Sunday, April 24, 2011

Oh the possibilities...

I'm very much interested in what my baby will be like, as are all expecting parents.  As I wait anxiously for this Wednesday's ultrasound, I wonder about how big my baby is and if our precious one is a boy or girl.  Its got me thinking again about names that I love. In my wondering, I stumbled upon this eye color predictor this morning and I just have to share. You select your eye color and --just as important-- your parents' eye colors. This even prompts you about sibling variations that may effect the possibilities. Needless to say, its really interesting. :) Check it out here Eye Color Predictor.

As for the ultrasound, I'm excited for my friends and family to finally get the answer to the most nagging question on their minds. I created a poll on my Facebook page about the gender and I jokingly added an option for twins. Somehow, twins is beating out girl. Apparently everyone thinks I'm huge. James is a genetically identical twin and has cousins who are fraternal. Any research into the hereditary nature of twinning will show you that I have no predisposition to carrying twins.  That being said, many people are convinced I'm having twins.  At my last visit with my midwife, Alice, I asked her to listen carefully for a third heartbeat (you hear mine and the baby's) and she only heard ONE fetal heartbeat.  This method isn't 100% but it pretty much says, "go ahead and buy the single stroller."  I guess we shall see on Wednesday.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Babies bring their own bread

A saying I have been told a handful of times is "babies bring their own bread".  I am struggling to see what this really means.  I believe the intent most people have is to calm the nerves of the new or soon-to-be parents who are audience to the adage.

I have come to see that babies are expensive. Seriously costly. Absolutely worth it, I'm sure. But none-the-less, they burn right through any cash you may have.  It is important to say that our Lord provides all the needs of His children so I'm not doubting that we will be cared for.  It is very clear, however, that our discernment and wisdom of how to allocate what money we are given will certainly be tested.

I've been blessed with friends who are donating items to my family like maternity clothes, and breast pumps, and even a crib from my mother in law.  My mother has made it her goal to turn her (almost)weekly yard sale trips into baby item hunts.  For about a year, she and her next door neighbor seek out the best yard sales and get amazing deals.  This is where we acquired the small diaper bag, many onesies, drop-in baby bottles, and folding bouncer, travel highchair, and even a Winnie the Pooh Pack N'play.  God is providing for the gear.

The medical is the most expensive. We will be consulting with our midwife tomorrow about our lab bill but it totals $1817.93  and should normally cost patients without insurance around $300 at the most.  I'm calling on all the prayer warriors to be bringing this need before the Lord for us.  We have no way to pay that on top of our regular doctor's bill so lets pray for a miracle. I just need some dough.

So far we've had no baguettes, rolls, or loaves brought by our baby, I'm still waiting on that one.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

You are what you eat...

I've seen a maternity T-shirt for purchase online that reads "Yes, I did indeed swallow a watermelon." 
I want that shirt.

No, I'm not huge like a watermelon... yet. I'm only 18 weeks and I'm just starting to show but I feel like I'm always eating.  I feel as if I could eat an entire watermelon.  The two most common questions I get from friends about my pregnancy is "Are you feeling a lot of morning sickness?" and "Do you get weird cravings?" I'd like to blame Hollywood for the over representation of these symptoms but they are quite common.  I would just like to say, on the record, that I haven't experienced these cliches.  Well, not exactly.

First off, morning sickness is a dumb name.  Yeah, flat out idiotic.  So clearly named by a man.  Instead, I call it pregnancy sickness because you can feel ill any time of day.  Now that we've established that important distinction... I can't classify my first trimester experience (worry you folks missed out on that fun) as completely pregnancy-sickness free.   I did have to eat every 2 or 3 hours to avoid queasiness and getting a late start to the day with a breakfast any later that 8am would mean certain doom for my stomach all day.  But I didn't have the misfortune of nausea that women (notoriously those carrying little girls) can sometimes have.

But no mistake about it, I did get sick.  Toothbrushing. That's what made me lose my lunch in the early stages.  Strangely, babies make your gag reflex really sensitive so my molars didn't see much good hard scrubbing until about week 15.

As for the cravings, I've got to say this is hard to convince people of.  I've had cravings for things I ate as a child like hot dogs, spaghetti O's, sweet gherkin pickles, bubble gum ice cream, and black olives.  These foods seem strange to many people but they are things I loved years ago and the baby growing in me just brought back the desire for those childish foods.

Where I really lose people is when they see me eating maccaroni and cheese with pepperoni. Or cottage cheese mixed with chopped boiled eggs and diced ham.  Many would say that this is a combination only pregnant women would want. But these are honestly the foods I ate before, just now observers want to attribute it to the bun in the oven. I swear on my next serving of fried pickles that I loved these food prepregnancy. I likely always will.

Dang, now I've gotta go find some more pepperoni.
Momma K