Pregnancy Picks

I'm just barely over the halfway mark of pregnancy (note the 21-week belly pic in the sidebar!), but I thought I'd post some things I've found most useful thus far.

Water Bottle:
It's important to drink lots of water, so get a bottle that you like, and that makes you happy to use. Also, while some women experience increased saliva, my mouth has actually dried out, and I wake up in the mornings with a sore throat and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, so it's nice to have some water on hand. Pros: Healthy! Cons: Just another thing to carry around.

Trail Mix:
This is for the first trimester. I kept a bag of it by the bed and in my purse. I just mixed peanuts, raisins and pretzels together, and the protein and carbs help keep your stomach calm (and full). Pros: Cheaper than buying a pre-made mix. Cons: The pretzels got stale from the moisture of the raisins.

Bella Band:
I never did a demo of this, but I ended up wearing it almost every day until I graduated to maternity. Pros: The white went with almost everything. I got to wear my normal clothes longer than otherwise. Cons: It extends down to your hips (past the zipper of your pants, if you've unzipped them), which also closes off pockets. Sometimes it got bunched up and felt tight around my stomach.

Arbonne Rejuvenating Cream:
This cream is the absolute best for your belly. It's expensive, so I tended to use it so sparingly that it wasn't serving its purpose. However, Arbonne offers a membership discount, as well as opportunities to build your own business, making more than enough money to pay for your cream. Pros: All-natural, no smell, not sticky, absorbs quickly. Cons: Expensive ($35 for 2.2 oz)

Mama Bee Belly Butter:
This cream has been my fall-back cream. It's still very nice, but has a smell and tends to be sticky for awhile after putting it on. I like that the ingredients are things like sunflower oil. And I've actually gotten used to the smell, now, and it goes away, so you won't be smelling it all day. Pros: All-natural, inexpensive ($12.99 for 6.6 oz in Motherhood stores) Cons: Sticky and has an odor.

You will go through a lot of belly cream. Despite its name, you put it a lot more places than just your belly. I started too early, but I've probably gone through 12-14 oz of different products.

Body Pillow:
I have a love-hate relationship with this thing, but it does help keep me on my side, which the books say is better. It also helps keep my hips aligned because I hold it between my knees. A friend of mine recommended the Snoogle. I didn't get it because I already had the body pillow, but I think it would be a good purchase. Pros: Keeps you where you should be. Cons: Acts like a heater and a third body in the bed.

Benefiber:
Fiber is a prego lady's friend! Fruits, vegetables, and Benefiber. Last night I added it to pomegranate juice, and there really is no extra taste, and it really did dissolve all the way. I've added it to OJ many times, and I seem to have more trouble with it dissolving in that, but maybe because I was trying to put too much in too little juice. Pros: Really makes a difference, no added taste or texture. Cons: Kind of expensive, but worth it.

Prenatal Pilates 10-Minute Solutions:
Granted, I have not been as good about doing this as I should, but it's still really great. There are several different 10-minute workouts, so you can do 2 or 3 at a time, or just one when you get a break. It's all fairly simple stuff, but challenging enough to make you feel like you're doing something. Pros: Fits in your schedule, inexpensive. Cons: No one next to you to actually make you do it!

Hanes Bra:
I've always been a bra snob, and I buy my bras at Victoria's Secret. I realized that I would be going through several sizes of bras through the pregnancy, and I wasn't sure what to do. I was pretty sure my first "upgrade" wouldn't need to be a nursing bra, but I didn't want to buy some expensive bra that I'd only wear for a month or two. A trek to Wal-Mart found this Hanes bra for $10. It's style G601, wireless and padded. It fits great, feels almost as good as my VS bras, and will work just fine until I need a new one. Pros: Inexpensive, comfortable. Cons: It might have ousted VS from my dresser drawer!

Bra Extender:
While your cup size will get bigger on your bras, the measurement around your chest will, too, as your lungs and belly expand. So, to make your bras last a little longer, get a bra extender! They're less than $2 at Hobby Lobby in the sewing notions section. Pros: Inexpensive way to spread out your bra purchases. Cons: Pretty specific sizes (number of hooks and width between hooks), so you might need to get a couple different ones.

Well I think that's enough for one post! If you're just starting on the pregnancy road, or maybe you're thinking about it in the next year or so, maybe these suggestions will help you when you get there.

Twenty-One Weeks

Well, what's happened this week? I've started to have some of the discomforts of pregnancy. It's getting a little harder to bend down to put my shoes on. I've got the "crunched up" feeling like I'm slumped over, but I'm not. (You'll see in my 20 week photo to the right that my belly is starting to grow above my belly button, and not just below.) I keep trying to stretch out, but it doesn't seem to help! My hips have been hurting...I'm thinking that's them doing what they're supposed to be doing as they grow and spread. And sometimes my abdomen is just sore and uncomfortable, like it needs an ice pack or a hot pad. Jon likened my aches and pains to growing pains, which if you've seen him you know he's familiar with! I'm glad he understands, because even I have started to get annoyed that I grunt every time I pull myself out of a chair. :)

The other day I had Fun Dip on my mind. You know, the packet of flavored sugar that you eat with a sugar stick? They're so great. Anyway, Jon was heading to the gas station to fill my car up before I went into the office the next day. As he walked out, I asked him to bring me back some Fun Dip! Woohoo! Well, 30 minutes later he's still not back! Finally he calls and says, "I've been to two gas stations and the grocery store, and I can't find any Fun Dip!" He sounded so dejected. Here I was with a random wish for a random food--don't know if I would call it a craving because, as I've said before, I'm pretty spontaneous in my food desires anyway--and he can't help me! He said as he was staring at the candy aisle in one of the gas stations, a guy came up and said, "You must be here for your kids." "No, my wife," Jon said. "Is she pregnant?" was the man's response! How funny is that!

So, no Fun Dip for me. My friend Cliff had told me earlier that day that he used to make his own Fun Dip with Kool-Aid and sugar, so I tried it with lemonade and sugar. Eh...not the greatest, but it had to do.

I've quit weighing as much, since my scale seems to be way off. The last time I weighed, it said I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Well, looking at the belly photos, I think we can all agree that can't be right!

Oh, a random thing that some people don't know about is veins. The amount of blood in my body has increased dramatically, and all my veins have dilated to accommodate the greater blood flow. Sounds like something I might never notice, but au contraire! I'm thinking that my headaches might have been linked to that, because perhaps the vessels in my brain hadn't expanded, yet. Also, blue blood vessels are much more prominent, especially across my chest, where it looks like a road map of Texas. And I've also got spider veins in random places. Supposedly all these things will go away after pregnancy. We'll see!

Caleb is still lively and kicking away! Jon's felt him a couple times, now, which is really cool. The other day he e-mailed me and asked, "How's my boy?" That made me feel good. Jon has a little boy, even though he can't hold him, yet, or love on him personally. He already loves him, despite that.

Caleb is about 12 ounces and 10.5 inches long. So, since last week, he's only gained 1.5 ounces and half an inch. I'm waiting for the time when he catches up to the cats. I wonder if he will, though, since they're growing, too, and should be about full-grown by the time he's born (so about 10-12 pounds). Whoo, I hope he doesn't keep up with them!! It would just be cool to have a visual. "Look! Here's my cat. He's the size of Caleb!" I know, that's probably weird. But it would still be cool.

Sidenote: The belly pics in the sidebar will only run through three times now, so it will end on the most recent picture. I don't have a whole lot of control over what it does--I can decide how long each photo is up, and how many times it loops--but if anyone has a preference, let me know.

My First Touch With Caleb...

Well, being the Dad is sometimes difficult, what with all this waiting! However, after a couple weeks of Lydia poking me when Caleb is fluttering around inside her, I got to feel his kicks tonight for the first time. I just barely put my hand on Lydia's belly, and, after a short wait, I got a fairly firm bump from the inside.

This is starting to get really cool!

