New Picture!

Some of you have been asking when I'm going to post a pic of my current roundness, so here you go. Unfortunately, some of the people I love most aren't close enough for me to see on a regular basis, but hopefully this will tide you over for now. Can't remember if I've mentioned this or not previously, but we don't currently have a digital camera, so this picture is courtesy of Mom and Dad, who visited this weekend. This was a great visit; we always love having them here. My dad wanted me to allow them to write "I love Aunt Amanda," on the belly for my sister, who's one of those aforementioned people who doesn't live locally, but that wouldn't be appropriate for public (or private, for that matter) viewing. My belly is still more lumpy than gorgeously round, and I'm not sure about the idea of using it as a canvas for conveying messages:).

I've been feeling pretty well; the itching has started to subside, for which I'm extremely grateful, and I swear I felt like I got elbowed in the rib this morning. Strange...my precious Rowan is getting bigger and more active all the time. I do feel like I'm continuing to lose my mind a little. I had a very restful night of sleep last night, for the first time in a while, but I think I slept almost too soundly. I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, and my mind wandered to work, but it took me a minute to remember what I actually do for a living. Very wierd, but not altogether unpleasant...

I'm starting to feel more confident in my ability to be a good parent; I've always had confidence in my husband's abilities in this department, so that definitely helps. Andy and I were talking last night about what a special time this has been, both in our lives in general and in our marriage specifically. I feel very blessed to have him to share this with, and think that our son is quite lucky to have him as a father. There is still a lot of planning to do, and some pieces that have yet to fall into place, but I think we can do this. I'm looking forward to bringing Rowan home and showering him with love and attention. I have no doubt that it'll be the toughest and most satisfying thing I've ever done.

20 weeks!!!

I'm officially at the halfway mark in my pregnancy today! It feels like a significant milestone, just like getting to 12 weeks and the end of the first trimester did. As exciting as it is, it still seems like I have a long way to go, and actually the next 20 weeks will be, in some ways, longer than the first 20 have been. This is because even though I'm officially at 20, because of the wierd math they do, I was already at 4 when I had my positive pregnancy test, approximately 2 weeks after we conceived. So, I've only known I was pregnant for 16 weeks. It does seem though that time has started to speed up a bit. I remember how those first few weeks seemed to drag on and on and on, and that's not so much the case any more. I'm feeling good enough to just enjoy the process in general, though I worry at times that I'm growing too fast or too slowly. As of my last appointment, I had gained about 7 lbs since my first prenatal appointment, and the information I read this morning on babycenter.com says I can expect to gain about a pound a week from here on out. The doctor said I should be shooting for between 15 and 25 lbs., so at this rate I'll be slightly above that, but I guess that's not the end of the world. I'm trying to eat healthily, and am still motivated to get on the treadmill a couple of times a week, so that's something, I suppose.

I've not had to take any Benadryl or use any itch lotion for the last 36 hours or so, though I can still feel the itching slightly. I just don't want to use anything if I don't have to, and it's not unbearable currently. I've found that all the people who say how important it is to get up slowly are right; it's easy to feel dizzy and achy if I stand up too quickly, especially if I've been laying down.

Andy and I have plans with friends tonight, and will be babysitting my cousin's baby tomorrow night, which I'm really looking forward to! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Belly Drama

My body is growing and getting wierder by the day, I swear. Today's strange discovery? I noticed that for the first time when I'm standing up and looking down toward my feet, my stomach actually sticks out further than my boobs do. This is odd not because my stomach's always been so flat before (it hasn't), but because my breasts have always been, well, if I'm honest, above average in size, and I'm currently in a D cup (which is another bizarre change if you ask me), so the fact that my belly sticks out past those mammoth things is a bit disconcerting.

Sleeping on my back has become more of a challenge, and I'm forced to spend more time on my side just so I can breathe normally. I'm still itchy in the same places as before, though my chest and stomach are now also itchy at times. I feel some discomfort occasionally along my sides; I think this is because Rowan's growing a little faster than my skin can keep up with, so it feels sort of stretchy.

We haven't really made any further progress in the nursery, but it's still pretty early. I've started working on a guest list for the shower my sister's throwing for me in March, and I'm feeling less anxiety every time I look at, change or add things on my registry lists. We decided to go with a more gender-specific theme for the bedding, and I think it's going to be adorable:).

My pregnant co-worker and I are going to a breast-feeding seminar next week, which should be helpful. It's so nice to have her, as well as my friend Liz, to go through this process with! However, my heart is a little heavy today upon hearing about a friend I don't stay in quite as close of contact with who's just had a miscarriage at 14 weeks. Unfortunately, I understand all too well the pain she might be experiencing, and I just hate it. I've tried to reach out and let her know I'm available for whatever she might need, though in those moments it's hard to know what to ask for, since nothing can really make it all better anyways.

Thanks to everyone who's been consistently sending love and support our way; it doesn't go unnoticed, and makes this whole pregnancy thing even sweeter:).

Still in Shock

So, my face is still achy from all the smiling I did yesterday, and I think I spoke to just about everyone I know, which is kind of usual since I'm such a recluse much of the time. I realize I didn't put much info on here yesterday, so I'll try to catch everyone up to speed. Our son (sounds so funny to say that!), Rowan Andrew, appears to be growing, is healthy, and with no sign of any problems whatsoever. It's just feeling more real all the time, and I can't wait to bring this little guy home with us in June...

