Ever since Sunday after church, I have had a lot of pain. I don't know if it is round ligament or sciatic but either way it makes walking quite a chore. I have found sitting in chairs for long periods of time aggravates it. It is like I hit 22 wks and all hell broke loose on my body :p

Tonight I read the blurb for 22 wks and watched the video with the boys. When I showed them a visual of what 11 inches looked like, Jared asked me why I wasn't fat yet. I laughed and said I am! But he insisted I am not. That is nice. I've been looking at the pics I've been taking since week 16 and there is definitely a difference - especially this last week.

While I was laying down on Jared's bed reading, baby started moving around enough that I could feel him so I had Jared put his hand there too. Baby bumped him twice but Jared couldn't distinguish it from my breathing. Soon he will though I am sure. Baby is getting bigger and stronger. I can feel his movements pretty regularly on the outside now.

By the time church was over today I was having a really hard time walking. I am not sure if it was the positions I was standing in or the shoes I was wearing or what. But I have enjoyed laying down immensely today b/c it meant being pain-free. I hope this isn't going to be a regular occurrence b/c it is pretty miserable to feel like your leg is going to give out from under you.

Yesterday was the first time I tried to wear my maternity pants without a belly band. They stayed up without problem. I am definitely filling out but b/c I carry low and am still wearing jackets, it is still hard to tell if I am pregnant or just frumpy.

I think it was Friday or Saturday when Matthew and I both agreed I finally look pregnant. Sunday I wore a maternity skirt and the maternity shirt I got from MH a long time ago, but I must say I did not look like a cute pregnant girl. Just fat. I think if I want to be a cute pg girl I am going to have to get a little bit more fit and wear different clothes that accentuate the belly and not hide it.

I just spent the last hour shoveling the sidewalk and driveway while Matthew took my parents to the airport. It is always an easier task when the cars are out of the way. Yesterday Dad and Matthew cleared a path to the cars and a little bit off the van. We had another 2 or 3 inches fall last night on top of the 8 + inches we got yesterday and the night before. It was an odd feeling to walk out the door this morning and think, wow it's warm out here! The van registered at 32 degrees so the snow was fairly soft and starting to melt. I was mostly a bum yesterday and didn't venture out once. I feel like I made up for it this morning though.

Mom and I have been working on the baby's quilt. We decided on a pattern and bought fabric for it Tues. We were going to start cutting the material yesterday when I found another pattern that we both really liked that would have looked great with the material as well and we had enough to choose. I ended up spending pretty much the ENTIRE day playing with different combinations trying to figure out what would look best and what I liked best. We boiled it down to these two:

Sherbet Parfait with 9 patch (colors are dark green, blue with gold dots, floral blue from the large triangles, beige, paisley from the large block, mustard, light green, grey, and a teal, black and gold swirl)

Sherbet Parfait with basket weave (colors are purple, green, mustard, and light blue)

We like them both. Jared voted for the basket weave and Aaron & Dad for the 9 patch. I feel like the basket weave is more serene, but I miss the purple in it. I put it on FB and the 9 patch is getting the most votes.

Last night Aaron was really cute. Somehow we started talking about whether the baby was awake or asleep. I told him that the baby must be sleeping b/c I couldn't feel him, but it was possible I just wasn't feeling him move since the other day we were watching him move but I couldn't feel any of it. So Aaron start pushing on my belly and telling the baby to wake up. Sure enough, he started getting really wiggily. That made Aaron happy and he put his hand on my belly. Baby started pushing right there though I don't think he could feel it. Then when the boys were in bed and I went to hug and kiss Aaron, he hugged my belly and said good night to the baby too :D So sweet!!

As Aaron and I were talking about feeling the baby earlier, Jared perked up and was excited to know I could feel him. I only get tidbits of his feelings about the baby. Mostly he seems ambivalent about it but every once in while I get a glimpse of interest and excitement. It was nice to see him seem to perk up at the thought that he could feel the baby move.

I've been trying to think of boy names now and not coming up with much. I liked Hyrum and Peter. I ran them by Matthew yesterday and he immediately shot down Hyrum. I kind of liked that one though. He didn't say anything about Peter until I suggested that meant it was ok. So I guess neither are a 'go.'

