You Know You're Pregnant When...

Volume 2.

Here are some of my latest and more entertaining telltale signs that there is a little person inside me growing away!!

You Know You're Pregnant When:

1. You cherish the times when you can settle down after eating to feel every crazy kick and flip your baby does upon receiving all that yummy nutrition.

2. You watch 101 Dalmatians for the first time since you were twelve and sob when Perdita says she's so scared Cruella wants to do something bad to her babies, then again when her babies are born and Roger has to revive little Lucky back to life, and then again when the puppies are stolen and Nanny stands in the middle of the street crying "The puppies! The puppies are gone!"

3. You go on a cheddar cheese bender. Followed up by chugging an entire glass of orange juice.

4. You have a super vivid dream about giving birth to a bright purple teddy bear and when you look to your husband for comfort from the horror, he has suddenly transformed into Jeff Daniels, circa Dumb and Dumber, thus compounding the horror which causes you to wake with a start and double check that your husband is indeed still himself, not some version of Harry the doofus dog groomer.

5. You smile secretly to yourself when the baby is moving and no one else around you could possibly know. It's just a quiet shared moment between the two of you.


General pregnancy updates:

I am 20 weeks along at this point, which makes me so excited to be at the halfway mark already! This pregnancy is definitely going by faster than Gemma's did. I am feeling so healthy. I am grateful that I was able to start this pregnancy about 20 pounds lighter than my pregnancy with Gemma. So far I've only gained 11 pounds, which is right on track!

Even though everyone says that subsequent pregnancies show way earlier and even more than your first pregnancy, that has not been my experience whatsoever. Maybe it's because of the difference in pre-pregnancy weight, but my belly is still so small! The most common thing people say to me who know I'm pregnant or who find out I am  is: "Where's the baby?! You don't look pregnant at all!" Which on the one hand is kinda nice, certainly better than "Sure you're not carrying twins!?? That's one big belly!" buuuut, at the same time, I wanna say "But, but, I am pregnant!! I have a little miracle growing in there! Someone please acknowledge my baby's presence!" I guess the conclusion is the only proper thing so say in regards to a pregnant woman's appearance is "You look beautiful!" Come to think of it, that's probably the best thing to say to any woman, pregnant or not!

Here are some belly shots:

I feel tired every afternoon, which is my low energy point of the day, pregnant or not. I'm so grateful for the days when I'm able to catch a nap with Gemma! I'm experiencing lots of round ligament pains this time around, which is new because I had none whatsoever with Gemma's pregnancy. Definitely having the nasal congestion that comes along with most pregnancies. I had this with Gem, so at least it's one thing I'm used to! Nothing terrible, just annoying sometimes.

It's so exciting to imagine a brand new baby! Hair color, eye color, personality, temperament, everything! At a time when I'm still discovering so much about my little Gem and her amazing, hilarious, entertaining personality, it makes feel so blessed that we're welcoming a whole new, totally unique person into the family. My one prayer is that we get a good sleeper this time around! :)

For all those dying to know the gender - we're still not certain we'll find out ahead of time. Rocky definitely wants to, and I'm on the fence. Of course there's a huge part of me that would love to know, to be able to call the baby "he" or "she" instead of "he or she", to be able to prepare the right colored clothing, etc. But there's another huge part of me that wants to have that special moment at birth of "It's a boy!" or "It's a girl!", to be able to share in one of life's last, true surprises.

Rocky really wants to have a gender reveal party, which I agree would be super fun. These are getting more and more popular I think. So we'd have the ultrasound tech write down the gender on a piece of paper, give it to a friend, and they'll plan a party for us with some sort of "big reveal" moment to show us and all the party guests the baby's gender. The idea scares me a bit though. My main issue here is control. It's like... if I'm going to find out  - I want to find out from the tech. I still don't fully trust this technology, despite major advances... I want to be able to say "Look Cool Tech Person, show me the goods that you're seeing. Show me the boy parts or the girl parts. I want to see this for myself!" I'd be so worried if they just wrote it down on a piece of paper that I'd never feel at peace with it being 100% accurate!

Rocky did say if we find out with this one, he'll be okay with being surprised with any future Rhoades babies! I said "Even if this is another girl?" and he promised, "Even if this is another girl." Sooooo.... we shall see! I haven't scheduled an ultrasound yet, but now is the time to do so.

What do you all think? Did you find out the gender with your babies ahead of time? Why or why not? If you've done both, which experience did you like better? Should we try a gender reveal party?