Dr.'s Appointment Update

We had our second prenatal check-up on Friday, and the doctor said everything is going well. We got to hear the baby's heartbeat again, which was well worth the hour long wait in the waiting room. We talked to our doctor about the possibility of having a c-section. Josh and I are really scared about my back. I've had back problems since the end of my junior year of high school. The cartilage disc below my L-5 vertebra, last time I had an MRI, was hardening and expanding...putting lots of pressure on certain nerves. I haven't been able to get comfortable or sleep all the way through the night in a long time, and we are just scared that a normal delivery could hurt my back even more. Our doctor agreed with us. She said that with the epidural, I could possibly be put into some positions during labor that would hurt my back further, but I wouldn't be able to realize it (or feel it) during delivery. She said a c-section would be much easier on my back. Josh and I have talked it over, and I think we want to just go ahead and plan on having a c-section. Neither of us want to risk injuring my back any further.

Besides that, our doctor went ahead and scheduled our next 2 appointments and our next ultrasound. We will get to see if we are having a little boy or a little girl on October 9th! We cannot wait!

12 Weeks...That Second Trimester is Coming!

Well today I am officially 12 weeks pregnant. I guess in my head I though that as soon as I woke up this morning that I would be free of morning sickness and fatigue...maybe that will happen tomorrow. I am hopeful for that day of relief to come, but I am glad to know that the baby is doing well (I've been told that being sick means the pregnancy is going well...I'm hoping they weren't all lying to me.)

In other news, Josh and I spent the past weekend up in Birmingham. We went to my stepmom's surprise birthday party Friday night, which was so much fun. On Saturday, Josh went to play golf with my stepdad Bruce and with Beth's husband Jay. I heard they had a lot of fun, even though they didn't play too well. While they were busy golfing, Beth and I were hosting a baby shower for Caroline and Baby Jasper. It was so much fun! Not to mention, Beth made the most amazing chicken salad for the shower, and I've been craving it since I got back to Laurel.

The most interesting part of the whole weekend was how people kept telling me I was showing and rubbing my belly. I've always had some "fluff" around the middle (for lack of a better term). Usually, I suck it in all day, but my abdominal muscles won't let that happen too much anymore. So everyone was rubbing my fat belly, not the baby, all weekend. It was pretty weird, especially when some of them would keep rubbing my belly after I informed them about my fat. Well, whatever floats your boat.

Limes and Leadership

Well, I am now officially 11 weeks pregnant (as of yesterday), and the baby (from crown to rump) is the length of a lime. Holy moly! Not only is the baby the size of the one fruit that makes a cherry limeade so magnificent, but our child has elbows, and fingernails, and can move around. Pretty exciting stuff! And hey, my nausea and fatigue are starting to dim down, or at least I think they are.

Well, I have some other exciting news, and it can't be found in my belly. Our church has finally hired an interim minister, who will start September 1st. I just got to meet him, and he's great. I'm really excited about him being here and what he might be able to do with our church. He's a really nice guy, has a sense of humor, and really seems interested in helping our church heal. I just need to stop laughing everytime I hear his name...Rev. Robert E. Lee. Thank God he goes by Bob!

Beach, Baby, and Blah

Beach
Well, Josh and I survived our first overnight trip with the church kids. Thank goodness Long Beach is a very quiet and small beach town. We took 6 kids with us, and we pretty much had a mile of beach to ourselves, if we wanted it. We spent maybe 30 minutes total at the actual beach. Most of our time was spent in the condo's pool, which we had all to ourselves as well. We ate some great food, and I think everyone had fun. I'm glad we went, but I'm really glad that it is over. The trip wore me out and made me feel very old and pregnant. The kids would say something, I would ask what they were talking about, and I got the "you wouldn't understand, you're old" excuse. Wow, didn't think I would get that response until I was at least 30. Oh well, so much for feeling like a young whipper snapper for 6 more years.

Baby

We got to see our little peanut for the first time on Friday, July 24th. We also got to hear the heartbeat, and it was an amazing experience. Here are our 3 ultrasound pictures (taken at 8 weeks and 3 days):

According to Josh, this is our baby chillin' in an igloo wearing ear muffs.

According to Josh, our baby resembles him in this picture..."a big white blob."

And my favorite, this is our baby relaxing in a hammock while wearing sunglasses.

Blah

Well, since returning from the beach trip, the word "blah" seems to describe how I've felt. I have my good days, which luckily happened to be during the beach trip. And then I have my bad days, which worked out to be my off days this week. I guess I should be thankful it wasn't the other way around. I'm starting to get at least a little more energy on my good days. Food is still a problem for me. I seem to stick to one thing like PB&J sandwiches or chicken nuggets for days. I'm not up for Mexican of Chinese yet, and vegetables (even a nice Ceasar salad) are completely out of the question at the moment. It's like my stomach knows they are harder to digest, so it constantly refuses to let me eat them. Well, just a few more weeks of the first trimester left, and maybe I will enjoy romaine lettuce and the smell of Mexican cuisine again.