Boy or Girl?!?!

 I'm now 14 weeks along in this pregnancy, entering the 2nd trimester, and things are still feeling very surreal. I haven't gained any weight yet (which is okay based on my starting weight being higher than ideal, and is also what happened when I was pregnant with Becca), but I'm starting to feel the difference in my stomach (even though there is no visible "popping" of my belly yet).

The beginning of this year was pretty miserable for me, which led me to see a rheumatologist last month (the soonest I could get an appointment). I was diagnosed with non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA), which is a type of arthritis that particularly affects my low back, but also flares up in other joints occasionally. It's nice to have a name for the condition, and the doctor recommended a treatment that is supposedly safe while I'm pregnant. But since I've been keeping major flare-ups under control with proper diet and exercise, I have opted to postpone treatment for now. I'll just deal with the general inflammation and my joints are going to be aching due to this pregnancy anyway.

Last week we had another check-up for the baby, and we got a quick peek at baby via ultrasound (the doctor had an ultrasound wand that plugged into her iPad -- how crazy is that?!). The point of the ultrasound was to check baby's heart rate, which is still going strong and steady. And baby was moving and jumping around so much that the doctor couldn't even snap a picture! But at one point, we saw the baby distinctly open and close the fingers of one hand, as if baby were waving at us! :) Ryan was pretty upset at himself that he didn't think to pull out his phone and record the ultrasound so the girls could see their new sibling (I told him that I didn't think of it either, and he should be kinder to himself). Hopefully we'll remember to do that next time!

At the check-up, they did a blood draw to check for possible chromosomal abnormalities the baby may have. It kind of blew my mind how much technology has advanced in the last 10 years or so! A simple blood draw from my arm is enough to find out about my baby's DNA! And the checking of chromosomes includes the ability to find out the baby's gender! :) So...the results are in! We are grateful that the testing showed a very low chance that this baby has a major disorder from trisomy or monosomy. And we are grateful to know that this baby is...

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Needless to say, we are VERY excited! Becca is through-the-roof excited because she has been praying specifically for a "baby brother" for years. Nicole also guessed that we would have a boy, and Julia's mom predicted that we would have a boy. Ryan and I are a little unsure what to do with a boy, after only having girls (even all of our pets have always been girls). I think this adds to the surreal feeling...a boy! Wow!

So now it's time to figure out a name for this child. We have had our two favorites picked out for many years: "Joseph Ryan", and "James Isaac". But we are also taking suggestions and considering other options. I prefer the name James, and Ryan prefers the name Joseph. I wouldn't be opposed to "James Ryan" either, but I really like the sound of "James Isaac Muench"... I have a feeling that deciding this name will be more difficult than deciding Nicole's and Rebecca's names... Things just felt right and fell into place for the girls' names. But this boy's name may be up in the air for while yet... So, any suggestions are welcome! :)