And we're having a...

BOY!!!! B-Dawg is now being called Michael Joseph Hodge or "Joey". He looked really good (to our untrained eyes!). His heart beat was 144 bpm which is really good...it's supposed to be between 120-180 bpm. He weighs 14 ounces right now. We both thought that was really good until I got home and read my pregnancy book and they said that the baby should weigh 14 ounces at week 22...we're at week 20! hahaha! You go boy! We have our next doctor's appointment next week and the doctor will officially go over the ultrasound with us. I've posted some of the photos they took of Joey on Monday morning.

This is a profile of Joey's face. The little blob that is floating in the black part is his fist.

Another profile pic of Joey.

These are the legs!

This is a foot!

Arm!

The technician forget to take a photo of the kidneys so I had to go back into Radiology later in the day to get a couple more pictures taken. Luckily, she took this 3D one the second time around. This is Joey's face, arm, and hand! How cool is this?!?! I'm amazed that we have this kind of technology now!

We had a list going of who thought B-Dawg would be a boy or a girl. Michael, of course, wanted a boy. I really didn't care and have always wanted a boy, but for some reason during the past few weeks, I've been wanting a girl and was really hung up on coming up with a girl's name. All of that made me think that maybe B-Dawg was a girl. I was obviously wrong! When we found out it was a boy, you should have seen Michael's face light up. He was grinning ear to ear all day long! He said that it wasn't because B-Dawg was a boy, but because he was right...that sounds like him! heeeheeee :)

One of our friends up here in AK, Amy, hosted a "Sex" dinner for us the night we found that B-Dawg was a Joey! If it was a boy, we had hot dogs to eat and if it was a girl we were to have hamburgers. Everyone was also to wear either pink or blue depending if they thought it was a girl or boy. Amy even called Michael and me the day before the ultrasound to find out our thoughts so we couldn't cheat. Even though I knew B-Dawg was a boy, I still had to wear pink.

Team Pink!!

Team Blue! I think Michael paid all of these people to wear blue. The boy list was was originally pretty short and most people thought that it was going to be a girl. Hmmm, was it just a coincidence that so many people wore blue this day?!?! Interesting.

The happy future parents! This was such a great day! Thank you for the party, Amy!

Piss and Vinegar...

So everyone jokes about how women are so moody, especially pregnant ladies. Well, that statement is no joke! I would have to say that I'm not moody...I have really only been experiencing one mood and that is pissiness! I get pissed off at everything and everyone! Even the smallest things are driving me crazy. At first, I was taking my pissiness out on Michael. However, with the holidays happening and all kinds of people drama going on around us, my pissiness has now been directed other ways! Michael has been super grateful for these new sources! :) I am trying to bite my tongue and just breathe through these situations because I really don't want to lose all of my friends. If any of my friends are reading this and have experienced or will experience my mood, I apologize for the past, present, and most likely future. I am trying to rope in this bull of a mood that I've got going on!


Speaking of being pissy...my fat rolls are still mortal enemies! There is still a seperation in the sea of fat. No ONE big belly yet. This picture was taken at 20 weeks 2 days.

Oh memory, memory, where art thou?

Dear Memory,

What happened? What did I do to make you leave me? I miss you so very much and am having a very hard time living without you these days. Are you mad that I have something growing inside of me? We can all compromise and live in my body and mind at the same time. I know that I was already scatterbrained before I became pregnant, but now, I feel like a raving lunatic. I repeat stories 10-20 times...to the same person! I leave my phone, wallet, ski boots (when I'm on my way to go skiing), and all kinds of other things when I leave the house.

I try to make lists, but then I forget to look at my list when I'm at the store. Is this your way to make me exercise more? I will walk into a store, look around, decide I don't need anything, and then leave. Once I'm on the completely other end of the mall or plaza, I suddenly remember "oh crap, I was supposed to pick up so and so"!

Please don't wait until late May until we are reunited again. I miss you!

Love,
Sara

It's ALIVE!!

We finally felt B-Dawg kick this weekend!!! :) Michael and I were laying in our bed Saturday morning and he had his arm stretched out across my lower abdomen. Then I felt this little "push" from the inside...twice. I asked Michael if he felt that and he said yes! We both got to feel B-Dawg at the same time! Whoop whoop! So crazy! I think I felt B-Dawg again yesterday when Riesling was laying in my lap. I think B-Dawg likes to have pressure on it and that's when it kicks/punches. Or it's telling whatever is on it, to MOVE! That is it's space! haha! You go boy/girl! Don't let anyone ever push you down! :)

This is me at week 19 and 1 day! If you can notice, I still have two fat bellies that are being pushed out farther and farther. I'm really ready for the sea of fat to stop being apart and become one! (I just got out of bed right before we took this picture, so please excuse my unclean, not fresh appearance!)

Baby Gifts!

Well, I finally moved all of our random stuff out of B-Dawg's bedroom yesterday! Now we can start working on B-Dawg's room! Whoop whoop!

