Twitches/Flutters/Bubbles/Fish

I'm feeling things....weird alien things. The feelings started about 3 days ago. It happens at about 10:00pm once I have gone into my room to lay down. I prop myself up against my pillows and then it starts to happen.....not just once or twice, but a consistant little bit of movement that takes up my belly. It's still not very strong but there is no mistaking it.... I'M STARTING TO FEEL THE BABY!!! I get really quiet and I move my hands over the movement and I can feel it in my fingertips. Don't worry, I don't keep it to myself, I always whisper over to Tim and his hand will come to rest firmly on my belly, and he too has been able to experience it. It is such a precious moment that we can share together. No words need to be spoken our eyes and faces say it all. I can't believe this is only the beginning.

As I feel more movement it only makes me anticipate our next doctor's appointment even more. One week from today we will find out if we will be planning for "ruffles and lace or footballs and jeans" to take a sweet saying from Aunt Carol. I can't believe we're at that point. I can't believe I'm 18 weeks. I can't believe I'm starting my 5th month. I can't believe the size of my belly! haha! I really do look forward to finally being able to plan some things out. I've been so patient in purchasing items, and "nesting" in the nursery. I would LOVE to be able to start putting the nursery together, but I know I can't until one little thing is answered. I know mom is feeling the same way. She's already started shopping for items to keep at her house. It shouldn't be surprising to know she already has a pack and play complete with bassinet. I think it's adorable. It's a great feeling to have people excited for you. The encouragement does wonders for the ego.

Only a few more weeks left of school and I couldn't be any more thrilled. The end of the year brings our spring show (Aristocats), finals, major grading, and tweenage behavior struggles. The kids are just as ready to leave as I am. This week I have spent everyday after school until 5:00pm or later working on the sets for Aristocats of which I am directing. Thankfully I have my family there helping me with each step. Casey is helping big time with the painting and Mom is running my sound. This past weekend Mom and I drew up the plans, and the guys literally built the set pieces from wood we had picked up from Home Depot. The set consists of 8x8 flats we put together with plywood and 2x4s. My life is consumed with this play and I think I'm running out of steam. To say I'm tired is a drastic understatement. The kids are working really hard but I'm still nervous/stressed because the sound system is practically non-existent. The kids look nice.....you just can't hear them and they are already practically yelling. I know it will turn out wonderfully, but the stress is still there because we've been working on this twice a week since January, and I want their hard work to show. They really are good kids and I really appreciate their effort.

I'm ready for the coming week. Big Baby News and the show are all on the horizon. I think I need to take a day off to recoup!

Anxiously Waiting

So I went in on Thursday to my much anticipated doctor's appointment....sadly they said we will be waiting another 2 weeks until we do the sonogram to find out the gender. TWO WHOLE WEEKS! That seems forever away. I'm ready to find out right now...like this very second. My students are too, which I think is very endearing. They initially told me 3 more weeks, and I pulled the teacher card and wanting to tell them before school is over, and they conceded. While I'm on the subject of my doctor I must say, the office isn't my favorite in the entire world. I like Dr. Davila fine enough, but the office itself is not very nice, and the people working there seem a little jaded. Instead of being warm and welcoming to each person who walks in, they tend to be a cold and unfriendly. I'm sure I was totally spoiled by having first gone to Dr. Gellman's office (my specialist) where everyone there feels like family, but there's something in me that says it should be a little more special than it has been. I switched to the OBGYN when I was about 8 weeks, because the OBGYN I had seen forever didn't offer afternoon appointments. I asked around and Dr. Davila came highly recommended. Like I said before, I like her, but the office drives me up the wall, and everytime I go I promise myself I won't go back. I've got to figure out a better situation. I might just switch and go to her other office out in Pembroke Pines, it must be better than the Hollywood office.