Twenty Weeks

I'll try to keep this one short, since my last post seemed to cover a lot. Caleb is kicking like crazy! I feel him every day, sometimes up to four and five times a day! We're pretty sure my mom felt him kick from the outside! It took a little poking and prodding, and some patience, but there it was!

It's still odd to call our baby Caleb. I'm so used to Newbie, it's taking an adjustment. But I like it. Little Caleb. He's 10.5 ounces now, and 6.5 inches. At 20 weeks, they start to measure not from crown to rump, but from head to toe. So that measurement is about 10 inches. Almost a whole ruler!

I haven't had a whole lot go on with me. One random thing that's happened throughout pregnancy is that I seem particularly sensitive to grass, now. After a photo shoot, I have to go home and wash my arms and legs (because I get in the grass to take baby shots). Otherwise they're red and itchy. So that's interesting.

I've been at a slight loss about mosquito repellent. I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to use it, but I also know that mosquitoes love me. LOVE me. Last week, from two outdoor photo shoots, I had 20 bites on my legs from the knees down. I've tried Skin So Soft with no luck. Yesterday I used the Awaken scent of the Arbonne aromatherapy line. That seemed to do very well, except that I wasn't sure there were even mosquitoes out. I guess I'll test that one out a little bit more.

I've also noticed that I've been much more tired in the past week or two. I didn't expect that in the second trimester, but oh well! :) And I think that's about it! Not much to report this week--certainly nothing "20-week specific." I'm officially at the halfway point of this 40-week journey!

How we found out

As you know from the previous post, we got our sonogram a week early. This is how it happened.

I'm still tracking my basal body temperatures during pregnancy. A maintained high temp (in relation to my normal BBT) is an indication that pregnancy hormones are still present, and I'm still pregnant. A period of several days with decreasing temp indicate a possible miscarriage. Well, for several days, my temps had been fluctuating low, then back up, then lower, then back up, but not as high, then even lower. By the third low temp (this one lower than it had been since pre-pregancy), I was getting a little worried. I thought, "Well, it might be a fluke. I won't worry unless I have actual signs of miscarriage (cramping, bleeding, etc.)." So I let it go.

But then, when I stepped on the scale, I had lost 8 pounds. Oh my gosh! So the two together certainly worried me. I started thinking about how tired I'd been lately, and how I hadn't felt that well on Sunday. Oh my gosh I could be miscarrying.

I called Jon, who was at work and couldn't answer his cell phone. I left him a message with what was going on and that I would call my mom to see if I should go to the dr.

When my mom answered, I immediately teared up. There's something about having someone else around (or on the phone) to be the strong one during a hard time, and I'm sure she could tell I was scared. She said I should definitely go, despite my lack of cramping, etc.

On the way to the dr, I left another message for Jon, letting him know. Then I called the dr's office. They seem nonplussed about my "possible miscarriage" because I wasn't bleeding. However, I told them I was already on my way, and I would just feel better if they could listen for the heartbeat.

I made it to the dr. and realized I'd left my wallet at home, which was fine, since they have all my information, but...well, oh well. I sat down in the waiting room, fully expecting to be called back quickly to assess if I was indeed losing my baby. After about 20 minutes, I realized that I was waiting in line like everyone else, and I reluctantly opened a Parenting magazine. Jon called to check on me, and again I had the urge to cry. I told him I was just waiting.

Finally, the nurse, Rosa, called my name. Rosa is an interesting lady. She's very business-like, and doesn't comment any more than she has to. When she checks my weight or blood pressure, it's very fast, and if I don't pay close attention, I won't even know what the numbers were. At the weigh station, the scale registered that I'd gained a pound. So much for my eight-pound loss.

My blood pressure was fine, and then Rosa said Dr. K would probably want to go ahead and do the sonogram, since we were only a week away. Ak! I didn't want Jon to miss that! I asked if hearing the heartbeat would be enough, and she said, well, Dr. K will still probably want to do the sono. She left me to wait, and I quickly texted Jon, asking if he could get off at all.

Finally, Dr. K came in, ever a spirit of sweetness and calm. She pulled out the dopplar to listen for a heartbeat, and just at that moment Jon called to see what was going on. Dr. K held the dopplar speaker up to the phone so Jon could hear as well. (What a nice doctor!) And let me just say, those dopplar things are not the best for a woman worried about her baby. It takes WAY too long to find the heartbeat! We listened to my heartbeat, we listened to what Dr. K said was our heartbeats combined, and finally, after a few tense moments for me, we heard the baby's heartbeat, measuring at 138 beats per minute. It was nice and strong and steady. I was worried because the last heartrate we'd known was 168, but she said it was normal for the heartbeat to slow as the baby got bigger.

I kept the phone line open as Dr. K explained that that was enough confirmation for her if I didn't want to do the sono today. She could see the uncertainty in my face. I didn't want to be a high-maintenance pregnant lady. I wanted that heartbeat to be enough. Jon also wanted it to be enough. And getting him off work would be a bit of a finagle. Okay, we decided. We're fine. We feel better. We promise.

Dr. K urged us to come back in if we decided it just wasn't enough for us. As I left, I heard her tell the scheduling lady to let me have an afternoon appointment if I called.

Back home, I went back to work. I waited for the baby to kick. Nothing. Hm.... The couple times I thought could be kicks, I just couldn't really tell. Jon called at lunchtime to check on me. I told him I felt fine, but neither one of us were that convinced. Realizing that I was going out of town the next day, and that the doctor seemed so fine with moving the sono up, we decided to go. Jon arranged to get off an hour early, and I called the dr. to let the know we would be coming in. Just doing that helped me feel a little better.

At 3:00, Jon called to say he was on his way home. I answered the phone with, "Hi!" and he misunderstood me to say, "Hurry!" "What? Are you okay? What's going on??" "No, I just said hi...."

So obviously we were on pins and needles, and I was glad we'd made the decision we had. At the office, again we waited. I regretted that we weren't going into this Big Appointment with more happiness. Our day had subdued our excitement over learning the gender, and we were more concerned with seeing a wiggly baby, no matter the gender.

When we made it into the sonogram room, the technician began her explorations over my stomach. Again, it takes WAY too long to find babies. Seriously. But, when she found him, we were glad. Again she found the hearbeat (this time 151bpm)--crazy baby. We didn't really breathe a sigh of relief until we saw him move around. He wasn't very wiggly; he looked like he was just adjusting in his sleep, but it was enough for us. Our little guy was okay. And a boy!

Emotionally drained, it took a few phonecalls to excited family to really lift our spirits from our concerns of the day. Nothing was wrong. We had a healthy baby boy.

I promised Jon that I wouldn't be that high-maintenance again, and I thanked him for believing my concerns and supporting me through the day. The being that was making my belly bigger every day had his hold on me, and I didn't realize how much until I thought I could lose him. I'm told that that hold will only get stronger, and will be more than I ever imagined when I have him in my arms for the first time. Only 20 weeks away! The time is going so fast!

The Big Reveal

It's a boy!

The sonogram wasn't scheduled for another week, but we ended up having it today. We have a healthy boy!

His name is Caleb Alan.

More story later!

19 weeks

This week has been a fun week. I've felt Newbie a few times this week, which has been cool. I've also eaten as much Mexican food as I could get...if I didn't already love it so much, I might call it a craving. Yesterday at the end of my workday in the office, several of us were talking about our favorite Mexican food restaurants. When I left work, I drove straight to a small tortilla factory that has the best chips and fresh salsa. Yummy! I stopped after that on an errand to Wal-Mart, and I sat in the Wal-Mart parking lot for about 5 minutes just chowing down on salsa. :)

After my errand, I tucked a napkin in my shirt and put everything within hand's reach so I could enjoy my chips and salsa on the way. Probably not my safest moment, and I did put it away after a bit. And oh, it was so yummy.

One would think that so much salsa would bring on some heartburn, but I haven't had any trouble this week. I told a guy yesterday, "I don't know what women complain about; this pregnancy thing is easy!" He immediately said, "And I'm sure they've all been wrong about delivery as well!"

