Month 6

I can't believe that I am already 6 months pregnant! I'm not sure if it's because I am carrying a boy or what, but I have been very blessed during this pregnancy. Aside from the continuous sinus issues, I feel great! This month is the first month that I had strangers asking me when I was due. I'm glad I look pregnant and not fat. :) I have felt Lincoln move around a lot more. He has found my bladder, which has been a fun guessing game of whether or not I need to visit the ladies room. This week, I started feeling when he has the hiccups.

We  had a nice, quiet Christmas. We missed our family but it was nice to relax and start getting ready for our little guy! After cleaning out 1 room and 3 closets, we got rid of 13 bags of trash!! It's been hard to purge, I am Dutch after all, but it's worth it. I know that a baby comes with a lot of stuff. I want to make sure we are as ready as we can be.

Registering

This was an experience. I thought our three hour trip to Target for our wedding registry was long. Boy! Was I wrong! We spent 4 hours in store on Saturday and 4ish hours online on Sunday. But, we are done. 200+ items later. There will be plenty of options for our family.

One of the hardest decisions was choosing a theme. The boy sets aren't as cute. Plus, with my butterfly obsession, a girl nursery is easy to decide. We talked about a Gator theme. Ultimately we decided on a Dr. Seuss theme, Oh the Places You'll Go. We are really excited about it. Since we can't paint the walls, we are thinking of some craft things we can do to decorate.

Month 5

 This month was very exciting! We finally found out what our baby is and.... it's a boy!! I am enjoying the second trimester. I have more energy! I have fewer food aversions. And, I think I am finally over my sinus issues... well, for now. They come and go. I'm glad we know the gender but it has made me want to shop! We bought Lincoln his stocking. I wanted to make sure it matches our other ones. Then, we were at the cutest baby boutique in town (and owned by a fellow Gator) and I bought a cute little Gator backpack. Lincoln had to have it!

It's a ....

BOY!! We found out our little one's gender today! It was very exciting and it's nice to refer to our baby as something other than "it". We are naming our little guy Lincoln Dutch. Our name actually has a lot of meaning and it's different! Lincoln is after a very special guy to us, Sam. He has been there for both of us, especially Brad. We hope our little guy is half the man that Sam is. Dutch comes from a few different people: my grandpa (on dad's side) was called Dutch. Plus, my grandpa (on my mom's side) used to call me Dutch when I was little.

Everything looked great on the ultrasound. Lincoln was very active so it took a while to figure out if had boy parts or not. He was moving his legs and arms around like crazy. I am a little worried that he's going to be an active dude. Either way, he will be perfect. I am also measuring 4 days ahead of schedule. I will post a picture later this weekend.

Charity Ball

Every year Junior League's main fundraiser is our Charity Ball. This year's theme was "Once upon a time" and the decorations were beautiful! My friend Lauren and I decided we were going to go before we found out or even planned on getting pregnant. Little did we know that both of us would be pregnant. The challenge was finding a dress that had "room to grow" since it will also be my Christmas party dress. Luckily, I made out like a bandit at David's bridal! 

My committee members: Jamie, Lauren, and me!

We put a frame around our baby bumps!

We had a lot of fun in the photo booth. Melanie sat at our table and she is also pregnant. So, here is a 'Knocked Up" picture! :) 

Ball was a lot of fun. I thought going to ball would be more fun than buying a raffle ticket. Plus, I already won some diamond earrings from buying a raffle ticket so I thought I would give someone else a chance. 

Month 4

This week we hit the 4 month mark. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going already! In a few short weeks we will know if Shumlet is a boy or girl. :)

I had an appointment last week and I have gained 11 pounds so far. Not too shabby. It is really hard to be "okay" with gaining weight, but I know that my job is to worry about growing our precious baby and not losing weight. That will come later.

Second trimester has treated me well. I have had more energy! I actually feel human again! I have started to feel Shumlet moving around. Nothing major, but I keep feeling some little flutters every few days. I can't wait until I can feel Shumlet kicking me. I say that now... :)

Thank you for the continued prayers/thoughts for a healthy pregnancy and baby!

Weekend fun

I say fun but that isn't the best way to describe it. Itchy would be more appropriate. I started with a small patch of hives on my elbow Saturday morning. This morning I woke up and they are everywhere!!! The only thing in my diet that changed is I had a diet coke at the movies Friday and coffee yesterday. I haven't had caffeine since I found out I was pregnant. I wonder if my body is rejecting it. I have been taking benedryl but it is not helping much. I think it could also be hormones. Either way, I hope they go away soon!