04.27.10- Day 115

1st of all... HAPPY 19th BIRTHDAY Stacy!!!!!
It's crazy to me that you are already 19 (I know that sounds sappy, but it's true). I'm so proud of all that you've accomplished this year! It's been a big one for you. You graduated high school, started college, had several articles published on the front page of the Advocate, went blonde, received the honor of being chosen to lead the leaders on the JBU campus, and I'm sure so many more things that I even know. I"m proud of you for all those things, but more than that I love you and the person that you are becoming. I love that you think about the issues. You don't take things at face value. You have big dreams (that I think you will accomplish). You want to learn more. You want to seek God's answers to the world's problems. I treasure that you are my dear sister and I hope that this upcoming year is the best of all.

Now the picture from week 18... (I apologize for my tired face- it was a long day)

Pregnancy Highlights:How Far Along: 18 Weeks

Size of baby: 6 ounces, 5.5 inches, the weight of a boneless chicken breast

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 7 pounds as of the midwife appointment on Friday

Maternity Clothes: I can only wear maternity pants or my normal pants with a bella band. Most of my longer shirts still work fine, but I am pretty comfortable in my 2 maternity shirt.

Gender: We should find out within the next week or two, depending on the ultrasound clinic's schedule

Food Cravings: pizza, sweets, carbs, turkey sandwiches (don't worry it's deli turkey)

What I miss: my innie

Sleep: Hmmm... what is that again? haha. I'm waking up to pee, from headaches, and reflux. I finally got a body pillow though, so that makes me happy.

Symptoms: reflux, tiredness, some SI pain

Best Moment this week: I really am feeling the baby move now!

What I am looking forward to: finding out the gender and going to the first baby shower, which is on Friday!

04.25.10- Day 113

Friday night some people from our small group had an impromptu dinner at Eric and Nicole's with our new family from Bhutan- the Bhattarai's. They are so fun to visit with and I can't wait to get to know them better. In many ways they remind me of friends that I met in India. (they are Nepali in descent, look similar, make excellent chai, and are hindu) Also as a side comment, kids from every culture are basically the same. Indra (the mom) kept telling me on Thursday and on Friday that her kids are begging her for a computer and TV! They are threatening to move in with their grandparents (who have both since they have been living in the US for over a year now) unless they get the technology at their apartment- haha.

A pic with the whole group The family and their brother/sister-in-law

I love getting to know people from other countries/cultures. It's like getting to travel without having to pack!

04.18.10- Day 106

17 weeks!Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 17 Weeks
Size of baby: 6 ounces, 5ish inches, the size of an onion- according to thebump.com
Total Weight Gain/Loss: about the same as last week? I'll find out for sure at my appointment on Friday
Maternity Clothes: Went and bought more maternity clothes today- a few shirts and another pair of pants- it's getting harder and harder to find things in my current wardrobe
Gender: Official ultrasound should be sometime in early May- I'll find out later this week when it will be *hopefully*
Food Cravings: pasta, red sauce, carbs, cheese, juice
What I miss: running
Sleep: Still waking up 1-2 times every night to use the bathroom
Symptoms: some SI pain, tiredness, not too many symptoms this week
Best Moment this week: I think I'm feeling the baby move!!!
What I am looking forward to: finding out the gender and registering for the first baby shower, which is happening at the end of the month!

04.17.10- Day 105

Thoughts on the Bhattari family and my job...

On Thursday night Alan, John, Grace, and I went over to see our newly resettled refugee family from Bhutan. It's always interesting getting to know and trying to communicate with a new family who speaks little English (especially since we speak NO Nepali). I found myself smiling, laughing, simplifying language, and drawing to try to get my point across. It's amazing how much you can communicate without words. If you have a few words you can communicate almost anything. I remember a couple years ago when I was spending time with Mu Leh from Burma, who basically knew no English. She was able to communicate to my friend and I that her son's name was going to be Jonah by pointing to a Bible and acting out the story of Jonah and the whale!