Well, I wouldn't go that far. I've SEEN delivery, and it sure didn't look easy.

Though I will say that getting up and going to bed has become a slight chore. In the evening, there's the body pillow (which retains an enormous amount of heat, by the way) on my back to keep me sleeping on my left side. That pillow is turned and tucked in between my knees to keep my hips in the right place. Then I have a small pillow tucked under my belly...no real reason except I'm not used to the feeling of my belly hanging over. It's weird. And oh, I have to wear a bra during the night, so it still feels like I'm ready for the day, or maybe just taking a nap. I don't get that "Aah, comfy t-shirt and into bed I go" feeling at night any more. I miss it.

So in the morning it's not so bad, except my body pillow seems to have raised the temperature in the bed by about 10 degrees. After my shower I have to put the stretch cream on. Which, by the way, I wouldn't recommend until the second trimester. I started just about as soon as I found out I was pregnant, which was silly because my baby was the size of a pea. Now it's more important, as pretty soon Newbie won't be so many ounces as he will be pounds.

A funny thing happened to me at work yesterday. I was not wearing a maternity shirt, but one that had an empire waist with a billowy bottom section. When I walked in, a lady I worked with gushed, "You look so cute. Is that a maternity shirt? It looks like the boobie fairy has been visiting you!!"

The wha..??? Who?? Eh??

Yeah, just about the weirdest thing I've ever heard. But it made me laugh for sure! And she's right; I've had to pick out some new bras lately, though I'm told the boobie fairy is not done, yet.

Moving on....I think the pregnant hot-naturedness has hit. It could be the 100-degree temps outside, but I don't think so. I take my sweater everywhere, and I haven't used it in about two weeks. Well, once at church I did, but even hot people get cold in church. We're looking at getting some fans pretty soon, so that will be nice.

And hm...anything else? Did I tell you I felt the baby?? Yeah, that was cool....

So where is Newbie in all this, besides tapping on my insides? Well, he's about 8.5 ounces and 6 inches long. His brain is developing like crazy, and he's gotten just about all his limbs in proportion to each other now. BabyCenter says, "Don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you." If you know me (and you do), you know the mood strikes me quite a bit!

And that's it for this week! Whew! I haven't added a new photo to the sidebar because we take the picture on the weekends, so you'll get one sometime early next week.

I did it!

I finally got my belly pics up! The numbers are for the week it was taken. Check it out in the sidebar!

The second hello

I've read that after the first "tap tap" from the inner sanctum, it may be days or even weeks before feeling the baby again. So, I wasn't too worried about it. Today, though, at dinner, I had a nice little bop on my stomach! Haha! It made me smile immediately. Hello Baby!

18 Weeks: Hello Baby!

Jon and I talk to Newbie a lot: Hello, baby. Good night, baby. We love you, little baby!

So, it was a great feeling yesterday when Baby talked back! Jon and I had just finished up dinner and were discussing the day together, when I felt something low in my belly. It was gone before I was even aware of it, but I'm pretty sure those little flutterings were Newbie wiggling around! Hooray! It's good to have tangible evidence without having to wait the month between dr. visits.

We're now at 18 weeks. This week I have shown a bit of absentmindedness. The other day I was talking to KarenN on the phone about 10am. I realized that I hadn't eaten breakfast, yet, so I started scrounging around the kitchen while I was talking to her. Suddenly I realized I was making nachos!! So, I ate them. I had cereal for lunch to balance things out.

As a side note, after the cereal I got a splitting headache--the first one I've had in several days. Maybe I'm reacting to the milk?? Don't really want to chug a glass to find out.

So back to the nachos: I think cheese is my craving...specifically Mexican-food-related cheese. Cheese enchiladas, Taco Bell tacos (with cheese), queso and chips, nachos. Those have always been on my Very Yummy list, but I'm pretty sure I could eat them every day and be happy. I love cheese and spicy stuff!

And speaking of spicy stuff, I've started to have my first bouts of heartburn. Perhaps it's related to the jalapenos and other spicy peppers I've been eating.... Nah.....

Newbie is still growing! 5 1/2 inches from crown to rump, and 7 ounces. His ears are in their final position, though Baby Center says they may still be sticking out some. Heehee.... So, if you want to talk to my belly, the baby can hear you now!

I'm starting to look more pregnant and less like I ate a plateful of enchiladas (not that I didn't....). So, maybe some belly pics will come soon! I've been taking one a week, but they just haven't been that eventful until recently.

17 Weeks

The weeks are just clicking by! The big news this week is that Leanna and I went baby mama clothes shopping yesterday. We had a lot of fun, and I was SO glad Lea was there to help me make decisions. And today I'm wearing a new tank tops and shorts! Hooray! We bought some cool and casual summer clothes, as well as a few things I could wear to work/church. The fun purchase of the day was black leggings: we'll see if I have the guts to wear them! We found a cute shirt that goes with them pretty well. Now all that's left is finding the perfect flats. A girl's wardrobe is never complete!

Newbie is 5 inches long from head to rear. I just pulled out a ruler, and that's quite large! I feel like I have a baby belly, but not one big enough to house a 5-inch baby! Newbie's bones are starting to harden, and lots of good growth continues to happen. Only three more weeks before the Big Reveal! I've added a poll in the side column so you can make your final predictions. I have a feeling how most of you will vote....I've even already gotten a lamb with a pink ribbon in the mail from my aunt and uncle! Sheesh.

Dr. Appointment

Yesterday we made our monthly trek to the doctor. (Trek used for dramatic purposes; her office is about 5 minutes away requiring all of four turns.) Remembering how long we waited last time, we were armed with books, and I gulped down a glass of water on the way out the door, figuring I'd have an hour or so for it to make its way through for the urinalysis. :)

However, when we got in the office, we were one of three people in the waiting room, and my name was pretty close to the top of the list. So, before settling down to wait, I decided I better go get that urinalysis over with. Sure enough, as I came out of the bathroom, a nurse said she was ready for me! Okay, let me just go grab my husband!

I weighed in, and the scale said I gained two pounds since last month (one pound overall). My scale at home says I've gained 5 pounds overall, but either way the nurse seemed fine with my weight. BabyCenter says I should have gained a bit more weight by now, but I'm sure it will all catch up to me. When that time comes, I'm hoping all these creams I'm putting on my belly do their job and prevent those stretch marks!

I told the nurse about my constant headaches, including some pretty sharp ones sometimes. She said it sounded like a blood pressure problem, but no, my BP was 109/76 or something like that. And that was after she made me nervous telling me I might have a problem!

On to the listening the baby's heartbeat: at first the nurse had trouble finding it (the dr. was out of the office, so the nurse did everything today), but she was just looking in the wrong place. Eventually she found a nice steady heartbeat. She didn't tell me the heartrate, so I can't tell you that. She did say it was strong, and she could tell that Newbie was moving quite a bit. I can't wait to feel those little movements!

We didn't measure the uterus like I thought would happen this week. She said it wasn't big enough, yet, and we'd probably start that next month. She said the headaches are probably hormonal, and she prescribed a stronger medicine for it than the Tylenol I had been taking.

After a few more questions, we were done! In at 4:00 and out by 4:30. Next month will take much longer, because we get to see Newbie again, this time to find out the gender! Plus, they use that sonogram to take lots of measurements, so it takes awhile. Hey, the longer I get to see the baby, the better!

And that's this month's report!

16 weeks!

Another week has passed! I've blogged a couple times this week, so not much to update on my end. Oh! The biggest thing this week was that KarenN helped me trade out all my normal clothes for maternity! It was pretty crazy, and I'm so thankful for her help. We ended up with two trash bags full of stuff for Goodwill, two big Rubbermaid bins full of normal clothes, and a closet full of maternity! I am so blessed to have received all the clothes I have. Most of the summer clothes are pretty outdated, so some of it is going to Goodwill as well, and I'll be contributing to the "summer collection" through this summer. I've already added a pair of shorts and a cute top! And hopefully Leanna's going to go shopping with me next week so we can add even more! (Right, Leanna??) I haven't actually cleared it with her, but I'm hoping she says yes. :)

It's fun to have a whole new wardrobe, but also a little intimidating. I don't have my old standbys and I don't know what tops go with what pants. All my favorite comfy clothes are gone. So yeah, I went through a little shock, but it's also so nice to know that whatever I pull out will fit! Some of it's still too big, but a lot of it works just fine.

