Everything Looks Great

I just had my 12 week checkup and everything went well. I've gained .9 lbs this month, so that was wonderful news! I heard the baby's heartbeat and Dr. Coker said it was really strong. That was exciting. The best news of all...I get to find out what I am having at my 16 week checkup, which happens to be the day before Thanksgiving! That's going to make the 'day after Thanksgiving' shopping a complete blast! I can not wait....this is going to be so exciting.

When Will It End....

The morning sickness is starting to ease up. I still get sick about 2-3 times a day, but nothing like it was. But now the tiredness has set in. I thought this was the one thing I was going to skip, but this past week has been awful. I feel so lazy. I sleep in, lay on the couch, take a shower, and then I have to take a nap. My house is in desperate need of a cleaning, but I have no desire to get off the couch. Is this normal?? I have my 12-week check up on Wednesday and I hope Dr. Phillips can give me some advice on how to increase my energy.

Some of you have asked me what my cravings are, and to my disappointment, food in general does nothing for me right now. It's become a chore to eat. And for someone who normally LOVES to eat...this is quite a change. I'm ready for the 'good symptoms' of pregnancy to start kicking in.

Chinese Prediction...

In the past, whenever one of my friends gets pregnant, we always look at the Chinese Calendar to see what they are having. And to my surpise, it has always been accurate for us. So I finally found the Chinese calendar online, thanks to Ashley, and it says....

Baby Branton will be a BOY!!!

So...we'll have to wait a little longer to see how accurate it is. Here's the link to the calendar if anyone wants to take a look.

http://www.thelaboroflove.com/chart/cal.html

Girl or Boy?

Everyone keeps asking me if I want a girl or boy. And it's the strangest thing, because for forever I've always said I wanted a little girl. But now I am not sure. Of course the decision isn't up to me, but I honestly think I will be thrilled either way. When I found out I was pregnant, I immediately started calling the baby "He". I told myself that I was going to go ahead and assume it was a boy, that way I wouldn't get my heart set on a little girl and get disappointed. But as time passes, I am beginning to think a little boy would be so much fun.

My little girl wish most likely stems from my close relationship with my niece Madison. She was the little sister I never had. I dressed her up, put make up on her, painted finger nails and did all that girly stuff. And now that she's almost 10, we're still close. We even call each other each week during "Dancing with the Stars" and talk about the dresses all the girls wear. And now I have another niece, Isabella, who I call Izzie. And now that she is 22 months old, she is quickly becoming a girly girl too! I love it. She prances around in my high heels and gives the sweetest little kisses followed by a hug that just steals my heart! Me, Izzie, and Maddie are going to be 3 trouble makers together...I can already tell!

But then there's my nephew Walker, who I swear has the most tender heart out of everyone. He is all boy. He loves playing video games and lets me play with him, until I start losing. Then he takes away the control and explains if I can't play right, then he's not going to let me play. HA! How funny is that. And he has the biggest vocabulary---everything is beautiful, or exceptional. He is so smart.

So I have been surrounded by these 3 forever, and when I got married, I became an Aunt to Mary Katherine. She's a little explorer...always wanting to know why something happened, or how something happened. She loves My Little Pony, Dora, and all things girly. And she reminds me so much of Frank it is not even funny! She acts like him and I swear she looks like him, although I know she looks just like her mom and dad, I swear I can see Frank in her. After my mom saw her for the first time, she said "I know what your kids will look like." And Frank purposely aggravates her sometimes. I keep telling him to leave her alone b/c Mary Alice is going to pay us back one day. And that day is almost here! And now Baby Will is here. Only 9 weeks old. I am so curious to see if he turns out to be a little hunter like his daddy and Uncle Frank.

So as you can see, I have such a mixture in my family. I thought I wanted a little girl...but now I think I would be happy either way. I just can't wait to meet our little one. I am getting so excited!