23 weeks

Some of my baby sources say I am six months pregnant starting today, some say I'll be seven months in just another two weeks. Regardless, I am certainly starting to feel more pregnant by the day. I am getting to the point of being uncomfortable at times, especially after I eat and my belly is full or after I've gone up the stairs at school for the nineteenth time of the day. With the daily expansion of my bump, it's getting harder and harder to paint my toenails and put my shoes on. I know all you moms are thinking "JUST WAIT". If I had even a penny for all of the times I've heard that so far, I'd be one rich mama! That might even be worth a whole separate blog post one day. Anyway, thankfully I am still feeling pretty good most of the time and am certainly still loving pregnancy.

This week Gray weighs a little over a pound and is a little over 11 inches long. It's crazy that he is already probably more than half the length of what he'll be when he's born. He can now sense my movement and he is able to hear more distinct sounds. Paul and I talk to him every night and tell him how much we already love him. This week baby boy is busy developing blood vessels in his lungs and at this point, they would even be strong enough for survival in the real world. Of course we are praying every day that he stays inside of me for several more months, but it's comforting to know that he is to the point of it being possible for him to survive outside of the womb if something were to go wrong and he had to come early. I am starting to feel more powerful movements from our little man. I usually feel him at night when we get in bed and I'm very still. It's my favorite part of every day. Paul felt him again the other night and the kicks were a lot stronger than what he felt the first time. It is so amazing!

Mama and Gray at 23 weeks...


Daddy and I are getting more excited by the day to meet our sweet, precious son.

22 weeks

I only have about another month until I am in the third trimester...crazy! This week Gray finally weighs one whole pound! He is about 11 inches long from his head to heel. Sweet boy is starting to develop tooth buds and his lips, eyes and eyelids are becoming more distinct. He doesn't have pigment in his irises yet, but if I remember high school biology like I think I do, daddy's blue eyes dominate my green ones. That was so 15 years ago though so there is a real good chance I could be wrong. Anywho, according to my baby sources his brain and nerve endings are mature and developed enough to process the sensation of touch. He doesn't know to touch anything in particular yet, but any and everything he can get those sweet little hands on is quite exciting for Mr. Little Man. I can't wait for him to get a hold of Mommy and Daddy's hands in a few months! His reproductive system is working overtime this week too. That's all I really want to say about that-this is my baby boy we're talking about! This week Gray is really starting to have a sense of taste and is able to taste what I am eating. My sources tell me that if we want Gray to eat peas and carrots, I should be stocking up on them right about now for a better chance of him liking them. I wouldn't say I've been eating super healthy by any means, but knowing what I eat is what he eats makes me at least think more about what I'm popping in my mouth. I am quite confident that he likes those Caramel Delight Girl Scout cookies that I got today, accompanied with a big 'ol salad of course.

Paul felt Gray move for the first time last week! It was very quick but there was no doubt that he felt him and he was soooo excited! I am feeling him more and more each day and it is just the most incredible thing. He was moving around quite a bit yesterday and I could even see the movement through my shirt. That was a first and it was so cool.

I finally started feeling better on Friday. I felt horrible all last week and lost most of my voice, which made teaching interesting. I probably should have stayed home a day or two, but I hate being out. I think most of my teacher friends would agree that it's easier being sick and at school than it is to be out. Sub plans are a pain and dealing with everything that happened while you were out is even more of a pain. Thankfully we had a pretty restful weekend too and I think I am almost back to feeling 100%.

Here's what big mama is looking like at week 22


Front shot...watch out!


Until next time...

21 weeks

I like that from now on I can refer to my pregnancy as being half way over. Certainly not because it's been bad because I have loved being pregnant and have had a very easy pregnancy for the most part, but I am already so just excited to meet sweet baby Gray that I can hardly stand it!

Baby boy is growing, growing, growing! Several people at work today told me they thought "he" had grown a lot over the weekend. In other words, "dang your belly has gotten even bigger!"...haha! I definitely look like most of my friends did when they were 25-30 weeks, but I love my bump and I'm not uncomfortable (yet) so this big mama ain't complaining (yet). Here's a picture so you can see for yourself...