The Norvells got me a high chair this week, and are scouting out the perfect Pack 'N Play. It's amazing how much variety is out there. I tried to look at baby toys online the other day and quickly got overwhelmed. I think my kid is going to play with cardboard boxes and pots and pans--if only so I don't have to decide what to register for!

On the baby front, Newbie is 4.5 inches, and is "poised for a growth spurt." In the next few weeks he'll double his weight! And sometime in there I'll start to feel his little movements. How cool will that be!

I've got an appointment on Monday--just routine stuff--though John tells me we'll get to hear the heartbeat every time, which is way too neat to be labeled routine.

The Baby Belly Blues

I think baby bellies are so cute. I'm sad when I hear of a woman who feels fat or wants to hide her belly. I don't have much of a belly, but once people have known I was pregnant, I was excited to show it off. I don't mind people commenting on it (as long as the word "fat" is not involved), and I don't mind people touching it.

So imagine my surprise when I tried on a dress on Saturday night, and I was shocked at what I saw. The dress is particularly unforgiving--the stretchy fabric makes it a good transition dress, but it's one of those dresses I've always worn with a conscious effort to suck in my pooch. And now there was no sucking in. That pooch was out there to stay. And it didn't look like pregnant pooch to me at that moment.

I came out to Jon and said, "I'm not skinny anymore!!"

(Not that I would ever describe myself as "skinny," but it made for a more dramatic statement.)

Jon hugged me and affirmed, no, that I was not, but that I wasn't supposed to be, and I looked beautiful.

I wore the dress the next day to church, and by that time I'd gotten a little more used to the idea. I did get immediate comments about my belly when I walked into Sunday School, and I just decided to enjoy it. I mean, how often will I get to wear this dress and not worry about sucking in?

I'm standing at a slight angle, which makes the belly protrude less than in real life. Believe me, it was quite noticeable!

Dreams

On Saturday night, I dreamed that I got my sonogram, and we were having a boy! At the end of my dream, I saw the newborn little baby boy. The odd part (and there always is one in my dreams) is that I was giving myself the sonogram, and had to stand on the bed to see the monitor, which was mounted on the wall near the ceiling.

Last night, I dreamed I was starting to nurse for the first time (I was a champ at it, by the way), and I was nursing a baby girl...who, in retrospect, did not look like a newborn at all. She had lots of dark curls and looked more like...a one-year-old maybe?

Some women say they just had a feeling about what gender their baby was. I think the past two nights' dreams prove that I still have no idea!

Fifteen Weeks

Another week has zoomed past! I got to see my grandparents whom I don't see very often, and show off the little baby belly that I have. I'm quite proud of it. If you mention it, it will make me smile. :) My in-laws are here this week as well, so there's another part of the family who hasn't seen me since I announced.

The past two days I've been wearing maternity shorts--the kind with the hideous full panel. I definitely do not fit in that, yet, but it worked when I rolled and tucked and folded the panel down. Today I pulled out some capri pants, this time with a yoga-wear-like elastic waistband, and it fits just perfectly. Thanks Karen! I think these are my new favorite pants. That paired with my favorite tees from Motherhood (they're not frumpy, and they're nice and long), and I'm good to go.

I've also designed out what the nursery will look like! I'll scan it in and put it up soon, I hope. I'm really excited about it.

A couple weeks ago my mom and I sat down and rearranged the house (on paper), so Jon and I will start shifting things around pretty soon. Then by the time my mom comes on Labor Day to help us organize everything, we'll have hopefully gone through all the junk stuff in our storage closet and thrown away what we don't really need.

I'm realizing I do need to simplify things. I've cleaned out all my magazines, which is really a small part of the Norvell household, but it's a step! And an admission that I can't keep everything. I'm tired of all the random things stuffed into our house, but I haven't been willing to actually cull anything out. So, maybe I will do that now.

Other than that, things have been quiet! Newbie is 4 inches long now. When I say that, it doesn't sound like a big deal. Then I look at something that's about 4 inches long and I think, "Wow! I can't believe there's a 4-inch long baby inside me!" I don't know when I'll get over the craziness of carrying a living being in my belly--probably about the time I push it out!

Oh, so that brings up another story. On Mother's Day weekend, my mom was helping me try to get an earring in my cartilage piercing. I had my head down on the bathroom counter because I was feeling faint, my mom had put a cool damp cloth on my neck, I was holding a piece of ice up to my hear, and yelling, "Ow! Let me do it! Ooohh....be careful!!" and making all kinds of commotion about my ear. At one point I looked at my mom and said, "I guess I should get the epidural, huh?" and she quickly replied, "Yes, dear."

Fourteen weeks and falling apart!

I seemed to have missed officially reporting on week 13. Well, I guess we'll just say it was uneventful.

Week 14, however, has had its share of events. I seem to be falling apart! Apparently, during my pregnancy, my ligaments and joints will start to loosen. This is to prepare for the Great Trip that Newbie will take. All the books warn of trouble during exercising, etc, because of these loose ligaments. I figured that would happen around, oh...week 36 or so. You know, just in time for Newbie to come. However, that seems to not be the case.

I was at DFW airport, grabbing my bags to board for Boston, when I jammed my finger. I have no idea how--I did nothing more than open and close my hand--but my finger felt like it had been jammed. I had severe pain for a few minutes, then it subsided to an ache for a day or so, and then it was gone.

My foot also started hurting. This actually started the weekend before when we were visiting my parents. It went away during the week (because I don't walk much), but the miles of walking I did every day in Boston, and the weight of conference paraphernalia took its toll. I'm sure pregnancy was only one factor in my foot problems.

My feet have also been going to sleep much easier. Just by crossing my legs (which is the way I always sit), I feel that tingling sensation only a few minutes later. No more leg-crossing for me, I suppose.

I've been trying to sleep with a body pillow, to keep me on my left side (which is recommended) and to help my hip alignment or something. It's working okay, but it's literally like having another body in the bed. Pregnant people need King-sized beds for all the pregnancy junk.

Oh, and Jon and I officially made the switch so I'd be on the side of the bed that's closer to the bathroom! So far, I only wake up once in the night, and even then not every night, but I hear it only gets worse, so we might as well get used to it.

Newbie's about 3 1/2 inches long, and his big accomplishment this week is that he's starting to pee--a feat I'm sure we'll witness often in his future. Maybe there's a proportional connection to the baby's peeing and mom's need to pee. Hm...interesting.

Well, that's the update! Until next time!

Telling Work

On Wednesday, I got to tell everyone at work. Monday's sonogram had confirmed that we'd made it through the first trimester, and it was time to share the news! I wanted to tell my boss first, because it's only right. He was in a meeting, and I haunted his door until he made it back. He'd barely sat down when I popped in and closed the door. I handed him an envelope with the sonogram pics in it. He pulled them out then looked at me. "You?" he asked. "Yep!"

He was almost giddy. He reached across the desk and shook my hand. (There's a misconception around work that I'm not a hugger, but that's another story.) He said he felt like he was getting another grandchild, he was so proud. Later he wrote me a nice e-mail saying what a great mother I would be.

After that, my next stop was Jan, who has been my "work mom" since I got to Texas Life. I showed off my locket Jon had given me. I'd put a sonogram picture in it (I know, no one knows what it is except me, and that's okay), and I said, "Well, here's the real picture so you can see it better" and hander her the sonogram. She was so excited. She said, "I thought this morning, 'Lydia looks pregnant!' "

Well, we work in cubicles, so announcing to Jan meant that two other women knew in about 23 seconds. And that was how it started. After that, it wasn't long before most everyone knew. We're a company of about 120 people--30 who know me--and the Marketing Dept is good at spreading news, what can I say? Pretty soon people started showing up, saying, "I was told to come see you." I even got an e-mail from a girl who doesn't even work there anymore! It was so great.

