Big Boy?

In the last 3 weeks or so, our baby has been making his presence known. (Yes, we are having a boy! And no I couldn't be patient and wait to find out.) I really didn't have much of a tummy for quite awhile with the really bad morning sickness I experienced, and then all of the sudden, here is my child:

Well meaning people stop, stare and say, "HOW far along are you?" "Man, that's going to be a big baby". And I'll be honest, sometimes I worry. Am I going to have a huge baby? My mother in law's first was over 10 pounds, and my mom had one over 11 pounds, so large babies have come from both sides. But, in both cases, they had great births, and have told me that those births were some of their easiest. This is good news since we're planning a home birth with a midwife. I think what's been so different about this guy is that for so long, I was pretty small, and then boom, my belly popped out.
An "expert" I read comforted me a little: Shorter women, (me) and those who have short torsos, (very much me) tend to show pregnancy more because there's less vertical room for their baby to fill.
So, there you have it. Poor kid has nowhere else to go. Basketball belly here I come!

It's also very strange to be growing a belly that I can't control, hehe. I have been pretty physically fit most of my life thus far, and getting the "yikes, that baby must be getting huge" looks gets to me sometimes.

A few days ago I was walking in the workout room, and a co-worker stopped in and let me know that no amount of working out would get rid of my tummy!:-) How true!:-) I have found though that working out helps my legs and back tremendously. My legs get stiff from sitting at work all day--a workout makes them feel much better.

If you saw my diet, (very nutritious if you disregard the occasional pizza craving I have) and saw the fact that I workout just about every day for at least 30 minutes, 1 hour a day if I do pilates for preggo mommas, then you'd know that I'm doing everything I can to grow a healthy kid. If he's huge, then so be it;) It won't be because I downed twinkies and ding dongs all day, hehe!

All this talk of my large belly makes me especially thankful for compliments. I wanted to hug two ladies the other day... One told me that I looked just great, and the other said that I'm small for 5 months along!! hehe, made my day:)

When we had our ultra sound, (very exciting by the way) the lady told us that the baby is actually a very average size at this point, just that there's a lot of water around him, which is just fine and dandy.

Anyhow, I guess what I'm realizing is that all women carry babies differently, they will all be different sizes and that's just peachy. A growing belly is just kind of a conversation piece and people somehow feel very comfortable commenting on it. The important thing is that at the end of all of this, Lord willing, we'll have a brand new son, wow.

When we saw him on the ultrasound it was truly amazing. We caught him yawning hugely and he moved around almost constantly. His little legs kicked all of the time and his hands moved constantly, too. The nurse said that he was a good boy and posed for all of the shots, hehe. We could see his little heart beating...so awesome. Just in the last few days I've felt him kicking me off and on. A few nights ago Peter was able to feel a little kick, *giggle*

All things considered I do feel very well. My back does bug me here and there and my stiff legs annoy me. I also find it funny to feel hungry most of the time, but have so little space in which to put food. I've found that grazing works best for me.

So, there you have the pregnancy update.

In other news...

We help Jeremy and Jessica move this Saturday. That'll be a big change for our little Winchester neighborhood. We're glad though that God is providing a new opportunity for them down there. They will be missed though.

Have a great day! And if you happen to be pregnant and reading this, you look lovely! And what's more, you're carrying a tiny life that God has allowed there. What a blessing!

Julie