Little mister or little miss?

We're being blessed with a lovely little miss! The husband and I both hoped for a girl (though we would have been overjoyed regardless, of course), and we already cannot wait to meet her! We told most of our family last week, and improvised a gender reveal with lovely chums yesterday evening. I'm 20 weeks along, and month 5 has been mighty terrific. I am poring over these helpful books, and I just finished accompanying the husband to his nighttime summer class, The Pastor's Home, for the two weeks prior, which was an exceedingly encouraging and helpful time to learn from godly couples in the ministry so that we could, Lord-willing, apply the principles to our own growing little family. I am also attempting to figure out what we truly, absolutely need for a new baby, so any and all advice is much appreciated (please!).

Kicker of a milestone

Saturday, May 11, 2013

It is the second week of May, and the second trimester is an invigorating relief compared to the first – the nausea has abated, praise the Lord! I am at the end of 17 weeks (week 18 starts tomorrow), and it has been a milestone of a week! 

Earlier this week, as I was lying down and ready to succumb to sleep, I felt a succession of feathery jabs in my lower abdomen. Forget about sleep - was that gas, the baby, or my imagination? I wasn’t sure if it was possible to feel the baby’s movements this early on, but the kicks were pretty idiosyncratic, as if the baby were declaring, That’s me, indeed! Plus, they felt nothing like gas, and I was well acquainted with gas-reminiscent rumblings in my stomach by now. Since then, I have been discerning the petite punches specifically in the evenings right before I am about to sleep. It has been so mind-blowing because I had been wondering if there is actually something in there, especially because my belly is still not showing much even though I am four and a half months along, and, according to the doctor, I hadn't gained any weight since the first doctor's appointment in early February. People still ask me if I'm truly pregnant and the husband alleges that I just jut out my stomach to encourage the baby bump (like in the photo above). Regardless, the bitty pokes and jabs are a gloriously beautiful testament to the miracle of life God is forming within this unworthy vessel of mine. 

The husband had yet to feel the baby kick, until yesterday evening. Moments before I drifted off to sleep last night, the baby commenced his/her boogieing. I felt a couple of strong nudges, so I yelped in surprise. The husband said, “Baby’s awake?” and placed his hand upon my lower belly. Five seconds and a confirmatory kick later, he sprang up from the bed in shock, “WHOA! That is so crazy! It’s like aliens are in there kicking you!” I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. ”Man, it just got real,” he said, over and over.

It sure did get real, now more than ever. The realization that there will be a little one in this world in less than five months has us praying more fervently these days, not only for his/her physical life, but also for his/her spiritual life, for God would be entrusting us to honor Him in the care of this little one, and we need all the grace we can get. And, of course, we're celebrating God's kindness to us in this way as often as we can. Hence, gallivanting to the seashore this rejuvenating weekend past per the photos above.

P.S. While the above post was written two weeks ago, we've gotten our second trimester ultrasound since then, and now know the gender of the baby! Perhaps a post on that shall be forthcoming.

When I felt dumpy and frumpy

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

It's the second week of March, and I'm in the middle of my 9th week. We have divulged to no one about the pregnancy yet, although first trimester woes have struck full force: morning sickness all the way, bloating like I've never experienced before, and overwhelming fatigue. I favor solely loose clothing now, and because exhaustion has attained new heights, I crave hibernation all day long. My prenatal vitamins make me want to hurl, and all I can swallow is bland soup. That, and mango-orange smoothies. I told the husband the other day that these bodily ailments are enough for me not to want to be pregnant again. "Do you want to follow China's policy and have just one child?" he responded. I laughed, and said, "We'll see. Let's just try to have one first." Though I feel dumpy and frumpy, at the end of the day, I am thoroughly elated by what these symptoms indicate - there's a human creature growing brains, a heart, and all that jazz. There's a baby grape inside of me right now. That's pretty legit. All glory goes to God, for sure.

The little shrimp

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

We went in for our first ultrasound in late February. I had been oozing apprehension the entire day, not because we were going to see the baby, but because they were going to do a Pap smear in conjunction with the ultrasound. I had never gotten a Pap smear before, ever, and I was nursing vicarious discomfort via tales passed down from one survivor to another. It ended up hurting just for a tad, and thankfully, the ultrasound occurred immediately afterward to divert my attention. The husband was squeezing my hand in empathy the entire time, and when the ultrasound flickered on the screen, our eyes widened. "It's a little shrimp," the husband said in wonder at the teeny blob on the screen. "You see that flickering dot in the middle?" the doctor asked. We nodded. "That's the baby's heartbeat," he said as we stared in awe. "Congratulations, you're seven weeks along."