It's....a.... GIRL!!!

WOOT WOOT!!! Bryant and I are SO happy! Both of us felt like we were having a girl and wanted one :) The only problem was that I couldn't tell whether the reason I felt like I was having a girl was because I actually was or because I wanted one so badly that I made myself believe that I was... haha. Regardless, we are ecstatic! Bryant knows he will totally spoil her and that he will be wrapped around her tiny little finger from the day she is born. Actually, I'm pretty sure he already IS wrapped around her finger!  :) She's gonna love her sweet daddy.

So, my actual anatomy ultra-sound with my OB/GYN is not until after Christmas when I am 20 weeks along. However, we are doing the NuMom2B study with Intermountain Regional Hospital, a study that follows first time moms throughout their pregnancy in the hopes of catching some nuances that help indicate early on whether you will have a high-risk pregnancy or not (and yes, I did have to google how to properly spell "nuances" :) ). So we had our appointment with that study last night at 7:30 pm, and since I was 17 weeks they asked if we would like them to tell us the gender :) Um, HECK YA! Personally, I have no idea how my parents waited until we were born to know what gender we were! We were DYING to find out! Yesterday was one of the longest days of my life!!

I stayed home yesterday morning as Bryant studied on campus and took his OChem Lab Final (rough stuff!). I thoroughly enjoyed my lazy morning (except for the constant counting down until 7:30 part!) I watched some good ol' Gilmore Girls and ate some breakfast and didn't shower until 11 :) Then Bryant came home to take a nap and study for his last final, and my great friend Kelsie came over to hang out with/entertain me! We talked and, of course, spent most of our time around the piano playing and singing together :) That's what we did all Freshman year and I miss it!

We then headed to campus for Bryant to take his last final, Infectious Disease, at 3pm. I ran some errands around campus and looked up a movie for us to go see. He finished at 4:15, just in time for us to hit the 4:20 showing of Wreck It Ralph! It was AWESOME! I love going to see fun, clean, clever, humorous movies like this one! Especially with Bryant who, since we were both feeling super relaxed and FREE now that this semester it over, laughs SO HARD at the funny jokes. Like, we are talking deep, hearty belly laughs :) It is wonderful. I love his laugh! I am totally buying him that movie when it comes out. He absolutely loved it. We then went to Wingers for dinner, since I have been craving Chicken Wings for a few weeks now! I was disappointed though. They tasted good and Bryant really liked them, but I am a "bone-in wing" kinda girl. It seems like the last few times I have tried to fulfill my wings craving, the end up being fried bone-less wings! So, basically chicken fingers doused in sauce. It just isn't the same! If I wanted Chicken Fingers, I would order Chicken Fingers. Boo :( I'm missing my favorite Baumhauer's Jamaican Jerk wings in Huntsville!! The good ol' messy kind. Delish.

FINALLY it was 7:15!!!! We headed over to our appointment! I was SO NERVOUS!!! My teeth were chattering and I was bouncing in my seat just dying! It didn't help that I had to go to the bathroom SO BAD! But I knew that I couldn't yet because they would need to do a urine test as part of the study. I seriously nearly peed my pants, both from drinking 4 tall glasses of water at dinner and from being so nervous/excited!

We got there and after waiting in the lobby for five minutes, one of the nurses came out and told us that they were running about 15 minutes late because only a half hour before they all had to evacuate because a toaster set fire on the floor above them! That would explain the smoky smell in the hall way. I kindly told her that that was just fine, except I really REALLY had to go potty, so could I please do the urine sample now? :) haha she laughed at me and said to come on back! Apparently they deal with this often-- I guess full, itsy bitsy bladders are common with pregnant women ;) So we got all that joyousness taken care of, filed out some questionnaires, then headed in for our ultrasound!

