minute.  during the holidays i gained 5 lbs...which is the first significant weight gain i have had, putting me at a recorded +4lbs.  I'm not sure how i managed it, between the two of us, i know there were a few "handfuls" of cookies consumed over the last few weeks, but i guess it just didn't come close to how many i had eaten when Tuscan was in my belly!!  :) 

you on the other hand, were measuring about 10 ounces and 10 inches long.  your brain is currently working on assigning tasks such as smell, taste, sight and sound and apparently, you just might be able to hear our voices now!!  and that excites your brother Matteo very much, he loves lifting my shirt just enough to catch a glimpse of you and says "hi baby, I'm Matteo..." and then puts his hand on my belly and waits for you to respond!  its so obvious how much he loves you already...i cannot wait to see that love grow once he can see you face to face! its also believed that your hair is starting to sprout on your head now and if my heartburn is any indication, i would feel it safe to say you should be born with a fair bit!

its crazy baby, to think that we are already half way there. i know in the beginning, there was a part of me that was wishing the days to go by faster, but only because i wasn't feeling well.  now its becoming bittersweet that we are already on the fast track to your birth!  i love being pregnant, feeling you moving and growing inside me just amazes me everyday and even though i am so anxious to meet you and hold you and kiss you, i know that what i am experiencing with you right now will likely never happen for me again.  its all such a miracle, watching the changes my body makes to accommodate you and your needs, its just so awesome to see Gods handy work in that way.  its so personal, something i don't believe can be related to with any other experience!  all i am saying is that i don't want time to go to fast, i want to take it all in and enjoy everyday for what it is.  stay cozy in there baby, for as long as you would like! i know your time will come when you are good and ready!  God has your birthday all planned out, so between the two of you,i have full confidence in knowing that it will be a wonderful day and it will come at just the right time!

i love you millions,
  ~ mommy

our profile view, bent like a pretzel the baby's legs were somewhere above its head! but you can see the outline of the face and the curve of the back and the "bubbles" are the umbilical cord! this was the best shot the baby was willing to give us!

waist = 36 inches...still

weight = 136 lbs