Parenting

Our little William Henry is already 8 weeks old. I feel like I am officially out of the "little baby" time period. He is obviously still a little baby but he is now to an age that I am familiar with. Anything younger than 6 weeks was a fairly big ? to me. Between 6-8 weeks was more familiar, but still not an age I've worked with a ton. Eight weeks and up I feel pretty comfortable with. It's weird that he's already to this stage. It did happen a lot faster than I expected. With how fast the first two months of his life have gone I can certainly see how quickly the rest of this year is going to go.

A little bit about Henry:

He is super determined. He has the most impressive neck strength I've ever seen in a baby, which actually is saying a lot considering how many babies I have worked with. It isn't just me being a proud (and delusional) mother, this kid can hold his head up! And it's because he REALLY wants to! Around 3 weeks old (I'm guessing, I can't actually remember exactly when it started, but it was before one month) he didn't want to ever rest his head when we were holding him, he just wanted it to be up and he wanted to look around at everything. We've had a heck of a time calming him down in our arms because he cries unless he can be upright and looking around.

He is stubborn. He wants to be up looking around even when he is super tired and no longer has the strength to keep his head up. So he just cries and bonks his head against our heads or chests as he struggles to keep his head up. It's actually really very funny.

He's very social. He loves to smile and talk. He has the biggest smile and he loves to show it off. Even in the middle of crying we can get him to smile and then he hops right back into tears. He has long conversations with us. The majority of what he has to say is, "AaaaaOoooo." He's truly insightful.

He is growing fast! He put on 3lbs 5oz in his first month and grew 2 inches. When he was born he was 7lbs 10oz and 21" and by his one month appointment he was 11lbs 1oz and 23". His two month appointment is in 6 days and I can't wait to see how big he is. Though I don't think it's likely that he's put on over 3lbs this month. He was in the 75th percentile for both weight and height at one month. His weight had gone up from the 50th percentile at birth. I can't remember what his height was at birth.

For the past two nights Henry has been a super sleeper! I don't count on it lasting much longer, but I will appreciate it while it lasts. Both nights we did a little routine and then laid him down wide awake, happy and playing, only going to him on occasion to give him his pacifier. The first night he hung out for about an hour and then went to sleep, the second night it took 15 minutes. Both nights he slept from about 10:30pm-5:30am and then went right back down, after eating, until about 9:15am. I couldn't ask for a better night! Now we just need to get nap time figured out...

Things That Have Surprised Me So Far

I have been waiting and preparing more than half of my life for the day that I would be a mother. A person could truly not prepare more for something (some would say you can't actually prepare for being a parent... I'm not sure yet if I agree or not). I've been babysitting for longer than I can remember, but I have never babysat just to make money, I love taking care of people and I love children - always have always will. I spent about 4 years being a nanny and I've spent the last 2 years working in the Young Infant Room at a daycare. I have had a lot of experience to help me determine the kind of parent I want to be. But here are the things that have already surprised me about parenthood:

How much I love this little baby - I have truly loved so many children that have come into my life that I've wondered to myself throughout the years how much more I could possibly love my own children - the answer is overwhelming. The moment he was born and placed on my chest was the most incredible moment of my life. There is nothing that can compare. There are just no words to begin to describe the amount of love I have for this little boy.

That he can still make me smile and happy even when I'm waking up with him multiple times a night. - I wasn't sure how I was going to manage with less sleep in my life. I know I've only been at this parenting thing for a little over a week, but so far, I don't mind waking up with him at all. Am I tired? Yes, absolutely exhausted. But I've been good about sleeping when he sleeps and I really just love spending time with him.

That I don't want to let him cry - at all. - This might sound like an obvious one to some of you and there are probably some of you who crack up when you read this one. At the daycare I worked at you have to help the babies learn to self-soothe. There are 12 babies and only 4 teachers (3 for most of the day). Even if each teacher could actually hold a baby in each arm to soothe them, there would still be 4 left over babies who couldn't be held. It's just part of daycare, you don't get one-on-one care. Therefore I am very used to the sound of babies crying. I was SURE that I wouldn't mind hearing my own baby cry. And truthfully if he were as old as the babies in the daycare (6-8 weeks +) it would maybe be easier, I do after all still intend on teaching him to self-soothe. But for now, he's not even two weeks old and if he starts to fuss, I want to hold him. I can't help it.

