She's coming

Induction scheduled for Sunday, 6/15, 7:30 am. I am going to be a mom in approximately 3 days or less.

Holy cow.

By next Wednesday we'll be bringing home our baby.

God is good!

Here we are at little E's due date, post-graduation, and post-family. And E still hasn't decided to leave the safety of her mommy's belly, so I'm still very large. But that's not the point of this post - God has answered so many prayers this week and I have to share.

First, graduation was a total success. All of the factions came together and were civil to each other. My dad was no problem, and he even looked like he wanted to be there. We didn't get to spend a whole lot of time together, and I think he was sad that he didn't get to meet his granddaughter, but overall it was OK. He ended up sitting in the one seat at graduation I didn't want him to have - the one right next to my mother's mother, his former mother-in-law. But even they (who haven't seen each other in years, probably since my wedding seven years ago) got along just fine. My grandma made one slight dig, but if he noticed he brushed it off with grace. Praise God - I was so worried about that. The cookout was a smashing success. Friends, family, and even Ruthless's parents came over, and everyone mixed wonderfully and even seemed to enjoy each other's company!! Thanks be to GOD!

We had a great time with everyone who came. There was a lot of running around, but we did get to spend time with each "faction" individually, which was really nice. And I somehow found a random store of energy to get me through all of that. I was able to chauffeur, tour guide, etc. for eight members of my family with minimal naps, the only side effect being ridiculously swollen feet (I had to wear flip-flops with my tent of a graduation gown). But hey - I made it.

Second, I am so thankful for the peace God has provided. Here I sit, on June 9, the day I was sure I'd be holding my little girl and kissing her sweet face, and I am still puffy and swollen, with a huge belly and killer heartburn, awkward and a bit uncomfortable. And still having Braxton-Hicks contractions like crazy, but none of the real ones. But I am totally, completely OK with that. As of last Tuesday I was not progressing at all (hadn't moved in 2 weeks). But it's fine with me. I can honestly say that I really do want her here at God's appointed time, even if that's another week and a half away. It seems like forever, but I'm feeling really good and in the last few days I've been graciously granted an oversize helping of peace with this pregnancy. Don't get me wrong, I am so excited to meet my baby - I dream about her every night, and wonder every few hours if today's the day, but the point is, I know it's fine if today is not the day. I know I'll meet her soon enough, and I'm just trying to enjoy the last few moments of feeling her move inside me, and having energy, and being a family of two.

So, thanks for your prayers. It means a lot to me to know that I have friends out there looking out for my spiritual well-being, and caring so much for me and little E. One of the things that makes me most excited about having this little girl is introducing her to her "family." I guess now the prayer request is for a healthy baby, and easy (or at least relatively uneventful) labor and delivery when the time comes!

How am I going to do this?

Have I mentioned that in the coming week there are three "factions" of family coming to visit all at the same time? My mother's mother, her husband, and my cousin; my father's mother and her sister (My dad's mom is coming to visit, with her sister, for nine days. NINE. Starting tomorrow, and continuing right on past baby E's due date. She's staying with us for all but THREE, and my dad will be here for one of those three); and my aunt and uncle (my stepmother's brother and sister-in-law). And my dad is coming for less than a day. Mind you, these people have never all been in the same room at once. And genius I am, I decide to throw a barbecue. Remind me again why?

Don't get me wrong, I am super psyched that people are showing interest enough to come and visit, and I love that there will be lots of love around little E if she's born while they're here, and it makes me feel good to know that they care enough to show up for my graduation from law school... but... all at once? It suddenly seems like a whole lot to take, all while 39 weeks pregnant.

Or worse - what if I go into labor while all of this is going on? I am so anxious about this. Part of me now wants the baby to hold off, and the next week and a half to fly by.

EEK! I seriously have to remember to be still, be calm, and know that God is sovereign. He is in control, so I don't have to be. I'm a little anxious (might be a bit of an understatement) but I need to let it go. Needless to say, my friends, I could use some prayer for that one, because I don't think I can let it go all on my own.

38 weeks, 3 days

Now taking suggestions on how to get this baby OUT. Preferably before Saturday. Went for a half hour walk today, and other than being totally out of breath, nothing. Tried spicy food... nothing. Tried, um, things that have been, well, more difficult as of late... nothing. Tried bouncing up and down repeatedly on an exercise ball... nothing. Any more ideas? She just keeps getting bigger and bigger, and I'd prefer not to have a nine-pounder. And some of our great friends who walked through the entire process with us are leaving Saturday, and it seems really wrong to us that they might miss her.

