Week 17 and 19 Aug 17th- 26th

I had my big ultrasound today and was confirmed that yes, we are having a boy!!! She told us everything looked wonderful. Always great to hear. On Thursday I had my dr appointment and I had only gained 2 lbs this month. Phew! That was nice to see. She checked for the heartbeat and was unable to find it. So... she did a quick ultrasound and she told me that she thought it was a boy but was not sure because some times the cord makes it look like a little boy. I felt at peace. Like this is going to be so perfect. Joseph and Joshua will have a little buddy. How much fun they will have. I wanted to go right out and buy the little guy something but we were headed to Disneyland. I was on cloud nine all day. There is just something so wonderful about feeling connected to the little baby growing inside me and now knowing it's a boy and that we can start calling him by name. After much deliberation we have decided on Jacob. I was not going to have another J name but it just seems so right. We thought we could call him Little J.

Mostly the kids were happy, besides Emma, she cried. She was hoping to have a little sister. I could understand that as I always wanted a little sister. I have gotten a lot of oh that's to bad from my family as Jacob will be the ninth boy in a row born on Ryan's side of the family. My In-laws will now have 14 grandsons and 6 granddaughters and my parents will have 9 grandsons and 3 granddaughters. Boys were just meant to be in our family.

Other news from my dr? She has decided that part of my medical problems (migraines) are due to stress and I get to figure out how to chill out. I understand this and I have made it a matter of prayer and much consideration. I feel as though I need to focus more on the things I am grateful for and as I do this it will become easier to relax. She explained to me that stress combined with hormones is what causes me to get the migraines in the first place and that it usually gets worse as the pregnancy continues. Peace is becoming even more valuable to me.

Also with good news, my due date was changed to Jan 20th which means I will be 19 weeks tomorrow. It is only 5 days sooner but I was excited for the news.

Cravings: chocolate covered bananas, ice cream sandwich

Aversions: The gross lasagna I cooked for dinner tonight (not all recipes are meant to be treated equal)

Symptoms: migraines which includes dizziness, headache, nausea, irritability, trouble sleeping. Lots of big baby movement!!! I love it.

Jacob this week:
Jacons's sensory development is exploding! His brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that he may be able to hear our voice now. Our baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom —about the size of a large heirloom tomato. His arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. Baby J's kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on his scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on his skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.