How willing I was to switch to formula when nursing didn't get off to an easy start and even more surprised by how happy I am that we stuck with nursing and have figured it out! - Poor little Henry was tongue tied and lip tied which made nursing very painful. Before he'd even been around for 24 hours I was already thinking "Maybe I should just do formula" (I need to add in a couple side notes. #1, in my defense, it had been a long day, up since 2:30am, 10 hours of labor, and a day of painful nursing. #2, I have absolutely zero problem with formula feeding a baby - this could be a long tangent for another post, but in my experience I just don't think formula vs breastmilk makes that big of a difference and I think mothers (especially working mothers) are made to feel way too guilty about choosing to use formula. That said, I have always wanted to nurse my babies.) He had a procedure done to fix the ties, but even before that happened I had worked with a lactation consultant who really helped us make some good headway. He is now nursing like a champ and I love our special time together!

How many times I've worried that he's stopped breathing. - Yes, I admit it. I admit that in the past I've found it amusing when people have told me that they had this concern and I've just thought to myself, "Of course your baby is fine, don't worry about silly things." And I admit that now, there have been more times than I can count that I have gotten up close to him just to make sure that he is still breathing. Even woken myself up in the middle of the night just to get up and check that he's still breathing. And I say to myself the same thing, "Caitlin, of course he is fine, don't worry about silly things," but for some reason I still worry. I suppose it's just part of being a parent. Once you are one, you're always worrying about one thing or another, right?

How worried I am about germs. - Again, another one that I've laughed at others for worrying about. But I just want to protect this little guy. I don't want him around any germs. I know that at some point it will happen, but again, he isn't even two weeks old and I don't want him to get sick. We're going to a hotel this Friday night because Jason has a work conference and they're paying for us to stay the night. I am suddenly very worried about the sanitation in the room. Again, I'm trying to tell myself not to worry about silly things.

How much I miss him when he is asleep but right next to me. - Not much to expand on with this one. I just love it when he is awake!

Lastly, how much closer and in love I am with Jason now that we are parents together. - There is nothing quite as amazing as watching your husband become a father. I've said it a lot, but we've been together for 10 years and I continue to be amazed by the different things that bring us closer together. I always think that I can't possibly love him more, and then I do. I am so grateful for the nearly 4 years we've had to be married and enjoy each other's company and I am so excited for the rest of our lives as parents together!

Henry's Birth Story

What you need to know before reading it is that for my birth I used the "Hypnobabies" method for delivery and this is the story I gave to them to post on their website. Therefore it uses all of their terms and vocab for labor. Hypnobabies is basically using hypnosis to assist mothers in having an easy and more comfortable birth. The basic idea is to turn something that people usually look at with a lot of fear and anxiety into something empowering and positive. You can probably figure out what a lot of the terms mean on your own, but here is a quick breakdown.

Birthing Time = Labor
Practice Waves = False Labor
Waves (or birthing waves) = Contractions
Center Position = being in hypnosis to manage discomfort but allowing myself to still function normally

A little background about my pregnancy is that I had intended on taking my Hypnobabies course in Minneapolis and had already signed up for a class when we learned that my husband got a new job in Upstate New York. I had fallen in love with Hypnobabies but there were no instructors or classes anywhere near me in NY. I was 7 months pregnant and really determined to use this method so I decided I would do the Homestudy Course. The other things about moving to NY is that I had to change midwife practices late in my pregnancy and we do not know anyone in the area, no family or friends so I decided I would look into hiring a doula for a little bit of extra support. Turns out there are no hypno-doulas in the area either, but I was lucky enough to find a doula who is also a Hypnobirthing Instructor, who was willing to work with me and use my Hypnobabies tools.

