I will be 18 weeks on Saturday! Yahoo!Weird that I am saying Yahoo, I guess I am officially excited to be pregnant and incubating a little human being. I am not quite sure where the change of heart has come from (God) but I must say, I am not so in-between anymore. Definitely still scared and overwhelmed with all that needs to be done but I am also really excited and almost looking forward to being a Mommy.

I think I may have felt the baby move a few times recently. I am in denial because I think it is too early but… it is possible. I will keep you updated.

Are you so excited that we get our Sonogram on Monday?? WE ARE!! Ryan thinks he might cry! hehe… that would be so darn cute. I really really wonder what “it” is! I honestly have no thoughts. ahhh… so excited.

I started to register a little bit. A lady at my work questioned me about the things I have purchased so far, when I told her I haven’t started yet she was completely shocked and told me that I better get a move on. So, I followed her advice and started reading customer reviews on hundreds of baby items. It is actually quite fun. And because I have no idea or clue about anything baby I am actually learning a lot about things that are or aren’t important and so on.. instead of things that I just think are cute. I also went on-line and printed out the most recent “MUST Haves for Baby” to help guide me through the registering process- that was a tad overwhelming… I feel poor before even spending anything- still fun to look through though.  

One of my Best Friends just got engaged last week- YAHOO JESSI & MATT! And, I am going to be in the wedding. Ha-Ha. Why so funny?? I am going to be 8 mos. pregnant. How in the heck do you buy a bridesmaid dress and plan to be that pregnant?! I have no idea what size I am going to be, and you know they don’t make maternity dresses! Well, however fat and swollen I am going to look, I am still really excited and honored to be apart of it!

House Hunting, we are doing it. Please pray for us as we attempt to purchase, clean, paint, remodel (if needed) and move into a house before the birth of our child. There will be a cleaning/painting party so if you want to help (whenever that is) we will provide pizza, drinks and years of adoration for your service.  Think about it. We will hit you up later.

Anyway, thanks for reading. I am back to work because I have some things to get done before I am off for the Holiday! Yipeeee

More like 2 and a half… during the first full week in July…

I will be getting THE Sonogram. That is right… Can you believe it?! In a little over two weeks I will be able to stop calling our child “it” and call “it” by “it’s” name!!

We will be making the announcement of our name choice so you will be able to call “it” by “it’s” name as well. I know you are excited.

Everything is going by and happening so fast… it is not stopping, it just keeps going. I don’t really like it because no matter what, this thing is coming and I can’t do anything about that. There is so much to do! It is still so weird to me.  You can pray for me…

Ryan came to my apt. with me on Tuesday, I was really excited that he wanted to come. He got to hear the heartbeat. When I watched his face he got that big ol’ grin that he gets- I love it. I think that it seemed more real to him after that (that and the fact that my stomach just keeps growing).

So what I want to know… What do you think we are having? Do you have any “feelings” or have you had any dreams? Do you have the gift of Prophecy or just want to take a guess? Leave me a comment about what you think is growing in my belly. Next week I will fill out an Old Wives Tale Quiz and post the results and then the week after that I will make the official announcement. Lets see where you all line up…

Our growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of a Naval Orange). It’s busy moving amniotic fluid through the nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in it’s lungs begin to develop. The legs are growing longer than it’s arms now, and baby can move all of it’s joints and limbs. Although the eyelids are still fused shut, it can sense the light… If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, the baby is likely to move away from the beam (interesting ey?).

According to the website (www.babycenter.com), it is possible to tell the gender of our child this week but I am going to wait as long as I can to get a more accurate reading.

I also read that between weeks 16 and 22 I should start feeling the baby move… isn’t that exciting?!?! I think that when I feel it (our little baby) move it will seem a lot more real to me. I will let you know when that happens for sure!

