Moving On

Last night, the stars aligned perfectly and D was able to take a picture of my 16-week belly. I'd think of it when no one was around, D would think of it when we were in bed, we both thought of it, but the camera was at Mom and Dad's, etc. Anyway, here we are:

It kind of looks like I'm pushing my belly out, but I'm not...that's how it looks when I stand. It totally doesn't get in the way of anything at this point. I think I was remembering (and dreading) how I felt at the end of M's pregnancy when I was huge and uncomfortable and didn't want to do much. For all the queasiness I had with this one, I haven't had any belly discomfort, for which I'm thankful because M LOVES to read and is always on my lap with a book.

Some other baby-related items include my ultrasound which is scheduled for June 1st. I'm excited because D is on night CT that month and doesn't go into work until 5pm, so he'll be able to come along. I know Mom is coming and I invited Dad, but it's mid-day, so he might be working. Not sure if we'll bring M. I'd like him to see the baby, but it might be too long for him to stay relatively still in a room full with knobs and buttons and everything else he would want to get into. It'll be fun to get our first peek at the baby. We're not going to find out if she is really a she (I'm 75% sure she's a girl) because where's the fun in that? I was trying out baby names on M the other day to see what he could pronounce and what proves to be difficult. He did pretty well on most names, but he does well pronouncing most words, even three syllable ones. (I can get off on a tangent about him, but I'll just mention that he's pointing things out and saying their names now without any "What's that?" prompting. Very fun.). We won't be sharing any names, either, in case we change our mind last minute, to avoid all the potentially-annoying, "Oh, I thought you chose such and such a name. What happened?" questions. I think we're in agreement on a girl's name, but not a boy's name. But we haven't sat down and looked through any baby names, either, so I'm sure we'll find something when that happens.

In preparation for Baby, I'm in the market for a Sit and Stand baby stroller. The older child can sit or stand on a particular spot on the stroller and the other part has a place for a infant car seat which can also be a regular stroller seat when you are past the car seat stage. Found a few on Craigslist, but nothing I've settled on. I'm also reviewing slow cooker recipe books because I'm going to be using that thing like crazy during those first few months. I might even buy another one if I find I'm using it a lot. You can make anything from dips and breads to desserts and cakes in it. I'm also going to be making double meals the last month I'm pregnant and freezing the extra to store up a good reserve. We actually won't need them for a while because we will be staying with my parents for the first six weeks of Baby's life. I can't lift or drive for those six weeks after a C-section and obviously D can't take that much time off, so we'll be moving in for a time with them. Not to mention all the help that Mom and Dad (and all large number of people who are constantly in and out of that house on a regular basis!) will be with M and allowing me to rest whenever I need to. I'm not sure how people do it without help, but I don't want to find out! I firmly believe that even though you are ultimately responsible for your child, family and good friends should be a big part of their lives. I'm so thankful the Lord brought us back to our family and that they are a big part of daily life.

Well I think that's all on the baby update. I've got to finish my second summer reading book while M is still snoozing because when he is up, he is UP and ready to go.