Sunday October 27th was my due date. The day came and went uneventfully as I anticipated it would. That night I woke up at 2:30am feeling some unusual cramping. I had not been having my progress checked at my weekly prenatal appointments because I have known so many people to do that and end up with unrealistic expectations of when their baby will arrive. But I also had not experienced much of anything in terms of feeling like my body was prepping itself for my birthing time, so I was feeling rather certain that my baby's birthing time was still a while off. Therefore I was not at all convinced that things were starting.

After feeling a couple of these cramps I was wondering if I was coming down with a stomach bug. The feelings felt an awful lot like the gas cramps I have when I get an upset stomach. I got up and paced around the bathroom for a while, I didn't want to wake up my husband (Jason) because it was a Sunday night (really at this point it was early Monday morning) and I didn't want to deprive him of sleep for his day at work unless I was sure that I was in my birthing time.

I tried climbing back into bed but as soon as I did I felt another cramp and it was not comfortable enough to try to sleep through it. I decided I should get up and walk around the apartment for a bit. I spent until about 3:15am on my own when I realized the cramping was still coming regularly and although I was still not convinced that this was really my birthing time I decided I should wake Jason for some assistance just in case.

When I woke him I warned him that I wasn't sure whether or not these were practice waves but that I'd like him to get up to time them and to help me out by getting me snacks, etc. I started eating an apple and peanut butter, drinking water and he was timing things. Around 3:45am we were getting more convinced that this was something to take seriously. I called my mom, who lives out of state, so she could book tickets to fly out. Then I called my midwives and my doula - I was told to just take my time and that they would see me at the hospital in a bit. My doula and midwife both knew that my plan was to stay home for as long as possible.

Up until this point I was not really using much of my hypnobabies and was sort of struggling with my waves. I kept trying different positions but nothing was very comfortable. Jason finally said to me, "Why don't you listen to one of your hypnobabies tracks." So I got on my birthing ball, set up a bunch of pillows, got all situated and listened to the "Deepening Track" (my favorite one!). I did put my switch in the center position so I was able to talk to Jason and wiggle around. The track absolutely relaxed me and put me into the right mindset. I felt I was in control.

We stayed at home for as long as possible which as it turns out was only until about 6am. My waves were about 3-4 minutes apart (from what we could tell, we weren't being the best about timing) and lasting around 60 seconds. Being that this was my first time giving birth and that we really didn't know what to expect, it just made us both feel more at ease to be heading to the hospital. I listened to my "Easy First Stage" track on the drive to the hospital and basically on repeat from here on out. We arrived around 6:45am and headed into triage. The nurse (Sheryl) I was given was fantastic! The only downside was that she is a travel nurse. She had only been at this hospital for 4 days and did not have admitting privileges. She told me she had looked over my Birth Plan and since I wanted minimal internal exams that she was going to wait until the midwife arrived so the midwife could check me and then (hopefully) admit me.

My wonderful doula, Linda, showed up around 7:30ish and ended up hanging out with us in triage for quite a while. Things slowed down a little bit when we got to the hospital, which I've heard is typical. My waves, upon Linda's arrival, were coming every 3-6 minutes. But by around 8:30 (when we were still waiting for the midwife to show up) I had 3 back to back waves. There was a feeling that our baby was going to be born in triage if I didn't get admitted into a room quickly. Sheryl ultimately decided just to check me herself (Later after I had the baby I asked and found out I had been dilated to 6cm) and somehow got me into a room around 9am. Which is also around the time that the midwife arrived.

Once I was in my room I started using a birthing ball while still listening to my track. I found early on (before leaving home) that breathing through my waves with "horse lips" (I'm not sure if that's the real name for them, but it's what Ina May calls it) really worked for me. So each time I felt a wave I just relaxed my body as much as possible and blew "horse lips" while swaying on my ball and resting on pillows. After some time on the birthing ball I decided to move to the tub. Truthfully I was doing just fine and wasn't convinced I wanted to be in the water, but I've heard so much about how much the water helps that curiosity got the better of me.

