Chill, Baby!

If activity in the womb is any indication of what the baby will be like out of the womb, then we will NOT have a "chill" baby.  If you recall my post about the visit to the specialist, the baby was incredibly active on ultrasound then.  I had an OB appointment today, and they did another doppler to hear the heartbeat.  I heard the heartbeat for a second or two, then it diminished.  No, the batteries didn't die again, the baby moved.  The nurse practitioner had to follow the baby around my stomach to keep with the heartbeat!  I think her words were, "the baby's going crazy in there!"  What are we in for???

In two weeks we will have another ultrasound with the specialist to make sure the baby has all of his/her fingers and toes.  We'll also find out the sex of the baby, provided that baby cooperates!  I probably will not get a chance to post again until then, so here's to another two week wait...cheers!

Baby Bump

 

Here's the 16 week bump!  This is my first-ever maternity dress, compliments of my sister-in-law.  It will grow with me, so you'll probably see it in future posts, since it shows off the bump nicely!

Faith, hope, and sickness

Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for, and assurance about what we do not see."  Sometimes it is difficult not to wonder if your unborn child is OK when you can't see or feel him or her.  I'm sure other pregnant moms-to-be have felt this way.  On Wednesday, I went for a checkup at the OB.  He used a Doppler to hear the baby's heartbeat.  After finding it, and getting to hear that wonderful sound for about 2 seconds, the battery died.  The doctor shook the machine around a bit--which of course did not help revive the battery--and then said, "Oh well, we know it's in there!" 

Yes, we know "it's in there," but how is our child DOING in there?  I experienced my first sickness during pregnancy this weekend.  Ironically enough, I was just thinking the other day that I felt blessed to not have had any illnesses so far, as I know that pregnant women have decreased immune systems.  That changed on Friday.  It started at work with a stomach ache, then frequent trips to the bathroom.  Once I returned home from work, the vomiting and fever began.  It was not a fun night.  I was worried about being dehydrated, about how that could affect the baby.  I drank as much as I could (which was not much that first night), and prayed for the health of our baby.  I still felt bad yesterday, but was able to drink plenty of fluids and even eat some soup.  Today I am feeling much better and eating some solids.

Just as it takes faith to believe in a God that we cannot physically see, it takes faith to believe that God is in control of this baby that we can't physically see.  He is taking care of our child, just like He took care of all the miraculous details that went into conceiving him or her.  Since I am a "planner" and like to be in control of things, it is not always easy for me to have faith, and I have a tendency to worry.  But God is growing me, and bringing me into a sweet place of trusting Him and relying on Him rather than on myself.  And that feels great!

Sharing the news

It has been so much fun telling people we are expecting!  Finally, after 2 months of keeping the secret, we're sharing the good news of what God has done.  One of my favorites was telling my aunt. I call her "Ciocia," which is Polish for aunt.  I call my grandmother "Babci," which is a derivative of the Polish word for grandmother.  I called my aunt and told her I had a question for her.  I asked, "I know that prababci is 'great-grandmother' in Polish, but does 'praciocia' mean 'great-aunt?'"  Without suspecting our news based on the question, she answered, "No, it's something else...let me see...oh, I can't remember what it is."  I told her she'd better find out because she was going to be one (it's ciotki, by the way).  She was so excited! 

We went to tell my brother and sister-in-law in person.  We told them we wanted to come over to play the Wii with them.  While my bro was showering after work, my husband got on their Wii and created a Mii called "Baby."  When it came time to play, my husband chose that Mii as his character.  My brother said, "Did you make that the last time you were here?"  He said no, he had made it today.  I chimed in and said, "But you'll have to wait until next year to meet the real thing." 

When I called my parents, Dad answered the phone, and I told him I had a baking question (he is a baker, so this is a normal thing for me to do), but that I thought Mom might know the answer too, so could he put her on the phone as well?  I asked them, "What kind of bun bakes in the oven, but can't be eaten?"  I found this on the internet, so I can't take credit for the cheesy-ness, but it worked in this situation.  There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, then Dad started laughing a knowing laugh.  "The same kind your cousin is having," he said.  I replied, "Well, we're going to have one, too!" 

My husband's parents were driving when we called them, so we chatted for awhile until they got home so that his Mom wouldn't drive off the road!  We told them we wouldn't be able to come for the Christmas gathering this year, because we might be at the hospital.  His Mom got it right away, saying, "For something that I'll be really happy about?" 

We told my husband's sister by asking our 2 year old nephew if he wanted a cousin.  I think he said yes, but I couldn't tell with all the whooping and hollering going on.

Thank you all for sharing in our joy!