Week 25 was amazing for two big reasons: the giraffe and the movement.
First, the giraffe. The long story is here. And when that little rocking giraffe arrived at our apartment in Brian’s arms, I thought I was going to melt into a puddle of joy. No idea how I will handle the emotions of meeting this baby in a few months. There have been many wonderful, joyfully emotional moments throughout this pregnancy so far, but seeing that giraffe show up at my door was definitely one of the best.
LOOK AT THE LITTLE GIRAFFE!!! Ellie is…undecided.Then, on Wednesday night, Brian and I saw the baby moving and kicking! I was in bed and the baby was kicking a lot, and I randomly pulled my shirt up to see my stomach, which I had never done. And I could see it! Brian came in and we were both just watching and laughing as the baby bopped around in there. And I yelled things to the baby like, “What are you doing in there?! Are you comfortable?! Are you relaxed? Are you having fun?! Do you have enough room to grow?! Do you wish your dad would stop poking you to try and get you to move?!”
So watching my stomach move is my new favorite thing. And the giraffe.
Anyway, I’m officially six months pregnant and am creeping right up on the third trimester! Crazy! Here’s what else went down this week…
My hair looked extra good this week, as you can see.BABY IS THE SIZE OF A…
rutabaga. Hahahaha what does a rutabaga look like?! Other options: head of cauliflower, acorn squash, “large banana split sundae.”
HOW I’M FEELING
Good! Back pain is gone, stomach is still a mess, but otherwise I feel good. And maybe a little emotional? I used to think pregnancy hormones were totally over-hyped, which is easy to say when you have never experienced them. But on Sunday night, I got into bed and burst into tears. And then I started laughing at the fact that I was crying. I felt like an insane person, laughing and sobbing at the same time, both completely unjustified.
Not our strongest family photo. But doesn’t it look like Brian is wearing a super cute strapless watermelon dress?! (It’s my towel.)WHAT I’M EATING
Too much sugar. I KNOW, I was supposed to stop doing that. (I have my glucose test this Friday. Odds of me passing? I feel like they are slim, if we’re being honest, and I’m a little nervous.)
And not chicken sausage for a while. I don’t know what happened! I love chicken sausage, I make it all the time, and last week, bam, I made it and couldn’t even look at it. The smell, the texture, everything about it made me feel ill. Ellie really lucked out that day…
ON THE WORKOUT FRONT
Nothing exciting to report here. I didn’t run at all outside last week. I did zero physical activity all weekend while we were in the Berkshires with my family. I am missing my outdoor runs, but my stomach really sucks the most in the morning, and then it’s been too hot to run outside during the day. And let’s be honest, by nighttime, I am lazy and tired and it’s not going to happen. Hopefully soon, though!
Does going to a “Dog Dance” class count as exercise? THEN YEAH I WORKED OUT HARD.WHAT I’M WEARING
These pajamas. And my bathrobe.
WHAT I’M READING
Nada. Busy week!
HOW I’M SLEEPING
Fine. I fall asleep pretty quickly because I’m so tired by bedtime. I toss and turn a bit, and often wake up to use the bathroom at some point, but it’s not a big deal.
WHAT I’M WONDERING
What our baby GIRL is going to look like and be like!
Surprise!I know, I know, I know! We were planning and hoping to be surprised, and weren’t intending to find out the baby’s sex until we met him or her in person. But curveball — we totally accidentally found out.
During the first trimester, Brian and I did all that genetic testing that determines (or at least tries to) whether the baby might have any possible diseases we should know about, and to find out if Brian or I are carriers for any diseases that might be concerning. (We’re not!) We said we didn’t want to know the baby’s sex, so when we got the results, that section was blacked out…on the first page.
We got the full results (all, like, 18 pages of them), and I was reading through them one night, and somewhere around page 16 was a column that said “fetus gender” (shouldn’t it say “fetus sex?!”) and I couldn’t un-see it.
I told Brian to look and he said, “Wait! Do something cool!” Pressure!
It’s a girl!It was a Sunday night, so I ran out to Party City (in my pajamas), bought a disco ball piñata and a bunch of pink candy (cheesy, predictable, all those things, I know), and then told him to go to town with a broomstick. (Pro tip: Don’t hang a really heavy piñata from a really unstable chandelier, and then don’t smack it with a broom. Repeatedly.) He eventually busted the disco ball open, saw the candy, screamed, “We’re having a girl?!” and we hugged and kissed and are very excited.