We've actually already received several gifts for B-Dawg already! I have taken photos of some of the items.


The NC State is from Becca and Mike! They also got me two X-Large t-shirts to wear near the end of this pregnancy! Whoop whoop! The teddy bear blanket is from my Uncle Ted and Aunt Sandra. They had this made for B-Dawg. The teddy bears are supposed to be sending bear hugs to B-Dawg! Awwwwww! Thanks, T-Dawg! ;)



This little polar bear outfit is from John and Stephanie. Very appropriate for Alaska, right? The Dr. Seuss book is from Charlie and Carolina. I'm glad they are already thinking about our child's education!



When Michael was in San Diego at the Marine Corps Depot, he couldn't resist buying these little items for B-Dawg! We saw a baby at the Portland Ball wearing the little Dress Blues bib! We both wanted to get that! Michael also saw the little MC burping clothes! They are season appropriate...the light tan is for the summer and the green is for the winter! Perfect!



The Snoopy pillow was made by my Mom when I was born and the blanket was made by Michael's Aunt MiMi when he was born! They will both be set up in B-Dawg's room! :) I bought this bib for Michael when he was having a bad day. It definitely cheered him up! :)

Yay for rotten teeth!

Not sure if you know that when you're pregnant, your teeth can go all to hell! I did not know this before I got pregnant. When I took my OB orientation, the doc told us to make sure to take extra good care of our teeth because they can rot easier when you're pregnant! What?!?! Your digestive system slows down when you're pregnant, and just in case you forgot this tidbit of information from elementary school (like I did), the digestive process starts in your mouth! Therefore, bacteria has a much better and faster chance of building up in your mouth because your normal bodily defenses against gingivitis are on hiatus! Damn! They actually have a term called "pregnancy gingivitis"!!! I have military insurance which is usually pretty good, but also very strict with the amount of visits you can go to certain doctors. However, they believe in preventative maintenance so much, that they allow pregnant ladies to get 3 cleanings the year they are pregnant versus the normal two!

I'm not the most avid flosser and I know my mouth is usually in a lot of pain when I leave the dentist at my normal 6-month check-ups, so I decided to use this extra cleaning. Plus, you'd think our sink was painted red (instead of white) due to all of the blood that is coming out of my mouth after brushing and flossing everyday! I actually ran out of floss yesterday! That never has happened to me...ever!! That should tell you how much I am taking this dental advice to heart right now! I do not want to have photos taken of B-Dawg, Michael, and me-no tooth Mama!

I had my extra cleaning appointment this morning. I even braved a freaking blizzard in my Prius to go get my mouth taken care of. Good thing I went because the hygienist told me that I have a really bad case of pregnancy gingivitis. Damn, damn, damn. I love being pregnant. I will be going back in 4 months for another cleaning. Signing off, Please-God-Don't-Let-Me-Become-No-Tooth-Mama

We HEARD a kick...

We had another doctor's appointment yesterday. Everything is doing wonderfully! My uterus measured 18 cm=18 weeks (we're 18 weeks 3 days)! B-Dawg's heartbeat was 145-146 bpm (really good)! As we were listening for the heart, B-Dawg kicked! I didn't feel it, but we heard it! hahaha! I'm also doing really well with my weight gain! Not too much, not too little!

The doc also reviewed my the blood work I had gotten done last appointment. Everything came back negative! whoop whoop!! There are no markers for Down's Syndrome, an open spine, Trisomy 18, etc! Great news!

We also discussed my activities. The doc said NO to volleyball, a boot camp workout class, cross counry skiing with a lot of downhills, and sit-ups. She also told me that I should not be shoveling snow! Normally, I would be happy about all of this "hell no" to exercise or work mentality, but I'm getting frustrated again. I hate not being able to do things! It drives me crazy! Michael works such long hours that he doesn't have time to shovel the driveway. So of course, I want to do it so he doesn't have to. I want to be able to participate in all of those physical activities because that's what my friends are all doing. I'm not hanging out with couch potatoes at all and if I want to see them we have to be doing active stuff! Maybe I can get them into swimming?!?! A baby causing another life change? Welcome to the rest of my life, right?

I went cross country skiing after my doctor's appointment yesterday and was so nervous and paranoid about what the doc said that I fell 5 times! Luckily, it was when I was trying to go uphill so I didn't fall hard or fast...I just fell. But I was getting super frustrated. I may just have to start going to extremely flat terrains to ski!

I had to go buy some more maternity clothes last night, as well. I have a job interview today and none of my dress clothes fit anymore! Luckily, since I haven't been working, I've been able to live in my hooded sweatshirts and jeans. I don't think that attire would go over so well in an office! haha! I really don't like buying maternity clothes since I don't have the big round belly yet. However, I went to Kohl's and it seems that the sweater styles for the season actually look a lot like maternity clothes! Go figure! So I just bought some large sweaters and that made me feel a little more normal. On a good note, the doctor said by the end of this month, by uterus will be above my belly button and I should then have one big belly versus my two fat rolls! Hallelujah! :)