Well, the bump finally made its appearance this week to make sure that reality was setting in nice and steady. One day, I looked like I ate a box of doughnuts and the next day, I looked like I could finally park in the "expectant mothers" slot at Kroger. I am thrilled that it finally decided to show up-- I've been waiting! I think it is my birthday gift come early, considering I will be turning the big "double 3" on Sunday. Sasha (our Siamese cat.... but some would say first child) MUST know something is going on, because she will not leave me alone. Ordinarily, wherever I am, she's right there with me, but she is crawling and laying all over me 24/7 and wants to be just right THERE. I researched it some and there is alot of suggestion that cats DO recognize you're expecting. They realize the change in hormones and can smell it on us, as weird as that sounds. Either way, she's about to be a big sister and I know that she will just love the baby (though I can't help but giggle when I think of my mother-in-law's worries... all I can think of when she's said anything about Sasha and the baby is the Siamese cats on Lady and the Tramp.... "we are Si-a-mese if you please.... meow"). I've had a FANTASTIC pregnancy thus far and I know just how lucky I am-- I had absolutely NO morning sickness, AT ALL. In fact, if it weren't for my burgeoning waistline and the addition of my prenatal vitamins, one would hardly realize I was pregnant (another reason I'm so happy the bump finally showed up!) Considering my pre-pregnancy diet was very strict, I have loosened up (not in a bad way) and have been enjoying a variety of foods that I love but previously did not allow myself to indulge in. Here are a few of the cravings that I've had so far: chicken salad (for a month, that was all I wanted), sweet potatoes, onion rings (I've NEVER wanted onion rings in my life... never been a fan. I don't even LIKE onions), and most recently, apple juice. I drank an entire jug of apple juice in a day and a half. Luckily, it was the Tropicana Farm Stand apple juice with 50% less sugar. Delicious!! This baby just might turn into an apple before it's all over with. Oh, and pistachios. Though I know that pistachios are the best nut for you, and that they are filled with heart healthy fats (the good kind!), I just can't get over something so tiny being so full of... well, fat! And though it is BY FAR my favorite nut there is, I do not let myself eat them very often. Well, my mom used to keep pistachios around at Christmas when I was a kid, so I indulged in a small container to add to the Christmas cheer at home. (By the way, another reason-- those little buggers are expensive! Wowza!) Okay. Those little shells of salty green goodness got bulldozed down in a matter of two evenings. I forgot what I was missing! Luckily, I've regained some self control and will try to keep the pistachios at bay for a while. The funny thing was, I couldn't stand the shells that were sealed shut-- I had a little pile of them at the end and I was daydreaming about my grandmother's silver nut shell crackers-- when Will solved the problem by fetching me a pair of pliers. (Redneck Christmas?) Oh my gosh! Where there is a Will, there's a way, haha! But other than those few things, I've really kept my appetite in check and am feeding the baby (mostly) good and healthy foods. After slimming down so much pre-pregnancy, I was very apprehensive about putting the weight back on, but I'm happy that emotionally I've finally gotten over that hump with the help of my best friend Jennie's reality check ("Get over it"), the support of my mom and husband (who both think I'm beautiful no matter what), and finally being able to have an ultrasound and see my baby girl kicking and flipping all over the place. That was such a happy day! Will and I were both sad that he had to be in Louisiana working, but the wonderful thing was that they were able to video the ultrasound so that he could see it! My mom went with me to the appointment and we both cried finally being able to see our little baby. The purpose of the appointment was to do some measurements to test for down syndrome and draw blood to test for other abnormalties (can you say "nerve wracking"?). We had fantastic news that little Luker's nuchal translucency (the back of the neck) was very thin (a good thing-- down syndrome babies' necks are more thick) and that her nasal bone was very prominent (otherwise missing for a baby with down syndrome.) They drew blood and will draw again after Christmas for the second round to get the final results of the other tests. Prayers that all is well. But this was the big she-bang (literally) of the appointment-- because y'all, I had spent weeks, MONTHS, fully believing that I was carrying around a little boy. I had picked out every single thing to decorate that nursery to a dime, we had a name picked out, I was determined that I was going to have the best dressed little boy in Clear Lake in little Converse and Vans sneakers with a faux-hawk. I was imagining how his name would sound being called out of the bullpen in the top of the ninth; running in from the outfield to the beat of a Metallica song, ready to pitch his team into the World Series. My friends were on the brink of baffled, considering how girly I am. And then...... the doctor walked in (I had been with the technician until now) and asked, "So, what's your favorite color today?" I said, "I think it's going to be blue," to which he patted my leg and said, "Well, I've been watching from my office, and things are looking pretty pink to me!" I was stunned! But really happy, because we didn't really care either way, and that's the truth. I just did not expect that. So, it was back to the drawing board! I had no names, no ideas, no anything; but now things are starting to come together and we have a few ideas about everything. My friends are ecstatic, as they all wanted me to have a little girl. And of course, the whole family is over the moon that we are going to have a precious little baby girl. Girls hunt too, right?
No comments:
Post a Comment