I'm the youngest in my department, so most everyone I told already has children, and it felt like they were welcoming me to their club. Like I'd entered a new stage, and they were all happy for me to be there with them. I guess the newlywed stage is so much shorter than the children stage; it must be harder to relate to.

And that was that! I think that's all the announcing I'll be doing. It's been so much fun to spread good news. We're so blessed to have family and friends to rejoice with us!

Welcome Public World!

Hey! If you're just getting to the blog for the first time, welcome! Be sure and read and comment!

If you're wondering why I waited so long to make it public, I had some people at work who read my lmnovations blog, so I didn't want them to find out and pass the news on to my boss before I told him myself.

More later about announcing to work!

A great trip to the Doctor

Today's appointment was great! It started out with a two-hour wait...it seems that waiting comes with the territory--both with this doctor and with choosing the last appointment of the day. We were the last people in the waiting room, and by the time we made it to the back, I was extremely tired.

According to their scale, I've actually lost weight--one pound. The doctor said that was perfectly fine. My blood pressure was fine, as was my urine sample (put that in there for Margie). My bloodwork from last month was fine as well.

After that, we waited again. I asked the nurse what we were doing today, and she said just listening to the heartbeat. Woohoo! Finally, the Dr. came in and pulled out the Dopplar. She warned us that we might not find the heartbeat, and if we didn't, we'd check things out on sonogram. Okay by us. Well, she found it! A nice whooshy heartbeat! Dr. K said the heart rate was 168, which means people would tell me it's a girl.

Then, she said, "Eh, y'all have been so patient; let's do the sonogram anyway."

Hooray!! Already elated by hearing the hearbeat, we skipped over to the sonogram room. The last sonogram, the tech just took the shots she needed and that was pretty much it. But, we were the last people in the office and Dr. K was in no hurry. She gave us a good long look at our little Newbie, and took lots of pictures for us. We got to keep them all! The cool thing was how active Newbie was! He was wiggling and kicking and waving his arms...it was so fun! Dr. K said an active baby meant that people would tell us we're having a boy.

We saw arms and legs, tiny toes, eyes and mouth....

The smudge at the top is a hand, with his arm extending to the right (you can see the radius and ulna already formed).

This is a shot of his back, looking a little like a turtle.

And this is my favorite of the 2D shots. His little bum is pointed straight up, his knees are tucked out of site, and at the top are his tiny toes!

Then, Dr. K switched the sonogram over to 3D, which was awesome (and normally something you have to pay extra for). Newbie was so active, that we didn't get very many good looks from it, but she did catch one good shot of his face with his arm covering it. Jon and I decided that Newbie is pretty darn cute, so tiny and all.

Can you see his little face?? How cool is that?!

By 6:30, we left the office, far later than we'd expected, but with far more, as well. Again, I am overwhelmingly awed by a God who would bless us with a baby, and who would take care of the little things like finding the perfect doctor, and calming our fears with an unexpected sonogram.

Last Night's Dream

Last night I dreamed that the dr. found from testing that the baby I was carrying was "humanoid," which in my dream meant half human and half something else. The doctor recommended I come back in a month to terminate the pregnancy. I refused, and even followed the dr. out of the office and explained to her why. I told her how disappointed I was because I had chosen her because she was a Christian, and I expected her to practice according to her beliefs.

It was a disturbing dream, and touched on my fears about the testing. I have no doubt that we would keep the baby, but I guess I worry about the results in general, and then the response of the doctor.

I don't even know if/when we will get the tests done, but I do know that God is in control, and He is knitting our little baby together right now.

Off to the dr. in a few hours! I'll give a report after that.

And we're at the Twelve-Week mark!

My What to Expect book doesn't say "Congrats, you've made it through the first trimester!" until week 14. Not sure I understand that. I think I've made it, and that's all that counts, right? (I love this postmodern world....) (Okay, I really don't. I'm completely making fun.)

So, in the last week...I gained half a pound! Woohoo! And by that, I mean a half pound this whole trimester. We'll see if the doctor's okay with that when I go in on Monday. The nurse will be. She seemed to think that that office churned out some fat babies, which, in her opinion, leads to uterus and bladder problems in the mother. The less you gain, the better. I'm pretty sure that's her own opinion, not supported by the office.

I've added a new feature in the sidebar: when my next appointment is and what we'll be doing at that appointment. I've got bloodwork on there because I think that's what she said. If we want testing for chromosomal issues or other potential problems, it will happen in the next few appointments. So if there's anything in our family history that I need to check for, let me know! I think the options for testing are: Down Syndrome, cystic fibrosis, spina bifida, and that's all I can remember.

Right now I'm fighting a cold--nothing big, just annoying. The doctor's office said it's nothing to worry about, just take Tylenol and drink fluids. So that's what I'm doing!

My stomach has gotten decidedly firmer, though it hasn't really grown much lately. And Newbie is developing reflexes this week! "Reflexes" makes me think of a ninja for some reason, but in this context they just mean opening and closing fists. Oh well. I'm sure I'll feel the ninja part later, when I will be able to see Newbie's feet and elbows kicking me from the inside.

Eleven weeks already!

This week has flown by (as evidenced by my lack of posting). It's been busy at work, busy at home trying to get a photography business up and running, and I've been exhausted.

I haven't noticed much change in myself this week, though Newbie has grown another quarter inch. I'd given up Pilates to pursue extra sleep this past week, but today I started back to Pilates. I'm hoping it will help give me energy.

I haven't had any cravings--of course, I've always been easily influenced by suggestion, so maybe I'm just used to ignoring the random things that come into my mind. For example, this morning I had the front door open, and I could swear I smelled Ramen noodles. For a brief moment, I considered having Ramen for breakfast, but like I said, that is completely normal in my life, and easily ignored. I had cereal.

I've been trying to eat well, getting milk and orange juice and trying to have vegetables and fiber every day. There are definitely times when I don't eat well, but I think I'm eating healthier than before we got pregnant. I've always preferred salty over sweet, and I'm still eating salty foods...I figure at some point I should cut them out, but pickles and pretzels and salsa....those are hard to give up!

So that's this week's update. Next week we'll have made it to the end of the first trimester! And then (drum roll please....) I tell work! And that, my friends, will be your ticket to tell the world, blast it out on your blogs, and generally make a public fuss about the fact that you are soon to be an aunt (yeah, I know who's waiting on the edge of the keyboard!).

10 Weeks

I can't believe it's already been 10 weeks! Time is flying!

Not much happened in the last week. I'm very tired, and that's exacerbated by the lack of air conditioning at our house. Neither Jon nor I are sleeping very well, but the broken AC part is on order, so I'm praying it comes soon! I'm just glad the AC isn't broken at my 9th month!

I seem to have missed the worst of the first trimester signs, for which I am extremely grateful! The worst thing I'm dealing with is the need for fiber...I'll let you figure out why. I've added Benefiber to my diet, and I hope that helps. But even that is a small complaint, and I'm crossing my fingers that the rest of my pregnancy goes as well as it has started!

My uterus started out the size of a small pear and has now grown to grapefruite-size. Isn't that crazy! And even crazier is that there's a human being in there! Newbie is about 1 1/4 inches long now, and his development is all about the details: hair, toenails, joints, and his tiny organs are even starting to function on their own. As I'm reminded through every step of pregnancy, God is amazing!

Irony

Today, someone at work said I looked like I was getting smaller. You know, sometimes that happens, and I just politely laugh it off or say something like, "Well, I'm trying...." This time, I couldn't do anything but laugh, and I mean a real, genuine, cracking up laugh. It was just too funny to me, as I've seen my stomach become less and less flattering, and I worked so hard trying to find the perfect outfit to disguise my pregnancy at work.

