And now we wait...

For those of you waiting on pins & needles and with baited… bated… beighted...(?) breath, here’s a brief update: 

I have seen the midwife a few times in the last several weeks, and it’s pretty much a no-news, waiting game at this point.  I’ve been examined a couple times and currently I am about 1 cm dilated, about 60% effaced, and the top of her head is approximately at a -1 station.  For those of you who know what all that means… good for you!  If you don’t, you may not want to… if you just can’t stand it, go look it up.  I’m saving the graphic post for later… 

Basically it means my body is working properly – it's preparing for labor, doing everything it can to keep labor as short and normal as is possible with such things.

Does it tell us when things will get started?  Nope.  Not a bit. 

Does it tell us how long or short labor will be?  Nope.  Not a bit. 

Does it tell us if it will be a normal, straightforward labor?  Nope.  Not a bit. 

You might be getting the point by now.  This data really gives us no information about anything other than my body knows the time is getting closer and it's beginning preparations. 

Which is good.

And now we wait… some more.

And the countdown has begun...

As you can see, room is running out.  Sea Monkey likes to remind me of this on a very regular basis.  I can just hear her saying, “Hey, Mommy!”  *tap, tap*  “I need more room in here.  Babies need their stretching room, and I don’t have much anymore.  See?”  *streeeeetch* 

“Ouch, Baby!  I KNOW you don’t have much room in there.  Don’t you think I can feel you pushing and stretching?  You feel that thing against your head?  Yeah, that’s my bladder.  VERY uncomfortable for Mommy.  And that hard thing your foot is pushing against?  That’s my rib – it doesn’t like being moved out of place and it informs me of that preference every time you push against it.  You do realize that out here you’ll have more room than you know what to do with, right?”  

Then I very hastily add, “But things get very cold and uncomfortable out here when babies come too early *cough* hospital bills *cough*.  So why don’t you take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be perfectly safe and warm and just hang out for a bit.  Think of it as your first lesson in patience.  Then you can come see what it’s like out here in a couple weeks.  K?” 

Then, inevitably, that little speech is followed by, “Eep!  A couple weeks??  Is that all the time that’s left before we are “in the zone”?!  Seriously??  Oy...”  Even though I know not to expect her to come early, just the thought that I could quite possibly have my very own healthy, full-term baby in my arms in less than two weeks always sends this electric shock through my system – a combination of excitement and pure terror...

I have to keep reminding myself that this is one of the few times that being a pessimist is a good thing.  Much better to expect her to come late and be pleasantly surprised by an early arrival than hope she comes early only to be two weeks late.

36 weeks and 5 days...

Jehovah Jireh

“The Lord will provide” 

While this is a truth that I have known and believed for years, it has become very meaningful to me over the past year in general and the last 9(ish) months in particular.  While this post is not an update on little Sea Monkey, per se, I feel compelled to share testimony of God’s faithfulness to provide.  As this has a direct impact on our precious little girl’s life, I feel it is pertinent to post here.

As some of you already know, we did not plan to begin a family this soon into our marriage.  We wanted to do the “responsible” thing and become more established financially first, enjoy life as a couple, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera (can’t you just hear the King of Siam from the old “King and I” in your head?).  And as we were talking and making plans, God looked down on us and smiled an amused little smile, shook His loving head, and went about arranging our future according to His own plan.  As usual... 

When we found out I was pregnant, our situation was as follows:

-          After the Christmas rush, Andrew was working 20-25 hours a week.

-          I, on the other hand, logged a whopping 60 hours!  For the entire month of January...

-          We were living in my grandparents’ travel trailer – while it was perfect for 2 people, newly married, there really wasn’t a place for a baby.  Not even a sock drawer...

-          We had no idea if Andrew’s hours would increase and I was hoping, at best, for a few month’s work – I was working in an interim capacity as the event coordinator with no experience and (in my mind) few qualifications beyond an ability to be organized and great people skills.

-          We had no insurance and even if we could have afforded to go out and purchase some the very next day (which we couldn’t), pregnancy is considered a “pre-existing condition” (they make it sound like a disease or something.  Sheesh!) and wouldn’t have been covered.

So, needless to say, getting pregnant was not exactly the “most responsible” thing to do.  Oh, God... You have such a quirky sense of humor sometimes...

God allowed us to...um, mellow in these facts for a little while.  6 weeks, in fact.  Then it all started pouring down.  It was beyond amazing as we just watched things unfold!  I say “watched” because that’s really how we felt: we were just standing on the side as God paraded all His blessings in front of us.

First, Andrew’s boss asked if he was interested in taking the necessary training to become an armed security guard.  Um.... duh?!  “Nah... my husband has no interest in legally carrying his gun to work, in plain sight, with the right to use it if necessary...”  Yeah, right.  Oh, and by the way, the company paid for it.  This not only meant an increase in salary (if and when he worked an armed post), but it also opened up an entire host of potential hours for him.