Getting in the warm water in a big tub was absolutely amazing, though it is hard for me to say for sure whether or not I feel like it was a major difference in how my waves felt, because the waves became very intense while I was in the water. I had three that hit me leaving me feeling like I was going to throw up (though I am happy to report I didn't). At this point I changed from "horse lips", to making the low "ahh" sounds. I didn't consciously switch because I thought I was supposed to, it just felt better to "ahh" at this point.

I started getting "pushy" feelings shortly after getting into the water, around 11am. I got out pretty quickly, the midwife checked me (this was only the second time I was checked) and said it was time to have the baby! Jason switched my track to "Pushing Baby Out." I didn't have anything to play the tracks out-loud, I just stuck with my headphones. I listened to the track about 5 times, I kept saying to Jason "Babe, repeat the track" and at one point the midwife said "I really want to know what she's listening to." They were all very surprised at how calm I was in-between waves. I would just completely relax and drink water (I was very thirsty throughout my whole birthing time!)

The pushing is the only part of my birthing time that I would have liked to have gone differently. I really wanted to "ahh" my baby out, but didn't ever actually discuss that with anyone because I suppose I assumed it would just be something I would be able to do since I had listed on my Birth Preferences "Please don't tell me when to push." But when it came down to it they let me go for probably 20-30 minutes of "ahh"ing and pushing the way I wanted to and then they started telling me it was time for me to push during waves. I just followed what they told me and ended up doing "purple pushing."

Baby Henry was born at 12:38pm - about 10 hours after I woke up with my first waves and about 6 hours after arriving at the hospital. He was 7lbs 10oz 21.25inches long. He was placed on my chest and stayed there for nearly 2 hours after being born. Having him there to focus on really helped a great deal with all of the after birth stuff that goes on - I wasn't focused on any of that at all, I was just focused on Henry. I had stitches for a 1st degree tear, very minor, yay!

I was given a lot of praise, especially from Sheryl (my nurse), for how well I did throughout my birthing time. Sheryl even bragged to someone for me saying, "This woman just gave a completely natural birth without even a single IV," that comment made me feel really good about myself. I was told that I was very calm and relaxed. I made jokes and didn't stop smiling when I was between my waves. I was told it is unusual to see someone still happy and relaxed in between waves once you near the end of your birthing time but I didn't see any reason to be worked up in-between waves. That was my time to relax, drink water, prepare for the next wave and get excited because my baby was on his way!

We only used my cell phone to take pictures, so they aren't great, but I got some documentation of my birthing time at the hospital:

All set up in Triage

Once I got settled into my room - on the birthing ball relaxing

Jason and me once I moved into the tub

Shortly after Henry was placed on my chest

Linda, my wonderful doula, with me and Henry - about and hour and a half post birth

EST

You know when you're watching TV and they say, "(Insert your favorite TV show), all new tonight, 10:00 EST" and then you think to yourself, "Great! It's on at 8 (Colorado), what perfect timing!" Well I remember when my latest show was on at 8 and I remember thinking to myself, "Those poor people on the east coast having to wait until 10:00pm to watch their shows." Now I'm that person on the east coast. I won't be watching my shows until the day after they're on...

Really being in a different time zone than everyone else is probably the most challenging thing about being out here. Being one hour later than CO while we were in MN was do-able enough, but now being two hours later than CO and one hour later than MN is really obnoxious. I wake up at 8:30 and can't call my mom or sisters still for at least 2 1/2 hours! When we were in CA, that was the best time zone. It was awesome to wake up at 8:30 and realize it was 9:30 in CO. I could literally roll out of bed and call people immediately. And let's be honest, right now I don't have a whole lot going on, so when I can talk to people on the phone it really helps me get through the day.

We are still not completely unpacked. I have SO MUCH WALL SPACE and I have a bunch of pictures to put up and it's just really turned into this task that I don't want to worry about. I've reached that point of boredom where you lose motivation to do things. There are plenty of things that sound fine to do, but those really annoying tasks that I just don't want to take care of that I should probably be focusing the most on, those are the ones that I've got zero motivation to do. I miss my job a ton. I miss my co-workers and the babies. I've probably had work dreams 5 nights a week since getting here. It really was the closest thing I've ever had to an "ideal job." I still dream of opening my own center someday or at least running one that is already put together, but for where I am in life, my job was perfect for me. I find myself sitting in my apartment thinking about what I should be getting done and wishing I could just go to work, haha.