I hope some of you are not offended by my calling our child “it”, I just can’t think of anything else creative to call “it” and “it” seems to work for me. I will call “it” He or She when we find out which is the appropriate label but until then, I apologize for the political incorrectness (if that is what it is called). Ha-

So personally I am feeling so much better! I am rarely getting sick and when I am it is usually because my food is digesting (not too sure why that makes me sick but it does), after it digests, I feel normal again, until I have to eat. I still have some food aversions which is stinky when it comes to meal time but my sense of smell is almost back to normal so that helps a bit. My belly is increasing in size but not big enough for maternity clothes, or for people who don’t know me to notice that I am pregnant. I am still in that awkward stage of looking chunky in the middle but I know it is really a baby but most people don’t… I am still 5 lbs under my starting pregnancy weight but I have gained 2lbs. back since last week. This makes me feel better because I know that the child is getting more nutrients than before.

Now, don’t yell at me but I am still not taking my prenatal vitamins. I think I am going to start trying to take them at night while I sleep to avoid the sickness feeling from them. I plan to start on Friday so if they do still make me sick, it is when I can lay on the coach all day instead of having to be at work. Hopefully, they will not make me sick and I can start taking them again. I was excited about how fast my hair was growing! HahA

I find that I am not as emotional as I had been but I do find that I am more anxious and fearful. The more real this gets, the more scared I get. There is actually a human life growing inside of me! I am going to be responsible for raising a child (and please Lord let it not be like me), what if something goes wrong? What if, what if, what if… stupid phrase. Trust God Janet. There isn’t anything I can do to change what is going to happen, it is out of my control. Your Grace is sufficient and you will get Ryan and I through all of the wonderful things you have planned for our family – good and bad. BUT…. ahhhhhh!

have a nice day!  

Perhaps this is what I might look like in a few months…

Thank you Birmingham’s for the attractive picture =0)

What is not so peachy is how emotional and irrational I have been. I do not know what is real and what is not. I know some things are stupid, but I really feel the way I am feeling. I don’t know what to do to stop it or how to help it. I am not sure what are legit concerns or what are just my emotions flaring up…

It is absolutely amazing how much your body changes during pregnancy… It is not just the physical but the chemical as well.

I wonder why no one ever told me about any of these things. I feel as though these life altering details are somewhat important and one should be prepared for.

I am reading the books but, they aren’t too specific as to things you may be going through, more what is going on with the baby. It does touch on ways your body is changing and some new symptoms you might be feeling, but I don’t really think the descriptions do it justice… it is a lot worse than ” you may be feeling extra emotional this week” OK, thank you book, that was very helpful. I feel very prepared for the demons that are about to explode out of me and the gallons of tears that I didn’t know I could produce.

I can not use this as an excuse… I really want to, but I need to control myself. I need to be feeding my soul and preparing my heart for what is going on- I have not been faithful in doing this and I can see how a normal irrational moment turns into an irrational emotional day… and night. Please pray that I will get extra time today and the rest of my pregnancy to do this.

On a brighter note, I am not feeling completely sick all of the time anymore! Can I get an AMEN?! I am able to eat a little more than usual (not much) and I have not thrown up since the incident over Memorial Day weekend. My belly IS starting to poke- no matter what y’all think and I took my first real trip to the Maternity Store (which was quite overwhelming by the way).

So, what is going on this week?

First off, I have not been nauseous since Friday. Praise God. Hopefully, Lord willing, the non-nausea will continue. I still have tons of food aversions but the range is slightly widening. I made Ryan a sandwich for lunch this morning without gagging, that was an  accomplishment! I don’t think I can get back into making dinner just yet (unfortunately) but soon I hope.

Ok, so about our little baby…  “It” is forming teeth and vocal cords and intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby’s tummy. Fingerprints have formed, veins and organs are clearly visible through the still-thin skin, and it’s body is starting to catch up with the head — which makes up just a third of the body size now. If  I’m having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries (this is weird to think about!). Our baby is almost 3 inches long and weighs nearly an ounce.

Interesting Factoid: Twenty-seven percent of expectant dads in a BabyCenter poll said they gained weight, 15 percent were moody, and 10 percent felt nauseated. Ryan, I don’t think he is moody and he is not nauseated, he may not be gaining weight but he does eat everything I can’t finish. =0)

That’s all I’ve got for ya.

