We had another prenatal appointment last week. The technician did an anatomy scan and we found out the gender of our baby!

We didn’t do a gender reveal party, but I created this Old Wives’ Tales graphic and posted it on Facebook. It was interesting how close the tallies were between boy and girl! (You can download a generic version of the Old Wives’ Tales Chart in my Etsy shop.)

I don’t believe any of these are actually telling about baby’s gender. Even though I haven’t had any nausea, David’s mom was sick the entire time for each of her five boys. My mom craved orange juice with my brothers. I will admit I tried the baking soda test, and that one happened to be accurate. I attempted to use the Ramzi Theory with photos from my earliest ultrasound, but it was after the fact and I wasn’t sure about the angle.

David guessed boy, because that’s what he knows with four brothers. I guessed girl, but really had no clue.

We found out we’re having a…

Girl!!! She’ll be the first girl grandchild on my side and the third grandgirl on David’s side.

Everything is looking healthy. She measured a little small at the anatomy scan, but still within normal range. In the last week, I’ve felt a LOT of movement! David has also felt kicks with his hand on my stomach.

And because why not, here’s a survey:

• How far along? 20 weeks
• Total weight gain: 5.8 pounds
• Gender: Girl!
• Name? We think we’ve chosen a first name, but won’t share until after she’s arrived.
• Sleep: I’ve been sleeping through the night, but it’s hard to get comfortable! I’m using three pillows at the moment.
• Exercise: I count the fact that I walk a lot here as exercise. I try to do a yoga video a couple times a week.
• Best moment this week: Hearing that baby girl is doing well and sharing the gender with our family.
• Movement: YES! Finally! Lots of movement and the occasional jab here and there.
• Symptoms: Maybe a little fatigue, but overall feeling great. Lots of trips to the bathroom.
• Food cravings: Fruit, juice, smoothies.
• Food aversions: No real aversions.
• Maternity clothes: I’ve used a belly band a handful of times with a pair of jeans. So far, I’ve gotten away with stretchy pants, skirts, and dresses. I have a feeling that I’ll soon be needing to use some of my official maternity wear!
• What I miss: I feel very fortunate and at the risk of complaining – lying on my stomach to do computer work and coffee drinks. (Even though I’m not a coffee addict, there’s something comforting about a warm cup. Fortunately, there’s no Pumpkin Spice lattes in Korea to tempt me this fall. Unfortunately, they don’t sell decaf here either.)
• Belly button in or out? Still in… but it’s more open?
• Stretch marks? Nothing major that I can tell yet. I should probably start moisturizing though.
• Milestones: We’re at the halfway point as of this past Monday!

Keep growing, Baby Girl!

We’ve been keeping a secret and are excited to finally share… we are expecting our first child February 13!!

How We (I) Found Out
After finishing our first school year in Korea, we traveled back to the States in early June for summer vacation. We landed into Chicago. David flew out a few hours later to Virginia for a grad school class, and I spent a couple of nights in Chicago with my cousins. Seoul air quality had attacked me once again and I was sick with a sinus infection. Despite hacking up a lung, I had a great time with the girls.

Next, I flew to Arkansas next to see my mom. We stayed a few nights at a camp to help with a VBS program. The sinus infection had spread to one of my eyes, and I finally went to a clinic and got a round of antibiotics.

It was relief to finally have meds and be back at my mom’s house. We went to Walmart to do a little shopping. At this point, I didn’t think I was pregnant, but I was late. I knew travel and sickness could throw things off, and on a whim in the cosmetics area, I grabbed a pregnancy test. It was 88¢ and I figured it’d be good to know. When I met back up with Mom, I told her, “Don’t get your hopes up.” I waited a couple of days before I took the test.

I took the test early one morning because I had woken up to use the bathroom. It was around 4:00 am. Imagine my surprise when a second line quickly appeared! I woke up Mom to confirm that it wasn’t just me and we marveled for a while before trying to go back to sleep.

David was in Virginia, and it was almost a week until I would see him again! It was hard to keep it a secret, but we didn’t talk a lot over that time. He was super busy with his class and only had cell service when there was WiFi. I did tell him that when I saw him I had a surprise for him and that I’d made him something.

Before Mom and I drove to Virginia for David’s brother’s wedding, I put the test in a small box. Then I put that box in a larger box. The apps I downloaded gave me an estimated due date of February 14, so I cut out a construction paper heart, wrote “Will you be my Valentine?” and put that on top of the smaller box. (I wish I had taken a picture of it, but it’s back in the States.)

Amidst the chaos of everyone arriving in Virginia on the same day, David and I were able to slip away at the end of the night. When he opened the first box, nothing registered. “Of course I’ll be your Valentine,” he said. And then he opened the smaller box. It was priceless to watch the realization and smile wash across his face. He was shocked!

The Rest of the Summer
After the excitement of the wedding, we slowly began to share the news with our family. We loved being able to tell them in person and have them join in the celebration.

We told everyone in batches and didn’t have a grand plan of how to announce the news. We tried to be creative when the right moment presented itself. With David’s family, we went to a Chinese restaurant and David made a slip to put inside a fortunate cookie. With my sister, we were joking about Southern stereotypes on the back porch and I told her, “Well, at least I’ve got the barefoot and pregnant thing going.” When we saw my Dad, we were taking group pictures. I acted like I was taking a photo while videoing and said, “Ok, 1, 2, 3, say ‘Leah’s pregnant’!” We had fun with it.

I’ve been so fortunate and haven’t had any morning sickness – just LOTS of fatigue! I wasn’t much of one for naps before, but I’ll take one now every chance I get.

We had our first prenatal appointment in the States. I know seeing isn’t always believing, but watching our little one on the screen made it feel more real!

Back in Korea
We had our second appointment in Korea. Baby B was squirming all around and gave us a show. We asked the technician if she could tell us the gender, but Baby didn’t give us a good look. She gave us a guess, but told us it was unconfirmed and that we’d be able to tell at our next appointment.

We marvel every day at how my belly grows bit by bit and are praying over his or her life!

Answers to FAQ

• We will have the baby in Korea at an awesome birthing center.
• Baby will not have Korean citizenship – just US citizenship.
• As long as everything’s healthy, we hope to travel home for Christmas and the summer.
• My mom is planning to come to Korea for the birth and David’s parents hope to visit in April.
• Your guess is as good as ours – we have no clue if the baby will have red hair. 🙂