Very soon after, my boss offered to promote me from “Interim event coordinator” to “the New event coordinator” -- so, in other words... indefinitely.  “Oh, and as an added bonus, would you like to live in the house that’s on my property?  Rent-free; all you have to pay for is energy used (electricity and propane), keep the yard looking nice, and allow brides to use the Bride’s Room and bathroom on those few occasions it’s needed.  I’ll even pay for curtains and blinds to be put on all the windows.  And all that furniture that’s just being stored there?  Feel free to use it, if you can.  There’s also a spare refrigerator and stove just sitting in storage.  All you have to do is move it into the house.”  If I hadn’t been sitting down, I woulda keeled over in shock and amazement.  After living in a trailer for 4 months, we felt like we were moving into a palace!!  Funny story though... this house we moved into?  It was my childhood home.  My family moved into this very house when I was 5 months old and didn’t move out until almost 3 years ago.

As if all that wasn’t enough, God just kept throwing more blessings at us over the next several months, reminding us that He was still watching and caring for us.

-          My boss increased my pay rate... twice,

-          Andrew’s hours were never less than 35 hours a week (with only 1 exception),

-          God led us to a birthing center that is not only just as safe (or safer) than an OB/GYN and hospital, but will be about one-third the cost,

-          Our family and friends have provided all the essentials (and some non-essentials!) for the first year or more of our baby’s life.

Then, to top it all off, for the foreseeable future Andrew has been posted at a bank... as an armed security guard... with guaranteed 15 hours of overtime every single week!!!  Yay guns!  And yay overtime!!  And this pregnancy ain’t over yet!  What else does my Jehovah Jireh have in store for us?!

Folks, life really is an adventure.  And the best part is that we cannot see what lies around the next bend.  We may not always think so, but it truly is the best part.  These past several months would not have been nearly as exciting or thrilling if we had known God’s plans for us.  Sometimes we want to shake God; sometimes we want to curse His strange sense of humor and timing.  But just wait and look back a few months or years down the road; I promise you will laugh, cry, squeal, and thank God all at the same time.

No, getting pregnant when we did was not the most responsible thing to do.  But it most certainly was the best thing that could have happened.  Thank you, Lord!!

What?? 2 months??

It has NOT been 2 months since the last post!  It’s not the 7^th yet, so there... 

Yeah, sorry, guys...  Two months is waaay too long...  But in this case, no news really is good news – I haven’t posted because there was nothing to post about.  Sea Monkey is doing great and progressing perfectly! 

At the 20 week Anatomy Scan, the technician noticed that the placenta was forming a little too low for comfort and so the midwives requested a follow-up ultrasound around 32 weeks.  So we went in for that on Thursday, and sure enough, as everyone predicted, the problem has fixed itself.  Placenta is now high and dry.  Well... maybe not dry... but you get the point. 

The tech also went ahead and re-measured her to see how she’s progressing – she’s still right above the 50^th percentile in size and she now weights just short of 5 lbs.  At least, that was his best guess.  They get those things wrong all the time, so for all we know she could be 7 lbs. already.  Yipes!!  I hope not!  Maybe she’s actually closer to 4 lbs. right now... yeah... I’m sure that’s it...

Anywho, that’s the update from the Sea Monkey corner.  Hopefully a new baby bump picture will be coming soon.  And now back to your regularly scheduled Facebook browsing...

The worst part about being very pregnant...

So here I am 6 months pregnant and in the last lap, as it were.  Over the last few weeks I have discovered the absolute worst part about being pregnant.

Is it the leg cramps?
Nah.  I have Restless Leg Syndrome and have been dealing with that for 10 to 15 years.

Is it the midnight bathroom runs?
Not really.  To date I've never had to go more than once in a night and sometimes I even make it all night! O.O

Is it the inability to enjoy a glass of wine or beer or the occasional margarita?
Nope.  I can deal.

Is it the feeling of carrying a large watermelon around all the time?
Not at all!!  Looking down at my growing belly reminds me of the precious life I am nurturing and makes everything worth it.

How about the inability to carry anything over 10 lbs.?
Haha!!  That's a good one....

No, the worst thing about pregnancy is with the growing uterus making room for the ever-growing little girl, there is less room for my already small stomach.  Even before, my little tummy protested full capacity long before I was finished with the yummy food on my plate.  Now, I will eat the smallest of meals and within 20 or 30 minutes I feel like I've eaten the biggest Thanksgiving dinner ever and all I need to do it poke my stretched belly with a needle to pop it and relieve the agony.  So here I am with all this delicious goodness in front of me and I know that if I eat only a quarter of it, I will be in misery for the rest of the night.  So logic would dictate that I eat less than a quarter and pack up the rest in a nice little container to munch on the rest of the day.  Apparently pregnancy doesn't breed logic...