The Ys are strong in my family

So last night was the BIG night. Mom and Dad flew in on Saturday and we spent the rest of the day walking around NY. Sunday we went to church and recuperated. Monday Mom and I looked at quilt patterns and breezed through fabrics - all the while thinking baby girl thoughts. Even Dad had taken to referring to the baby as 'she'. Aaron would correct him and say, We don't whether the baby is a boy or girl.

Matthew was stuck in traffic so he wasn't sure he'd make it to the appt on time. The place was running late so it worked out fine - except for the very full bladder I was accumulating :D He walked in just as I left to the back but they were kind enough to walk him to my room. Our technician was very nice and we enjoyed her very much. She said some techs are very particular and don't even let the husbands in, but she doesn't care. Apparently the full bladder is needed to measure the cervix, so she did that real 'quick' and let me get relief. Then we got to the fun stuff. She tried for a bottom shot but baby was feet down and the umbilical cord was between the legs so she couldn't get a clear reading. Sometimes she thought boy, sometimes girl. But overall, baby was very cooperative and she was able to get all the shots she needed except for the heart, face and legs. Baby was flipping around a few times, but I was surprised to not be able to feel any of it. We even caught hiccups at one point but not a peep from my nerves. My placenta is posterior and the cerebellum measured right at 20w0d - only a day off. Not bad at all. After about 45 minutes or so she said to go empty my bladder and walk around to see if we can get baby to flip to a position where she could get the final readings she needed. Baby had curled down into a ball near my bladder and she couldn't get what she needed. So, I went to go join everyone in the waiting room. Matthew went on home so he could get some food.

Mom was feeling sick at this point and had been in the bathroom several times already :( Dad had had a stomach bug days before coming, so it finally caught up to Mom. I headed back on back and the kind staff brought everyone to the room when Mom was available. Baby was quite cooperative at that point and showed everything we needed to know - including the gender shot. I have to admit I felt a physical shock and wave of disappointment when I saw very clearly we were having another boy. I thought for sure 'she was coming' this time, but alas. It is hard to wrap my brain around the idea of another boy but it will come. I found out the gender before everyone got in, so it was kind of nice to know for myself first though it probably would have been fun for the boys to be there at the same time. Although the tech was in a time crunch, she obligingly spent a little extra time with the u/s so we could see baby move around. We saw him yawn a few times, wave his hands... it was cute. She printed off some pictures and away we went.

I couldn't tell how Matthew felt about the news. The only real response I've gotten is that he was sorry he disappointed me. It isn't like he really has any conscious control over the baby's gender!

Mom and I spent today figuring out quilt stuff. I think we found some great fabric. Though I am having a hard time wrapping my brain around the concept of another boy, focusing on fabric has actually helped a little. I think his quilt is going to be really pretty. It's teals/blue, beige and green.

Monday we got a lot of snow - about 5 - 6 inches at least. About one in the afternoon I went out and started shoveling. The snow plow had dumped a huge pile at the end of our driveway which made the task even more daunting. I had just cleared our walkway to the door and a strip of the driveway when a couple of high school boys walked by and asked if I wanted help. I am so grateful to these angels! With their help everything was cleared away pretty quickly. Even so, I was still sore and barely about to walk the rest of the day and yesterday. My round ligaments were all out of whack. I told Matthew that probably shoveling needs to be cut to a bare minimum, but I still had to dig my car out yesterday morning. It took 45 minutes :p And more snow is on its way.

I had an appt yesterday. The midwife didn't seem thrilled at the idea of me shoveling either. She suggested I have the boys do it, and usually Jared is happy to help. He was working hard on homework at the time. Maybe we need to invest in a second shovel at least so more than one person can work at a time.

Soreness and shoveling aside, everything seems to be going well. I am measuring at my belly button now and the baby's heart was on the right side today instead of the left where it's been every other time. I've gained 3 pounds.

My tongue wants to get loose with the info. I keep telling myself I can wait a few more days. No big deal. But at the rate this weather is going, my appt on Monday might not happen :(