"May the God of hope fill you with great joy and peace as you trust in him." Romans 15:13

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Month 4 - 19 Weeks

Tomorrow I will be 19 weeks pregnant, almost half-way there.  Crazy!

Crazier still, I feel great!  I had someone tell me this week that pregnancy in your late 30's is torture.  They were lamenting for how terrible I must feel.  Now, I know from experience, that the "best" is yet to come - but at the moment, I feel incredible.  I truly have NO complaints.  I am feeling beyond blessed, and I am totally savoring this time.





Photo credits go to Sierra for these Oct. 20 shots.

The weight gain has begun, and I can honestly say, I am not enjoying it.  I have no issue with my profile changing - but the numbers climbing on the scale do not excite me.  I have always gained about 40 lbs per pregnancy.  It never really stressed me out in the past.  However, throughout my 30's maintaining my weight has gotten more challenging.  I am certain losing baby weight will be more challenging as well, and I do not look forward to that at all. So - I am making sure to eat healthfully, exercise as is appropriate and possible in our crazy schedule, thus taking the best care of myself and our baby possible.  I am trying to balance being healthy - I may or may not have eaten my weight in chocolate chip cookies during one of my pregnancies - and allowing my body all the calories it needs during these next months.  I will have the rest of my life to worry about my jean size, so I am doing my best to enjoy this expandable pant phase to the max!

I am impatiently waiting for the baby to kick with enough force that the kids can feel him.  I can feel him internally, but they have not had the pleasure yet.  Joshua and Brenna try sometimes, and they will be SO excited when they succeed.

I took a video of the doctor checking the baby's heartbeat today so that the kids could hear it.  I think that the sound of an unborn baby's heartbeat is one of the most incredible noises there is. Just listening to it makes my heart sigh. The youngest three were thrilled.  In fact, Sierra texted me before my appointment to remind me of my promise.  Krissy was not impressed.  She said it just sounds like wind in a microphone. (His/her heartbeat was 150 today. I am measuring 20.  And I was a great patient and received my flu shot today.)

The ultrasound is 3 weeks away.  If the baby is not moving too much, we will get to see her in 3D!  I am really looking forward to seeing this little one, be it 2D or 3D.  I am still not thrilled about finding out the gender - but I am OK with it.  Gender neutral seems to be a thing of the past, so I may as well keep with the times (as my girls tell me!)

There continues to be a list of names on our fridge.  Everyone is talking baby names, except Chad.  What the kids do not fully grasp is that Chad has named them all.  I have always come up with many, many names.  In the end, the one daddy picks sticks.  Daddy figures that since the kids insist we discover whether this baby is a girl or a boy before it arrives, he may as well put the name game on the back burner for a couple more weeks.  Krissy insists she should have much control in the naming her sibling, which makes me laugh, since she tries to be disinterested about every other detail of this pregnancy!

The "comic relief" this last month included:

  • Sierra being absolutely shocked at the changes in my body.  She seriously can not believe how huge I am. . .  I keep telling her that she has not seen the half of it yet.  Poor girl!  She is totally pumped about the baby, but she admits to being scared to see what he/she does to my body before its all over.  I can not count the number of times she has looked at my profile and said with shock, "I really did not know you would look like THIS!"
  • Today Joshua announced that he really hopes the baby is a girl.  We were shocked.  We replied, "Really?  YOU want a baby sister?"  He laughed hysterically and said, " JK (teen slang for Just Kidding) I totally want a baby brother!"  His "JK" has cracked me up all day.
  • Chad is totally indulgent about the extra sleep my body demands.  He just grins, calls me his little incubator, and tucks me in for a nap.