22 weeks!

This baby is really growing up too fast already! I just realized we have about 4 months until this kid arrives. Eeek! Seeing as we really haven't done much beyond researching and talking about what we need to do before then...we need to get a move on it!

For the last 7-10 days Munchkin has become more and more active. Just one week ago, he or she was really active when I was reading before bed. The sensations felt less like little pops and more like definite kicks, rolls, and punches! I have to admit that it was pretty wild. I tried to see if my husband could feel it but I think that's going to take a little longer. There are still days when the baby seems pretty quiet. Munchkin still has a fair amound of room to move around in there without me feeling it.

I have to admit that it's nice to have those little moments where I can feel the baby but no-one else is the wiser. It's like sharing a little secret with a friend. I feel the baby most often when I'm lying or sitting still, especially during/after a meal (this baby, after all, is 1/2 me, which means that it will always perk up for food). I feel a little cheated if I can feel the baby move while I'm at work or someplace where I can't just sit back and enjoy feeling the little one squirm around in there!

At this point my belly is starting to look more obviously pregnant. It still depends on what I'm wearing, but more and more people are outright asking me when I'm due. I did have one patient the other day who kept staring at my belly during the visit. She finally asked, "Did you just have a baby?" I told her that we were expecting in April, and she said (with a big smile on her face), "oh....I wondered what happened to you. You got fat!" English wasn't her first language, and she was visibly happy for me so I didn't take offense. I actually thought it was pretty funny.

We're headed home to North Carolina for Christmas and I'm really excited to see everyone. I miss them so much! I can't wait for some good down-home cooking, either!

Letter from the Little One

Well hello!

Mommy and Daddy have been saying how lucky I am to have so many friends and family who are excited to meet me! I have to agree...I'm going to have a lot of love coming my way. Good thing I have a lot to give back!

I'm getting bigger and stronger every day. Mommy is starting to feel me more often, and thankfully she's not as likely to confuse my little kicks for gas! She says I feel more like little pops of popcorn in her belly now. I have to admit that I'm much less insulted by this comparison. I'm working hard so that I can kick hard enough to say hello to Daddy, too!

Mommy has been singing to me. Y'all....she's tone deaf. But I appreciate the effort! Hopefully I'll take after my daddy in the singing ability department. They've both been talking about what it will be like when I'm born, and they seem excited (and maybe a little nervous). I wish they'd talk about names more often, though. I mean, "Munchkin" is all well and good for now but I hope I'm going to get a real name when I'm born!

Mommy and Daddy had fun watching me during the 20 week ultrasound a few days ago. Mommy said it was still hard to believe that I'm really in there! Even seeing me wiggle on that screen seemed a bit sureal to her! I'm the only person who knows whether I'm a girl or a boy. And like a nice little lady or gentleman...I'm keeping it to myself!

It sounds like you all really enjoy the holiday season. I'm looking forward to my first Thanksgiving and Christmas next year. For now, though, I'm going to stay put. It's warm and cozy in here, and I'm not quite ready to brave the great big world just yet. Can't wait to meet you all in the Spring!

Love,

Munchkin

Thanksgiving

Each year, Edward/Alex and I alternate between our DC and NC families for Thanksgiving and Christmas. This year we're having Thanksgiving with the Bremners and Christmas with the Hardings. While I miss my folks terribly when we're not in NC, I'm very fortunate to have been welcomed so warmly into the Bremner family, and I enjoy getting to experience holidays with them, as well.

We have so much to be thankful for. Obviously, we're thankful to have Munchkin on the way. Last year at this time, we had just seen the reproductive endocrinologist who confirmed what we had been expecting...that we were going to need some assistance if we were going to be able to conceive. Even though we needed more help than we originally thought we would need, we are now expecting a little one!

I do want to make it clear, however, that we have a great deal more to be thankful for, as well. If we weren't expecting at this time we'd still have an awful lot of blessings to count.

1. We both have wonderful families who love us, and whom we love back!

2. Our family and friends are healthy.

3. Edward/Alex and I love each other very much. Even though we may manage to drive each other a bit crazy from time to time (show me a couple that doesn't), we have a deep love and respect for each other and we are ultimately best friends.

4. Edward/Alex and I have secure jobs in a time when a lot of folks are having a very difficult time finding work. Anytime I catch myself wishing I didn't have to go into work early on a Monday morning I remember how blessed I am to have a job love, and to have a job at all.