SO: suggestions. Go.

Dropping...

I keep hearing that when the baby drops there's a relief of heartburn. I'll have one of those, please. :)

Six more days till full term!! YIPEEEE!

Anniversary contractions. Lovely.

In case you ever wanted to put a chill a romantic evening on your anniversary, let me tell you a quick way to do it. We'd planned to make dinner together and have a nice evening in, just the two of us (and our cat, of course). And then contractions started. So we spent almost four hours timing them, talking to the doctor, and trying to decide whether or not to go to the hospital (the doc left it up to us). By the end of the evening I was exhausted and the contractions started to spread out a bit, so we dragged ourselves to bed and crashed. The good news is, we (I) re-packed our hospital bags. They're much more organized now. :)

And the other good news is that in spite of the chill, it was a pretty good anniversary - I was re-affirmed in how much I love my husband even after seven years!! He made our anniversary dinner by himself, kept track of my contractions, reassured me, and prayed over our baby. He was totally calm and upbeat. I'm surprised by his calm, but pleasantly so. He said once that she'll be fine, and the "worst" case scenario is that we'd get to see her little face a bit sooner than we expected. And then he kissed my belly. I love that man.

So now that we're 34 weeks the doctor was much less concerned about preterm labor. He said they might not do anything to stop it at this point, though they'd obviously feel much more comfortable in a couple of more weeks. He also said that some women just have contractions. "They don't seem to deliver, they just have a lot of contractions." My response? "Lucky me."

The other scary thing about last night was that my heart was reacting strangely to the contractions - I've felt them in my chest for a while, but last night it was clear that my heart was beating much harder during contractions, and sometimes it felt like it was skipping. The doctor said maybe they're just more painful... I don't know. It just seems weird. And my contractions haven't really been painful at all, just a bit uncomfortable.

Anyway, I think our plan right now is at least for the next couple of weeks for me to try to take it a bit easy, and try to keep those annoying contractions away. Once we hit May 19 (37 weeks), though, it's show time.

How I'm feeling... if you really want to know

When people ask me how I'm feeling, I am never quite sure how to respond, especially on days like today. Usually I just say, "Great!" or maybe "Really pregnant." I honestly don't think that people want to hear that my back is killing me, or that my breasts are aching, or that my feet and calves are swollen pretty constantly these days, or that my hips are so sore I can barely move in bed, or that I have to sleep sitting up at night lately because my heartburn is so horrible. I honestly don't think they want to know all that. But that's exactly how I feel.

It's not all that bad though... I have had a really great pregnancy so far, no serious problems to speak of. It's just this last bit that's getting to me. I'm trying to enjoy it, to savor the last few weeks of pregnancy: feeling her move, thinking about who she is in there, preparing for her arrival. But days like today make me feel like I'm ready to go as soon as we hit 37 weeks - which, by the way, is 3 weeks and two days... not that I'm counting.

I waddle.

All the time.

I can't help it.

Worse, what I really want to do is squat and waddle. It might look weird but it feels soooo good.

Slight freak out moment

Saturday was a busy day. I went to a baby fair, which was huge and sometimes overwhelming, but I got a ton of free stuff and registered to win a ton of stuff (none of which I'll probably get - I will just end up with a barrage of junk mail!). But it was a fun morning with two good friends (one is due exactly a month after me and the other has a six-week-old adorable little guy). We grabbed some lunch on the way home, and then I immediately hooked up with PT, who drove me out to the 'burbs to get a delicious "Mom-to-Be" massage (I got gift certificates for my birthday back in November, and I've been saving them for just this stage of pregnancy!) while she went shopping. After that, we drove back to the city and hooked up with the boys.

On the way to dinner, I had a pretty strong tightening sensation in my belly - I wasn't focusing on anything anyone said in the car because it was so strong. And at the same time my chest felt tight, like I had been running for a long time and couldn't quite breathe. Then we got to the restaurant, and while we were waiting for our table, it happened again. And once we were seated it happened again. This was three in a period of an hour and a half. (Oh - and I forgot to mention I'd had one at lunch too). I decided if it happened once or maybe twice more in the next hour I'd call our friend who is a L&D nurse - I knew that BH contractions aren't supposed to be that regular. So I waited, and it was fine - my belly relaxed and I didn't have another until much later that night, after we were home. You can bet it freaked me out, though. I have felt these "practice" contractions before but never so many in one day, and certainly never in such close proximity. I didn't sleep well that night, partly because I think the garlic pizza we had for an appetizer didn't sit well, and partly because I was freaked out. I woke up every hour or hour and a half, and every time I'd feel my belly to make sure it wasn't a contraction waking me.

