All About Paxton James...let's talk pregnancy

Pic at 16 weeks 4 days

Here I am at 20 weeks and 4 days and it's only fitting that I do a post that is completely dedicated to my newest little one which you guessed it...is going to be a boy!!! Hooray and whew...what a relief! I will NOT be doubling my weekend hair-washing and braiding responsibilities! Seriously though, I had prepared myself for a girl so this was a nice surprise :-)

I'll use this post to tell all the behind the scenes goings-on...the good, the bad, and hey maybe even the gross because this is MY blog and I'll cry if I want to...lol

I'm really hoping it will help those who might be going through first time pregnancies, provide comic relief for those who've been there done that, and just plain ol' keep everyone updated about how this little peanut is growing in there...so here we go...

Finding out...

  My body is pretty much textbook when it comes to stuff like ovulation symptoms and monthly cycles so I figured we might have stepped into the abyss and added to our family when it happened. I also endorse Dollar Tree ovulation predictor kits which worked like a charm for me to confirm what I already felt like I knew (that's a free tip for those ladies out there TTC). So 4 whole days before the missed period, I started to pregnancy test (and yes with Dollar Tree pregnancy tests too). In the pic you'll see tests I took each day and the line gets darker but I got a faint positive before the period was even due. I might also add that it took almost the entire 10 minute window to see the faint line at first but of course that wait got shorter and the line came in darker with each few days. As exciting as that was, I knew we had to keep the cat in bag until we could see that little peanut on a confirmation ultrasound which was an excruciatingly long 5 weeks later! Until then, all I had to show was these tests and sore breasts...ha! I made a rhyme...

The First Doc Appt...

Went very smoothly...although I will say it felt like I was holding my breath until we could see that little heartbeat flicker on the screen. I can't lie...I wanted to run out of the office and tell everyone but still couldn't tell a soul until we got to at least 13 weeks which is when our next appt would be...and when we'd get to hear that little heartbeat for the first time :-)

Trying to catch that first heartbeat at home...

Ok now you're seeing the control freak I am...lol. I insisted on buying a Fetal Doppler so I could hear this little one at home and not have to wait for the doc office. So I bought a few online and trained myself on the world's finest online school...YouTube...lol. First I scared myself thinking I was hearing 2 heartbeats (yikes) then I was worried because the beats sounded slower than the ones on YouTube! Turns out, I was hearing my own dang heartbeats and not the baby's (just one baby!) that was around the 12 week mark. I started using them again around 15 weeks and could hear him just fine after then. That's what I get for trying to take matters in my own hands too soon...lol.  As a tip, I will say I like the one on the right the best because it gives you a numerical rate reading on that screen.

Time to Tell Big Sister...

After getting fussed at by my doctor for trying to use that at-home doppler too soon, he gave me the relief of letting me hear my baby's real heartbeat for the first time and what a huge relief that was!! Now it was time to tell Big Sis the big news. Now mind you she had been doing the strangest thing for weeks leading up to this mentioning things like "when the baby comes" and "when the baby gets out of your belly" although we hadn't told her anything yet. However we showed her the ultrasound pic of the bay and explained that there really was a baby in Mommy's tummy and it kind of freaked her out...lol. She was scared to come near me for several minutes after that. However she quickly went into bossy lady mode on me and started making plans on where the baby's stuff would go and who would have what responsibilities. According to her, she feeds the baby, I change the baby, and Daddy rocks the baby. She said she's willing to do it all though with the exception of changing poopy diapers...hey I guess she had to draw the line somewhere ...lol. She's so sweet to her little brother already though...she reads to him, she prays for him, she kisses my belly and tells him she loves him several times a day.  We'll see how long that lasts after he gets here...lol.

The Big Reveal...

So I stepped into Baby Views in Little Rock at 16 weeks and 4 days along to find out our gender fate...lol. In my mind, it was a girl so I wouldn't be surprised. However, his Daddy felt that it was a boy. So we were on opposite sides of the coin. The sonographer started out showing us that all the basic and major parts were in working order which was a huge relief. We saw 10 fingers and 10 toes. He made fists for us and even did a thumbs up. Then she started fishing around for his gender. I couldn't even look at the screen then she said it so nonchalantly, "ok looks like it's a boy this time"....I was like what? Are you sure? She reassured me and Paxton definitely was not a shy guy...lol. He flashed us several times...hilarious! It was such a happy feeling I can't even put into words! I can't imagine how I'll feel when he's born and I hear and see him for the first time!! :-)

Revealing to the World...

