[Moriah] It's A Boy!!!

Well, there you have it. I know we're about two weeks late in reporting this, but things have been busy around here. We went in for the "20-week ultrasound" on June 1st and found out we are most definitely having a boy. In fact, the doctor doing the ultrasound said he was pretty much flaunting it, which I thought was hilarious. They also checked his bone measurements, the chambers of his heart and his brain development. Everything looks great so far. Sadly, we couldn't get any pictures of his face because he was laying toward my spine and refused to turn over. Perhaps next time.



We went out to eat that night, since it was Date Night, and all during dinner we went over probably one hundred or more possible names. Most of them we agreed to throw out because neither of us liked them, and we ended up with a short list of about nine names. We now have it narrowed down to a few that we really like, but we are planning to wait on picking "the one" until he is actually born and we can see him for the first time. That way, we can get an idea of what he looks like and what his personality is like.



I am starting to feel a lot more movement as well. He seems to be very active at night when I'm sitting down in the living room or when I'm trying to go to sleep. In fact, a few times last night it felt like I was being pummeled from the inside while I was sitting in the recliner! :) He's getting quite strong. Looks like we're going to have a night owl on our hands. He's also active in the morning when I wake up, especially if I just laze around in bed for a little bit before getting up. Sometimes I notice activity during the afternoon, but that's less so.



Now that I'm starting my 23rd week already, I'm finally feeling much better. The nausea has been totally gone since about 18 to 20 weeks, and I'm certainly building up a better appetite lately and am able to eat most foods again. Though, I still don't like garlic. As of June 1st, I had gained about four pounds since my last visit, which is right on target. From now until the end of the pregnancy, I should be gaining about one pound a week.



Unfortunately, while I realize it's very important to gain the proper amount of weight in order to nourish our growing boy (and he is growing!), it has been hard on my self esteem at times. Being pregnant is a very different kind of experience than anything I've ever gone through in my life. And, while I'm looking very forward to seeing our son for the first time and raising him over the years, it has been hard for me to watch the immense physical changes that are taking place in order for my body to bring him into this world. Two nights ago, I looked in the mirror and saw blazing evidence of the weight I am so rapidly gaining, and I felt very unattractive. I'm sure I'm not the only pregnant woman who has felt this way during her pregnancy, and I don't necessarily think it's bad. It's just the way I felt. But when I came out of the bathroom and told Daniel how I was feeling, he took me back in the bathroom, had me look at myself again and told me, as he gazed straight into my eyes, that I was the most beautiful woman he's ever seen. He gave me a big hug and told me he loved me even more than ever for doing everything I can to make sure our little boy is healthy, including gaining weight properly. That single gesture, and the sincerity in his eyes, made me feel so good that I wondered why I felt unattractive in the first place. There is nothing more uplifting than seeing the genuine love and appreciation in your spouse's eyes during a personally challenging time. It was a priceless moment. And now, whenever I look at the changes my body is going through, I no longer feel fat or unattractive; I feel happy and proud to be the wife of a husband and father-to-be who is so loving and caring toward his family!