Luckily I saw our nurse friend the next day and I asked her about it. She said she thinks it's fine - she was only concerned that I was feeling them in my chest as well as my belly. She said that belly tightening can be regular and close together, and it's not a big deal - labor tends to start in the back. But she also said it's worth mentioning to the doctor on Wednesday. So assuming I'm awake enough (the appointment is really early because DH has class on Wednesdays) I'll ask. I suppose I should make a list...

Childbirth class

We had our childbirth class today, and it was awesome. First she talked about anatomy, explaining a lot of third trimester symptoms by simply pointing at the differences in a cross-section of a pre-pregnant body compared to a third trimester body... it made a whole lot of sense. DH was enthralled at this section. He asked a bunch of questions, and passed his "pop quiz" in front of the class with flying colors by pointing to the lungs on both charts. :)

Then she talked about the stages of labor, and different types of pain management. That was enlightening - I hadn't really thought a whole lot about it other than assuming I'd get an epidural. I still think I will, but I might actually try the narcotic route first. We'll see - I am going to try to just take it as it comes.

Then we had lunch at this great burger place right next to where the class was. MMMM... cheddar bacon ranch burger...

Anyway, after lunch (not sure why she ordered it this way) we watched videos of three different births - one medication-free, one on IV medication, and one with a C-section after 30 hours of labor in the hospital. These were a little bit scary, but enlightening. I almost cried every single time the babies were born. Then DH would crack a joke. I love that man.

We wrapped up the day with a few relaxation techniques. I LOVED this part. I wish we'd spent more time on it. I would have stayed another couple of hours. We tried the birthing ball, which I thought was awesome, but we also used these "back jack" chairs (floor chairs): DH sat in the chair, legs open, and I sat in between his legs leaning into him with a pillow on my lower back. AHHH... it was the perfect angle, and sooo nice to have him right there to massage my arms, neck, head, etc. We almost bought one of those chairs right there, but the only color they had was purple, and DH wasn't so into that. :)

Anyway, overall it was awesome. My husband was amazing. He asked so many questions and learned so much. He wasn't there just to sit by me and support me - though he was doing that too - he was actively taking part. And I think he left with a great appreciation for what I will be doing in a few short weeks. He immediately wanted to come up with a birth plan, to figure out the things that help me relax and make them happen. I think it did freak him out a little bit, but he was also excited.

The downside was they had us sitting in chairs all day. It was 7 hours! My back was killing me by the end. Luckily I got to hang on to a birthing ball for awhile - that helped a bit - and at the end, in those floor chairs, it was much better. But I still had to come home and hit the couch for a bit. It probably didn't help that I didn't sleep well last night. All of a sudden in the last couple of days my body has realized it's in the third trimester of pregnancy - the swelling, the back pain, and most noticeably when I sleep, the leg cramps. I woke up this morning yelling in pain. My calf muscle was so tight I couldn't even move my foot at all. DH had to push it up for me to get it to stretch out. I have been getting leg cramps for awhile, but I've mostly been sleeping through them (I only know because I vaguely remember them, or I've dreamed about them). This one was a big daddy of leg cramps. Oh the joys. I can see that after several more weeks of this I'm really going to be ready to be those women in the videos.

28 week doc's visit

Just got back from the doctor's office. Here are some highlights:

• Saw another new doctor. He was awesome too. Apparently the first lady was an outlier.
  
• Blood pressure's normal, no errant protein. This is good, because with the feet swelling I was slightly worried about preeclampsia. But the doctor says the feet swelling is no biggie. He said it's actually really normal, especially when the weather starts to heat up. Good to know.
• Baby E's woosh-woosh-woosh is delightfully perfect.
• My glucose test was fine, which is great. No gestational diabetes. But the bloodwork showed a low count on something (I can't remember what he called it...) which means I'm slightly anemic. I'm usually on the low end of normal anyway as far as iron is concerned, so I wasn't surprised by that. He told me to take iron supplements with my prenatal vitamins.
  
• I still measured big, but not as big. I was 31, when average at this point (?) is 28. He wasn't that concerned (he thinks it's probably extra fluid), but he said we could get an ultrasound to make sure. I said that would make me feel better, so we're going on Monday morning. I can't wait to see her again!

