Week 18 Belly Progression

The long-awaited first installment of the Belly Progression Photos has arrived. Take note, those of you who cling to your belief that I am "still tiny" or "barely showing". Ha!

May 10 (4 1/2 weeks)
("still tiny", if you believe I started out tiny)

July 1 (12 weeks)
("barely showing" is somewhere between this photo and the next one)


August 11 (18 weeks)
(uh, hello Baby P!)

And, folks, now you're up to date with the Belly Progression!

So...yikes...the more times I scroll down through the progression, the more I believe I already look truly huge. What will the next four and a half months bring? And yes, there is only one in there, so far as we know.

Also - I definitely have felt the baby kick today! It startled me in the middle of a meeting, when I felt movement - against my arm, which was draped across my belly. Gas does not usually cause sensation in my extremities, so I'm fairly certain it was the baby. The midwife confirmed it at my appointment by saying she could feel movement with her hand, as she placed the doppler to check the heartbeat. So much for our mild-mannered little bell pepper...perhaps we have a soccer player in there!

Week 18 Already!

I told Joel last night that we need to do a new belly picture, stat. Things are really rounding out, and I don't want to miss this stage of the belly progression. In the past week, my belly has actually started getting in my way. To others, it may not look so huge; but to me, it is a definite change from pre-pregnancy belly, and I find myself needing to re-assess how much space I need. For instance, I was making our guest bed the other day for my parents (can't wait to have you visit!!), and squeezing between the bedpost and wall was something I could have EASILY done a few months ago. But now - well, my guests might have to bring their own sleeping bags in the near future. I also tend to underestimate how far open the bedroom door needs to be for me to fit through...we keep it closed to hold onto the cool a/c air, and put something in front of it to keep it from swinging open. I'll eyeball the narrow opening and assume I can fit, and find my belly banging off of the door jamb.
I better adjust now, before it gets even worse, eh?

I've announced the pregnancy at work now. Several supervisors said they had been suspecting that might be pregnant. One of them has suspected for at least two months, since I went home sick one morning and had to cancel supervision. I should have known, working with a bunch of psychologists, that they would all be super observant and privy to my secrets.

Our baby is about the length of a bell pepper, and weighs about 5 1/2 ounces. I swear I felt him/her move a week or so ago, but I haven't felt the same thing since so - either I was mistaken, or this is one sleepy, mild-mannered child! (I would be ok with the latter...) I do look forward to feeling his/her movements in the next few weeks, and I know Joel can't wait to be able to feel the kicks too.


Other miscellaneous symptoms, for the record: leg cramps at night, and the need for a pregnancy "wedgie", as Joel calls my wedge-shaped pillow that helps support my belly at night. That thing is my saving grace when it comes to better sleep. The past few days I have felt more woozy with the heat, just a little light-headed at times. The baby's heartbeat continues to be strong and steady on our home doppler. My appetite - well, it's not quite as ravenous as it was, but I do still need a pretty steady stream of food and calories or else I get quite cranky. No stretch marks yet, and I hope to keep it that way! (Do you hear me, genes?)

I have a midwife appointment today, and our 20-week ultrasound is in a few weeks. Stay tuned for a new baby portrait :-).

Whirlwind Weeks

It's difficult to believe how quickly the weeks are going by. Not only am I counting weeks of pregnancy (15), but I'm also counting down the weeks until my internship ends (only 5!). And we've also been counting down to our move, which begins tomorrow(!!). In the midst of all this counting, I've had little time for blogging - but plenty of time to notice and treasure all that's happening with our precious little one.

Most notably, I've been experiencing more round ligament pains in the past few weeks. In the last couple of days I've also started to feel some minor cramping off and on. I'm not sure whether that's just the old woom-bah stretching to accommodate our growing baby (now the size of a large navel orange) or possibly the beginnings of Braxton-Hicks contractions, which I read can begin as early as 15 or 16 weeks.

And I can really tell that our sweet pea is growing! Between frequent trips to the bathroom and pants getting tighter and tighter....it's a weird sensation to feel one of my organs gradually enlarging, but it is the coolest thing ever to pick up the heartbeat more and more easily with our borrowed home doppler. Last night I had my first conversation with baby Hugo as I listened to his/her heartbeat. I'm happy to report that Hugo is feeling great, highly active, and can't wait until I can feel him/her kicking me in the stomach. Hugo also can't wait to meet us all in person, but I think that was assumed. I look forward to moving into the house in the next week, and starting to set up Hugo's room - then we can sit in there, and I can tell him/her all about the room we have ready and waiting to greet him/her!

Incidentally, the pronouns are getting a bit cumbersome, aren't they? That's one reason why it would be nice to find out whether Hugo is a he or a she...but, alas, we shall be stuck with the gender ambiguity and multiple pronouns all the way until January 14ish. At which time it will hopefully become very, very clear whether Hugo is a he or a she.