This week Gray is estimated to weigh three-quarters of a pound and is about 10 and a half inches long. He now has eyebrows and eyelids. I can't wait to see his beautiful little blue eyes! My baby sources say that soon his movements will feel more like full on kicks rather than slight flutters. Last night I was feeling him move so I put my hand on my stomach to see if I could feel it that way too. Sure enough, I could! I was so excited because I thought Paul would be able to feel him too, but every time he'd put his hand on my belly Gray would stop moving. Hopefully soon Paul can experience the joy of feeling his son moving inside of me. It is just so, so amazing!

I am still feeling great as far as pregnancy goes, but I have been sick for going on two weeks now. What started out as a cold turned into a sinus and double ear infection last week. I've been on antibiotics for five days now and honestly have felt worse each day since I started the medicine. I get about three sinus infections every year and I'm afraid I've become immune to amoxicillin. I wasn't thrilled about taking an antibiotic while being pregnant, but the doctors say it's safe and much better than an infection roaming my body. Hopefully I won't have to go back for a second round. On top of already feeling like poo, I woke up with my eyes completely crusted shut yesterday morning. It was disgusting and painful. I have NEVER had any kind of eye funk so this was a first for me. We went to the CVS Minute Clinic (best thing in the world if you've yet to discover it) Sunday morning and I was diagnosed with conjunctivitis. That just sounds nasty! So they gave me some prescription eye drops and my eyes are already less funktified today. I can't even tell you how many people asked me at work today what happened to my eyes and if I'd been crying, and they look ten times better today than they did yesterday. It sure was a good self confidence boost coming to work today between the belly and the eye comments ;) Oh, and unfortunately the majority of my 28 fourth graders haven't seemed to give a flip that I feel like crap, which hasn't made things any better.

On a more exciting note, we registered yesterday. One of my long time BFFs Lindsey went with us. She has two little ones and we wanted some expert advice so that number one, we weren't there for nine hours and number two, so we didn't just get scanner happy and register for all kinds of unnecessary items. It was a lot of fun but very overwhelming! It was so hard deciding on what we thought we'd really need and what was the best deal but what was the safest. We knew having a baby wasn't going to be cheap but DANG! All of the big stuff we registered for is pretty gender neutral. We will be re-using all we can for baby number two, even if it's a girl.

Now I just need February and March to fly by so I can start on Gray's nursery! No pressure Lindsey, no pressure ;)

Halfway there!

I am 20 weeks today. Halfway through the joy of pregnancy, halfway to the point of Paul and I getting to meet our sweet little guy. I feel like the first half has gone by super fast but that it will probably drag somewhat from here as we grow more and more anxious to meet Gray. Hopefully a pre-baby vacation, spring break and baby showers will help it to go by as fast as possible. I also want to continue soaking up the joy and excitement that comes with being pregnant. It really is just such an amazing experience!

Gray is really growing! This week he is estimated to weigh ten and a half ounces, which is two more ounces than last week!! Until this week, our baby sources have measured from head to bottom but this week they start estimating measurements from head and heel. From head to heel this week, Gray is about 10 inches long! Almost a whole pound and almost a whole foot!

I am pretty certain that I am feeling him daily now. It is such a weird feeling and I have been unable to describe it. It's a feeling so slight that I don't even think I would pay much attention to it if I weren't pregnant. But the fact that I am feeling it as often as I am and the location of where the feeling is, makes me certain it's our precious little man. My friend Kristen describes the feeling as popcorn in your belly, which is as close as I can come to an accurate description. It's always pretty quick and I can usually only feel it when I am very still, but it is the most amazing feeling in the world!

We had our monthly doctor's appointment today and everything is looking good. Hearing that heartbeat will never get old! I gained another five pounds the past month, which is a total of nine and one less than my pregnancy sources say to expect by 20 weeks. The sources also say though, to expect a pound a week from this point on...oh boy! My belly and the weight gain number certainly don't seem to match up, but I'll take it! Just today someone I work with told me they'd "be very surprised if there weren't two in there". Oh the things people say! Thankfully my emotions haven't been out of whack with my pregnancy and I am able to laugh off those comments.