The gist of it was, we're doing great. Everything looks really good, except that pesky iron, which is something I've fought my whole life, so not surprising. And we get to see E again on Monday! (And this time we'll know where to go, and we'll know to get valet parking, so it won't be as stressful. I hope.) From now on we go every two weeks! We're nearing the finish line people! ACK!

Uh-oh

Yesterday I noticed my feet are starting to swell. Joy.

Right on

So I look at a ton of pregnancy websites for updates on what's happening with little E. Usually they give a "what you're probably feeling" section that's a little bogus for me. But this one was right on:

You may be vacillating between two feelings: "I've been pregnant forever" and "Help, I'm not ready yet."

Yes. Except I would add a third: "Oh. I really am pregnant."

Poetry for E

As I was relaxing lazily in bed this morning, thinking about getting up, little E was kicking me like crazy, and I was getting a little bit emotional thinking about her… and then I started thinking in poetry…
__________________________________________

Tiny feet
smaller than my fingers
smaller than my nose
kick my belly,
make it rock back and forth

Tiny toes
like little rosebuds
like tiny candies
wiggle and squirm,
learning how to move

These same feet
I’ll soon be kissing
These same toes
become little piggies
__________________________________________

She’s all alone right now in her warm, watery world
She hears our voices but she can’t see us
She feels me move but she can’t cuddle

I hope she knows in spite of this how adored she is
I hope she knows how much I’d do for her already
I haven’t even met her
I just feel her hiccups
kicks on the mattress
and I love her so much
__________________________________________

How we told...

I wanted to post an entry about how we told everyone we were pregnant - because some of them were really memorable for us and we'd like to keep the stories for Baby E to hear one day.

DH:
I got up, took the test, and decided I wasn't going to look at it for the full 3 minutes. I set the test on the edge of the sink. As I was getting up, I caught a glimpse of the results window in the corner of my eye (I swear I wasn't peeking), and I saw a pink line already. I remember thinking, "Wait! That's the first line!" And then freaking out, hands over my mouth. I ran to the bedroom where DH was sleeping, and I shook him awake. "DH! Come here!" Groggily, he made his way behind me to the bathroom. "Look at the sink! Look at the sink!" He walked over to the test, picked it up, and stared for a second. Then he looked at me, and came over to hug me, and I burst into tears. It was awesome.

Ruthless:
Ruthless was the first person I told after DH. (She'd made me promise her this honor long, long ago). I called her - she was at work (I think it was her first day, actually). She was actually in the bathroom; she had no idea I was going to test that day. I just said something like, "So, um, I'm pregnant" and she flipped out. I love the picture of her in the bathroom stall on her phone freaking out because I just told her she's going to be an auntie. :)

PT:
Called PT right away too - she was at home. I think I just blurted it out, but she started crying immediately! :) She was so excited, but I told her she wasn't allowed to tell her husband (DH wanted to tell him) or her parents (because we'd be seeing them in a few days, and I wanted to tell them in person). She knew that was going to be hard, but she agreed. (BTW it took DH a couple of hours to call her husband, and I have no idea why he didn't guess something was up, because she apparently called him periodically and asked if DH had called him...)

PT's parents:
PT and I went to a concert and then stayed overnight with her parents. We planned this conversation in the car on the way over. Here's an approximation of how it went. (They were planning to move soon). We got them both in
Me: So, when are you guys planning to move?
PT's mom: As soon as we can; as soon as the house sells. Hopefully early next year [2008].
Me: Well, if you end up moving so quickly you have to promise to come back in June.
PT's mom: Why's that?
Me: Because DH and I want you to meet our baby. (Big smile).
Smiles and hugs and congratulations all around. It was great!

Granny:
My grandmother and I have a special bond over Danny and the Dinosaur. It was my favorite book when I was a kid, and she still has the same book I used to "read" to her (I had it memorized long before I could read...) So I called her and asked her if she still had it. She said she did, and I told her I wanted her to hang on to it so she could read it to someone... she was confused for a second, and then I spilled the beans. She was so excited! :)

There were so many more (if I forgot your story (or part of it) feel free to post in the comments!)... So many of our really good friends had been walking through this whole trying-to-get-pregnant thing with us, and a great number of them felt the excitement almost as strongly as we did. I had several friends burst into tears; it was a great time. And now everyone is so excited to meet her! I can't wait to bring her into this circle of love!