It was important to me to tell all our family and close friends both about the pregnancy and the gender before I took to social media. So instead of hosting a big reveal party, I simply posted these jelly beans to let everyone in on what was to come. These suckers were very tasty I might add too...lol! As simple as it was, it felt like I had told everyone personally about us having a boy. 

So What's in a Name...

Paxton James

 When I did Brooklyn's babysite I explained why we chose her name, so it's only fitting I do the same for Pax.  It's funny but we've always had completely different names picked out for our kids than we ended up going with once we actually became pregnant with them. We were pretty set for a while on having a son named Bryce and then we thought we'd have a son named Max. However, once again Kelvin took to exploring baby names and presented me with an alternative that just seemed even cuter than before. He gave me a list of several names but Paxton was my fave? Why...well he'll start with P like his mommy, it's not in the top 10 list of common baby names for now, I like that is has an X in it, it's easy to pronounce when you see it written, the abbreviation of it is just as cute as can be too. 

  As for the middle name, that's an homage to our family like with Brook's middle name being her grandmother's. Paxton's middle name will be that of 3 of his great grandfathers, 2 who have passed away within recent years one being Kelvin's grandad and the other being mine. There's still one more James living life and cutting up though which is my other grandfather. James is also my Daddy's middle name so Pax will have the same middle name as his Papa...how sweet :-)

  Once again I have to give their Daddy the credit on picking a great name for his kiddos.

The Nitty Gritty...

  So how has it been for me physically, you ask? It's been an experience...that's for sure. I've just been back to myself in the last 2-3 weeks. Before then, constant fatigue, hardly no appetite, constant nagging nausea, backache, frequent urination and miserable discomfort when sleeping. Traveling for work amidst all of that didn't help either. I will say that when I felt my worst it tended to be dehydration more than anything else so usually increasing my water intake would help tremendously. 

I also started to show a lot sooner....which if you ask me was mostly belly fat being pushed up. Made it hard to hide what was going on without flat-out lying for a while. 

Brooklyn likes to sleep in the bed with us sometimes and it was hard to get her to keep her legs and feet away from my belly area while she was still unaware of what was going on. That was a challenge too. 

I also had a cold around week 6-7 that was really tough to deal with given that I couldn't have my usual meds. Plus, Brook had a stomach bug too but I had to go ahead and take some Zofran then because Mommy don't play that when it comes to actually throwing up...lol. 

Although I'm approaching 21 weeks, I haven't gained any weight. I'm just getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight from losing weight during my first trimester. I had gained a bit of weight before I got pregnant though so I'm assuming Paxton's used all that "extra" I had to do his business because he's growing just fine in there. That's just fine with me too because as long as we're healthy that'll be less for me to lose after he's born. 

I've had the most unfortunate food aversions up to this point. The turn-offs for me...coffee, Benihana, shrimp, room temp water! Anyone that knows me and my food likes is probably shocked an appalled by that but not to worry...I've gotten my taste back for them now. 

As far as cravings, nothing strange although I did rather enjoy a salad with ranch and cheddar cheese along with a pancake with syrup and butter at Cracker Barrell a few weeks ago...that's not weird is it?  Another thing I've been craving...a big glass of wine!!! Oooooo...ahhhhh....but I can't have it of course. So I've had to make do with goodies like these...gettin kinda burnt out though...

I've been able to feel him flutter since about 12 or 13 weeks. However I'm feeling him in full motion, kicks, and jabs starting a week or so ago. He's a very active boy and already a night owl. He doesn't like for his mommy to lay down and be comfortable :-(

Last but not least, I've had sciatic pain and Braxton Hicks already in the past week. Nothing to be alarmed about at this point, but boy can it be uncomfortable...geez.  

First Purchases...

These are the first few little purchases I've made for our boy. It's a lot different...so accustomed to heading straight to the girl items. It was still fun though. I know how particular his Daddy is about his own clothes so I'll probably turn all over all non-basic clothing purchases over to him. I can't wait to see how he'll look :-) Sometimes I hold the onesie as if I'm already holding Pax and it just melts my heart! I can't believe I'm about to have another little baby of my own!  As far as that paci...I've noticed that type is the popular thing now however I already told Kelvin the first time he takes that thing out of his mouth and throws it on the ground we're going back to the clip-on one. 

 

Well I guess that pretty much catches you up on Paxton at this point. Don't worry...I'll try my best not to let you get too far behind. Speaking of being behind, here is a belly watch pic I had Kelvin take of me almost 4 weeks ago...lol. Sorry about that...lol. Please look over how tired and shiny I look on this one. Maybe the next one'll be better.