So. "Our" house now has all its new carpeting, new appliances, new windows, fresh paint, remodeled bathroom, and new countertops and is waiting to receive our first load of stuff tomorrow. I think I will take a load of laundry to do while we're there just because I CAN. And I won't need any quarters to do it. Heaven? I think so.

And, quick update on the job: Dr. Elizabeth Pearce will officially begin at Providence Behavioral Health on September 13! I suppose this is still slightly contingent upon my references not telling EVERYTHING they know about me, but the practice has already ordered billing receipts with my name on them. So I'm pretty sure that it's a done deal. Pre-order your copy of my new business card now!

The best part about my new job? They are super excited to help support me through pregnancy, and to give me all the time off I requested when the baby comes. The clinical director there asked me all about my pregnancy so far, and told me that she will be watching to make sure I am a mommy first and a clinician second. She emphasized that if I feel too overburdened or strained, or as though I'm not seeing my baby enough, I can talk to her about my hours and workload. I feel so blessed to be joining such a warm, supportive group of Christians who are encouraging me to have a family rather than seeing it as a possible roadblock to a career.

Thanks to our family and friends for your prayers and encouragement. The Lord is opening His storehouses and showing His goodness in tangible ways for us. We pray that He will help us to use our new circumstances to demonstrate His love and generosity to others, for His glory.

Week 14 Update

In two days, I will be 14 weeks pregnant. I had my second prenatal visit yesterday with a midwife, and she clocked Hugo's heart rate at 160 bpm. Also, my blood pressure is fine. That's about it from the check-up, but in other news...

(Hugo is our current nickname for the baby, fyi. Along with peewee, sweet pea and "our little potato".) This is what he or she might look like right this minute:


Theoretically I am into the second trimester, but so far the experience has been somewhat different from what I expected. The fabled energy boost definitely has yet to become a reality. In fact, I have been more tired than ever before during the past week. I feel like I have mono, except this time I haven't been kissing all the boys (my hilarious Mexican doctor, whom we fondly called the "frito bandito", insisted this was how I contracted mono in college.)

Two nights ago, I got a solid 8 hours of sleep (except for the predictable 2:00 bathroom visit). I woke feeling more refreshed than I had over the weekend. By the time I got to work, I had a headache and could barely keep my eyes open. Having struggled through the day, I headed to the Kayes' to babysit Khloe for a few hours. I think both of us were in a similar place with regard to fatigue, which did neither of us any favors. She finally fell asleep, and I napped for about an hour til Brittany got home. I, in turn, arrived home around 9:30 and immediately went to bed. This morning I helped myself to an extra hour of sleep and came into work a little late. I feel...like a normal human being. Not super refreshed, but fairly normal.

Also. I finished breakfast literally 15 minutes ago (I was a grazer this morning...pineapple and cottage cheese, eaten leisurely at my desk) and my stomach is starting to growl.

In sum, I'm actually feeling more pregnant and out-of-sorts than all through the first trimester. Or at the very least, it doesn't feel as though anything has changed. Maybe my body is on the "gestation" or "conception" method of trimester calculation and didn't get the memo that thus saith the mama, the second trimester hath already begun! What, I can't speak it into reality? You mean the Word-Faith movement is bunk? Well crap.

I'm so excited to move in a couple of weeks. Really I am, and I am so grateful that we get to stretch the move over a span of a whole week. Because doing it all in one day? Now that would be magical. I would have to take the next month off of work to recover.

Speaking of the move, our landlords painted the second bedroom a sweet, soft shade of yellow. It's going to be just perfect! And the new refrigerator and stove are slated to arrive Saturday, and the new carpet within a few days of that. The bathroom is coming along, with a brand new enclosed bathtub/shower. Friends, moldy grout is about to become a thing of my past. The house is super exciting, even if the only bathroom is on the second floor (hey, it will keep me exercising throughout the pregnancy!). We signed the lease on Monday so...I sure hope this job thing works out...

Thanks for checking in! :-)

Trimesters, Shmimesters

I've been trying to figure out when I can consider myself to be in the second trimester, since, I don't know, it seems like I'll be "more pregnant" or something when I'm further along? Anyway, I've read conflicting information about when the second trimester starts, varying from 12-14 weeks or so. In my search for the truth (it is out there!), I found a trimester calculator that tells you when your trimesters begin and end based on three different methods of calculation.

