half way there

we have hit the half-way mark. #3 is officially 20 weeks old. on monday we will get to see that little stinker again at our ultrasound. this is the one where we could find out if we're breaking the mold with a boy or adding to our clan of girls....but...sorry folks. you'll have to stay tuned for that announcement! it's only 5 more months. you can handle that, right?

the pregnancy has been running just as smoothly as the other two. no morning sickness, 2nd trimester energy surge...a little carpal tunnel when i sleep, but other than that smooth sailing. my dr's visits on the other hand...have been anything but smooth! at 10 weeks doc couldn't find the heartbeat with the radar thingy...so an impromtu ultrasound was needed. so into the room i go. my heart was beating out of my chest, not sure how the baby's heartrate wasn't. the tech goops me up and on the screen pops our little peanut. heart beating like crazy at 175 beats/minute. it was the longest couple of minutes of my life. that is until my 14 week appointment. this time i decided to bring ryan along because she is dying to hear the baby's heart go "boom boom boom." we wait in the waiting room for the usual 20-30 minutes before they call me in. (my doc is very popular!) she goes to find the heartbeat...all while ryan is holding my hand next to me with her ear pressed as close to my belly as she can get...and sure enough, no heartbeat. here we go again. this time instead of getting me right into an ultrasound room they make ry & i go back to the waiting room...for 45 minutes. talk about gut wrenching. deep down i knew the baby had to be fine. "i just saw him/her 4 weeks ago, everything's is fine" i kept telling myelf. but of course in times like this your mind always goes to the worst. my heart was racing, i was trying to stay composed & not freak out in front of my 3 year old...all the while she keeps asking "why didn't we hear the baby's heart go boom, boom, boom?" ahhhhh. after that agonizing wait they take us in for an ultrasound and voila...up pops baby again, moving & kicking like crazy. heartbeat at 167 beats/minute. like i said before...stinker. maybe there is a boy in there afterall? my girls never gave me this kind of trouble! needless to say i flew solo to my 18 week appt and thankfully doc found the heartbeat right away. phew! (i should also note that this was also the same day dan had his 4th shoulder surgery so i had given this baby a little pep talk before the appointment that mommy couldn't really handle too much more, so let's cooperate this time...capish? the baby's ears have formed so at least i know it can hear me)

as far as this baby goes...my weekly pregnancy updater says it's about the size of a banana. it is moving and kicking now so that should keep my monthly freak-outs to a minimum. i have finally hit the stage where strangers now notice i am pregnant. i can throw away that sign i was wearing for the last month that read "i'm not just fat...i'm pregnant!" i have been in maternity clothes for awhile now because, let's face it, this aint my first rodeo and the maternity clothes are just so much more comfortable! the heat has been playing a little bit of a factor...only because i am already a sweater to begin with so incubating a banana doesn't help that situation. other than that i am happy as a clam with the way #3 is growing.

a little note to #3:
baby hauck...we are so happy you are going to join our family in just a few short months. your big sisters dote over you every day and are just dying to meet you. lilly does not get out of bed without saying "baby belly" and giving you a little kiss. and now that you can hear i'm sure you are noticing those two high pitch voices talking to you on a regular basis. (mommy just asks that you ignore all the crying & whining you might hear, they're just going through a little phase!) also, don't worry about ryan...although she still believes with all her heart that you are a girl,we have convinced her that it's ok if you're a boy. (if you are in fact a boy, you can thank your cousin jack and best pals john & connor for helping show ry just how cute little boys are!) your mommy absolutely loves feeling your little feet kick and jab inside her tummy. your daddy requests that you kick a little harder as he would like to feel it too. we hope you continue to grow & prosper in there and we look forward to seeing you up on the dr's big screen on monday. keep up the good work little one...we love you so much already!