The Best Part

This is the good part of pregnancy... the best part. This is the part when the miserable part is becoming a distant memory, but it it not yet the part when I wish to wake up in the middle of the night in active labor because I really, truly cannot imagine being pregnant for one more day. This is the part when I feel the baby from the inside and outside almost constantly, causing me to smile on the inside and outside almost constantly. This is the part when I know the sex of the baby, so I can more completely bond with him. This is the part when doctor's appointments are so short, because of lack of questions or complaints on my part, that I am parked in the garage for less than 30 minutes, allowing me free parking. This is the part when I LOVE being pregnant; the part that when I am not pregnant I think about wistfully. This is the part that makes me sad to consider this being my last pregnancy; that makes me think I could do this over and over... or at least once more. This part is too short. I've only just recently arrived at this part, and I know it will pass in a few weeks. For now, I am trying to enjoy every last second of this part. Because it is truly the best part of pregnancy.

Cupcakes, Anyone?

Yesterday was our "BIG" 20 week ultrasound. Baby is healthy and measuring right on track (one day early if you want to get technical)! Just as we did with both of of previous babies, we wanted to know the sex of this little one. I had gone back and forth about what my general feeling was. My instinct was boy, but my pregnancy has been pretty much exactly as it was with the girls. I crave the same foods, avoid the same foods, had morning sickness, fatigue, sciatica, and migraines. I am carrying the same way. And yet, the color we iced our celebratory cupcakes was.......




... blue! (I'm pretty sure the good people at University of Maryland are going to revoke my minor/certificate in Women's Studies.) So it just goes to show you that old wives' tales are just that!

I am so excited to have a little boy! I look forward to the challenges and rewards that I'm sure will come with the job of raising a boy. And the girls are ecstatic to finally have a "prince" in their never-ending fairytale games :)

Overheard in the Peanut Gallery

On the way home this afternoon I overheard this conversation happening in the back seat:

Sophie: "Lilah, do you want to have a baby?"
Lilah: "No! I don't want a baby!"
Sophie: "But, Lilah, I decided I want a baby."
Lilah: "Well alright."
Sophie: "So are you happy we're having a baby?"
Lilah: "No! I don't like babies!"
Sophie: "Lilah! Mommy has a baby in her tummy and in a few weeks [more like months] she's going to go to the hospital and have our baby! Don't you want our baby?"
Lilah: "No thank you."

If I had been laughing any harder it would have compromised my driving! I'm sure she'll change her mind at some point :)

Pregnancy Jeopardy

Ligament stretching, i.e., sore muscles to the point of painful sneezes, and this from someone who both runs and weight trains regularly; sciatica; and migraines.

What is the second trimester?

[Still soooooooo much more preferable than the first and even the third, but painful nonetheless.]

Signs of New Life

(not-yet-sprouted) Seeds that Sophie collected and planted:



Tadpoles from our pool cover:



Nest outside our window:



And best of all, my baby, who began noticeably squirming about a week and a half ago :)

One-Third of the Way There

And just like that- we're in the second trimester! And with it, right on schedule, came a growth spurt, braxton hicks, and the beginning of the end of the nausea. Hallelujah! Three months down, six to go...

Spreading the News

We had our first trimester screening, complete with lengthy ultrasound done yesterday. Thank God, everything looked perfect. The baby looked amazing. It is incredible how much babies change in a few weeks. No longer a "blob," it had distinguishable facial features, skinny little arms to wave at us, and cute little feet to kick.

We decided to tell the girls that afternoon. Sophie has still not stopped talking about it. She has bombarded me with questions (mostly about the logistics of delivery and what life with the baby will be like). She has been singing, "We're having a baby! We're having a baby!" continuously. As soon as she told me she was going to tell her teacher and all of her friends at school, I knew we had to make a mad dash to beat the grapevine. Sophie called some relatives yesterday and I will call the rest of them today. After that, a mass email will be sent to all remaining friends. Most of my good friends know already, and the others will just be too difficult to reach in time. I hate not telling everyone individually and in person, but I feel like it's better for them to hear it from me, even in a mass email, than in the carpool line after their kid has heard from her friend who heard from her brother who is in Sophie's class.

It's strange to go from my pregnancy being a virtual secret, and hours later, the whole world (well, my world at least) knowing. The final coming out step will be the publicizing of this blog. YAY.