It’s crazy to think that it’s time again for another pregnancy update! I feel like I JUST posted our first (and also huge) update about the first 16 weeks of pregnancy, so the fact that another month has already gone by is just crazy to me! We’re currently in month FIVE of pregnancy, which means we only have four months to go and we hit the halfway mark, so we’re really on the downward spiral towards Baby Banks! This is insane. But we are so, so excited! We haven’t been great at taking weekly bump pictures (TBH, i haven’t really had much of a bump so far, but it’s coming in strong these days, so we are trying to be more consistent with that! We still need to take our 20 week picture, but the week isn’t over, so we’ve got some time. she tells herself every single week…)
PREGNANCY UPDATES
17 WEEKS
How Far Along: 17 Weeks
Size of Baby: the size of a pop tart!
Symptoms: It’s been more of a mental game this week. I was telling a friend that going from infertility to pregnancy is just going from one mind game to another. Trying to work through some hard thoughts. I’m hungry almost always. And heartburn/acid reflux. Lots of that.
Cravings: Just craving food.
Anything Make You Queasy or Sick: Nope.
Baby Movement: Yes. Starting to feel baby more and more. But it’s still sporadic.
Gender: Don’t know yet. I’m really not sure if I want to find out.
Nursery Progress: Nothing new.
Best Part of the Week: Feeling baby move is always a good part of the week!
Looking Forward To: Our first OB appointment. I’m nervous, but I’m excited to get that done.
18 WEEKS
How Far Along: 18 Weeks!
Size of Baby: the size of a disposable camera
Symptoms: Nothing too crazy.
Cravings: Not really anymore.
Anything Make You Queasy or Sick: Same as above. Not really anymore. Except not eating. That makes me a little queasy.
Baby Movement: I’m starting to feel bigger movements and that’s really exciting! Parker hasn’t felt baby yet, so hopefully he will be able to feel it soon!
Gender: Still don’t know if I want to find out… but I’m starting to feel like I might want to...
Nursery Progress: Nothing has changed yet.
Best Part of the Week: We got to go to Wyoming to take my little brother’s bridal photos in preparation for his wedding! It was so fun to visit a new state together and see my little brother and his fiance! We can’t wait for them to get married in a month!
Looking Forward To: Clancy and Hallie’s wedding! Their bridals gave me a sneak peek of what’s coming and it’s going to be such a fun day. Plus Hallie’s mom told me that she’s making over 700 homemade desserts for the reception, so TBH, I’m really looking forward to that.
19 WEEKS
How Far Along: 19 Weeks!
Size of Baby: the size of a Toy Story Alien (HAHAHAH. this is one of my favorite size comparisons)
Symptoms: I need to pee a LOT more… I’ve started waking up in the middle of the night almost every single night to go to the bathroom.
Cravings: I really haven’t had any cravings recently. I’m just hungry. And I eat a lot more during meals than I used to...
Anything Make You Queasy or Sick: Not really...
Baby Movement: YES. AND PARKER FINALLY FELT BABY MOVE! On September 2, 2019, Parker felt the baby move for the first time. It was magical. The baby was moving a TON and they were BIG movements, so I made Parker put his hand on my belly (he didn’t like doing it because he had never felt the baby before so it was a little discouraging to keep trying) and he kept asking, “is that the baby?” and then the baby did a HUGE movement and he turned to me (with his face all lit up) and said, “THAT WAS DEFINITELY THE BABY!”
Gender: IT’S A GIRL! We had our first OB appointment (which went REALLY WELL) and she told us that she wanted an anatomy scan because I was 19 weeks. The day we went, the Sonographer was there and had an opening right after our appointment, so we had our anatomy scan too and found out that Baby Banks is a GIRL. I was seriously blown away because I thought that it was FOR SURE a boy. With no backing or rhyme or reason, i just thought it would be a boy! But nope, she’s definitely a girl! I’m still a little shocked, but we are so excited for our baby girl to join our family! You can watch our Gender Reveal Video that we shared on IGTV here.
Nursery Progress: LOTS! Parker’s parents drove us up to BuyBuy Baby and we picked up our rocking chair that we ordered months ago. We built our crib and bought a crib mattress for it! This isn’t really part of the nursery, but we bought a car seat too! I also may have bought a few bows for baby girl too, because heaven knows homegirl is probably going to be bald, bald, bald (and translucent, if we’re being completely honest with ourselves) so she’s going to need lots of bows so people don’t always mistake her for a boy.
Best Part of the Week: Oh man. This week was just so good. I really loved all of it. But I think Parker feeling baby girl for the first time was DEFINITELY my highlight.
Looking Forward To: Meeting our sweet baby girl. I know we still have a ways to go, but now that we know she’s a she, we just can’t wait to meet her! Oh, another really great part of the week was meeting our brand new baby niece! That made things feel a little more real and then finding out that we were having a girl too just made me SO excited for baby girl to get here!
20 WEEKS
How Far Along: 20 Weeks!
Size of Baby: the size of a beanie baby!
Symptoms: More mind games. We’re working through them. It’s honestly kind of rough, but we’re working on it. And also back pain. Iiiiit’s happening!!!!! (Which I am honestly stoked for because that means baby girl is growing, growing, growing!!!)
Cravings: Just hungry. Give me alllll the food.
Anything Make You Queasy or Sick: Not really.
Baby Movement: LOTS of baby movement. She made a huge movement while Parker was trying to feel her move again and it was big enough that turned and looked at me and said, “WOAH.” hahaha. She’s a mover, for sure.
Gender: GIRL.
Nursery Progress: We’re basically all set up in the Nursery. Aside from smaller things like a diaper pail, changing pad and little decorations for the walls. But those will come for sure!
Best Part of the Week: A friend told me that she could see my baby bump and that I looked pregnant! That was such a compliment to me! Most people just tell me I don’t look pregnant, which kind of makes me think that they’re just telling me that I look fat… hhaha. But seriously...
Looking Forward To: my little brother’s wedding! it’s coming up real quick and it will be SO fun!
NURSERY SNEAK PEEK
I feel like everyone says this when they are preparing for a baby, but our Nursery is quickly becoming my very favorite room in our house. Possibly because it’s the most put together, but also possibly because I am so excited for all of the memories and things ahead that will happen in that room. It’s so easy to daydream in there and look ahead to the future. Which is something that has actually been quite hard for me for the last few years because there were so many unknowns that I had more of a “let’s just take it one day at a time” mentality. Which isn’t bad at all, but it has been so fun to daydream and be excited for the future.
We (I) decided that we would do a more simple gender neutral nursery because we plan on having more babies in the future and I wanted things to be able to be passed down from baby to baby. We still have a few more small things to get to complete the nursery, but I am really, really happy with how everything is coming together.
We are sooooooooo excited for Baby Girl to join our family! I’m excited for the rest of pregnancy just because it feels like every single day is a new adventure. It’s such a humbling and incredible experience and I feel so grateful for this opportunity to be pregnant with our little miracle baby. In coming weeks, I’ll share a few things we've gotten for baby girl (bows + outfits obviously… but also a few other products that we’re really excited to use) as well as a full Nursery Reveal when it’s all complete.
Dear Baby Girl,
I am so, so, so excited to meet you. I know that your daddy is super excited to have you join our family. We talk about you every single day and love feeling your movements and kicks. We’re pretty nervous too. Adding a baby to the family is pretty serious stuff and the closer you get to being here, the more terrifying things get. But we are so, so excited. You are so, so loved. We pray for your growth every single day. We love you no matter what and cannot wait to meet you in a few months! I love you sooooooo much!
Love,
Mama