26 weeks

OK... so here's the infamous blue tank. It's going to be too short soon (and it's already cutting off circulation to the jugs), so I thought it needed a picture again before that happened. Compare this with six weeks ago, or (for a huge shock) twenty weeks ago. Note that I can no longer wear my regular jeans, even with the glorious bella band... it's too weird to have my button and buttonhole four feet apart or something. Also I've noticed that she's starting to sit a bit lower now. I think.


And just in case you wondered what it looks like from my angle, here's a shot. Notice the lack of feet. I can still see them but I have to lean precariously forward.

AAAHHHHH!

Today I'm 26 weeks 0 days.

My pregnancy tracking website says I'm in the seventh month. Seven is a really big number... much more than six. I'm ignoring that line for another few days.

Slow down please!!

Oh holy crap

Ruthless has just informed me that my countdown is on the cusp of two digits instead of three.

In nine days I will officially be in the third trimester.

There is still so much left to do.

I'm HUGE!

Went to the doctor today.

Slightly depressing thing #1: I'm heavy. In spite of my worries about weight gain early on, I cringed when the nurse moved the BIG weight thing this morning. That's never, ever, ever happened to me before. Last time I crossed into previously-uncharted territory, but now I feel like I'm in another world. The doctor was not the least bit concerned, though. She said that I haven't gained too much, I'm right on track. Still it threw me off a little bit.

Slightly depressing/frightening thing #2: I'm huge. When the doc pulled up my sweater she was like, "Woah - you've got quite a belly there!" Nice. Then she measured me and I was big for dates (remember on Christmas Day I got the same diagnosis?), by a significant amount. So apparently after 20 weeks the measurement in centimeters is supposed to be roughly the same as the number of weeks. Right now I'm 24 weeks 5 days, so I should be 24, almost 25 cm. But I was 28! Doc said we'll have to keep an eye on that, and I'll almost certainly need another ultrasound. She thinks it's probably just a big baby, but it might also be uterine fibroids. Interesting. She's not concerned, we'll just check it out when I come back in 4 weeks and reassess (at that point I should be 28 cm!!).

Awesomeness #1: This doctor is awesome. I had been seeing one doctor of a 5-doc practice, and I really didn't like her all that much. She was pretty short, not personable at all, and was kinda dismissive. I love this doc though. She was awesome. She explained everything that was going on, and answered my questions very thoroughly. And it didn't take a long time for her to do so. I wish I could keep her. But next time I have to go to another one. Hopefully he'll be just as great!

Awesomeness #2: I got a great bacon, egg, and cheese bagel from Finagle when we left, and it was delish.

Awesomeness #3: I get to take my glucose test mostly at home - in the next 2-3 weeks, whenever I feel like it. I just have to go to the lab to get blood taken about an hour later. (Bryan almost passed out when the nurse explained this).

So, in short, I'm heavy and huge but the doc is great. And I'm not so heavy and huge that I have to give up delicious Finagle a Bagel sandwiches. :) And I'm about to embark on a wonderful journey of gestational diabetes testing. I'll let you know how it goes.

Hello, mommy!

Woke up this morning and Baby E was kicking really strong. I sat there and enjoyed it for awhile, and then pulled the covers off my belly to see if I could see it. Sure enough, my belly started jumping with every kick! It was so alien - so surreal! But really awesome too. I couldn't get DH to wake up enough to look (he is certainly not a morning person) but he felt her and was very impressed!

I loved that!! It was amazing! I can't wait until it happens again!

Weirdness

OK this might be TMI - but if you're reading this I either have no idea who you are or are comfortable enough with you that it's OK with me that you know this... :) But don't say I didn't warn you!

Lately the little one has been kicking me very weirdly! It started last weekend, at church. She was kicking really, really, really low - it felt like she was trying to escape! I've googled it, and it seems to happen to other people too, so I'm not that concerned - but it's weird!! I just had to get that out.

Also - last weekend I was shopping with Ruthless and it felt like the baby was pushing her butt or something straight out, just below my belly button. It got really tight and painful. I massaged the spot and got it to stop, and then she started kicking my side. Now that I think about it, though, I think it might have been a contraction. Wow! We're moving right along!

What a difference 14 weeks makes!

This is two weeks ago - at 20 weeks. I'm even bigger now but I'm just getting around to posting this for comparison.

Meet our little one!

Say hello to E!


And E's little foot!

It's a GIRL!!