I am officially in the last week of my fourth month....next week starts my fifth month. WOW! I can definitely feel where my uterus is now up to my bellybutton. Pretty soon I think I will really be showing. As I sit here I am still in normal clothes, but I have started investing in some maternity pants so that I'm not floundering for something to wear when it does finally happen. I wore maternity jeans last night just to see what it was like....and I think it was too soon because they didn't really want to stay up. I pratically needed a belt! Tim says that defeats the purpose. HA! It is fun to shop for new clothes though. Tops are easy, because you don't even need "maternity" to find cute things that will fit. Pants are a little harder, but still possible. I went into the store Motherhood the other day...and I think it overwhelmed me a bit by the tent like outfits they offered. I might stick with other stores, and let me just say...who doesn't love Target? I'm including a few recent pictures.

This one is at 16 weeks.


This one is 17 weeks.

I'm a'changin'!!!

So, Uncle Casey (aka my brother) got home this evening!! I'm so excited that he's home for summer. Tim, Casey, and I form a trio to be reckoned with and I'm so glad that it's complete for the next few months. I'm thankful to be so close to my family, what a wonderful support system they are!

Mother's Day

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,The fruit of the womb is a reward."
Psalm 127:3 New King James Version

Little by little as my belly expands, the reality of bearing this child is becoming more real. Today in particular has really been a day to reflect and praise the Lord for what He has done, and for what is to come. It has been so wonderful to be thought of today by my family and friends. The sweet cards I received in the mail, and the kinds of phone calls and texts have really made me feel special.

In a way I am already "mothering" this child inside of me. I am constantly aware of what I am putting into my body, because I know that every little detail is important, and affects the baby. Giving the baby enough nourishment and vitamins is my number one priority right now. I am also a prayer warrior for this little being. Praying for the now, praying for it's future, and praying for everything in between. Is it possible to already start worrying about all of the decisions they will make, and the scenerios they will encounter? I just pray right through it.

A milestone from this week was bringing home the gorgeous nursery furniture I found (on craigslist of all things). Seeing it set up in the room that will be the nursery really made it feel real in our home. In a few months there will be a baby resting peacefully (hopefully) in the crib. I enjoy going in that room just for a few moments to have some quiet, reflective time. I took a few pictures of the set, first is the high chest of drawers, and the second is the changing dresser. The crib is not set up yet, but I will add that picture when it is.

I have a doctor's appointment this Thursday. I think this may be the "big appointment" where we find out the baby's gender. No longer an "it" but a her or him. It makes me a little nervous to think about. The planning will go into full swing once that has been answered. I will surely post about it once we know.....right now I'm just enjoying today...I might go peek at that set again...

Day Dream Believer

I had a dream last night, the baby had arrived. The dream was vivid. It was real. So real, that I actually felt myself being depressed when I woke up this morning and reality sank in. I can honestly say that I am getting more and more excited by the day to get to meet this amazing life form that is growing inside my beautiful wife’s belly. The interesting thing about this dream, though, is that despite it being real, and despite the vivid memory of holding the little one, we never gave it a name, nor do I remember even finding out if it was a boy or a girl. This intrigues me. Although, I must say that I am not surprised because that seems to be the question of the century.

Now that the word is out that Kristin and I are expecting, everyone keeps asking me the same 2 questions…1) Do you know if it is a boy or a girl? and 2) Do you have a preference? Well, the answer is always the same. 1) No, and 2) Yes! I won’t give the cliché answer of “I just want a healthy baby” (does anyone ever really want a non-healthy baby?). I have thought about this long and hard and although my opinion changed often prior to Kristin getting pregnant, since the moment we found out I have longed for a baby girl. Don’t get me wrong, I do want a boy eventually, but if I could pick this first one, I would pick a girl. I am not sure why that is. I don’t have any sisters and really know nothing about taking care of a little girl, but I find myself letting my mind wonder to what it is going to be like to look into my little girls eyes and be totally captivated. To be able to set the example of what she should look for in a husband and to protect her until she finds that man (and yes, he is going to have to be one heck of a guy to take my little girl away from me.)

So, in all actuality, I don’t really care because no matter what we have, that baby is going to be loved. I look forward to the day I get to hold him or her in my arms and I know without a doubt that it will be infinitely better that any dream I can possibly have!