The ultrasound tech is super nice and funny. I like her :) And they warm up the gel first so it feels all good and warm when the squeeze it on your belly :) She very easily found our little one! We smiled SO BIG because our baby was SO BIG! Last time (she) was almost 2 inches long, but now she said she was about 6 inches long! We could really tell the difference on the ultrasound screen! so they took several pictures and she showed us our precious one while taking measurements of the head, abdomen, crown to rump, femur, all sorts of stuff. It is really cool because since baby is just now beginning to develop fat, she is literally just skin and bones. So, we could see through her skin and see all of her bones! It was so neat! She would move and we would get a perfect skeletal view of her spine and rib cage. We saw her skull bones forming and her sart little brain inside :) It was great. She then measured the heart beat which was about 150 bpm :) She told us that our baby weighed a good 6-7ish ounces and was right on target and looked healthy! They did a couple more things for their study documentation, all while trying to catch a glimpse of our baby's private parts ;)

Only, Baby Giles was no cooperating! The umbilical cord was between the baby's legs so it was impossible to get a good look! We wiggled and jiggled my belly around trying to reposition baby, but to no avail. I was getting nervous that we wouldn't be able to get an answer today! Luckily, for the study they do both an abdominal and a vaginal ultrasound. So, we switched to the vaginal ultrasound hoping to get a better look :) And HIP HIP HOORAY!!!! Bryant was the first to spot Baby Giles' lady parts haha and then the ultrasound tech proudly pointed to the screen and said "Do you see those two white lines? You've got yourself a baby girl!" YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!! We kissed and happily shouted out joyful hoorahs! She handed us all of our pictures and congratulated us :) I got dressed, they got my weight, and then we headed out :) We told all of our family and some friends and it was wonderful :)

Then, of course, we went to Babies R Us for the last 15 minutes until they closed and looked at cute baby girl clothes :) We are so excited! We didn't end up buying anything just yet, but it was fun :) Then we went to Cold Stone and shared a small Sweet Cream and Raspberries ice cream, sweet and pink in celebration of our precious baby girl :):):)

I seriously cannot stop thinking about her! She is just so CUTE!!! I cannot wait to be a mommy :)

17 weeks! And wearing my new favorite color.... PINK! :)

Bryant making fun of my belts ;)

Our bellies :) Mine is finally growing!

He is one HAPPY daddy!! :):) He told me I would always be his #1 girl though <3

She was waving to us again :)

IT'S A GIRL!!!

YAYAYAYAYAYAY!

You can see the bones in her leg :)

SO BIG! and precious :):) <3

Gulping some delicious amniotic fluid... haha what a cutie :) Look at the furrowed brow and cute button nose!

Little toes :)

Wearing pink because it's a girl!! We sent this pic to our family to share the exciting news :)

 Well, that's about all for now! I will end this long post with some weekly pregnancy facts :)

How far along? 17 weeks!
Total weight gain/loss: gained 3-3.5 lbs
Maternity clothes? Just wearing my stretchy belly band so that I can keep my jeans unbuttoned/unzipped for my little growing belly!
Stretch marks? Nope!
Sleep: Still pretty tired all the time, but I have been sleeping better, thanks to Bryant! He is a genius and suggested that I use our body pillow to support my belly and to put between my knees, as I am trying to learn how to sleep on my side instead of my belly and back. And now my back doesn't wake up really hurting and I can sleep better! Thanks babe :)
Best moment this week: Finishing school, spending a lot of relaxing and fun time with Bryant, and of course seeing our baby GIRL!
Miss Anything? Chips and salsa, astringent for my face :(
Movement: I don't think so yet
Food cravings: REAL, messy chicken wings! And really anything salty. And milk.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Still onions!
Have you started to show yet: I think so :)
Gender: GIRLLLLLL!!!!
Labor Signs: Nope.
Belly Button in or out? In!
Wedding rings on or off? On!
Happy or Moody most of the time: Usually happy :)
Looking forward to: Going home for 3 weeks to spend Christmas with my family!! I haven't been home in almost a year and a half, and I miss it! We fly home Monday evening!!