I know that pregnant people are cute, and I don't think I'll ever worry about the weight I'm gaining, or the loss of my waistline. I mean, I'm pregnant. But what I didn't expect was the "in between" stage where it doesn't look like I'm pregnant. It looks like I hit the Krispy Kremes too hard. I mean, I'm still okay with it, and I'm even okay showing it--around people who know I'm pregnant. But at work...they don't know, and Krispy Kremes might be the only logical conclusion for them.

Until they do know, I think I'll keep wearing this outfit every week. :)

Public...sort of

The blog is public! At least, you don't have to sign in any more. It doesn't show up on my Blogger profile, and it's not linked anywhere on my other blog. The reason is that I have not told work, yet, and there is someone at work who reads my other blog. I plan on telling work at the end of the first trimester (3 more weeks), so please, until then, don't mention my being pregnant on your blogs...or anywhere in Waco, in case you're there. :)

So, making this blog "public" doesn't mean the news is public; it just means you don't have to sign in any more. :)

Gender Discussions

So the topic of late has been on gender. Will our sweet little Newbie be a young prince or princess? My father-in-law, father to two sons, insists on calling Newbie a "she." My Mawmaw is sure it will be a girl, and my mom thinks it would be fun to have a girl since we now have Ian in the family. A friend of ours, Christie, has correctly picked the gender of 8 out of 9 babies born in our Sunday School class, and she thinks I'm having a girl.

I, on the other hand, call Newbie a "he," not because I want a boy over a girl, but because I'm just used to the boy coming first. My brother and Jon were firstborns, my uncle was firstborn. It's just what I'm used to. And I refuse to switch back and forth between "he" and "she" because I'm sure that would confuse everyone.

Yesterday, we pulled out an old wives tale sort of trick involving a needle and thread, and the result was a 75% chance girl. At least, 3 out of the 4 times we tried it, the results were girl!

In our family discussions, Jon and I have decided on a two-out-of-three rule. We'd like a boy and a girl, and if we get two boys or two girls, we'll try one more time. If at that point, we haven't seen a shred of pink or a bit of blue, well, that's the end of it for us. We were meant to have all girls or all boys (and heaven help us!). But, in general, we'd like both, so whatever Newbie turns out to be, it's just a start into the beginning of our family.

So here's your chance: boy or girl? What do you think? Put in your predictions!

Nine weeks

We've made it through nine weeks! Newbie is about an inch long now, with all organs in place, and "poised for rapid growth," as BabyCenter says. Woohoo!

On my side of things, I think I only bit three people's heads off yesterday...whoopsie...just a little bit moody. I also think I took a nap, and I felt much better and was much more productive afterward. I only think I took a nap, because I have no recollection of it, but there was a period of about an hour that I cannot account for! I hung up from talking to Jon at around 2-ish, then the phone rang almost immediately, and it was 3:00. Hm...

So being tired has been a big thing this week. On Tuesday I woke up, did Pilates, then practically fell asleep on my final stretch.
I pulled myself off the floor and made it to the bed before crashing until work started. Usually I do my Bible study in the mornings as well, but that didn't happen.

Thursday, I decided to do the Bible study first, but by the time I was done with that, it was again all I could do to drag myself to the bed for another hour of sleep before work.

So, today, I just went ahead and slept the extra hour. I got my Bible study done, but not Pilates. Still, I feel tons better today. Hopefully I'll be able to get Pilates back in there soon!

And that's about it! I'm working through almost a dozen samples of prenatal vitamins from the doctor. I'm supposed to pick which one I like best, but really, am I going to tell that much difference? We'll see.

I picked up maternity clothes from Karen on Wednesday, including the Bella Band I've wondered about for forever. I used it yesterday, and the jury's still out on it. I'll try to post a demo of it sometime. :)

You're Really Coming!

I must admit that, while I've had lots of proof (positive tests and some changes in your Mom) to tell me that you are on the way, I was really taken aback when I saw your little heart beating today. It was amazing! I literally said, "Hallelujah," when we saw you. I guess part of me, being a worrier, was just so blessed to see that you are doing OK and really coming.

Well, that's it for now...I just wanted to write down how I felt the very first time that I saw you - amazed and blessed!

Newbie's First Photo Shoot

Today was the day of the first appointment! It went great! Here's our first look at our little Newbie!
Kind of looks like a peanut, and the head is on the left of the photos. There are some bumps on the side that could be arms and legs--at 8 weeks, Newbie should have those, but the nurse didn't mention it.

The pictures aren't the greatest, but seeing the heartbeat was pretty cool. It was a tiny, fast flutter that said things are okay.

My due date is as we'd expected, November 21, 2008.

We really liked the doctor. She was very personable and down to earth, and she listened to every question I had. They took my bloodwork and everything else, and that's it! My next appointment is May 12. I came home with a bag full of samples and other goodies, and Jon and I were both happy and excited about the experience. The doctor's office is 5 minutes away, and in the hospital where we'll have the baby.

Once again I'm humbled by the blessings God has given us.

So blessed

Newbie is just 8 weeks old, and he/she already has so many things!

I've made two blankets. The taggie blanket is like the ones I gave as shower gifts. The Pooh quilt was when my friend Bekah taught us how to make a quilt in a day.

My parents already have a crib from when Brooke was little, and we'll move that to our house at some point (hopefully not too soon!).

My parents found a stroller and carseat at a good price. Just taking it out to take this picture showed me a lot of the cool stuff it can do. I'm already envisioning trips to the State Fair....

And my sister-in-law, KarenN, couldn't resist the "Baby's First Easter" stuff on sale!

What a blessing to be so loved before even being born! Thank you!

Eight Weeks!

We've made it through 8 weeks! 2 months. Wow.

So far, still not many signs of pregnancy. Still no morning sickness, and I'm crossing my fingers that maybe I've bypassed it altogether. Some girls I've talked to say it could still happen, and some say it won't. I like the second group of girls.

The feeling of gagging that I had earlier on has gone away for the most part. I've always got something in my purse to munch on...Jon laughed at me yesterday when he started to get hungry and I offered peanuts and raisins. When he said no, I offered a breakfast bar? No...well, I should have a mint in here somewhere....oh look! A cookie! I'm like a squirrel hoarding for the winter.

I'm taking belly shots, but nothing much to show there, so they're not worth posting, yet. I've always had a little pooch, but when I lay down, the pooch flattens out nicely. Not any more. The same pooch is there, but it doesn't flatten out. That's made some "borderline" pants not so comfortable, and Jon laughs at my hanging out at the house with my pants unbuttoned....don't tell him I did it at work the other day, too. :)

Hm...what else is different. Really not much. Haven't gained any weight, yet, which I think is good, considering that Newbie is only the size of kidney bean. I haven't been sleeping well, which makes me tired during the day. And I've been kind of crabby. They say PMS symptoms get worse during pregnancy, and I would say that's true. Let me extend a blanket apology now! :)

So how's Newbie doing? Well, this is what BabyCenter says:

New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

Pretty exciting, huh? We go to the doctor on Monday! Our first time to meet our little one! I cannot wait. I'll give you an update then!

It's all in the wording.

Pregnant
Preggers
Prego
All Pooched Out (APO)
Bun in the Oven

and my favorite:

PregNENto! (Has to be exclaimed, and with an Italian accent)(And yes, this is my own word.)

I never liked preggers or prego, but I've found myself using both terms. I think because "pregnant" just seems so...overwhelming, both to me and to people around me who aren't pregnant. So, prego seems to tone it down a bit.

What are other synonyms? Leave comments! Oh, and if you're from the future :) and reading this blog for the first time and I posted it weeks ago, no worries. Comment anyway! I'm notified of all comments, so I read them even if they're on posts I haven't looked at in months. So everyone feel free to comment on past posts!

Oh.

So I'm not 7 weeks along like I've been saying. I'm only 6 weeks along. Evidently, since I'm in my 7th week, that means I'm 6 weeks. Kind of like Sophie is still 1 even though she's in her 2nd year. Make sense? Yeah, so that was a disappointment. Pooh. So I'll be 8 weeks along at my dr. appt., not 9, like I'd thought. Anyway, just wanted to clear that up in case I'd led anyone astray!

