100 Days to Go - A Preggo List

In honor of the 100th Day mark (eeep!) I'm giving you a preggo list.  I've actually been meaning to jot some of these down for a while now. It's mostly for my own reference for Stewart Little's future brother(s) and sister(s) but with so many preggo and new mommy friends, I thought some of you might have things to add, too.  (Boys, you might want to stop reading here.  Don't say I didn't warn you!)

• It's ok to take more than one pregnancy test.  It's fun to watch those little lines turn pink!
• It's also ok to save one or two - even if it really is just pee on a stick. (Don't forget to clean off the outside though - ew!)
• Digital pregnancy tests are awesome, but take a picture because the digital reading doesn't stay on longer than 24 hours.  (As of 25 weeks though, the plain old cheap ones with the lines are still crystal clear! Just sayin' . . .)
• Just because you're not throwing up in your first trimester doesn't mean you feel fine and dandy.  I've never had so much sleep and still be so utterly exhausted!
• For a long time, your boobs will be WAY bigger than your belly.  That part happens FAST! (And it hurts! Be prepared!)
• Ignore the coworkers who missed the announcement that you're expecting and then tell you they thought you'd been eating a few extra hamburgers.  They still mean well.  (This is not a joke!)
• You know the whole, thicker, fuller hair and longer, stronger nails myth?  It's true.
• What they don't tell you about that myth is that the thicker fuller hair part doesn't necessarily mean the hair on your head.  I'll leave it at that.
• Ok, no I won't.  I confess - I have been fighting off a rather dark Miss-stach for months now.  Future me, stock up on tweezers!
• Even before you're officially "showing", maternity pants are the MOST comfortable pants on earth!  Wear them early and be proud of it!
• Yeast infections suck.  I've had more in the last 3 months than I've ever had in my life.
• Likewise for colds.
• And pink eye!  I've NEVER had pink eye before!  (And it would show up IN BOTH EYES the day of my cousin's wedding when I'm a bridesmaid . . .)
• Be careful when brushing your back teeth.  Even if you've made it to the end of the 2nd trimester without puking, your toothbrush will still make you gag every morning.
• Eat a big Thanksgiving/Christmas feast if you want to feel those first movements!  Stewart Little LOVES Grandma's dressing recipe.  Her first kicks came right after Thanksgiving dinner.
• Stewart Little either loves Daddy's horn playing and tries to dance to it, or she desperately tries to get away from it.  Either way, she can't hold still if Daddy is playing!  I'm choosing to believe the first one!  
• Enjoy every kick and bask in every wiggle (even when it's on your bladder).  It means baby is healthy and growing - what a blessing!
• Orange juice, apple juice, and any type of fruit also make our baby girl wiggle!
• Sometimes it feels like I swallowed a jumping bean (and a rather large one at that).
• Speaking of large, in the last couple of weeks, I've actually started feeling "large" - particularly when trying to roll over in bed or get out of bed.  I can only imagine what that will be like by April and May!  Oy!
• Apparently it's normal, around 25 weeks, for your boobs to let you know they're ready and waiting for baby.  Yep, I'm officially wearing nursing pads and I won't actually be nursing for (hopefully) 3 more months!  THAT was a fun(ny) thing to wake up to this weekend.  
• Enjoy basking in the 5 and 6 month glow of pregnancy!  Strangers can finally tell you're pregnant and not just chubby around the middle - hooray!  I've never been told I'm beautiful/cute/adorable this much in my life.  I could get used to this . . .
• Oh, and watch out for too much of that "glow".  I have more pimples currently on my face than I did through my entire teenage years (yeah, I was lucky back then).  Seriously, my face rivals a 13 year old boy's right now.  Thank you, Lord for giving someone the brain to create cover-up makeup!  :)
• You know those stories you hear of pregnant women sneezing and, umm, leaking?  They're all true!  Note to self: don't sneeze when you're washing your hands in cold water.  You end up needing to wash a few more things, too!  Think of it as a right of passage.  
• Around 20ish weeks, start watch for your belly to start moving!  It makes everything so much more real!
• Speaking of that 20 week mark - I noticed a shift in my thinking somewhere around there.  The first half of my pregnancy I was still in awe and wonder that I was pregnant.  Now I'm in awe and wonder that we have a baby in there.  It's a subtle but important difference.  This is not about me, it's about her.  She's real!  And we'll be meeting her in 100 days or less!  Yippee and yikes!
• Never forget to stop and wonder about this beautiful miracle.  God is so good to allow us (girls) to experience, know, and love our babies before anyone else and like no one else can.  I am in constant amazement to the point that there are really no words . . .

