Pregnany and Baby Duke-The Basics

I have been keeping a "journal", which is just a typed document in Microsoft Word.  It's not hand-written in some fancy baby book because, to date, it's 19 pages, single-spaced and hello writer's cramp.  So I will spare you the details from all 19 pages.

For the most part, I have felt great.  I never experienced any morning sickness at all, not even any nausea, praise the Lord.  I haven't had to change anything that I liked to eat and still eat jalapenos and hot sauce without any consequences - another thing I am very thankful for.  I haven't had any major cravings or wanted anything weird either.  For the most part, I have felt pretty normal...except for the fact there's a human growing inside my abdomen.

At first I was so super tired and just wanted to sleep all the time.  My appetite was out of control (no cravings but so hungry!), which then led to me blaming the nurse at the doctor's office that their scale was rigged.  About 4 months in though, both of those symptoms subsided and it was back to normal.  Oh, but this was only temporary.

I started to get to where I couldn't sleep.  I had some sleepless nights before, and now they're back with a vengeance.  I battled this for a few months and then just accepted it and quit stressing about being stressed out about not sleeping.  I have good nights here and there so I am thankful for those when it happens.   

My appetite has decreased at this point.  I just can't eat a lot, and I'm assuming that is a result of a growing baby taking up all the room.  The upside is maybe this will help me with weight management these last 2 1/2 months when a lot of women tend to pack on the poundage.  It hurts in my back and in my ribs, so the downside is I still have 2 1/2 months to deal.  "It's only temporary."  "This won't last forever."  "It means your baby is growing and healthy."  "You've been so fortunate so far, quit complaining!"...These are statements that frequent my conversations with myself.  "I got this."  No, no I don't "got this".  But God does.  And He has given me the opportunity to give my body over to be a safe haven for our child, and I will NOT complain about that.

I have this hanging on my mirror where I see it every morning.  It brings be back down and makes me remember that my body is not my body right now.  It's the Lord's and He has chosen me to be a mom.  That's something I would never, EVER wish away.

I passed my sugar test (which I was so nervous about) and I didn't pass out during any of the lab work I've had to do thus far.  Yay me!  Everything is good and all the results have come back great.  My iron levels were pretty low, so I have to get a handle on that, but everything else is good and the doc seems to be pleased.

I'm at the point now where I will start going for routine check-ups every two weeks instead of once a month.  Totally caught off guard with that fact.  I knew that I would go once a week in the last month, but I was not prepared for the every other week until that, nor was I prepared to hear that this soon.  Soon?!  It's 2 1/2 months away...that's right around the corner!

We had our first ultrasound on March 13 that told us Baby Duke is a Baby BOY.  He doesn't have a name yet.  I call him Baby Duke or BD, and Jason calls him Junior.  We have some top-runners, so I don't know if we'll decide before-hand or wait until we see him to determine what his name will be.  Look at this sweet thing:

 

 

The ultrasound tech said it looks like he's going to have legs like his daddy.  Guess I'll eventually be the shortest one of the whole bunch!

My calculated due date from the beginning was August 5.  However, this little guy was measuring a week ahead of that, so it changed my due date to July 27.  My doctor won't "technically" change it unless it's two weeks off, but we're going with July 27. :)

I have been taking pictures for personal keepsake along the way.  I don't post them regularly on Facebook or anywhere else, but I love when other people post theirs!  I don't know why I haven't...just 'cause I guess.  But I'll share a few with you here:

 23 weeks:

 27 weeks:

Raising him right from the get-go!

Watching and listening to my husband talk to our baby stirs some emotions that I didn't even know were possible.  I guess it does with BD, too, because now he will kick and/or move around in response to his dad's voice.  So.  Dang.  Cool.  It's a beautiful thing to watch him be a dad, and I can only imagine how this is going to grow and make me love him so much more.  I'm thankful to God everyday that he has chosen us to be parents together and that he so perfectly put Jason and me together.  He is a blessing to me in so many ways, and I am beyond honored to be able to experience this and raise a child with that man.

I titled this "The Basics" because, well, pregnancy is quite an experience!  I'll post again later, but I didn't want to make this one too long.

Plus I'm exhausted.  Making a baby 24/7 is hard work!