{Baby Davis} Week 18 ~ Cast Your Vote!

Not your political vote, although yes, please do that too. Cast your vote on the gender of Baby Davis! What do you think? Boy or Girl? We find out in two days- on Election Day. I feel like I'm nine years old again, two days before Christmas with presents under the tree, not knowing what's inside but bursting to find out!

Date:: April 2, 2013

How far along:: 18 weeks // 4 months 2 week

Gender:: Unknown- but soon! Oh, so soon. Two days away!

Movement:: I know this little Lima bean is moving because I've watched him/her! Hopefully he/she will be big enough for me to feel in a few weeks.

Symptoms::
~ My clothes are getting smaller and my belly button is getting rounder. Won't be long before I have an outie.
~ I've started to have a twinge of lower back pain. I can't figure out if it's from the extra weight in my tummy or from the way I've been sleeping. I'm usually a stomach sleeper, but I've been trying to sleep on my side or back lately due to Baby. Hopefully I can soon find a comfortable position that works for both of us.

Craving::
~ Nothing crazy. Still milk.

Looking Forward To::
~ The ultrasound that reveals the gender of Baby! The past two mornings (it's been the weekend, mind you) I've woken up at 5:30 and haven't been able to go back to sleep. I just have so much on my mind and so much anticipation built up inside! The first morning I lay there for another hour thinking I would drift off. Nope. This morning I went ahead and got up to spend some time writing in my pregnancy journal, then I ended up browsing the Internet for baby stuff before getting ready for church. It was a wonderful morning!
~ Still waiting to feel those dance moves :) It should be getting very close.

Fun Baby Fact::
~ Baby is (supposedly) as long as a mango.


Weekly Development::
~ According to the apps on my phone and my pregnancy book, all it takes is one look between the legs of Baby to see if it's a boy or a girl. It's a for-sure thing!
~ If Baby D is a girl, she already has about 6 million egg cells in her ovaries. By the time she is born she will have only about 1 million left- all she will ever produce in her lifetime.

Emotions::
~ I'm still very happy. I told Michael today that this fall has been the prettiest since the fall we met & started dating. That will always be such a thrilling and unforgettable time for me to look back on. This year I am feeling many of the same feelings of elation and anticipation that I felt then. Maybe the happier I am, the prettier the season!
~ Increasing fondness for Baby; I believe last week I used the word smitten, and that still seems to fit.

Best Moment of the Week::
~ Working with Michael on gender reveal plans & daydreaming together about Baby.




A couple more weekly updates. I bought a belly band today. Make that two belly bands. I now have only one pair of pants that I can zip and button, so this has now become a necessity (considering paneled maternity pants are horrid). I'm going to last as long as I can with my regular pants and the belly band, and resort to leggings, tights, and yoga pants toward the end of my pregnancy (hopefully). I have heard, though, that Heidi Klum's brand of maternity jeans is a good investment. I may look into those a little later on.

Already tried them on-- lifesaver!

Here's a sneak peek at some goodies that will be at the gender reveal!

Finally I just had to post this collage of snapshots I took from my parents' home today. We went for lunch after church and had the most marvelous time. Going back to my childhood home to spend quality time with Mom and Dad always makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Hasn't Mom done a fantastic job of decorating for the Harvest season?!

Spending time with my parents and sister while being pregnant today really made me think about generational blessings. Michael and I are convinced that we are living the blessings from our parents and grandparents. We desperately want to leave that type of legacy for our own children and grandchildren, to intentionally live in a way that blesses them for generations to come. We have added this to our daily prayer time about Baby.

"See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may BLESS you in the land where you are entering to possess it. But if your heart turns away and you do not obey, but are drawn away to worship and serve other gods, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So CHOOSE LIFE in order that you may live, you AND your descendants by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for THIS is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

Deuteronomy 30:15-20