Baby was a bit uncooperative during the ultrasound - apparently she's shy. She had her hand covering her face at first (though that moved with some fairly violent prodding from the tech) and her little legs were squeezed together pretty tightly, with the umbilical cord between them. The tech couldn't get a good look (but she said she had a guess at gender), so we had to wait on the doc. He came in and had a peek, and said, "don't paint the whole house pink" but he thinks it's a girl. DH asked him to be a little more specific, and he said he's 85% sure. So we're planning on a little girl in June, but we're also open to surprise! It's going to be fun. :)

The whole ultrasound was an amazing experience. We saw the four chambers of her heart, and her beautiful little fingers and toes, and her hand opening and closing. She was kicking the cord, and we could see that happening (and I could feel it too!). But the most amazing thing was just looking at that little person inside me and thinking, "this is our baby." It was so real. I could barely stop myself from crying several times, and DH choked up too. Again, it was amazing. We sat there staring at the screen and holding hands, in awe at the work God has done. It's funny how we prayed and prayed for this little one, but we never knew how much we would love her already. We haven't even met her yet, but there she was on the screen, moving around and sucking her thumb and kicking her cord. And we could hardly contain the emotion of that. I can't imagine how much infinitely more we will feel when she's here!

After we left the hospital we went out to lunch, and DH was telling everyone we met, "We just found out we're having a little girl." He was so excited. We were both on the phone with family and friends for a couple of hours, and then we headed to some baby stores to go shopping. We wanted to start a registry but the system was down... so we just looked around. We made a few decisions, and we're excited about that. Now we need to buckle down and get things ready, and focus on growing a healthy little girl!

Halfway there!

Today we're 20 weeks along, which I think marks halfway (the whole being 20 weeks pregnant and so in week 21 is really confusing to me).

Anyway, baby is an astonishing 10 1/2 inches long, head to foot! That's insane! And baby is 3/4 of a pound or so! Crazy! I can't wait to see how that all fits inside my belly... we get a look tomorrow!

I'm feeling really great. Occasionally I still get those icky pains around the edges of my pelvic bone, but it's OK because I know it's just baby growing bigger! There's no denying I'm pregnant now - The Belly has made itself known very well. But aside from the little aches and pains and The Belly, I don't think I feel that different. Well, except for the little person moving around inside me. That's different. The point is I feel really great. And we're halfway there!

18 weeks

These are pictures from last weekend I'm just now getting around to putting up because I've been so busy. I think the belly's actually even bigger now, but here's a nice view of the maternity pants/sweater combo. :)



This is a picture from last week I'm just now getting around to putting up because I've been so busy. I think the belly's actually even bigger now, but here's a nice veiw of the maternity pants/sweater combo. :)

Our little soccer player

Last Saturday I took the day off from studying, and worked on setting up my computer (just got it back from the shop - they had to replace almost everything, including the hard drive, so I had to re-load a whole bunch of stuff). As I was sitting at the table, the baby started kicking. I decided to see if we could feel it, so I went to the living room where DH was, laid down on the couch with my head in his lap, and we put our hands on my belly, and waited patiently. DH was working on something on his computer, and he lifted his hand for a moment to type something. I moved mine to where his was (he had the prime real estate, low and center), and I felt a kick! On the outside! Poor DH - he was disappointed.

Two nights ago I woke up for some reason at about 5:30 am, wide awake. I started wondering what woke me when I felt some really strong kicks. These didn't feel like bubbles or butterflies, but literally like someone was poking me from the inside. I put my hand over the area, and I could feel them really strong on the outside too! It was so amazing. I leaned over and shook DH. He turned toward me a bit, with his eyes closed, and held up his index finger. I said, "Babe, wake up." He said, "Hang on a second." Amused at this point, I waited. A few seconds later he half opened his eyes. "OK, what did you want?" I said, "What were you doing?" "Oh I was listening to a phone call." I laughed out loud, and then told him he'd better wake up totally because baby was seriously moving. He put his hand over the area, and baby kicked again. I was so excited for him! He was like, "Wow! Was that the baby?" "Yeah!" "Cool." And he promptly rolled back over, presumably going back to his phone call. I love that man. :)

It was an amazing feeling, though, feeling kicks that strong. It was the first time I could really picture actual body parts kicking me. I could picture the feet I'm going to be kissing like crazy soon, kicking my belly. It was pretty neat.

AHHHHHHHH - I can breathe!

Maternity pants.

Love them.