A LOOOOOOONG-awaited update of our Victoria Rose

So, as mentioned in the previous post, YES we are expecting a little bundle of joy this upcoming December!! Our "mimu" (pronounced mee-moo) is growing big and strong...strong enough to jam her head into mommy's side and box with mommy's bladder. It's been so fascinating to feel the baby getting stronger and stronger as she grows bigger. The first movements I felt reminded me of indigestion and I sincerely couldn't tell the difference between my typical 'stomach chat' and the baby. But, the movements have significantly increased so I can clearly feel distinct punches, kicks, and roll overs... especially at night just when I think I'm exhausted enough to actually fall asleep.


I've been honestly shocked at the multitude of changes affecting my body. I guess I naively thought that pregnancy was mostly a belly affair...but I've learned my lesson! I'm going to spare you the first 14 weeks of my pregnancy for the so-called "morning" sickness symptoms aren't really worth repeating. But there are other things that I've learned also come with pregnancy. For you mothers out there in bloggerland reading this, these symptoms won't seem like anything unique, but I want to record them before they cease to be novel to me:


* EXHAUSTION--isn't it supposed to be the newBORN baby that keeps you up in the middle of the night and makes you tired?? Why does the whole tired thing have to start now??

* Seriously strange dreams and frequent dreaming.

* Cravings--thankfully they haven't come often or unbearably strong, but there are the occasional foods that refuse to leave your mind until acquired and snarfed down.

* wider feet--not swollen, just bigger.

* bleeding gums--even when just brushing but guaranteed to gush every single time I floss.

* "baby brain"--let's just say I have to write things down more often and my poor piano students are getting used to their teacher repeating herself.

* Overheating--it doesn't help when we go through 2 official heat waves with weeks of temperatures in the 90's, but I have felt every climbing degree SO much stronger than I usually do. Especially since returning from Paraguay, I've been much more acclimatized to the heat, but having a living oven inside me has turned me into a hermit hiding under the air conditioner, leaving only to keep my puppy from peeing inside the house.

* And, of course, increased emotions. I can't say I've had any verifyiable "mood swings" but I have felt my emotions sink lower and soar higher than usual. As you'll see in later posts, I've spent a lot of time thinking about what matters most in life to me and being a lot more sentimental about things. I don't cry at life insurance commercials (yet...) but I do laugh harder at stupid jokes, sigh more at romantic love stories, and yell at the news channel a little louder.





If the symptoms themselves weren't enough evidence that something incredibly new and different is happening to my body, here are some prego pics for you all to enjoy:




The 26 week sonogram. It amazes me how technology has evolved that a little wand attached to a screen and some sound waves can introduce me to my growing child before she makes it out. I had to go back for a follow-up sonogram after news that I had a placenta previa. But, while I was there, I asked the technician to do a double-check of the gender to help Dave feel more secure to tell his friends we were actually having a girl. Thankfully, no surprises. We have a princess on the way.

16-week pictures after I first began to "show". I was still in class at the time and surprised one of my colleagues with news that I was pregnant--she thought I had a digestive issue because I would absent mindedly be rubbing my tummy much of the day.



Here's 20 weeks and my section phase of "popping." I had a student's mother do a double-take after her 2 week vacation to walk in and see that I had, indeed, popped bigger.

Finally, some almost-26 week pictures. Yeah, it's a LOT more obvious that there's a baby and not just extra flab in there!

I have a fantastic friend, Angela, who is also getting ready to welcome her first little one to the world. She's due in less than 2 weeks and I hosted a baby shower for her at the end of August. It was SO fun to look through and choose decorations, invitations, favors, games, and prizes. Her mom helped organize the food and her sisters worked hard doing setup and take-down. We didn't have the turnout we had hoped for, but it was fun nonetheless and I definitely enjoyed helping her celebrate her pregnancy in the midst of my own. We snagged this great shot of our bellies--Angela won.

Finally, some more proof that I really am pregnant--I've repeatedly craved Texas RoadHouse rolls and made the staff laugh when I walked in and asked if you could order JUST rolls with their yummy cinnamon honey butter. No steak. No burgers. No sides. Just rolls. To my delightful surprise, not only can you order rolls to go, but they include the yummy butter or you can even buy the butter as a separate tub. Thanks Texas RoadHouse for being prepared for crazy pregnant women like me!!

Thanks everyone for your patience in not hearing a peep from us in more than a month. We're increasingly excited to have our little girl (and be done with the pregnancy thing for a while!) which also means we get to actually spend two weeks in the same physical location. The deployment continues to tick down in days apart, though every time I see my wonderful husband on the Skype screen I can't help but long for this whole ordeal to be over. If nothing else, the baby gives us a constant supply of interesting conversational material as we both learn about the miracle of parenthood and our own processes of preparation to take on this responsibility. While the timing isn't what we had originally planned, we continue to see the hand of our Heavenly Father helping us with what we need and teaching us in ways only He can. We are blessed to be entrusted with one of His precious spirits and are very excited to share the adventure with all of you!!