Life as LawWife

Today for the first time I've felt actual body parts instead of indeterminate kicks/punches/movement. This morning, I felt what was either J's head or bottom sticking out from the right side of my belly. It stayed out 5-10 seconds, long enough for me to pat & rub it for a bit, before he pulled back. And just within the last few minutes, I've felt what feels more like legs or maybe arms (if he's head-up instead of head-down) in the same general spot. This eclipses the positive pregnancy test as the coolest thing ever.

The other night, I had the craziest dream of my pregnancy so far. Somehow, I was pregnant with sextuplets (or perhaps septuplets...it was hard to tell!). I gave birth to four boys first, and then I had two girls who were in some sort of external uterus that came by mail. One of them wasn't expected to make it b/c her heartbeat was so weak, but before long, I had two little girls, too. And then there was an outlier of a baby boy who looked like D's uncle Irv (not really possible, since Irv married D's aunt and is not a blood relative), including the male pattern baldness. Actually, he had hair that reminded me of Rocco Mediate's (the pic is a little on the old side, as now Rocco has a little patch in front with a bald strip and then more hair behind). I guess that's what I get for watching five straight days of the U.S. Open. I was freaking out in my dream, but one thing that stands out is that I was sad I couldn't decorate the nursery for J since now that we had six (or seven?) babies, we couldn't afford luxuries like crib skirts and valances.

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J has been moving a lot more obviously in the past week or so. The other day we seemed to be playing a version of whack-a-mole. He'd kick (or punch or whatever) one place on my belly, so I'd put my hand there. Then he'd kick a completely different part of my belly, and I'd put my hand there. He did this for a good minute or so. It was so cute and funny!

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I've built up a pretty good diaper stash so far. I have a dozen prefolds (the traditional cloth diaper) and a half-dozen fitted diapers along with six covers (five of this brand and one of this). I also have fasteners for the prefold diapers, doublers for the fitted diapers, and two dozen cloth wipes (one dozen of this brand and one dozen of this brand...the first ones are INCREDIBLY soft!). And I have one all-in-one diaper that also has a pocket so the absorbency can be adjusted (and now I see the brand is rolling out a new version of it...can I ever keep up?!). I plan on purchasing three more pocket diapers to see what works best on J; I can't know in advance what sort of physique he'll have (chunky thighs, skinny waist, etc.), so I'm getting these one size up from newborn to try out and see how they work. Ideally, I'd like to be able to use a combination of a one-size diaper that can be adjusted through various sizes and a sized pocket diaper, just to help the stash last longer. One-size diapers tend to get worn out. They're more expensive than the pocket diapers, so parents may tend to purchase fewer and launder more often, making them wear out more quickly. I have no idea what will work for J, but I'm looking forward to trying them out!

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Gym.boree is having a sale this week, and I got J some clothes in this line. They just arrived today, and now I'm off to open the box and revel in the cuteness. I might melt from the overwhelming adorableness of this stuff!

Not me...baby J! He seems to be reading along in my Sears pregnancy book, and that book said movement really ramps up in the seventh month (so from when I hit six months until just before hitting seven months). J has taken this to heart. He now moves for longer stretches, and his movements are much bigger. D & I watch with amazement (and a good deal of amusement) as my belly moves.

I did figure out over our weekend away that J doesn't wake up and move much in the car. Of course, we drive a seven-year-old Saturn that lets riders feel each and every bump in the road, so he was probably lulled to sleep by all the jiggling. He does seem to be awake more often overall. And I have to say that I'm loving it! I hope to learn more and more about him and perhaps even catch glimpses of his personality.

I've noticed that he likes a nice driving beat. During the American Idol finale, eventual winner David Cook got to perform with ZZ Top. J seemed to really like that. He went crazy with kicking both times I watched it. He also seemed to enjoy "Hero," which the finalists sang together as a duet. So cute!

In other news, I may actually be able to take care of J's diapering needs at this point. We now have a dozen prefolds (the cloth diaper most people think of when "cloth diapering" is mentioned) and a half dozen fitted diapers along with covers for those diapers and wipes to take care of messes. A friend is loaning me even more of the fitted diapers, so we'll have a good stock of those. At least one thing is coming together!

And yesterday we hit 24 weeks, the viability point. Before then, many hospitals won't even attempt to save a prematurely born baby, but we're now in the range that most hospitals will try to save the baby. Yay! It's so nice to hit these milestones.

In 2007, we spent Mother's Day in Kentucky with the in-laws. Sunday morning, I awoke to my period. Oh, joy! It marked the end of our 37th unsuccessful cycle of trying to get pregnant. And then we had to go to church with the in-laws. Their church had a baby dedication* that morning at each service; the service we attended had either five or seven babies dedicated. I sobbed through the whole thing. The family was going to go out to lunch after church, but I just couldn't handle being around any more people and especially mothers or babies, so they left me at the house. I can say without hesitation that it was one of the hardest days of my life.

