22 Week Update & Gender Reveal

Little Booger is a girl! Jacob was incredibly surprised, and I could not be happier! I wanted a little girl so badly, and all I heard from Jacob and his family were, "Leaches don't have girls! Leaches don't have girls!" His grandma even had my Mama mentally preparing herself for a boy, and Mama had been saying from the start it had to be a girl, because Stewards always have girls first.

She's definitely a girl, though.

That, my friends, is a baby with girl bits. Jacob and I will be naming this little one Emery Gail. From the ultrasound it looks like she's got my horribly awful chin, and the Leach nose. Dr. Allison said that the reason I was measuring so large, and the reason it sometimes sounded like two heartbeats, was due to her size. Apparently Emery is going to be more like a Snyder baby than a Leach baby. Leach babies usually run right around 6 pounds, whereas Snyder babies average out at 9 or so. Dr. Allison said she's thinking Emery will be at least 9 pounds. Yay.

How far along? 22 weeks

Total weight gain: I still haven't seen my weight. I prefer it that way, as I think it would be way too easy to trigger my weight related anxieties right now.
Maternity clothes? I am in mostly maternity clothes, with a few pre-pregnancy pieces thrown in. It's starting to cool off here, (finally!) and I'm finding that my clothes are not geared for fall/winter, so I'll have to add to my collection shortly.
Have you started to show yet: You tell me!

Stretch marks? None that I didn't have already.
Sleep: Lots and lots of discomfort and weird dreams
Best moment this week: The ultrasound!
Miss Anything? I'm still missing being headache free. I also miss being able to get up and bend over without a hassle.
Movement: Sooooo much. She never stops!
Food cravings: Gardettos!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Prenatals, still
Gender: GIRL!
Labor Signs: Definitely not.
Symptoms: HEADACHES, general discomfort, vivid dreams, backaches, Braxton Hicks, movement, breakouts, swollen feet, etc.
Belly Button in or out? Still very much in. I don't think it will come out
Wedding rings on or off? It's on a necklace around my neck.It still fits just fine, but the fact that my hands and feet have been swelling and then going back to normal and then swelling again was making the ring rub my finger raw.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Moody, for sure.
Looking forward to: Decorating the nursery!

Maybe a Picture Would Help...

Today's hint on our quest to guess the gender is a picture of the ultrasound! Or, well, one of them. I know some doctors offices give you a disc with the photos, or even with a recording of the scan, but we get sent home with a strip of photos that look kind of like they came out of a photo booth. We don't own a scanner,and in any case they are all attached in one long strip that I have no desire to cut apart to be able to scan, anyway.

Little Booger is shy, and very, very active. I knew that, as I've been able to feel Little Booger since around fourteen weeks, and Little Booger hasn't seemed to stop moving since. While Dr. Allison was trying to measure all of the important bits, and be sure everything was forming correctly, it was a constant chase with me flipping over every few minutes to get Little Booger to move into a position that would work.

We saw several yawns, what looked like some suckling, lots of thumb sucking and hiding behind little hands, and so much kicking and flipping that Dr. Allison at one point asked if I had had caffeine that morning (I hadn't) and then said in the most sympathetic voice, "You probably feel all that all day long, huh? Baby thinks you're a trampoline."

In this picture we finally caught Little Booger with hands away from the face, but only because I needed to be punched right before this picture. Little Booger was mid stretch, which is why the legs are high up like they are. It was so fun to watch on the ultrasound, but right after this Little Booger pushed on one side of my uterus with little feet, and on the other with little hands.

Does Little Booger look like a boy or a girl to you? Let me know!

I Know A Secret

Pre ultrasound pictures!

We had our anatomy scan and ultrasound today, and I know all kinds of juicy secrets now. I'll be doing the official gender reveal as our 22 week update, so until then, let's play a game! Below is a list of old wives' tales and what gender they predict I'll be having. Above is the most recent picture of how I'm carrying.

To aid in your choice, I'll give some family history. Jacob's grandpa Marvin Leach had seven brothers, and four sons. His father had three boys, and one girl. Jacob's brother has two boys. Jacob's grandpa Marvin Vore had eight boys and two girls. I have heard at least once a week from Jacob's parents, grandma, and brother that Leaches don't have girls, unless it's a fluke.

My great-grandma on my dad's side had three girls. My grandma Snyder had one son and one daughter. My great-grandma on my mother's side had four boys. My grandma Killingsworth had two daughters and one son. I have two brothers. The Killingsworth tradition is to have a girl first. 

So,comment below which you think it is!