Migraine

So this little gweeseling is giving me a headache. No, seriously, I am officially suffering from severe migraines because of my changing hormones. Here is what happened:
Friday evening we went to the Sheridan House Auction. It was a wonderful event but I wasn't able to really focus on it. While we were standing around during the silent auction I noticed that something was wrong with my vision. I couldn't see what I wanted to look at. It was as if I had looked at a bright light, and that spot was now blacked out in my vision. It was scary but I assumed it would go away. After sitting down for the main event my right hand started to go numb. It was strange because it affected one finger at a time. Of course mom was immediately alarmed and started checking certain vital signs. I was alarmed also because I couldn't formulate the words to tell them what was going on with me. The words literally were escaping me. I felt helpless not being able to communicate what I wanted to. This all resulted in a massive migraine that lasted until I went to bed. It was terrible. Even more terrible was that it happened the next night as well. Vision, numbness, speech, massive migraine. I had another dizzy episode Monday morning and thus I called my doctor and they rushed me in. The OB I saw said that the dizzy spell was probably from low blood sugar, but he was concerned about the other symptoms.He said that the baby was fine but he referred me to a neurologist whom I saw this afternoon. My very nice neurologist did a very thorough check-up that included testing every minute reflex, and had me walking all over the office to check balance. He said that everything seems fine (no further stroke symptoms) and that he is diagnosing it as textbook severe migraines. Not fun, no medication for me, but so much better than it could have been. It was very scary not knowing what it was. It is just another example of how every pregnancy is different.

I'm still not showing yet, but I will say when I woke up this morning, before I got out of bed, I could actually feel a little lump in my belly. I looked down and sure enough a had a little bump to the left of my belly button. It was surreal. After I got up and started moving around I tried to lay back down to show Tim, but it wasn't there anymore. I'm hoping that I'll catch the little hiding machine tomorrow morning so I can show Tim.

29 more days left with my students. Maybe the migraines aren't hormone related....middle schoolers I'm sure are more than enough to do that to the average person.

Waiting for the change

I can totally feel and see my body changing, but if you didn't know any better, the average person wouldn't see anything out of the ordinary. I'm told that a woman's second trimester is the thing worth writing sonnets about. This I can already understand. I can feel my energy returning, and I know that shortly I'll have a cute little round bump. Who wouldn't love that? Feeling good AND looking pregnant!! I'm excited for that stage. I won't lie, I totally cheated today, I might have left my top button unbuttoned on my pants. I obviously wore a shirt that wouldn't show anything and was more than long enough, but it just felt better not to button them. I did prove to myself they could be buttoned, but why deal with tighter pants all day? I feel good about my decision.

We went on a wonderful trip up to Virginia to our alma mater Liberty University. It was wonderful to visit Casey and as a bonus I also got to spend time with Hilary and Leslie. It was a WONDERFUL weekend filled with laughter. After the bevy of 7th grade pubescent attitudes that have built up in one of my classes, I was able to shake it all off and let it melt away into an enjoyable weekend with my loved ones. I must say I satisfied a multitude of cravings I've been having by visiting some of my all time, top of my list, favorite restaurants. I am happy to say I was a member of the clean plate club at every single one of them too! Now that has never happened before. I can never finish, but it was not a problem, and even sitting here now I could really go for some more Osaka's! Along with this fabulous weekend came a clever new baby name curtesy of the Hags.....Gweeseling. Since my so-sweet nickname in college was Gweese, they have decided to coin a new loving name on Dot. I think it's adorable and super fitting!

I'll be 14 weeks on Friday and I still can't believe it's already at that point. There are times I feel that it is going so slowly, and other times I feel like it's flying by. My mantra is: take it one day at a time. The light at the end of my most immediate tunnel is making it to Summer vacation. Only 34 more work days left and I will be floating daily in my pool....I know I can make it!

Going Public

Well, it's happened! Tim and I went public with our exciting news this past Sunday. It was such a thrill to post about our upcoming baby! We both changed our statuses at the exact same time, and there was a little rush of energy that ran through us and we clicked the "send" button.Oh, but it has been so worth it! The responses have been so sweet and encouraging and I'm constantly in awe of how wonderful my friends and family are. I have plenty of pictures I can finally post, and even newer sonogram pictures to load but sadly my computer isn't working for me. It'll be fixed in no time and those pictures will be up! I'll post soon!