17 WEEK UPDATE

The summer is fllllllying by, and I realized I'm overdue for an update on the blog.  The past few weeks have been filled with a very fun and busy schedule.  I am really enjoying this summer with the twins, your sisters!  They are certainly on the move and keeping me chasing closely behind!  There is nothing like seeing them explore all that the Wisconsin outdoors has to offer!  We've been swimming a lot at the beach and pool, visiting friends, going boating, seeing the animals at the zoo, water play in the driveway with papa, taking many trips to the park where they love the playground, picking flowers, going to the fair, visiting friends and family, chasing bugs, chasing bunnies, chasing butterflies....  A highlight of the summer was having our friends from Scotland come and visit, and we all went on a trip together to St. Germain and took in outdoor fun up north!

I'm often asked how the pregnancy is going and how I'm feeling.  I'm through the morning sickness almost totally now, and my appetite is back with a vengeance!  Common cravings I've had so far include cold glasses of milk, pizza hut, taco salad, olives, breakfast bars, and cookies.   Food aversions I've had include mainly fish, steak, and eggs.

The oddest part of this pregnancy is that I've had a chronic cough and shortness of breath.  After seeing the family doctor, pulmonary specialist, OBGYN, and allergy specialist multiple times, and a middle of the night ER visit, the agreed upon diagnosis is Pregnancy Induced Asthma.  I am on several treatments for it that help a little, but overall it doesn't seem to be leaving anytime soon.  The silver lining of the summer ending this year is that I'm hoping the cooler air may help my breathing and cough!  Otherwise, the pregnancy has been going very well.

Another question I am often asked is if we have any names picked out yet.  Right now, we are currently all over the board with baby names, but when we have it picked out, I'll be sure to share!   And, then it will probably change 15 more times! haha  I gravitate towards very unique names and Corey prefers classic ones, so we are always on the lookout for that combination.  Coralie and Charlize fit the bill last time, and we are both very happy with those names!

We are also often asked the boy or girl question.  We still don't know!  I was hoping to get a guess at the 16 week appt, but my OB had 3 ladies in delivery and one of them needing surgery at that time, so I didn't even ask for an ultrasound.   She did say that the heartbeat was 155, and her broad guess based on that was girl. One day after that appointment, I broke down and took a home test from Walgreens called Intelligender to find out baby's gender! :)  The results are only 85% accurate, and many people get the wrong results (the box even states "for entertainment purposes only"), but I thought it'd be fun to do!  The result came back bright orange, meaning girl (orange means girl, green means boy) - I was pretty shocked since I was initially thinking boy this time!  August 7th, is our next ultrasound, and we will either confirm or disprove the home test, so keep a lookout for that!

Above I posted the last ultrasound picture I have from about 12 weeks old.  I can't wait for a more recent picture!  I also posted the Intelligender test for fun!