First Maternity Clothes

I currently only have 2 pairs of jeans that are comfortable to wear. Most of my shirts are ok although some are short enough that my belly peaks out. Last night Gina gave me several bags of maternity clothes from her and her sister. Finally, I'll have some more clothing options! It would be so expensive to buy a whole new wardrobe, so I am very excited about hand-me-downs. I still want to do a little bit of shopping, though.

Connecting with Tenants

I'm finding that being pregnant is another great way I can connect to my residents in Student Rental Housing. Our population is continually growing as babies are born. We have at least 75 kids in housing, and I've heard that there have been about 8-10 new babies this year. Wow! I told my tenants I was pregnant in this month's newsletter, so I've had many congratulations and people who are interested in how I'm feeling. It's great being able to relate to one another on a new level. There are many wives who are going through or have gone through the same thing as me.

Getting Bigger

After Davin took my new profile shot he asked, "Are you pooching out your tummy?" Nope. Actually, I find myself subconsciously sucking it in all the time because I can tell it's bigger. I've noticed my jeans are fitting a bit tighter these days, and I've had those first fleeting moments of... I feel fat! I measured my waist and I think I've already gained about 2 inches. I know my size increase is not much baby since it's still super tiny at this stage, but this must be all the other padding and stuff showing up. It will be very strange to have a huge belly. Some women barely look pregnant even at 9 months. I imagine I'll be quite noticeably pregnant since I'm starting to show already.

Eating like a Hobbit

I realized I'm eating a hobbit's diet... breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner, and supper. I never thought I'd actually say, "I'm tired of eating!" At first I was happy to have a good excuse to eat little snacks all day long, but nothing much sounds good anymore, and I'm tired of my tummy complaining about needing food all the time. Still, I'm thankful my symptoms are fairly mild. Let's see... 4 more weeks and I'll hopefully be out of this stage. Ugh! Four more weeks!

Sleep and Food

It seems like all I'm about these days is sleep and food! Watch out if I don't have one or the other. So, the first couple weeks I thought this first trimester thing would be a breeze... Well, it's catching up to me. If I've been up for 4 hours straight, I'm ready for a nap. And if I haven't had a snack in the last 2 hours my tummy starts complaining. Clara told me to suck on lemon drops to help with the nausea. I don't know if it's psychological or what, but it seems to help. I'm so lucky to have a job that flexes to accommodate sleep and food, but I'm trying to be careful to save most of my sick and vacation time for the summer.

First Prenatal Visit

We had our first prenatal visit this morning! I saw a nurse practitioner, Kim, and she was really nice and took time to explain things to us and answer our questions. She even gave me my first ultrasound and we got to see our little baby! You could actually see heart beating as a little flash of light, so it's definitely there and it's alive. Now we have one of those pictures where the expectant parents can see the baby, but everyone else only sees some blobs. Everyone can probably see the little circle next to the baby which is the yoke sac. It's providing nutrients until the placenta can fully take over. Amazing, isn't it? The ultrasound confirmed that conception happened a bit later in my cycle like I thought, so I'm actually only around 6 weeks along. The new tentative due date is July 17... uh, that would be our anniversary. I guess going on that cruise for our 4th is out of the question.

Thanksgiving News

We told the family yesterday. I had butterflies all during lunch because this is such big news! After the meal was winding down (no one caught the baby corn, baby carrots, baby shrimp clues), we brought out our fortune cookies and had everyone take one. It was kinda weird, but everyone went along with it and started reading out their fortunes. Finally Marcia said, "I think I notice a theme," and Mom said she did too and started tearing up. Some people were still like, "What?" until Mom said, "I'm going to be a grandma!" We then passed out the shirts we special ordered for everyone. I think Mom's going to to have the family wear them to church on Sunday. It's strange to annouce such big news, but it was so much fun surprising everyone. They're all so excited! I am thankful for families.