So, on the way home from visiting with the Bhattari's, I realized that I spend at least 50% of my time in my job communicating to children who either have difficulty with receptive language, expressive language, or both. I spend so much time demonstrating, using physical cueing, acting, using simple words, giving wait time, smiling and nodding, etc through out my day. Communicating with children that have disabilities isn't all that different from communicating with someone who speaks a different language. My kiddos with disabilities just speak a different language. There's always a way to get the message through, but you just have to have the perseverance and creativity to communicate it.

04.11.10- Day 99

16 weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 16 Weeks

Size of baby: 5 ounces, 5 inches, the size of a turnip- why do they pick such weird vegetables?

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I think around 5 pounds?

Maternity Clothes: Just bought my first pair of maternity pants today. Other than that I'm wearing my loosest clothes!

Gender: Official ultrasound should be sometime in early May... most of my friends are guessing girl, but Alan and I are guessing boy.

Food Cravings: cheese and carbs, not really sweets though, pad thai

What I miss: not having headaches

Sleep: I wake up 1-2 times each night to use the bathroom- good grief!

Symptoms: some headaches, lactose intolerance (if consumed in larger quantities), tiredness

Best Moment this week: starting to really have a baby bump, which makes the whole thing feel more real!

What I am looking forward to: feeling the baby start to move soon!

04.05.10- Day 93

Tonight at small group we had potluck. Nicole made cupcakes to celebrate the birth of baby Andrew, the newest addition to our life group. This is Grace and John and their new son. (Grace, sorry the color is a little off on the pics of you guys together- I really need a new camera).

Isn't Nicole creative- she put the cupcakes in the shape of an A and got a zero candle from the store!

Side note: I LOVE our life group. It is so fun to share life together and get to know each other more. I feel like we're really becoming one big family! Isn't that what living in community is about?!

04.04.10- Day 94

Thank you, Jesus. This day represents all that is hope, love, and peace in the world: the sacrifice of the God of the universe and the fact that his love for us saves us from ourselves.

04.01.10- Day 91

It's been a busy week so far, so I'm just getting around to posting about it all.
Monday: chores, errands, bought supplies for raised beds with Alan, girls' night at Grace's
Tuesday: Ultrasound, yoga, lunch date with Alan, built raised beds (with Alan's help), set up refugee's apartment, met about refugee family, met them at the airport
Wednesday: left for the hospital at 7:15 am, returned from the hospital at 5:15 pm, ran to pick up Alan's prescriptions and get groceries, taking care of my dear husband, watched Up in the Air
Thursday: prenatal massage, made Alan lunch, relaxed in the afternoon, picked up pizza and returned Up in the Air, dinner, relaxing evening

Baby!
We had another ultrasound scheduled to confirm the date we had from the last one (it was a portable machine and not as accurate as the ultrasound department's machines). We were confirmed to be a week ahead of what the other ultrasound said. So, we are officially 15 weeks, 1 day today. The baby is about 4 inches long and about 4 ounces with a heart rate of 164. It was so fun that they could see the baby through the abdominal ultrasound. My uterus is really starting to peak out. I can't believe that I'm already 4 and a 1/2 months pregnant! Here are some pictures of our baby. They are not as cute as seeing him/her live, but they are much better than the last ultrasound where we just had a little blob. You could see the baby's ribs, skull, brain, legs, arms, bones, fingertips, some facial features, and even it's moving mouth.
Here is a view from the side- crown to rump.

Here are the legs and feet (feet towards the left side of the screen).

Wonderful profile of the baby's head. You can see both of its hands up by its mouth too!

One arm reaching out.

Surgery- Alan's surgery went well, although it was a long day. I was so thankful that Kayleen (Alan's mom) came down to keep me company. I did get to spend a large part of the morning with Alan while he waited to go in to surgery. It turns out that his hip labral tear was much bigger than they thought initally from the MRI. The surgeon was able to repair it and also shave down a bone spur that had developed on his acetabulum. Thankfully, Alan is weight bearing as tolerated and will hopefully be able to return to work in 2-3 weeks (rather than 2 months) and return to exercise after 6 weeks. He was pretty groggy yesterday, but is doing great today! He has a little pain and it crutching around, but seems to be getting back to his old self.