In 2008, however, I woke up pregnant. Mother's Day marked the 20-week point (some would say the halfway mark) of my pregnancy with J. I had a smile on my face and in my heart that I just couldn't hide. Not to mention the belly poking out happily...can't hide that, either! D & I took another couple from church out to lunch with us for Mexican food. Yum! And I didn't want to find a corner and disappear.

I thought a lot that day about how different these two holidays had been. The Lord was definitely with me on both days. In 2007 D was merciful and always such a comfort. He allowed me to grieve without making me feel guilty. He's definitely an instrument in the Redeemer's hands...what a blessing! And in 2008 He has given me (and us) and invaluable gift in our child. We're so very thankful.


*A baby dedication is a ceremony held by churches as a substitute for infant baptism, because the churches do not believe paedobaptism is Biblical. In it the parents promise to raise the child in a Godly manner, and the church body in turn promises to assist.

Isn't he sweet?

We had our anatomy ultrasound this morning. Baby seems to be pretty daggone laid back. Evidently, nap time is not to be interrupted (sounds familiar). However, the tech was able to see all the different parts of our apparently perfect baby. We could see both hemispheres of the brain, all four chambers of the heart, the arm & leg bones, adorable little hands and feet, and even the nose and lips. The spine was also quite evident. It's amazing how much has changed since our first ultrasound 10 weeks ago. Then, Baby looked remarkably like a gummy bear. Head, torso, and arms & legs were visible, but there were no fingers and toes. Now? Wow!

We also were able to see that our long-awaited baby is a son. We are so looking forward to meeting our little J this fall and can't wait to see if he's the laid-back little guy he appeared to be this morning!

I had my 18-week checkup yesterday with the midwife. Ah, I love to go see her. It's just refreshing. And the fact that she thinks I'm funny doesn't hurt.

I've gained 11lbs since the start of the pregnancy, so I'm right on target there. My blood pressure is perfect. My uterus is the right size. And Baby's heart rate was 145, also perfect.

We have to start thinking about childbirth education now. Do we want to take a class with a group? Would we prefer a one-on-one session? Or would we rather read a book? Our midwife recommended I read Birthing from Within, especially since I have a habit of overanalyzing and overthinking and birth just won't work well with that sort of strategy. She said that there are some pretty out-there ideas, but overall she thinks it would help me. I shall have to purchase it, no? :)

We have about a week until the "big" ultrasound to see how Baby is developing, and we also hope to see the sex. Woo-hoo!

I'll close with my 18-week belly shot. Prepare to be stunned.

A couple of nights ago after one of my potty runs, I got back in bed at about 2:30 and settled in on my left side. Suddenly, I felt a rush of movement. Before then, I think I had felt Baby move (a faint brush, nothing more) once or twice. This time it was like a dance party. I've never felt anything like that before! It was just so very cool. It continued for several minutes, though I eventually fell back asleep and it hadn't ended. This mama needed her sleep, even if there was a rave going on inside.

Last April, I was walking Rambaldi and praying that the Lord would allow me to be pregnant (more specifically pregnant with a child who would be born healthy and whole) by the same time the next year. This prayer came back to me recently and I was just completely overwhelmed with God's faithfulness. Did He have to answer the prayer with a yes? Of course not. I'd prayed similar things before. But not only did He give us an answer to prayer, He also was gracious enough to remind me that I'd asked. Little things like that help me feel secure in His love. I most likely would have forgotten all about the prayer (as I've forgotten many of my "unanswered" prayers), especially given that pregnancy does quite the number on memory! But He was good enough to send a little reminder that He had indeed given us a yes this time. I don't think I told anyone else about this prayer, so it was another indication, like a private wink and a nudge, that He hears me, not just the "prayer warriors" who surround me. What a great God!

I've been trying to pray faithfully for Baby. Aside from praying for a healthy, whole child, I've prayed for the wisdom to know how to handle both his strengths and his weaknesses. How to build upon the gifts God has endowed him with and how to work with him on the areas where he won't be so naturally strong. I expect to have an intelligent (based on D, me, and our parents and siblings), talented (musically, artistically, grammatically!) child, and I know we'll need wisdom to successfully shepherd our child into adulthood. I'm praying that my body will work properly in labor and delivery, that Baby will be in the proper position, and that breastfeeding will work smoothly. I'm praying for no complications so that we can stay here at home and have the birth we're hoping for.

D says he's praying for Baby to have an easy temperament, one that doesn't overreact to the smallest troubles in life. That sounds good to me, too!

Will we receive a yes on all we're praying for now? Only time will tell. But we're certainly looking forward to the journey!