IT'S A BOY!!!

(CLick pic to enlarge!!)
That's right, you know this less than an hour after Andy and I do! Neither of us really had a preference on the gender, but it's so cool to finally know!!! I'm kind of overwhelmed right now, but will write more later when I can think straight. The important thing is that the kid looks healthy (11 oz.!) and all is well.

Indecisive

Ok, I think I'm making waaay too big a deal of this baby gift registry stuff. I keep changing my mind on stuff! I can't seem to stay decided on the crib sets, and anyways, who the hell pays $200 for 4 tiny pieces of fabric anyways?! So, I've registered at Babies-R-Us and Target, and for tonight I just need to stop. My sister convinced me to register at Target for those family members that don't live close to the other one, but many of the things I've registered aren't available in stores anyways, so I'm not convinced it'll be that much more convenient, but we'll see. I just couldn't stand the idea of having to go to another store and walk around with the little gun because it was pretty overwhelming at Babies-R-Us. Also, with the Target online registry, I can't register for some of the more generic items, like diapers. I guess people will just deal with it or buy random stuff we didn't register for, which I'm 100% okay with. It's not like I know what the hell I'm doing anyways.

Oh well. If that's the worst thing I've got going on today, I'm a pretty lucky girl.

Now we're having fun!

In the last few days, I've been feeling things that I can no longer deny are the little movements of this human I'm growing. How...cool...is...that? The more he/she moves around, and the bigger my belly gets, the easier it is to really believe that in less than 5 months, I'll be home with my husband and my brand new son/daughter. It makes me feel very, very happy and content with my life.

I'm still feeling pretty well, and am getting used to the annoyance of getting up in the middle of the night to pee, so I suppose this is good training for what I'll be facing before long when it's the cries of a child instead of my bladder and Andy's snoring keeping me awake. The only other mild inconveniences are these patches of itchy skin (on my left arm, left ankle, and both hips) that have shown up in the last few days. My nurse tells me it's nothing to worry about, but is kind of annoying.

So, this should be the last post I write where I include things like "he/she," and "son/daughter." My ultrasound is in 2 days, and you better believe I'll be posting something soon after announcing the gender of this little person. Until then, I'll be here at my desk, scratching my hips and counting down the hours:).

But it's only a tiny little person!!!

Andy and I have been very productive in the last couple of days! He had a half day off on New Year's Eve (which was a pleasant surprise for him) so we raked up the majority of the leaves in our front yard and he took down the Christmas lights. Yesterday was really cold and windy, so I'm glad we got these outside projects done the day before.

Yesterday, we got a ton of items off of our to-do list, including cleaning out closets, the basement, and a lot of stuff from the "office" to prepare for it's transformation into a nursery. We re-filed things into a compact system, instead of a bulky old file cabinet, cleaned out the bookshelves and took a lot of the stuff we don't need access to regularly to the basement and the spare bedroom, and threw bag after bag of stuff away, as well as filled a few bags with stuff we can donate. I have a feeling this tiny, little person will take up more space than we can imagine, so it's good to get started on this stuff. Our plan is to get carpeting laid in the nursery, hopefully in the next 4-6 weeks, so it was good to start getting stuff out of there. Our spare bedroom will be undergoing a transformation as well, so we've started to plan for that.

We also purchased our first item for the nursery; a changing table! This is especially exciting for my husband because it means much less work for him that we'd envisioned. We have this ancient, huge desk that I've had for probably 10 years, and I'd wanted to turn that into our changing table. This would have meant stripping off several coats of old paint, sanding, re-painting, new hardware, drawer liners, etc. I just don't like the idea of "disposable" furniture, and to me, that's what a changing table kind of is! What else can a changing table be when you no longer have kids that need changing? Not so with a desk. Anyways, as we started talking about the time and cost involved in making this piece of furniture into a different piece of futniture, I agreed that if I could find a reasonably priced changing table that I liked, I'd be willing to consider that instead. Well, after my cousin Jyl mentioned a nice consignment shop on the east side of town for baby/kid stuff, I went there, and lo and behold, I found a gorgeous dark wood changing table, modern looking with plenty of room for storage, and with a pricetag of $40. I called Andy, and said, "Sweetie, it's your lucky day..."

We'd planned on buying a dark wood-stained crib anyways, probably a convertible-style, so it can be used (hopefully) for many years to come and not look like nursery furniture, so this will match beautifully. Also, I'll be getting a rocking chair from my parents (actually the one my father bought for Mom when she was pregnant with me), and this is a dark wood-stain as well. It's starting to come together!!!

For any more recent readers who may have not been following this since the beginning, this blog was/intended to primarily focus on pregnancy- related things, and not be a summary of everything going on in my life, so if it seems like I'm only focusing on this one area, I am, but I assure you, I'm still holding down a regular job, spending quality time with friends, etc. I'm sure any of you who've been pregnant, though, know how much of a challenge it is to think about anything else when you're growing an entire person. So, anytime the baby stuff gets to be too obnoxious, feel free to stop reading, and check in via e-mail or myspace instead. If you know about this blog, it's because you know me and I love you, but I also love hearing from you, not just updating you from time to time, so stay in touch!!!