5. We have a roof over our heads, food on our table, and clothes on our backs.

There may be things we'd still like to have or to achieve, but ultimately we have what we need... and then some.

I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Oh....#6: I'm glad that I don't have to have my GTT (glucose tolerance test, screening for gestational diabetes) until after the holidays! I'd hate to fail it and be told to hold off the carbs during Thanksgiving and Christmas. It would be especially difficult going to NC in December and not being able to partake of the grits, bread, potatoes, dressing, cookies, etc!!

The Quickening?

I know I just posted yesterday, but I believe I felt Munchkin moving around early this morning. I woke up around 4 am, and as usual had some difficuly falling asleep. Suddenly I felt a little flutter below my belly button. It was brief, so I wasn't too sure at first, but then it happened again. It felt a little heart palpitations (but obviously in a different spot), or like a goldfish took a quick lap around my belly.

It kept coming and going, but it's so brief that it's really hard to say. I felt it again a few times this morning after waking up. So, I'm about 70% sure that it was Munchkin in there saying hello!

Moving Right Along

16-17 weeks

At some point in the past week I developed what I consider an official bump. I woke up one morning, and suddenly I had an actual little bump. My belly doesn't go flat when I lie on my back, and the bump sticks around (rather than coming and going like it did before). That last picture of my so-called bump (per my husband and a few co-workers) was taken at 13 ½ weeks. At that point, and until this week, I’ve really just felt like I’ve been post Thanksgiving dinner all the time. As far as looking obviously pregnant, I’m still not there. Some people may wonder if I’m pregnant by looking at me, but for the most part I still look like I just ate a few too many of those Thanksgiving dinners!

17- almost 18 weeks

Munchkin seems like s/he is growing a little bit more every day. I still haven’t felt any movement yet (at least as far as I can tell), but that should happen any day now.

I’m SO very happy to be with child, and I’m extremely grateful for the chance to experience pregnancy, so I thought I’d be immune from some of the negative emotions/feelings that can go along with pregnancy. I was a tad naive.

1. Mood swings. Those are no joke. I can be fine one minute and then crying over a cereal commercial the next.

2. Weight gain. You’d think that pregnancy would be one time in a woman’s life when not being able to button one’s pants shouldn’t cause grief. I mean…there’s a very good reason for it! But finding that I could no longer button my last pair of pre-pregnancy jeans made me slightly upset. I got over it, but I was surprised that it bothered me at all.

3. It's all happening too fast! I had a sudden feeling that my child was growing up too fast recently. Munchkin's not even out of the womb yet, and I'm already feeling like time is flying by. Our big ultrasound at 20 weeks is coming up soon, and Munchkin will be "half cooked" by that time. How did that happen? My mom assures me that I will come to a point in this pregnancy where I want to hurry things along, though!

Again, I'm thrilled to be pregnant, and I feel great 99.9% of the time. Luckily, Edward/Alex tends to be laid back and take-it-as-it comes so he balances me out nicely. Just keep the poor man in your thoughts and prayers for when he has to deal with that 0.1% of the time when I freak out a bit!

15 1/2 weeks

Munchkin and I had a good check-up a few days ago. It was a quick visit (not much to do at these), but it was nice to know that things are still going well. This was the first time that I got to hear the heartbeat. We've seen it on the sonogram, but I hadn't heard it until my last visit. It took the midwife a while to find it (Munchkin will likely enjoy hide-and-seek), so that made me a bit nervous. Once she had the doppler in the right spot, though, I heard the little whooshing loud and clear!

This stage of the pregnancy is very frustrating for a lot of women. I can certainly understand why. My regular clothes can be uncomfortably tight, but I'm not pregnant enough for maternity clothes. I don't look obviously pregnant...just thicker than usual.

I'm actually enjoying it right now. While nothing is ever guaranteed, I finally feel "safely" pregnant. I have most of my energy back, and I don't have a heavy belly to haul around. Munchkin is nice and safe, snuggled in the womb (and I have him/her all to myself). Also, it's perfectly acceptable for the baby to go by a name like "Munchkin" right now. Once the baby is born, however, he/she will need a real name (harder than I though it would be)!

The next big milestone is feeling the baby move. This can happen anytime in the next few weeks. Don't get me wrong...I'm certainly looking forward to it. However, I'm really not trying to hurry the pregnancy along. I'm sure that I'll look back in several years and wonder how in the world my child grew up so quickly. And, I'm sure that moment will come along sooner than I expect. No need to hurry things along!

Boo!

Yes, I did. 15 weeks and feelin' silly.