Happy, Healthy and Large

Well, today I had a Dr’s appointment and all seemed to go well. I got checked for pregnancy diabetes (which is routine from around week 26 to 28) and I am cleared of any worries when it comes to that. My blood pressure was also very good, and the Dr. said I was doing really well. I have to say that this was really nice to hear! Lastly, she measured my belly, and I am measuring about one and a half weeks early. The Dr. said that this is either a large baby, or I am going to go early. Hopefully, it’s the latter.

And I just Keep Growing

Well here I am at 26 weeks and I just keep getting bigger. I guess that’s the point, huh? Well baby River (?) is making himself known to the outside world with all his little punches and kicks. The other day Kyle and I were laying down just watching my stomach move. I believe this kid is going to be a great soccer player someday! I think the best part so far is when he is pushing towards the outside world and I push back at the same time! It’s like he’s touching my hand the only way that he can. Pretty cool.
Anyway, enjoy the picts of my ever expanding tummy. Kyle thought the belly shot was a riot, as for me, I’m not so sure.

Support Groups

One more week until spring break. When you’re a teacher that excited anticipation for an upcoming break doesn’t stop when college ends! But, in the meantime, this last week is always tough especially for those of us who are carrying around more than one person.
As you can see from the picture below, I have been blessed to have my own little pregnancy support group at CMS. I never thought that having numerous pregnant ladies around at work would be so nice! Even though we see each other rarely, passing by them in the hallway and exchanging an understanding “hello” has been comforting. Even better are the helpful discussions about names, weekly feelings, and baby registries. I am so thankful for their kind words and understanding thoughts, the year wouldn’t have been as easy without them.
This opportunity that I have been given has made me think of support groups and how special they really are. To be able to talk with and relate to a group of people for any reason gives us humans the encouragement that we seem to really need to go forward. Knowing that I will have coworkers that will discuss ‘kid’ issues with me in the future makes me excited to go back to school next year and share my stories, while they will share their stories with me.Thinking of support groups also brings my mind to my good friend Jenia Strom’s upcoming birth. (She is due this week with her first child.) Knowing that we will be able to bring our newborn babies together at such an early age, while being able to share our hardships gives me the encouragement to say ‘I can do this’. Crazy- I’m going to be a mom. Even with the many kicks I feel every day, it’s still hard to believe.
Thanks EVERYONE for your support out there, it means the world to me!

Non-alcoholic St. Patties Day

March 17th is a good day for an Irish-American girl named “Erin”. I always look forward to this day, for many reasons and one including the great Irish tradition of drinking beer to celebrate. But alas, today was a beerless day, which sucks only because St. Patricks day this year happens to lie on a Saturday. But with baby River (I think) growing brain cells in my tummy I dare to stay sober. Thankfully this is not something I mind at all… this lack of alcohol has got to help my brain cells as well, so I figure in the end this pregnancy thing is good for me! Anyway, tonight I will relax, watch a movie, and drink my fancy non-alcoholic beer my dear sweet husband searched long and hard for.

Happy St Patties day to you all… may you remember this beautiful Irish day as vividly as I have.

90% sure we have a river

Today Kyle and I visited the Dr. for our 24 week check up, and because last month the baby was being shy, we tried another ultrasound. During the ultrasound the baby was jumping around like crazy, but when it settled down (just a little) the Dr. gave us the 90% positive that it’s a boy! She quickly said not to go out and buy anything blue, but that was her strong hunch.
So for those of you who don’t know our name choices, we have picked River for a boy, so little River here you come!

The Baby Store Experience

Erin and i went to Babies-R-Us today to register for the upcoming baby shower. It’s always a surreal experience to go to a store and pick out objects you want other people to buy for you. It feels like a shopping spree, but you are constantly asking yourself “should someone else really be buying this for us, we don’t really need it?” For all that I’m about to say, i want to mention that it was, in fact, a fun day.

There are so many things needed to raise a baby! I wonder how my great grandparents did it on the farm without disposable medium flow silicon nipple feeding bottles, or an odor free diaper disposable bin.

I left the store with the most perplexed feeling. I’ve never seen a place so obsessed with safety and germs. At a recent trip to my grandparent’s house in Texas, my grandmother mentioned that my dad rode his bike across Wichita to visit a friend when he was around 10. Wichita is a big city. Today Grandma would have been arrested for child endangerment. It was obvious walking through those isles that fear sells. Blame for today’s cultural problems can be thrown everywhere; politicians, Overbearing mothers, Safety Regulatory Agencies, lawyers… But it was obvious today that the seed of the problem is us consumers. We are so gullible that we are willing to believe anything that is printed on the package. Put your baby’s bottle in the dishwasher? Oh no! You need to buy a bottle sanitizer! Breast feed? Oh no! You need to buy healthy iron fortified formula with LIPIL®!

In my opinion, if you want to see the dark side of a consumerist market driven society, stroll through a baby store.

Kyle

P.S. Erin says that i’m being too negative. I did have a good day.

23 weeks and learning

Well, after taking this picture and putting it side by side with my other ones, I am amazed how much my belly has really grown! You will also see with this picture how my belly button HAS gotten large, so my crazy dream has some merit.

Anyway, things are going well here, but different. It is getting more and more difficult to do daily tasks and sit in one place for long periods of time, but I am happily surviving. I am enjoying all the rest and relaxation that I am able to get, while learning how to turn over in my sleep. I’ve got just less than 4 months left, I need to get used to this weirdness now!

Hope all of you in internet land are doing well!