The baby's room is coming along finally, thanks to help from my mom who visited this past weekend. It feels good to have progress done there. I'm not entirely sure I'm actually going to post pictures of it - we'll see when it's done, but it's just not all too impressive. Lots of mismatched stuff and we still have some key elements missing. I didn't have either of my planned baby showers in MN so right now we're working on getting all of the final necessities together.

I did get to check out the hospital that I will be going to and really really loved it. It was a great tour and I didn't hear anything that would have made me think "Uh, maybe I should check out another hospital." I, being that crazy person that I am, always dreaming of the day I get to give birth, am so looking forward to trying for a natural birth, and it is a hospital that is very supportive of that. Nice big tubs with jets in the rooms, birthing balls, etc. Minimal monitoring machines (unless, obviously, it ends up being necessary) so I don't have to be plugged into anything. There aren't any restrictions about tub use if your water breaks first (again, aside from usual safety measures which I won't mention for those really not interested ;) Plus, I can dim the lights and play music or whatever - so yay!

I ended up picking a doula for the birth as well. Jason and I decided it would be a good idea for me to have at least one other person in the area I could call when things get started, since it's just the two of us. The first doula I met with I LOVED via email, but met in person and just really didn't connect. Then I was hesitant about meeting with another but did anyway and thank goodness because she is wonderful! Having my mom around would be better, but if she can't be here I think that Linda will be a great alternative. I also had my first appointment with my midwife group here and was very pleased with that appointment - so with luck, things can just go forward now.

Here are some pictures of some of what we've seen since moving here to Albany. It's really a very small area, but beautiful. Just a sea of trees all around. I can't wait for the leaves to really start changing colors. If I ever finish putting the apartment together then I'll post pictures, but for now it will remain a mystery for you.

Some of Albany

The Egg

Empire State Plaza

Capitol Building

View from the top of the stairs of the Capitol Building

And us outside of the Capitol Building

Moving to NYS

Oh boy - this is a crazy time for us!

Jason got a job clerking for a Federal Judge in Albany, NY. This is an awesome opportunity and he is really excited. The job starts the second week of September and our lease here is up on August 31st, so we're hitting the road on August 31st.

As you can imagine there are a million things running through my mind that need to be taken care of and I swear, every time I check something off that list I think of an additional five things that need to be done. We already took care of getting an apartment and I've found a new midwife. Those were two of the biggest things for me, so it's a relief to have them out of the way.

Right now my big fears all come in the travel to NY. I am going to be 32 weeks pregnant when we make this drive - Jason and I went on a car ride tonight that was about 1.5hrs and in that time we stopped so I could pee, I had to go again as soon as we were home and I was extremely uncomfortable for a majority of the ride. So naturally while we're driving I'm wondering to myself, "What would make me more comfortable right now?" I tried multiple positions to see what worked and was brainstorming about pillows... Maybe I'll try things out over the next couple weeks or perhaps I won't so that I don't over-think it. Thankfully Jason's mom, Cindy, is flying out to help with the drive (if I were doing the drive alone I would be completely panicked). It is an 18.5 hr drive normally. I've read I should stop every two hours at most to walk and stretch. The problem is that when it comes to road-trips I am the type of person who wants to just go go go. With all of the stops we're going to be making it will dramatically lengthen the amount of time the drive takes and it's already a long drive! It's going to make me go crazy, but I know I just need to get over it. Anyway, any suggestions anyone has about traveling long distance while in the third trimester would be much appreciated!

My next big fear is that our cat, Sonny is going to be in the car with me and Cindy. I have no idea how to travel with a cat. It's stressful enough trying to figure out my own travel but I also have to figure out how to make sure my cat doesn't meow (the WHOLE drive), puke, poop, pee, run away, get stuck, etc. But it's just not an option to leave him behind. I know there are people who would be willing to take him, but we love him too much and can't bare the thought of not having him. So again, anyone who has suggestions about traveling 20-some hours with a cat in the car, advice would be very appreciated.