New Pictures!

Due to everything going on at work these days, I'm going to limit this one to a picture post.  Besides, a picture is worth a thousand words... and about ten thousand of mine...

This is the 3D ultrasound picture we got last week.  Looks a little like an alien...

Let me see if I can help:

See it now?  Good, thought so.

And now, the newest Baby Bump picture!!

At Long Last...

It would appear that the Fates have been conspiring against me working to prevent this post.  Well, I have prevailed!  Through storm and wind and dark of night, victory at last!!  

Thank you, thank you.  No, please.  Hold the applause. 

Ok, so maybe it wasn’t through storm, wind, or dark of night, but it sure as heck seemed like it sometimes!

Anyway, here is what I have been hiding (or rather not hiding) all this time...

Ta da!!

Baby bump!!

Actually, this picture was taken a little over a week ago.

How about a freshly snapped, hot off the press Baby Bump picture??

Oy!  Early mornings are not kind to me...

Maternity clothes, here I come!!  I think it’s also about time I scheduled a fitting at Victoria’s Secret, if you know what I mean...  ;-)

In other news, I went to my 2^nd prenatal appointment on Monday.  This one wasn’t quite so <ahem> invasive... 

Everything was going quite smoothly (as expected) until the midwife tried to find the heartbeat with the little Doppler gizmo.  And not matter how much she moved around, pressed into my belly, or cajoled the little thing, she could not find it!  Another, more experienced midwife came in & tried, but still nothin’!  

No heartbeat at all.  

I got up, walked around, went to the bathroom, & spoke oh-so-persuadingly to the little kid.  Then they both tried again.  The only sounds coming through were the placenta (apparently that thing makes noise – huh!) and a couple little swishes as the baby moved away.  One time we thought we heard an echo of a heartbeat, but that just ain’t good enough, little Sea Monkey!

Finally, they said enough is enough & took me in to get an ultrasound.  Turns out, this little monkey was havin’ the pool party of its short life & kicking so much that the Doppler was unable to pick up the heartbeat.  It was so cool watching those little legs just kick, kick, kicking away.  They were quite unmistakably legs, I might add – I could even see the little toes!  And the cute, little knee!!  I also saw the heart beating!!  It was so cool!

Next month, I’ll have the 20 week ultrasound and (hopefully) find out the gender!  Since I have, as of today, completed my 17^th week it’s a lot closer than it seems, folks!

Gift Idea!!

I want a shirt like this:

So if you're trying to think of a different, funny shower gift, here ya go.  Just be sure to change the names... you know, something like "a stallsworth & stallsworth production" or "a rebekah & andrew production."  Something like that.



And stay posted for a much-requested baby bump pic...

When It's OK to be Fat

We women love being pregnant.  We may not admit it; we may not even consciously know it, but we do!  The reason women love being pregnant is we can wear stuff like this:

and nobody cares that our fat belly is clearly showing.  People just look at us & think, "Aw... she's pregnant!  How cute!!"

Name one other time in a woman's life that she can wear tight tops that accentuate her belly & nobody cares.  Nope, can't be done.  Everybody looks at her & thinks, "Gosh!  She needs to either lose lots of weight or not wear that shirt!"  You know it's true!  We've all done it.

So, I have every intention of enjoying my immunity to fat thoughts!  Let's go, clingy shirts!!

What a Sea Monkey Looks Like

So I was sitting on our couch one day & I observed to Myself, "Myself, we have a lot of friends & family that live in places other than Bryan/College Station.  In fact, those precious friends & family are scattered, quite literally, all over the globe.  How are we going to keep them posted on what's happening with our little Sea Monkey?"
And here's what Myself answered (she is very smart, by the way), "A blog!"  And so, here is the aforementioned blog.

You might be wondering, what does a Sea Monkey look like?  A very good question!  Let me clarify here that we are not talking about an animal Sea Monkey.  They look like this:

This is not at all what we are referring to.  That doesn't even look like me!!  Or Andrew, for that matter (though some might be inclined to debate that fact...)

The term "Sea Monkey" was hijacked from that hilariously inappropriate movie, Juno.  Mostly terrible acting, too much language to allow me to recommend it, but HILARIOUS one liners, mainly by the title character, Juno, who is a pregnant teenager.

This is what a human Sea Monkey looks like:

Isn't it cute?!

So our little Sea Monkey & I have had our first picture made.  Yes, I got one done too.  And no, you can't see it.  I don't have it.  So there.  Besides, Sea Monkey's picture is much, much cuter than mine.

We also had our first prenatal appointment today.  You know, the one where they poke, prod, & peer into every part of you?  Yeah, that one.  Everything checks out, is normal, & all are celebrating.  Whoopie!

Next appointment: in 1 month.  At which point I will be nearly 17 weeks.