Baby Dale Bumpdate: Week 20

Week 20 was one of the best weeks yet! Not only did we find out that Baby Dale is healthy and developing as expected, but we also found out the gender!! Unfortunately for you, we still have some family & friends to surprise, so for the time being, any indication of gender from my journal entries has been replaced with blanks or both pronouns in my blog posts. Sorryyyyyy! But just a few more weeks and we will be able to share our news. In the meantime, here is a recap of the wonderful week 20!

Week 20: April 4 – 10

Baby is now the size of: a cantaloupe!
Weight Gain: 0 lb.
Belly Measures: +4 inches

I’m Feeling: over-the-moon happy! Besides the fact that we hit the epic halfway point milestone this week, we also had our 20 week scan, where we found out that Baby Dale is healthy, developing as expected, and A _____!!!
Physical Symptoms: I can proudly say that this is the first week that I have had absolutely NO morning sickness! Wooooo! I am feeling great… and getting BIG! My belly has grown a lot over the past two weeks. I am also starting to experience a little “pregnancy brain” as they call it… I have been losing track of what I am doing in the middle of doing it! Space cadet!
Movement: I have been feeling the baby move a lot this week! At the scan, the ultrasound tech told me I have an anterior placenta, which is why I may not have felt any of those early flutters (just the full on movement and kicks last week). This is because the placenta is positioned in front and acts as a barrier, making it harder for me to feel the subtle early movement. By the end of the week, I could feel the baby moving and kicking a ton throughout the day! So exciting!!
Sleep: slept like log this week. I have been very tired, so even when I have a good night’s sleep, I still want more!
Food Cravings: my appetite has grown over the past few weeks, which is great! Same old citrus cravings… especially OJ!
Anything Making You Queasy or Sick? thankfully, no! It has been a queasy- and sick-free week.
Miss Anything? not even at all… too happy to think of anything but the wonderful things with which we are blessed! :)

Can’t Live Without: once again, technology! It was so incredible to see every little detail, measurement, and movement of our babe. Not only did it make us happy beyond all words, it was also a huge relief to see he/she is developing well.
Best Moment This Week: easy… THE 20 WEEK SCAN! We had been excitedly awaiting this moment for weeks now, so it was very emotional and wonderful when it was finally time. We were inexplicably nervous going in (in a good way!), just because of all of the anticipation we had built up. When we got in the room, the ultrasound tech asked us if we wanted to know the gender. We said YES, and she replied, “Well then let’s go looking for that rump!” The baby was very cooperative, so she found the money shot right away… and there was no mistaking that Baby Dale is a _____! The ultrasound tech spent the rest of the scan showing us every organ, artery, finger, and toe. It was absolutely thrilling… and fascinating. I am so in love with our little one already. I could have stared at him/her all day!
Looking Forward To/Excited About: getting the baby’s nursery going! I have had an eye on Craigslist for some of the vintage finds I have planned in my head, as well as fine tuning the registry as the design becomes clearer. Somehow even just seeing the Moses Basket bassinet in the spare room makes me SOOOO excited for our little babe to get here!

Notes: at our 20 week scan on April 6 (which took place at 20 weeks 2 days), the baby was measuring measuring 20 weeks 6 days, four days ahead. The ultrasound tech said it may move my due date up a couple of days, but nothing significant. The baby was 13 ounces and had a heartbeat of 150 bpm!