Here's the link: Trimester Calculator

And here is an excerpt from the webpage, especially for all my preggo sisters who may be wondering the same thing:

	The three basic ways to calculate trimesters
	There are basically three ways of dividing up a pregnancy into the three trimesters; they are by: Development, Gestation, Conception. They give different dates for when the second trimester begins and for when the third trimester begins. Your health care provider might prefer to use the Development method, while another Midwife or Doctor may use the Gestation method. I am sure they do that just to confuse pregnant women. Development: This uses actual developmental stages to divide up a pregnancy. From LMP to 12 weeks the embryo develops all the major organs and becomes a fetus. From 12 weeks to 27 weeks the fetus continues developing and reaches viability. From 27 weeks on the fetus finishes development and prepares for delivery. Here the second trimester begins at 12w 0d and the third at 27w 0d. Gestation: With this method you take the 40 weeks of gestation and divide by three. Here the second trimester begins at 13w 3d and the third at 26w 6d. Conception: This method is where you take the 38 weeks of post conception development, divide by three, and add two weeks. Here the second trimester begins at 14w 5d and the third at 27w 3d.

So for me, my second trimester began on July 2 according to the development method, will begin on July 12 according to gestation method, and on July 21 according to conception method. The real question is, does it matter?

Happy 13 weeks, little one, and for what it's worth, I say we're in our second trimester now!

Solo Mish

Warning: for the female readers; involves painful detail with regard to bra shopping.

The title of this post is in honor of Becca, who forced me to watch an episode of The Hills...which turned into two, then I think three episodes. It's kind of like a train wreck on top of a plane crash...so awful that you can't look away. Anyway, that's where I first heard reference to a "solo mish", apparently short for "solo mission". Today, I went on a solo mish to Target.

I learned so much today. I learned that you should never, ever go clothes shopping alone while pregnant, and that you should never, ever, for the love of all that is good and holy, go shopping alone for apparel that requires you to self-scrutinize while wearing anything less than full head-to-toe coverage. Oh, the depression. I knew things had been changing and shifting around but....I needed somebody there to cheer me up. I was trying sizes at which I had previously turned up my nose, and I still looked slightly lumpy.

And? I learned that women's clothing is sized by monkeys throwing poo at a number chart. I knew this about pants...men get a nice predictable "32 x 34", while we get sizes that fit differently depending on the store, the style, and the current zodiac sign. But bras, which seem so methodical and sensible. You'd think that a cup size would be a cup size, but nooooo....you finally find the magic number (36? 38?) that allows you to breathe adequately, and suddenly you could also smuggle a twelve-pack of Angel Soft to cushion the ladies. I finally settled on one and bought it, if only to burn it tonight at dusk.

I think I learned some other things as well but I'm too exhausted to remember. The main gist of it all was, "Oh, good heavens, no! My eyes! Cover it up, quick!" Thankfully I did the bra shopping first and was able to spend some time afterward looking at myself fully-clothed in some cute new tops. Joel, darling, I slightly overspent but I blame it on the trauma of bra shopping. I'm sure you understand....er, actually, take my word for it?

Quick, somebody, tell me how wonderful it is that I have a little baby growing inside me and the miracle of life and blah blah blah. I need a reality check!

This is why I don't watch The Hills. Or shop. I need to go eat something.

To My Sweet Pea at 12 Weeks

My darling little one, how you have grown! When I first wrote to you, you were the size of a single pea. Now you are at least as large as a plum! You have all of your tiny parts now - arms and legs, fingers and toes. Your heart has been beating strong and steady for several weeks now, and your other organs are getting ready to function as well. You're producing your own blood, and your brain is in control of your organs. Your brain - how well-developed it must already be! Best of all, your face has taken shape. If none of these other signs of life were enough to amaze me, the fact that you have a distinct appearance now is astonishing. Do you look more like your mama or your dada? What color will your eyes be when they finally open? Whose nose will you have?


I wonder what you are doing in there. They say that you are moving already, testing your tiny limbs, swimming and flipping about. Enjoy it while you can, because soon there won't be room in there for all those acrobatics! Oh I'm sure you'll still try, and I will enjoy feeling your vigorous movements. But it will get quite cozy, and before you know it, you'll be ready to leave your warm, safe home and join ours.

Your dada and I cannot wait for that moment, my sweet pea! I remember meeting your beautiful cousin Khloe for the first time. She was very fresh and new when we saw her, barely an hour old. The wave of love that swept over me when I held her was stronger than I had expected! And yet, when I hold you just a moment after you arrive, I know that my entire life will change. In an instant, everything I have ever known about love will pale. Perhaps I will come an iota closer to fathoming our Father's love for His children.

Even now, imagining what that will be like, I am flooded with emotion. Oh tiny one, how we love you, and how we look forward to your life with us! How we have prayed and longed for you, feared you might never be. The Lord is using you already to teach us how small our faith has been, and how great are His goodness and love.

May the theme of your life always be, as it is now, soli deo gloria!