Wonderful Surprise!!

When I got home on Wednesday after being in Atlanta for work for a few days, I found a wonderful surprise waiting for me. Gabe had cleaned up and cleared out the nursery and Mimi had painted this beautiful mural on the wall! It is awesome! It really feels more like a nursery now (especially when we get the crib in there).


This week has been exhausting (for the both of us), but well worth it. After volunteering at the Giggles and Grace consignment sale on Wednesday, we were able to shop early on Thursday. And boy did we ever shop!! We ended up purchasing a crib, pack 'n play, swing, play mat, bumbo seat, and a few other odds and ends for next to nothing (compared to what it would normally cost)!

Prenatal Listening System

After eating dinner tonight, Nicholas seemed to be moving around a lot. Gabe suggested we try listening using our baby heart listening system. After not much activity for a few minutes, we finally heard some movement. It was very slight, but we actually heard the heartbeat for the first time (at home).

At one point, I saw the machine move on my belly, so I took it off in hopes that Gabe would finally be able to feel the movement. Again it took a few minutes, but he finally kicked hard enough for him to feel. I'm so excited to share this with him!

The Name Game

We decided that our little one will be called Nicholas Brent. After we initally found out I was pregnant, Gabe teasingly said that he liked the name Nicholas Bryant (as he is a massive Bama fan and would dedicate our child's name to Nick Saban and Bear Bryant). Ironically, I really liked the name. We didn't discuss a lot of different boys names except for Nicholas Bryant or Nicholas Brent and decided that we would wait to focus on a name after the big ultrasound.

Well, after finding out we were having a boy, we didn't discuss names at all. I bugged Gabe several times and he finally said Nicholas Brent. I easily agreed and that was that. I expected the whole process to be more stressful, but it was really quite easy for us. At least this is one thing we can mark off our list.

He's kicking me!

Finally around week 21, I started to feel that "flutter" that everyone has been talking about. At first I dismissed the feeling because I wasn't quite sure if that was it. At this point (almost 23 weeks) I can tell when Tater is moving around. The doctor explained that the placenta is on my outer stomach wall and was blocking me from feeling any movement. I'm just looking forward to when Gabe can feel him moving around.

It's a.....

BOY!!!!!! Needless to say we are extremely excited to break the cycle of girls in both of our families! According to the ultrasound technician, all the baby's measurements look fine, which is good to hear. Our next appointment will actually be with a different doctor as they want me to be introduced to everyone within the group.
Now we can really focus on picking a name and how we want to decorate the nursery. I will probably be addicted to searching boy bedding and toys, etc.
After much anticipation, what an awesome day!

Thought I might try this...

So I am copying a friend of mine who started a blog when she was pregnant. My memory is absolutely horrendous, so my goal is to use this as a diary of sorts and blog what is going on now and after Tater (our nickname for baby) is born. Wednesday, January 7 is the big doctors appointment when we (hopefully) find out if Tater is a boy or girl. I have been told by several people to drink caffiene the morning of, so I might just have to try that. Stay tuned to find out the big news!!