Sweetest Gift of All

Baby Branton moved!!! I was so excited I could barely contain myself. Saturday night I was laying on the couch half asleep when I felt something 'thump' me. At first I woke up thinking Frank did it, but I was by myself. And it thumped my stomach again, almost as if to say "Mom, it's me...I'm down here!" I was so excited and I couldn't wait for Frank to get home so I could tell him.

Now he is moving and squirming all day long. I can be in a complete daze and I will feel him move and it reminds me that I have a sweet little baby inside of me. It may be strange, but some mornings I would wake up and forget that I was pregnant because the only evidence was a growing belly. But now I feel pregnant.

So Baby Branton gave his momma the sweetest gift of all for Christmas!! Now I can't wait to meet my little man.

I'll post pictures of my growing belly and Christmas in a few days, but I couldn't wait to share my exciting news!!!

Great Check Up

I had my 20 week check up today and everything is looking great. The baby's heartbeat was 157, so we've got a strong little guy in there. I still haven't felt him move, but my doctor said that should happen any day now. Probablly next week while I am in Disney World.

I promise I will post pictures next week so everyone can see my growing my belly. It's starting to really stick out there. I've only gained 2lbs. since my last check-up, but my doctor told me it's all baby. And from here on out, he said I will probably begin gaining 1 pound per week. So I should probablly go ahead and wave bye-bye to my feet, b/c after this month, I won't be seeing them for a while :-)

It's A...

It's A BOY!!!!!

Frank is bouncing off the walls with excitement. He's already talking about tee-ball teams, boy scouts, and hunting. It cracks me up just listening to him. The baby got his first camouflage outfit from my sister-in-law Crystal, and Frank just beamed when I showed it to him. I think he would do the entire nursery in camo if I let him. Crystal also picked up a lion costume for him---and what ADPi would not LOVE this. Frank on the other hand was not thrilled. He said he needed to be something more "manly---like a deer or something." Now let me remind every one that our little boy will only be 6 months next Halloween...but his daddy already wants him to be a man. HA! How funny is that.

I on the other hand am thrilled about having a momma's boy. I can't wait to cuddle up with him. It's hard to believe that at this time next year, I will be a mommy. (Kind of scary too.)

And I am so excited too about our good friends Brent and DeAnn having a little boy as well. DeAnn is about 2 weeks ahead of me, so our baby will have a best bud from day 1. And it seems like so many of our friends have little boys, that Frank will have no problem recruiting for his tee-ball team!

Who Shrunk My Clothes?

Well this is the first week I can actually say my pants are snug. To be completely honest, I'm actually sitting at my desk with my pants unbuttoned. It's really hit all of a sudden. Last week my clothes fit fine. I choose to believe that Frank accidentally dried my jeans and they shrank. But deep down inside I know the truth...baby butterbean is growing strong. And it only gets bigger from here!

The all day sickness is easing off. Now I only get sick in the mornings, which is extremely nice. I still don't have much of an appetite. I do however love sweets right now. I made funfetti cupcakes for Halloween....they lasted a day. I had no self control. Although I did have some help since Frank couldn't let me eat alone. I actually had cupcakes for supper! How sad is that. Hmmmm....maybe that's why my clothes are snug today......

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