19 weeks

Today, I'm 19 weeks along, and I went in to get an ultrasound (the typical one for this stage of pregnancy, to check and make sure the baby is developing properly) this morning. I got my super-awesome sister (who lives 10 minutes from my doctor's office) to watch my other kids so that I could go BY MYSELF, and it was MAGICAL! At my last appointment, it was a bit of a headache (and by that, I mean, it was so bad I went home and cried afterwards...my kids were SO NAUGHTY!), so it was nice to not have to try to keep my kids quiet and good this time. It was magical.
The appointment was quick, too, since I was just getting an ultrasound and not meeting with the actual doctor, so that was GREAT! My sister was actually shocked when I told her I was all done. I was surprised, too, when I saw the time. Again, it was magical.
Everything went well with my appointment. The baby has all her fingers and toes, is developing perfectly (and looks SO CUTE..to me!), and is still a GIRL! Yay! Also, everything checked out normal and healthy with me, which also gave me a great deal of comfort. I'm a very paranoid person, so when I go to my appointments and ultrasounds and am told everything looks great, I breathe a HUGE sigh of relief, and it helps me get through the next few weeks. Plus, while I was there, the tech was telling me -without going into much detail- how last week (and lately) the Doctors have all been having to deliver bad news to their patients, and how last week a poor woman lost her baby at 20 weeks because her cervix opened prematurely. SO SAD! It totally traumatized me, but, at the same time, made me SO GRATEFUL that I've been blessed with healthy pregnancies and healthy babies. I truly am lucky and incredibly blessed, and I can't fully express my endless gratitude for that.
I'm showing now, and have been for a few weeks (I already have a bit of a belly naturally, so I show sooner), so that's been a lot of fun! The showing part of pregnancy is definitely one of my most favorite parts, along with feeling the baby move (which I have been for the past 3 weeks or so).  I'm officially in the "fun" part of pregnancy. Yay! I just hope I can control my impulse to eat every fattening, unhealthy food item I see, so that I don't end this pregnancy looking like I did with Diana...like Jabba The Hut. Scary.
Anyway, here are a couple of pictures of our little girl:

Her Profile...looks like another Downer nose. YAY!

Good heartbeat..she was calm during this ultrasound, and I noticed her heartbeat was about 10 bpms less than normal (when she's jumping around like a frog).

Still a GIRL!

Creepy skull shot!

And, PS....I've decided against Elizabeth for her name. After I made the decision and announced it, the more and more I thought about it, the more and more it just felt wrong. Totally wrong. So, I looked..and looked..and looked...and looked...and finally found a new name that I LOVE, and Mike approves, too. BUT, I haven't really shared it with anyone, and may keep it secret for a little while longer..maybe until she's born, depending on how I feel about sharing it. I really like this new name, and it's a more unique name (though, it is a real name, I promise!), plus I can still get a cute nickname or two out of this name, so I'm very excited.