20w5d - 19w1d to go!

Wow, I actually have less time left being pregnant I've already spent being pregnant!

"Big" ultrasound was today.

I caved in. I totally went weak and lost all resolve. I've said for years that I never want to find out what the baby's sex is until he/she is born. But today, I caved.

It's a...GIRL!

Looks like it will be a baby Angelica...coming this May!

Everything with the baby looked good...heartbeat was 141bpm and strong. I got a 3D scan of her cute little face. She looks like her daddy. Aww.

I did leave the appointment a little bit upset, though. Not about having a girl (I am thrilled that the baby is a girl - I didn't care either way, I am just excited to have a daughter!). I found out at the appointment that I have a low-lying placenta, which puts me at a higher risk for having placenta previa - meaning that the placenta is growing very low on the uterus, and unless it moves upward as the pregnancy progresses, it will cover the cervix, resulting in a necessary c-section. Not at all what this natural birth mama wanted to hear. (That I will absolutely NOT cave in on - I am very much looking forward to labor.) Everything I have read says that having placenta previa in the 2nd trimester is no need for alarm, in most cases it resolves itself - but I'll need a follow-up in about 12 weeks to determine if it has. So, let's all hope and pray that it does. It feels odd to me, though, because I have none of the risk factors for having placenta previa - I don't smoke (haven't in years), I'm not over 35, I haven't had a prior c-section or uterine surgery, haven't had a baby before, and I'm not having twins. So, I'm nervous. I want to deliver naturally and experience labor - I never even considered having an epidural, much less having a c-section (that ranks way up there with "worst nightmares").

But, we'll be optimistic. Angelica will be fine, she'll be delivered naturally, and the placenta will just crawl itself right back up the uterine wall and stay there.

In good news, they only had to do a BP check once this time - they didn't choke off my arm with the cuff this time, and got a good reading of 137/80. A little high on the top number, but better than the other readings I had been getting.

Also: if I thought it was torture at 7 weeks to have to sit around for 2 hours with a full bladder...at (almost) 21 weeks, it was flat out murder. I had to ask the tech if I could pleaaaasseee go to the bathroom first, because I was about to explode. Literally. If I hadn't, and she had touched my stomach with the ultrasound camera, I would have peed on her.

That's all the update for now. Next up is the gestational diabetes test on February 19th. Wish me luck!