Once we are to New York I imagine all my stress just melting away. We have movers lined up to help us unpack our moving truck (we are working on throwing away as much crap as we possibly can so we can fit everything we take with us in a 16ft truck - wish us luck!) So we will supposedly be completely unloaded into our apartment by noon on September 2nd. That's when all the fun really starts! I have not been able to go into any sort of "nesting" phase in this pregnancy yet. Sure, I love to look at all the things we have for the baby, but we always knew that we would be moving somewhere (never imagined NY) before the baby arrived so most of his stuff has stayed packed up. I'm going to FINALLY be able to set up his room and really go through all the fun things we have for him. I am so excited! I'm also excited that I'm not going to be in any sort of rush to get moved into the apartment. Which is especially good because I'll probably be moving a bit slower then than I am now and I'm already having a slow time packing things up. I'll basically have 8ish weeks until baby arrives (yes, I know, he could arrive at any point and I shouldn't put things off because it'll be a disaster if he shows up and we still have unpacking to do, yada yada yada). It's just going to be so nice to have some time to take things (semi) easy before he does arrive.

I can't believe we're going to be living in New York for a year. I know it's not going to be the most ideal year to explore and super get to travel the area, with a new baby and all. But we'll get to see some of it and it's going to be awesome. Because of law school Jason and I will have lived in all four of the continental time zones in the past 3 years. That's pretty fun. We've really gotten to go on some good adventures and this is going to be another fun one. I am just so happy that if we had to move to another state temporarily that it's going to be a really interesting one! We are going to miss Minnesota though. We really love Minnesota and the life we've made together here. It's hard to leave the great people we've met but it is made a little easier knowing there is a fairly decent chance we'll be coming back (this is the only state Jason is likely able to practice law in, unless he decides to take the bar exam in another state... who knows?). So just for fun, here are some pictures of our Minnesota adventure of the past three years!

We made it! August 2010

Winter 2010

Nephew Hayden visiting

Law boys at Doely wedding

MN State Fair fun

Holidazzle Parade

Halloween 2011

Got our kitty!

Work Christmas Party 2012

Law Graduation Party

Add caption

Complete Joy

This has been such a wonderful time for our little family. Jason graduated from law school a couple weeks ago. It is so hard to believe that the three years of law school flew by as quickly as they did. He is such a hard worker and it shows in his grades and all that he has accomplished in the last three years. I am so proud of him and can't wait to watch him continue to be awesome at what he does.

Graduation! 

We found out that we're going to have a little boy! I had so many people telling me that it was a boy from the beginning that by the time we found out I was convinced it was a boy. Though it was amazing the amount of surprise, joy and excitement I still felt when I knew for sure. We had so many people telling us to wait to find out at birth and I am so relieved that I didn't wait! If waiting is for you, then that's awesome, I'm not saying not to go that route. But for me I just feel so much more connected to him suddenly. I am 19 weeks in and I have not been a huge fan of pregnancy. Then the fact that I haven't been loving it has been making me feel like I'm doing something wrong. But I just haven't felt great basically since week 7. My belly still isn't all that noticeable. I hadn't been feeling him move. There just wasn't much happening aside from me not feeling well. But then...

BAM!

Friday we learned he was a boy. At the ultrasound I could see him move and noticed I was feeling it and that I have actually been feeling him for some time and just didn't know it was him. Then I noticed him moving a bunch and realized that we can actually feel him moving on the outside too! So Jason has been able to enjoy feeling him as well. We got all registered which felt great and exciting to get done. I am so glad I knew for our registry that he is a boy. It was so fun picking out things for him. His wardrobe doubled over the last few days (and only one of his new outfits was one I bought). We've been able to start thinking about names. Thank goodness we aren't picking a boy name and a girl name because I think I'd be way too overwhelmed. Jason is so good at being patient with me. I'm sure if it were up to him he'd already have a name all picked out. It's just amazing how much more attached I feel to this baby and how much more excited I feel about the whole pregnancy.