Stewart Little Update

Stewart Little is doing great, according to our Perinatologist yesterday!  Baby is measuring 2.75 cm with a heart rate of 167 bmp.  Good and healthy!  2.75 cm also means baby-thing is about 12wks 2days instead of 11wks 5days like my due date says.  I know they say the first ultrasound is the most accurate, but my symptoms and other dates line up much more accurately with the 12wks 2days mark, putting my due date back at the original - May 2. (Of course, that's unofficial since my OB actually has to make that call, but I'm personally aiming for the 2nd.)

It was so amazing to see that sweet baby moving around in there!  It's crazy to think just 6 weeks ago, at our first ultrasound, you could hardly distinguish anything other than a tiny little heartbeat flicker.  This time, there is no doubt there is a BABY in there!!  It's completely awe-inspiring.  We saw Stewart Little jump, stretch, wave ("Hi Mommy!"), open and close her mouth, kick, everything!  I know it's still a few weeks off, but I cannot wait to be able to feel all of those amazing little movements!  We got some great pictures and even a DVD of the whole ultrasound!  I'm going to try to figure out how to get part of that video on a private YouTube channel so family and close friends can see Stewart Little wiggling around like a little jumping bean.  :)

Here are a few of my favorite pics.

Sweet baby-face!

Waving at Mommy!

By the way, even though it's still early, my peri has certain things he looks at to give his best guess as to whether Stewart Little is a boy or a girl.  He said he gives it a 4 out of 5 shot that we will have a . . . .

. . . oh sorry, you'll have to wait until our Dec 19 appointment to find out for sure.  

(message me if you are really curious to know what he thinks!)

Meet Stewart Little!

And now we come to the biggest change of all . . .

Yep, that tiny little dot is the long awaited, much anticipated Stewart Little!  Just a tiny little guy (or gal) for now, but as of this week, that little pea is officially the size of a blueberry (I can just hear Brandon quoting from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, "I have a blueberry for a daughter!").  We've known for over three weeks now, and I've been dying to shout the good news!  As of today, I am 7 weeks and Stewart Little should make an appearance sometime around May 9.  We are so so so excited!

And I'm so so so exhausted!  This new Mommy is heading to bed.  More to come soon!
G'night!

Images

Well, yesterday we finally got to meet little Miss Piper Grace Baker.  She is the sweet, tiny, 3 week old daughter of our good friends Eric and Emily.  It's been a while (I guess about a year and 4 months, right Carrie?) since I've held a baby that little.  She is so precious!  I could sit all day and watch her make faces (she is definitely trying to test every muscle God gave her in that tiny face!) and feel her soft baby skin.  There are few things better in this world, I'm convinced.  It's so amazing to me to know two people like Eric and Emily, to be so familiar with their expressions and their reactions, and then see that mirrored in their daughter.  I could look at Piper and be convinced that she looks exactly like her beautiful mother, and then in an instant see Eric all over her.   She is made in their image - not an exact copy, but a unique representation of her mother and father.  Much like, I believe, we are made in the image of our heavenly Father.  What a beautiful and tangible example of that He has given us!

It was so wonderful to catch up with Emily and Eric (we used to see them nearly every day when we were neighbors in Odessa) and love all over their sweet little Piper, though I have to say that the highlight of the visit for me was watching Brandon hold Piper.  As far as he can remember, he has never held a baby at all (no matter what age).  It was so sweet to see tiny little Piper cradled in his arm, even if it was for only a minute or two.  For it to be his first time, I have to say he looked pretty natural.  One day, I imagine, it will be our own child cradled there.  Not that that will be anytime soon, mind you.  But one day . . .