Baby Chen #4 - 19 weeks and gender reveal

Friday Victor had the day off from work and Erik didn't have school so we decided to go to the Baltimore Zoo for the day.  I have the official growth and development scan a week from now.  The kids can't come to that one, and I'm not sure Victor will even be able to come as my attempts at lining up a sitter have failed so far, so we decided to do a quick elective gender ultrasound on Friday.

The baby appears to be healthy and apparently is a little bashful but eventually we were able to get two clear shots confirming that my intuition was correct and that baby Chen #4 is another beautiful baby BOY!  Ha!  A repeat of my family (although I am the oldest with 3 brothers and Lainey is #2).

 I really felt strongly that it was a boy from about 8 weeks on so it wasn't surprising at all. Ha!  I would be happy with a boy or girl but knowing this baby completes our family seems like the gender, either way, impacts the family dynamics in a greater way than the other three did.  (I don't know if that makes any sense to people reading this, I'm not sure if it even makes sense in my own head!) 

So now 24 hours out I have been able to kind of visualize our little family and it's fun.  I love the knowing the gender ahead of the delivery.  This little boy will be (and already is!) well loved by us all.  I hope he can withstand the affectionate smothering he will receive from his second mother (aka Lainey!).   

Oh Lainey, she LOVES babies!  She and Carson are best buds but she really is bossy sometimes.  Don't worry, he holds his own ground and has started yelling out, " Dop it Lainey!" if he is annoyed. Haha!  

Little Lainey, I am guessing you will get 2 years with this new baby brother before he starts getting annoyed with his second mom.  :)  Lainey LOVES babies, and while she seemed quite convinced this new one was a girl, has adjusted to the idea of a third brother without any hesitation.  She can't wait for him to arrive.    She did suggest that we name him Charlotte though! That won't be happening.

Our sweet little boy sucking his thumb.

How is the pregnancy going?

Positive:  

This pregnancy continues to be very easy! I am so grateful for that!

Erik and Lainey have been able to feel the baby kick now (Victor has been able to for quite a while).

Baby boy kicks have become much more obvious - I love that!

Being able to run still - I ran 20 miles this week and really have felt good still.  This is the first pregnancy I've been able to run through. 

Negative:

I found a varicose vein!  Ahh!!! Made it through 3 pregnancies without them.  All I can say, is that I better not get stretch marks this time too (I don't have any from previous pregnancies!).

Very mild, intermittent left sided SI joint pain (hip pain). I may make a trip to the chiropractor soon to see if I can prevent a full appearance of this pain that I've had off and on since my pregnancy with Lainey.  It's always resolved after 2-3 visits.  So far I've only noticed it once and hope it doesn't become a regular thing again! 

Weight Gain:

+3.5 pounds

At this point I generally gain about 1 pound a week.  I am still wearing all my normal clothes. Strangers can't tell I'm pregnant yet but those that know me certainly can tell my stomach isn't as flat as it normally is.

We are so thankful for this baby boy! I am praying for a cool summer and uneventful pregnancy! :)