So, our baby now has a name! And his name is: Bradley Kenneth Harris III! I went to my ultrasound during week 20 and saw our little Bradley for the first time (except I didn't know it was a boy just yet). He was very active, and in fact would barely sit still for us to take some pictures! Even though I was so convinced I was having a girl, once I saw him I had the funny feeling he was a boy. I told the doctor to write down the sex of the baby on a sheet of paper so that Brad and I could open it together that coming weekend. I still felt a mixture of surprise, a little disappointment, and excitement as the idea of having a boy started to sink in.
I am happy that our baby is healthy and is becoming more and more active every day. He really likes chocolate and dislikes onions (go figure..but I still eat it anyway just in smaller quantities). Overall, I am striving to get at least 5 fruits and 5 vegetables every day. Its hard! I really enjoy spinach, yellow squash, and zucchini lately. Along with eating healthy I have also got a bit of a sweet tooth. This is odd for me since I have never really been into sweets or that after dinner piece of cake. But I have good reason, I swear! :) I am taking a Wilton cake decorating class and each week we are required to bake a cake! I use this opportunity to practice the cake I will have at my baby shower next month (March 27th for those of you that live in Phoenix). My friend Kristin and I went major baby shopping last weekend, well kind of. We registered for items on my baby shower registry at Babies R Us. Things have really changed since the last time I did any babysitting! It seems like there is a gadget for everything! In my shopping I considered all the different options out there. Breast-feed? Organic? Brand-name? Generic? I decided anything that is good for me must be good for Bradley. First of all, diapers. I decided disposable diapers would be easiest for me. I won't have time to be doing loads and loads of more laundry so cloth diapers were out of the picture for now. However, I have always been sensitive to the smell of diapers. I don't even like going down that dreaded isle. It seems like most of the brand of diapers out there don't provide a list of ingredients either (yes, diapers have ingredients). Except, for Huggies. they are a little less popular than pampers but i figured I will give them a try. There are also some good organic ones made by Seventh Generation or Natures Earth. All will be trial and error to come. Next, the decision to breast-feed never seemed like a question to me. I mean free food for baby and healthy for brain development etc? I'm in!
The last few weeks I have seen the scale go to some strange numbers and I'm beginning to loose sight of my knees and feet! Overall, I still don't have any complaints for this pregnancy. At times, its difficult to sleep but I seem to manage. I am still getting daily exercise by walking the dogs, hiking, or just walking in general seems to be work now that I think about it ;) I'm doing more home-based yoga these days since the studio I go to teaches yoga at night and I prefer during the day. Also, monthly pre-natal massage seems to be helping a lot with circulation (don't want any veins here!)
If you're in the Phoenix area and can't make it to the shower let's make sure we at least meet up--a cup of coffee, yoga class, whatever!
The photos below are me at 21 weeks. Why take my photos of a bare belly and post them all over the internet? I'm proud of my body! And you should be too! No matter what shape or size we are all beautiful. And yes, I'm sure you will see me after all of this too. We can take the beautiful journey together of how the body changes for pregnancy and returns to fit shape afterwards. Namaste!