Here's the bump at 20 weeks (please don't mind the I-was-about-to-get-in-bed-and-remembered-I-hadn't-taken-a-picture-look)...

19 weeks

Baby Gray now weighs over a half of a pound! He's grown from seven ounces last week to eight and a half this week. From his head to his little bottom he is about six inches long. His brain is working overload on sensory development-smell, taste, hearing, vision and touch. My baby sources say he can probably hear Mommy and Daddy's voices by now. It's a good thing too because we're already talking up a storm to the little booger! Hair on his sweet head may already be sprouting, although we're not banking on that considering Mommy and Daddy's genes. I was born with a huge head of black (weird, I know) hair, it fell out almost immediately and then I was nearly bald until I was at least two. Paul didn't have much hair for a while either, so chances are good that we'll have a bald headed baby. And he will still be perfect :)

Here's what Mama is looking like this week...


There's not a huge difference in my bump since the last picture at 17 weeks but I'm sure that won't last. In just a couple more weeks, Gray will weigh over a pound.

We go a week from today for my monthly check up. Can't wait to hear sweet Gray's heartbeat again!

Gray's first gifts

Gray started receiving presents before people even knew he was a he. For Christmas my mom got us this sweet giraffe bedtime noise maker. It would have been used even if it were a girl, but it will be perfect in an elephant/African animal themed nursery.


Also for Christmas, my brother and sister-in-law got him this sweet little blanket set.


Nana and Grandpa (Paul's parents) also got him an adorable little blanket for Christmas that's in the shape of a teddy bear. A funny little side note about that actually...Paul's mom bought the blanket a couple of years ago and has had it saved away waiting for a grand baby ever since. She was so excited to give it to us. I wish I had a picture of it but we think it might have accidentally gotten packed away with our Christmas stuff.

The night before we went for our ultrasound, my mom gave us a pink bag and a blue bag. We got to open both and in the blue bag were these sweet little newborn slippers. These just make me want to squeal they are so dang cute!


My dear friend Abbie bought Gray something the day she found out we were having a boy. Daddy will vote for him to wear these daily until he outgrows them.


If you know Paul well, you know he lives in Puma attire. We've seen Puma stuff for toddlers but never for babies. Thank you Abbie, this could not be more perfect and it was so sweet of you to have already gotten our little guy a gift!

We picked out our nursery bedding earlier this week and Paul's parents have already ordered it!


I love it so much and just can't wait until we can start working on the nursery!! We are so blessed to be getting all of my friend Lindsey's nursery furniture for an incredible deal. It's white, which is my favorite, and there are five very nice pieces that go with it. Lindsey's youngest will turn two in April so she wants to wait until then to move him to his big boy bed. We're so thrilled to be getting it and will wait patiently until April when we can start setting up Gray's nursery.

We have one loved, spoiled little boy already!

And he shall be called...

Gray Christopher Hicks! It feels so good to have a name for our sweet boy. We've been deciding between that name and Paul Walker (he would be called Walker). Paul's middle name is Christopher and I wanted to use part of his name in either name we chose. We both have always loved the name Walker but Gray is very special because it is a family name. Paul's late grandfather and uncle were both Gray. As much as we love Walker, using a family name was important to us and we didn't want to regret not using it if we don't have another boy. But maybe our little family will consist of two boys and one girl and then we can still use all three of our most favorite names! In case you're curious, our girl name was going to be Ansley Elizabeth, which we will still use if we ever have a girl.

I also love Gray because it is very uncommon. I have always loved names that you don't hear everyday. I have known of one or two little boys named Gray and Paul has known one. All were very cute and sweet too, which helps us like the name even more ;) With Paul and I both being teachers, there are so many names we like but would never use because of certain memories associated with some particular children. And that's all I have to say about that.

Gray Christopher, Mommy and Daddy love you so much already! We pray for you every day and will continue to do so as long we live. We want you to stay warm and cozy inside of Mommy for a few more months, but we are already so excited to meet you!