I looked for one of those counter things to put on my blog, that would count down the days to birth, but I couldn't find one I liked. I'll keep looking, and then sometime soon it'll be up and you and I will both be able to figure out how far along I am!

Other people we've told

Besides the family and Leanna, we've now told Holly and the Sapps. Holly was ecstatic and very indignant that we'd waited SO LONG to tell her, which was exactly how I knew she'd react. I love that girl. Ten minutes after we left her house, her mom called, ALSO ecstatic! I feel like we're part of the family! Holly and I have started walking together in the afternoons, so I'm looking forward to today's walk so we can talk all about baby stuff! Sophie is almost 2 now, and Holly has been a very practical mom, so she's a very good resource about diapers, what a baby really needs, etc. Of course, she's cursed me with twins (usually whenever I'm laughing at Sophie disobeying), so we'll see if that comes true or not! How crazy would that be!

The Sapps are family friends of the Norvells, and Raymond Sapp is the musician extraordinaire in the bluegrass band I'm in. So, I wanted to tell him so I could give a good amount of notice before I left the band. We've got a potential/probable gig in June, and that will be my last. I've learned and improved so much since we started getting together, so I'll miss all the practice, but I stay pretty overcommitted most of the time, and I just can't keep that up when I'm trying to make a baby! So, I'll start to cut down on things.

Oh, and I also told Greta, who I'm pretty sure called me to "announce" about ten minutes after she took the pregnancy test, so it was fun to tell her. She's about 7 weeks ahead of me, so she's my pregnant friend to discuss preparation and nursery and all that with. She also lives in Lubbock, so no fear of telling anyone else.

HOWEVER, Jon keeps hounding me about spilling the beans to everyone! Gosh.... (Napoleon Dynamite-style) We're having our next church planting meeting on April 5th, so we'll probably need to tell those people, since this greatly affects our decisions (it doesn't change the fact that we're doing it, just maybe the logistics of things). So, if Jon convinces me that we need to tell them, then we'll probably tell everyone around that time.

It's so fun to tell everyone! Hooray!!

My grandmothers' reaction...

So, I finally called my grandmothers, Granny Norvell and Mawmaw Dailey, today. They were both very excited, I could tell even though neither of them screams or jumps up and down like a few people we've told! For each of them, this baby will be their first great-grandchild, and they both really seemed to like the idea. Mawmaw Dailey even offered to help pay for it all, which I of course politely turned down. You have to know her to understand how funny that is!

I'm excited, too!!!

Still Pregnant

So it's a little weird to not go to the dr. yet. Since I still don't have a lot of signs of pregnancy, it just hasn't seemed very real. A sonogram would be really nice! But, by the time we get one, little Newbie will be more developed and that will be cool.

I'm very thirsty, so I drink lots of water (which is good, because I'm supposed to). I have to go to the bathroom a lot, probably due to all the water I'm drinking more than anything else. I occasionally feel pains in my abdomen, and I have a gag feeling at the back of my throat really often.

See? No doubt I'm pregnant. Right? :)

A little weird, but documented

I've always loved to play dress up. There are pictures of me in some pretty crazy things throughout the years: clown costume, nurse's uniform, my dad's shoes while I pretended to mop the piano bench..... Yeah.... Let's focus on that last image and just realize how weird I am.

So, imagine the temptation to dress up when my mom gave me some beautiful maternity clothes! So beautiful! Apparently the "Motherhood" store was having a huge sale, so my mom picked out some things for me to go to work and church in. I love them all! And of course I had to try them on. But, really, it's kind of hard to figure out the fit when I'm not really showing. At all.

Sooooo......


Thanks Momma! When my belly's the size of the green pillow, it will all fit perfectly!

Our first appointment

So I made the appointment. I chose Dr. Compassion, though because of scheduling differences, ended up with someone completely different, but whom I believe will also be compassionate. This doctor accepts new patients when they're 8-10 weeks along, so I'm going in on April 14th, at 8 weeks. I was expecting a 6 week appointment (next week), so having to wait until April was a little disappointing, but I have a feeling the weeks will go by very quickly!

The Grandparents got it out of us!

So Grandpa called today just to chat. Then I talked with Grandma for a bit, and she started talking about the things she was working on for her great grandkids for Christmas. It just seemed so perfect, I couldn't resist telling her, "You'll have another great grandkid at Christmas!!" She really just pulled it out of me! Gotta watch out for those grandmothers!

So then I called my Mawmaw, who said she'd expected "the announcement" would be coming soon, so she wasn't surprised in the least. Both grandmothers hoped for a girl.

We'll be telling Jon's grandparents soon as well.

As for everyone else, I still don't know when we'll tell them. Jon doesn't think we'll be able to keep the secret very long. I'd still like to hold off a little. I know I'd originally said we'd tell those we'd also tell if there's a miscarriage, but as I explained to my mom today, telling people makes it so much more real, and the loss so much worse if we were to miscarry. So, the longer we wait, the better chances our baby has, and that happier we'll be when we let people know.

Since the announcement

It's so hard not to tell everyone!! Leanna called me, she may even be coming over today, and I'm not sure I'll be able to hold it in! I may tell her. After all, I don't get to see her all that often, so I should tell her when I get the chance, right? And Margie comes over almost every day for Pilates, and Holly's just next door....all I'm thinking about is being pregnant, and I can't tell them!

Of course, this is self-inflicted torture, because Jon and I chose to wait until after our first appointment to tell grandparents and best friends. Still...

Speaking of appointments, I called a doctor yesterday to make an appointment. There's a group of 3 doctors, and I really wanted one (and really didn't want another), but because of scheduling difficulties, ended up with the one I didn't want. She's known to be pretty blunt and all business, taking more precautions than most doctors, and I wanted someone a little more laid back. So I'm trying to decide if I should call one more doctor today. Only this doctor, I have no idea about, just reviews online, which are of course too varied to tell. The differences between the two, based on reviews (and my friend's experience with the first):

Doctor A: All business. If you have questions, you better ask quick, because she won't wait around for you to come up with them. It's her way or the highway, and my friend said she explained things like a man, so her husband really liked her. She's always on time and very professional.

Doctor B: All bedside manner. She'll chew the fat with you until you're exchanging friendship bracelets. One reviewer also said she'd go the extra mile to do research on your particular symptoms, etc, which piqued my interest because of my vulvar vestibulitis, which many doctors don't know about, and even fewer really know how to treat. Because of her friendliness, the wait time for appointments is very long.

So, a task master or a friend...I think the friend appeals to me much more, but I may need someone not as much like me, a taskmaster to keep me in line. I don't know....

On to another topic, I don't have any pregnancy signs yet. No nausea or cravings. I haven't been very hungry, though, and have lost a pound and a half. SO...I guess I'll be finishing my plate no matter what! I'm not a pregnancy expert, but I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to LOSE weight!

How we told everyone

Dave & Karen: Our first to tell! We got on speakerphone to talk with them. Karen was saying how she was so sorry about the kittens, and I said something like, "Yeah, I don't know how we're going to get over it." Then Jon said, "Well, we actually have one thing that might help...." We paused to let that sink in, and the next thing was Karen screaming, "NO WAY!!" Then we all started screaming, and because it was on speakerphone, we had no idea what we all said, but it was evident we were all excited. :) We hung up from talking with them, and then they surprised us by showing up at our door about an hour later! We chit-chatted for awhile, then grabbed ice cream and celebrated!