Ellie, again, not super impressed with the festivities.The few people we told all asked the same thing: Are you disappointed you found out? And I totally get that, but we’re really not disappointed at all. How could we be? Yeah, we won’t get the big surprise in the delivery room, but I think that day will be pretty special anyway!
I definitely thought it was a boy, so here it is, in writing, on the internet: I was wrong! My maternal instincts are bad! Brian had guessed girl, so he was right.
I love this picture.We haven’t been able to confirm the results on an ultrasound because baby’s legs have been crossed at the last two, but our next appointment is this Friday, so maybe we’ll get additional confirmation then.
It’s a girl! So crazy!
(I’m playing it cool because I truly would’ve been pumped either way — but baby girl!!! I am completely psyched. SHOULD WE NAME HER ELLIE JR.?!)
More Baby on the Run:
16 Responses
You might be the cutest human on the planet. And the best writer. And podcaster. And now there’s going to be a mini Ali!!!
Congrats! We have two girls and they are so much fun (my boy is too of course, lol). Before I was pregnant with our first, I wanted it to be a surprise also. IT took my husband all of three minutes to convince me otherwise once pregnancy was confirmed. I really liked finding out though, because baby had an identity other than he/she or it. We picked out the names right away (and I was right about the genders of ALL THREE!) and called baby by name right away. We shared the name of the first two and tried to keep the third a secret, but family circumstances prompted us to share with just family. It was fun to keep the name a secret for others though!
Long time reader, but I have never commented — BUT GIRL!! Congrats!! I have 3 daughters — my poor husband. I really enjoy reading your blog.
Congrats!! Girls are so fun. What a fun and unique way to find out. Your family and friends will have so much fun shopping for her. I was firmly “no pink” until my daughter was about a week old. Pale pink is the color she looks best in… so… lost that one.
Congrats! So fun – I always stare at the baby girl clothes with envy lol and baby girl names seem so much easier to pick! Ellie is going to love her baby girl! We didn’t find out the sex for my son and I ended up needing a c-section and the anesthesiologist very casually said, ‘Baby’s out, its a boy’ not knowing we didn’t know! We were like IT’S A BOY!!! and he backtracked and said, ‘it’s a boy!!’ very enthusiastically lol
Long time reader, but I have never commented — BUT GIRL!! Congrats!! I have 3 daughters — my poor husband. I really enjoy reading your blog.
The delivery room will still be full of surprises! Baby girls are so much fun! And by the way right now old navy has some SUPER cute baby girl clothes with giraffes!
Congrats! So exciting! I personally loved knowing the gender (yes yes, trying to avoid work computer mod!) because it made it so much more real to me.
Congrats! What about a “play” on Mawness- since it means love, of course.
Esme, means beloved and Amara means lovely- or something along those lines.
I like old fashioned girls names that can be shortened. Funny enough I like Eleanor with the nickname Ellie.
Haha I love that. (And fun fact: It’s not her name, but we call Ellie “Eleanor” when she’s being naughty!)
Yeah for a girl! Girls rock!!!
Congrats!!! How exciting 🙂
Hahahha. I can’t stop laughing at how Brian is now outnumbered 3:1. hahahaha so good.
I’ve been thinking about getting similar genetic testing but the options are so confusing, there see to be so many labs that offer slightly different tests. Can I ask who you went with or at least how you decided and how much you got tested for? 18 pages sounds comprehensive!
So outnumbered — and I love it! We did three different of the noninvasive tests: the Panorama (that’s the one that can tell you the sex — the one where I accidentally saw the results!), the Vistara (both through a company called Natera, which my midwife’s office uses), and then Brian and I both did the DNA testing. Basically, we did the three the midwife suggested, and they did all the bloodwork in their office and sent it off to the lab. They made it very easy for us, which was really nice.
Congratulations!! I’m a long time reader and avid podcast listener. I didn’t want to find out the sex when I was pregnant, but my husband did. So we did. Now on the eve of my son’s 3rd Birthday that there are SO MANY SURPRISES along the way ?? Enjoy this special time! Also love your pink shoes, are those hokas? Thinking of you as I type this comment on my phone, which I also hate doing!
Yes, HOKA Cliftons, and I love them!