My favorite things to do right now are to look at his ultrasound pictures and sit and feel him move around. It's the best!

Here's our baby boy! His hand is up near his mouth (maybe even sucking on a few fingers or his thumb?) and his foot is up at his forehead. Evidently he is quite flexible. 

Baby!

We're going to have a baby!

I know you already know that, but I'm pretty darn excited about it still. I am 14 weeks along today. We found out that I am pregnant on Valentine's Day. Well, that's when I got my first positive test. It was still very early and it was so faint that we weren't convinced until a few days after. But it sounds a lot more exciting to say that we found out on Valentine's Day :o) 

We went in for our first ultrasound when I was about 7.5 weeks along and it was the most incredible experience ever. That first ultrasound was nerve wracking because I didn't know if everything was actually going to be okay. I've known so many people to go in and find out that they are having a miscarriage. So to see the baby (or as I call the pictures we have of it, the "blob") and to see the little heartbeat is just amazing. Then the ultrasound tech played the heartbeat for us and I was blown away. I was absolutely not expecting to be able to hear a heartbeat so early. It was an ideal time to go in and see that there was in fact a child growing because around 7 weeks was when morning sickness hit me. And it was definitely not just morning sickness. It was nausea from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed. It lasted for 2 weeks and considering stories I've heard it was not bad at all. But I certainly didn't enjoy it.

**Update: When I was 11 weeks we went in again for my first meeting with my midwife. This time we heard the heart beat on the doppler and it was in the 170's. That's a high heart rate which would supposedly indicate a female baby. But I also used the Intelligender test which is a test you can take at home to find out your baby's gender as early as 10 weeks. The Intelligender said I'm having a boy. Chinese calendar says boy. The baking soda home test said girl. SO I'm definitely having either a boy or a girl :o)

Now I am officially in my second trimester and mostly feeling really great. I keep getting hit with a new cold every week for the past 4 weeks (a new one started today). I'm not sure what that's about. They wouldn't be so annoying if I were taking meds for them, but I'm pretty much taking nothing. I don't really want to take anything unless it's really necessary. Plus Tylenol is about all I can take and Tylenol just isn't very helpful. I think I would been feeling much more energetic if these colds would stop. And other than that I just feel a little "off" after eating. But it doesn't last for very long. Very manageable.

Jason keeps asking me when I'm going to start showing. I have no idea but I expect it'll start happening soon.  Jason has been amazing. He took over cleaning out the kitty litter (he did insist we get a bigger scooper). One day the cat even pooped on the floor and he cleaned it up. I suppose the cat is getting him ready for being a parent. Every week we read how big the baby is and it's always in comparison to some sort of food. Jason changes the name of the baby from week to week depending on this comparison. So this week the baby is "Lemon" and a couple months ago it was "Lentil". He enjoyed last week when the baby was compared to a medium shrimp because he said it would be the only time when we could call our kid a shrimp without it being an insult. We find out in about 5 weeks whether it's a boy or a girl - soon after that I'm sure we'll come up with the baby's actual name and then start calling it by its name. 

That's all for now. Jason graduates from Law School in about 3ish weeks - so I'll get some pictures and update again around then! I can't believe the Law School adventure is wrapping up. It has gone by so quickly. I had someone congratulate me recently for being married through the three years of law school and sticking with it. It sort of threw me off guard because I don't feel like it's been much of a challenge. Maybe because we were together through all of his undergrad? I don't know. He's just a hard worker, he's always been a hard worker, he'll always be a hard worker and that's just something I know about him. Plus, I'm an introvert, so when he's busy studying or doing whatever it is he needs to do, I love having time to myself to do what I like to do. Now I need to enjoy that more than ever because in about 6 months my alone time is going to be something of the past!!

Pictures of little Blueberry.

My cousin Kelly and me. We're both pregnant now and hoping we'll be able to recreate this picture before she has her little one in July!