You can decide.

Here is what I like to call “The Beginning of the Bump”…

I have three Mom’s. My real mother, my mother-in- law and Chris Rau- my mother at work. Chris has been tracking the growth of my belly since the first day I told her I was pregnant. So we can thank her for this photo and the many  more “Bump” photos to come.

I am happy to announce that our baby is officially a plum. Well, the size of one at least.

In case you are not good at math (like me) my “official” due date is December 6, 2009. I did not want to have a child so late in the year because I would rather them not be the youngest in their class but I like the number 6 so it makes it better. I know it sounds weird but I have thought about this before. 

So, what is going on with development? According to thebump.com and babycenter.com, here is what is happening this week…

The most dramatic development this week: Reflexes. Our baby’s fingers will soon begin to open and close, the toes will curl, eye muscles will clench, and the mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if I prod my abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won’t be able to feel it. The intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into the abdominal cavity about now, and the kidneys will begin excreting urine into the bladder (ew). From crown to rump, our baby-to-be is about two inches long (about the size of a plum) and weighs half an ounce. Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in our baby’s brain, synapses are forming furiously (I don’t know what synapses are?). The face looks unquestionably human: eyes have moved from the sides to the front of the head, and the ears are right where they should be.

Yay. It’s getting bigger.

PS. I threw up in my first public bathroom over the weekend. It wasn’t as bad as I had imagined but… It was still pretty gross… and embarrassing because people were walking in and out. yuck.

So, do you remember a few posts ago when I mentioned that I started becoming sensitive to smells and that I could handle it because I already have a strong sense of smell? I lied. I had only but a small taste of what was happening to me.

Every smell is like too much smell.

The ABSOLUTE WORST place in the world is Royal Farms. Actually, anywhere that makes greasy food is disgusting but Royal Farms is the worst. I can not go in, if I have to go in-life or death- I have to take a giant breath and run for my life. In this case, I will smell the rest of the day. My hair, my clothes, my car… eeeeeeeeeew! This is not an exaggeration… driving by I will still have to hold my breath because the wind sometimes wofts the smell into my car window. Got to stop talking about this now.

If you have a weak stomach, do not read the section below.

Most of you know by now that our Baby does not like it if I eat, anything. Therefore, back up it usually comes…even if there isn’t anything in there. Fortunately I have only had the experience of throwing up in two places, at work and at home. These instances have really been getting me thinking about how terrible it would be if I had to make a run to a public restroom. Now, yes, technically our office restroom is a public restroom (not unisex) but I know all of the women who use it, I know how often it is cleaned and I have a pretty good idea who uses which stall.

Now, some of you if not most of you have thrown up at some point in your life. So, you know that the water will usually always splash up in your face. Could you imagine yacking in a bathroom the hasn’t been cleaned since Lord knows when and the lady who just got up from using it just  had a Big Mac with Fries… the same toilet your arms are now resting on while your face is…. ugh… This is serious reason why to never leave your house while pregnant, or nauseous. I am so grateful I have not had this experience yet.

Just something I have been thinking about.

You may start reading now…

I think I am starting to get a little belly. If you didn’t know me and you saw me you would probably just think I looked bloated, but if you do know me, you might see a little poochy thing starting to develop. This is exciting. I asked Ryan what he thought, he said “maybe, but I think I am just in denial that you could be actually pregnant”- to this I say… HELLO!!!

Please someone make me (specifically- no substitutions) a yellow Duncan Hines Cake with chocolate Duncan Hines Icing. Circular or Bunt. Thank you in advance.

Things I would like to accomplish before December (birth of child): Buy a house and move in, update my photo album, transfer all of my recipes onto my recipe cards, eat three meals a day without getting sick, visit New York for the day sometime in November when it is chilly and whimsical, sell Ryan’s truck (any takers?), get a tan on my florescent legs and watch Ryan’s softball team win their National Tournament (Lord willing I will be watching it, whether they win or not…).

I have a Doctors Apt today so hopefully sometime this week, depending on how I am feeling, I will be able to post info about our baby and how it is growing.