How did I get to be 23 weeks pregnant already?!?!

Every week I'm amazed at how quickly this pregnancy is progressing! As I'm sure I've mentioned, I thought for sure these 9 months were going to crawl by, but next week I hit 6 months! Wow!

I had my OB appt today and all is well. I only gained 5 pounds in the last 5 weeks, which is so much better than the 10 that I gained during the 4 weeks before my last appt. I thought for sure I was going to go over 200 pounds and I was definitely bracing myself. I've never been thin, and so I knew I'd be over 200 pounds during my pregnancy, but I'm really happy to know that I'm far enough away from that dreaded number that I'll hopefully start my 3rd trimester before I get there. Not much goes on at these regular OB appts it seems - a urine check, weight check, fetal heart check (which is always fun!), and time for questions. All good stuff, but nothing too too exciting.

I mentioned in a previous post that my oh-so-kind doctor mentioned that we may be able to finagle a 2nd ultrasound in, since my placenta is blocking most of the fetal kicks and movement that I should be feeling. I was sent on my way today with a wink and a "good luck" as I got a requisite form for an ultrasound next week! I can't say enough how kind my doctor (and his nurse practitioner, who I saw today - since my dr was on vaca) is. So next Tuesday we go in for an ultrasound, just to make sure everything is ok - and to hopefully put to rest the idea that this might be a baby girl that I'm carrying around. I'm sure it's a girl, but there's still that 10% chance that has us wondering. I have to say that I'm a little worried that this baby bug will be asleep again, because the ultrasound is at 8:40am and that seems to be a pretty quiet time for her. Our 18 week ultrasound was at 8am and the baby slept through the whole thing and that was why there wasn't a completely accurate sex check. We're both really excited for the ultrasound next week!

I have a new found love for Ben & Jerry's ice cream. I've discovered the flavor called: everything but the.... It's DELICIOUS! A collision of chocolate and vanilla ice creams mixed with heath bar chunks, peanut butter cups and fudge covered almonds.

My husband and I had the big soda debate again last night... I feel so strongly about this soda issue, and I can't let it go. I try. I really do. Ed would never ever tell me I can't have anything. Especially if I really loved it. BUT. I do not want to be a household that has soda. I just don't. It's gross, it's full of sugar and it has NO nutritional value. I don't know how I can sit here and gush about how in love I am with ice cream and in the next paragraph tell you all how I NEED my husband to stop buying soda for the house. I realize how fucked up that is, but I still feel that way. I had been successful in getting this through to Ed before I got pregnant. I'm pretty sure I even cried about it back then. Then early on in my pregnancy, when I was really really nauseous and sick all the time, I had some gingerale in the house. Now, for some reason, even though I haven't had any gingerale in weeks(!), Ed still buys it every week at the grocery store and proceeds to drink it. The thing about the soda is that I know Ed drinks soda (coke, no less!) at work and any time we're outside of the house (restaurants, friends' houses, baseball games, concerts, etc.). Ed doesn't just drink one soda...he drinks 4 or more at any given outing. And when there's soda in the house, he just drinks it until it's gone. Sometimes the whole 2 liter bottle in one night. And now he has this thing that we *have* to have gingerale on hand at all times, just in case I get queasy and need it. Well...that doesn't happen. Why can't I get just let it go? Why can't Ed just drink whatever he wants, whenever he wants it? Now I'm faced with the idea that our children are going to grow up in a household that has soda. Soda is gross. Nasty. If you put a penny in soda - it disintegrates!!! People! How nasty can you get?!?!??! Ok. I'm done. To each his own, everyone has their vices and soda is Ed's. He doesn't drink, he doesn't smoke, he drinks soda. BUT COME ON! I HATE IT! Wait. Didn't I say I was done? Ok, I'm done.

We went to Ikea last week and got all the things I mentioned in my last post. It was a lot of fun! Now I just need to figure out who I'm going to hit up to actually sew the bassinet sheets and skirt with all the material I bought! Ed has a lot of little aunts who can do it and I also have a really good friend who can sew absolutely ANYTHING. I wish Ed's mom was here - because I know she'd really enjoy doing it the most. But she's all the way in Portugal and shipping it there and trying to get across exactly what I want is really unrealistic.

Ed thought of the perfect middle name to go with one of our two names that we've decided on... In case you forgot or haven't read the name post from a few weeks ago, we have narrowed it down to 2 names for girls: Drew Madalena or Madalena (but calling her Lainey). We didn't have a middle name that we loved to go with Madalena (because we want to save Drew in case we have another girl down the road). This was driving me crazy because it was holding me back from being able to fully decide on a name. I knew I wanted a one syllable name for the middle name because Madalena is kind of a mouth full as it is. So Ed came up with Madalena Rose. I absolutely LOVE it and I am definitely leaning more toward Lainey now. Ed still likes Drew better than Madalena but is leaving the final decision up to me. Since Madalena is his mother's name, he really can't object. So still Drew or Lainey, but feeling really strongly about Lainey. Feels good!

My shower is being planned!!! How fun is that?!?!? I have such an amazing group of friends and I know it's going to be perfect! I was in the loop with some of the planning for a split second (bless my one friend's heart - who sings like a canary), but I started to stress about the burden I was putting on everyone by having too big of a guest list, etc. and so I'm now shut out of everything. Even though I'm so nosey, I think this is a good thing. So. Flippin. Excited!!!!