Walter & Mary: They were out of pocket almost the whole day. Finally, right before Dave & Karen came over, they returned our call. Jon's message had been something like, "Call us. Today. Please." (Not obvious at all.) Then when they called, Jon asked if they could get on speaker (again I'm thinking they're sure to guess). Their phone doesn't have speakerphone, so they must have just put both their ears to the phone. Jon said, "So we have something to tell you." There's a pause, and Mary said, "What?" (Like she kind of had a guess.) I said, "Well, you're going to be coming here this Christmas." Mary: "Is there a reason?" I said, "Cuz we ain't travelin' with a baby!" Walter's first response was, "Are you kidding us?" but we reassured them that no, we were really pregnant! We didn't talk long because Dave & Karen came at that point, and Walter was crying too much to talk anyway.

Alan & Carolyn, John & Karen: Since we were going to see them today for birthday celebration, we could plan a little bit more. I made a little shirt for Ian that said, "I'm the cousin." It's a shirt that will be big enough for him to wear in November. I stuck it in a gift bag and explained with something like, "Oh, and we got something for Ian because it was just too cute to pass up!" It was lunchtime when we got to John & Karen's, but I didn't want to eat until we'd announced! I begged everyone to do gifts first (which is not abnormal for me), and was relieved when we did. If we hadn't, it might have been announced like, "PasstheketchupWE'REPREGNANT!" Anyway, we all opened gifts, and I gave Ian's gift to John to open last. As he pulled out the shirt, his first words were, "This is huge!" Then he glanced over the words and flipped it around for everyone else to see. Suddenly, it hit him, and his face went blank and he said, "What." in a disbelieving, deadpan voice. A small pause, then everyone figured it out at once! My mom was FLOORED because I'd managed to keep our little baby bug secret pretty well. My dad said he could have figured it out (yeah....). It was so great.

Jon's got a secret (before we told)!

"What."

"I knew all along!"

"!!!!"

Everyone's reactions were priceless and memorable. We were so excited to tell you yesterday and today, and covet your prayers in this new journey!

Now leave comments with your version of how it happened: what you were thinking and when you figured it out!

Today, we told the family...

Well, I've not been a regular contributor to this blog, but I'll try to kick in some of my POV from time to time from now on.

Yesterday, we told my family (Mom and Dad, Dave and Karen), and today we told Lydia's side (Alan and Carolyn, John and Karen). It has been so wonderful to see how excited everyone is for us. I don't think they are as excited as we are, or as anxious!

I'm so looking forward to being a dad. I've actually put some considerable thought into the prospect, and I really hope and pray that Lydia and I can do a good job. It is strange to know that someone else will so fully depend upon us, not only for care and supply of the basic needs but also, and more importantly, for formation - formation of the body, the mind, and the heart. For this process, I know that I will need to grow more dependant upon God's power and activity in my life. The truth is: I am not a good person, a good parent, a good teacher, a good comforter, by myself. However, I (and Lydia, of course) do not have to go forward with this endeavour by myself! Thanks be to God!

Well, that's just how I feel right now. I'll input some more later.

PT#4

Oh my gosh we're pregnant.

So you know I've been charting (okay, maybe you didn't, but that just means you need to start back at the beginning of this blog!), and I've gotten pretty familiar with what my cycle looks like. As we neared the end of this last cycle, I wasn't showing signs of it. We both had the possibility of pregnancy in the backs of our minds, but really, we didn't want to think about it too much.

On Wednesday, I got sick. I didn't throw up, but my stomach felt awful. I joked with Jon that I was pregnant, but really figured it was the Mexican food I'd had for lunch (and it still might have been).

My cycle should have ended yesterday at the very latest, so we decided to take the test today, to give one more day for accuracy. (In the meantime, both our new kittens died, and I didn't know if that had anything to do with a slightly longer cycle, since stress can affect that.) This morning, the test. Within a few seconds, I glanced over and thought I saw the plus sign, but glanced away quickly, wanting to give it more time. I couldn't wait long, though, and it was confirmed. A plus sign.

"Jon...? Come here...."

We couldn't believe it. It doesn't even seem real. As a matter of fact, we're picking up another pregnancy test while we're out running errands today, just in case.

Oh my gosh we're pregnant!! From my calculations, we're due around Nov. 20th. I've got to find a doctor and have them confirm that...and then start on a 9 month relationship with that doctor! Crazy!!

A post

I've been trying to do at least a post a month, but I seemed to have missed all of February. Well...nothing happened in the baby world. Our cat, Friday, passed away, and our nephew, Ian was born. John and Karen are doing great in their new roles! I hope we adjust as well when that day comes. And we just got two new kittens. They're pretty sick, requiring nighttime feedings and lots of care. Kind of like babies, only with less crying!

And that's pretty much it! Hopefully more exciting news to come....

Reality Check

Jon's birthday is in a little over a week. 28. Wow. As we've gotten closer to his birthday, it's reminded me of a conversation we had his last birthday. It's been a year since we started down this road to a family. A year of learning new things, doing research, observing others. And still no baby. I kinda thought it would be a breeze to get pregnant. I go off the pill--I get pregnant. I was thinking six months, tops. It's been a slight shock to realize that this year-long process has not produced the results we expected.

However, I'm so thankful for this year. Our marriage has strengthened, we've enjoyed times with family and friends, we've watched as Karen has almost made it through her 9 months of pregnancy, and we've trusted God with His timing.

I've also been thankful that our journey has been somewhat a solitary one. Not many people know, at this point, that we even want children right now. I imagine it would take a dense person to miss that we hold babies whenever we can, that we ask lots of questions, and that we no longer make anti-baby jokes. But I've hoped that people would chalk that up to all the exposure to babies that we've had this year. Anyway, whether people know or have guessed or are still in the dark, it's nice to not have to answer constant questions and be thinking about it all the time.

And really, for the most part, we don't think about it. We're excited about where God has us now, and that keeps us busy and content where we are!

At some point, if our inability to conceive becomes more than a slight disappointment--if it becomes a burden that weighs heavily on us--we would be the first to talk about it with our families and friends. You are our support group, and we would be eager to have you share our load for awhile. Right now, though, Jon and I are content to trust in God's timing, and not worry about the months that have gone by. And hopefully, when we talk with you about it, it's not to lean on you in our discouragement, but to announce the coming of the our little Newbie! (Of course, by the time you read this, that will have already happened!)

We should hire ourselves out!

There's been a rash of babies born the last couple of months. Well, three babies. Anyway, it turns out that Jon and I have quite a way with the little ones. Jon has them staring adoringly into his eyes (I think it's his deep voice that gets 'em), and I successfully calmed a screaming baby today. We're both pretty proud of ourselves and think we'd be pretty darn good parents. I'm sure our opinion will change when we have our own screaming child to deal with. Until then, we've decided we should hire ourselves out to those parents whose pre-baby confidence has been shattered.

Probably not Pregnant

Well, it seems I'm not pregnant as I'd hoped I'd be. In my heart, I'm wondering if I might have miscarried, though just too early to have recognized it. The reasons I think this: 1) my luteal phase only lasted 12 days, when it should last at least 14 to be a happy place for a fertilized egg to live. 2) I've had cramps and a "gross" feeling stomach all day, which are period symptoms I never have. 3) To spare the details, my period has just been different from others. and 4) I've read enough and known enough cases to realize that the likelihood of miscarriage is actually pretty high. One of those things where knowledge has only made me fear the worst.

I've heard women can have a period while they're pregnant, and considering how different this one is from most, I guess it could be true. But it could also be true that I miscarried.

Of course, it could be neither, and just being out of town all last week and whatever else is going on could have contributed to a weird period. Nothing to worry about!

Whatever happened, I know that God is in control. He has perfect timing and wisdom, and I trust that.

Just a side note

I have a feeling that if I don't get pregnant next month, I'm going to be very disappointed. Maybe because I'm not pregnant this month, and I've got a tinge of disappointment. I have to admit, though, I've been thinking how great it would be to announce to our families at Christmas, since we'll see EVERYONE. But that means I'd have to get pregnant this month. That thought is crazy and scary and exciting all at the same time.

See, I'm getting my hopes up! I need to keep my hopes down! Down, hopes, down!

Isn't it silly how I get my hopes up because of the convenient timing of it all? But it's not really the timing. I think Jon and I are just ready for the next stage.