Pregnancy Update

I didn't get a chance to write about our doctor's visit yesterday since we went to bed early last night. First let me back up to Sunday. Somebody asked me on Sunday if I carried Chloe as high as I'm carrying this baby. That's hard to answer since I never got this big when I was pregnant with Chloe. Anyway, the lady is convinced I'm having a boy. At the ultrasound quite a number of weeks ago the doctor said girl, but it wasn't nearly as definitive as Chloe's ultrasound was. I would be thrilled with a boy, but currently I'm not prepared for a boy. The baby announcments I've almost finished are designed for a girl.

Yesterday we had a doctor's appointment. He checked to make sure I wasn't in labor since I've been having contractions and Chloe came so early. After checking he said I'm not in labor, but my body is definitely getting ready for labor. He said he's not concerned with anything at this point because many women have the same changes at this point. The baby is head down now, something I think happened Sunday night. For a number of weeks now I've been able to tell just how the baby is positioned. I always feel the hiccups on the right side of my stomach and kicking on the left. Sunday evening I felt hiccups for the first time on the left side, and they were a little lower than on the right side. By Monday morning I was definitely feeling kicking up into my ribs. That's why I think the little one shifted into position overnight. I suppose I should mention that this picture was taken yesterday, after the baby had already made her move.

All in all it looks like things are going well. It was really quite exciting to hear that there are a few things my body is already doing for the beginning stages of labor without the doctor being concerned. It made the end of this pregnancy seem very real and very close! It gave me the motivation to get some more meals ready for the freezer yesterday. Now I'm up to five different meals -- each of which will feed us for several different meals. I also have hamburger already cooked so I can make some quick meals like Hamburger Helper and a veggie.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. My biggest fear is that Kevin will be away when I have to go to the hospital. He's in a round robin for Lenten services and a couple of the services will take him almost two hours from home, which is three hours from the hospital. Don't worry, I have backup arrangements made already.

Asking for Help

Okay, I admit it. Generally, I'm horrible when it comes to asking other people for help. The only people I can really ask for help without feeling guilty are my husband and my mom. For everybody else I wait for help to be offered, and even then I have a really hard time accepting. It's not because I have problems giving up control. I just feel guilty about it. In the back of my mind I keep wondering "How much am I inconveniencing this person?"

Tonight Kevin and I have a double date with another pastor and his wife. The pastor's daughters were going to babysit for us. However, about three hours before the date we get a call saying the oldest daughter has a school project she has to work on and will be unable to babysit for us. The younger daughter isn't quite old enough to babysit on her own yet. So Kevin hands me the phone and the church directory and tells me to try to find a new babysitter. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I sat staring at the list thinking "Who do I doom for the remainder of the day?" Don't get me wrong, I think I could have called around if we were looking for a babysitter a few days from now. But I couldn't bring myself to do it with not even three hours notice and the fact that we'll be gone the remainder of the day. Kevin was a sweetheart (as he very often is) and made the phone calls for me after he was done with his work. I'm sure the babysitter he found didn't think anything of the situation.

I want to get better at asking for help. One of these days I'll get brave enough to take somebody up on their offer to watch Chloe for a half day or a day so I can take some time to myself. I desperately need a haircut. Maybe I can take a baby step by asking somebody to watch her just while I get my hair cut. I know asking for help won't get any easier until I actually start doing it. Maybe sometime soon I can write about my wonderful afternoon I had all to myself and post a picture of my hairstyle!

Adult Interaction!

So many days go by and I don't talk to any adult other than my husband. Now don't get me wrong...I love talking to my husband. However, it's sometimes easy to run out of things to discuss when everyday is so similar in content. Today I hit the jackpot for adult interactions! We were invited to a parishioner's home for lunch and spent two hours chatting before we had to head home.

This evening was game night at one of our churches. It started at 5:00 with a chili supper and was intended to go for as long as people wanted to stay and play games. There weren't many of us playing games, but those of us who did play had a blast! Our family was the last to leave (at 10:00). I told Kevin on the way home that my mouth was very dry for two reasons: 1) I knew I hadn't drank enough during the day. 2) I can't remember the last time I did as much talking as I did today!

All in all, it was nice to have a change of pace for the day. Maybe it will tide me over tomorrow when Kevin will be gone literally all day at a conference. Oh, and there was an added perk to game night. We brought home a gallon of chili and a half gallon of white chili! Both are going into the freezer for post-baby meals. Thanking God for a wonderful day...

Sorting

I've been wishing for a while now that I could keep in better touch with friends and family, but it's so hard to find the time. When Kristi started her blog and suggested I do the same, I laughed at the idea at first. Who wants to read about the same boring things that happen everyday here? Then I started thinking some more and decided maybe it wasn't a bad idea after all. Now we'll be able to share all those cute stories of things Chloe does.

With that said, Chloe did nothing out of the ordinary or really cute today. Great start to our stories! Our house is currently a mess. I should specify-- our living room is a wreck. On Sunday I was told by one of our parishioners that the ladies of the church would like to have a baby shower for us. She wanted to know what we need for the baby. I said I'd look and get back to her. She called me Monday morning to see what I concluded! Once again I had to ask for time. that meant all of our baby boxes had to be brought down from the attic on Monday so I could refresh my mind on what we have. After almost a whole afternoon of sorting (thanks again for the help, Mom!) I concluded that I still didn't know what we needed. I managed to come up with two items that might be nice. It didn't seem like a great use of time on Monday, but now all of the baby clothes are sorted by size and ready to be stored again (organized, this time).

Today I had an interesting realization. If this pregnancy were to go exactly the same way the last one did, I would be beginning labor one week from today. That put a whole new perspective on getting ready for the baby. I still need to get more meals into our freezer. I need to finish making the baby announcements. I need to get baby clothes washed and put away. I need to finish packing the hospital bag. The list goes on and on. I just keep praying that we don't have a premature baby again. I don't think I can get everything done in the 8 weeks remaining, much less in a shorter period of time!