Stomach Sensitivity

Don't worry, this isn't going to be a recap of my digestive troubles (although I did eat Mexican tonight...but that's another story). No, what I'm talking about is the fine line you have to walk with pregnant ladies about their bellies. We are excited to be pregnant and always want you to notice. However, beware in saying too much (or too little). When you're early on, say, 3 to 4 months, you are finally out of that awkward "I just look thicker around the middle" stage and are actually getting a little bump. If you have friends in this stage, please don't exclaim to them how you totally can't even tell that they are pregnant. Most women are pretty excited to be in this predicament and are equally (if not more so) excited to finally feel like she looks it. Then as you move along to the middle phase of your pregnancy you will really start to more noticeably show. This is basically where I am now. As everyone knows, we found out on Tuesday that we're having a girl (yay!). Since my appointment was on Tuesday morning, some of my coworkers decided to make last-minute predictions on the gender. One coworker told me to turn to the side so she could see how high I was carrying. Then another had me turn with my back to her. Now, she really is a very sweet person, but she proceeded to guess that it was a girl because "With a boy it's all in front and you can't tell from the back but with a girl you kind of spread out." Umm...guess that means my fears about the peanut M&Ms have come true. :-P She also asked how far along I was and when I said 19 weeks, was told, "Wow. That's a lot of baby for 19 weeks!"

Basically, the lesson is this: this whole body-changing is new and different and also exciting. So please be gentle in your observations and gracious in your compliments as we adjust to this strange period. Thanks!

Pretty in Pink!

Sorry to the majority of you who voted "boy" on the poll but we found out yesterday that we are indeed having a GIRL! Troy & I were both a bit shocked I think. Don't get me wrong, we're happy with the news that we're having a girl. I had just always assumed that we would have a boy. Everyone always said they could see us having a bunch of little boys like Troy. An idea which I quite liked because, well, I married him so I kinda like him and thought it would be cute to have little mini-Troys. But now we're switching gears and getting ready for all things girl! I am excited about the shopping and cute clothes and all that stuff. :)

Here are a few updates & answers to FAQs:

- I still feel great!
- Baby looks really good according to the doctor. She's currently breech (actually, she's basically horizontal) but I'm sure that will change.
- I still don't think I've felt her moving around yet. A couple of times I thought maybe but nothing strong or consistent yet. I know she is though because we saw her rolling around and stretching yesterday!
- I'm fine except they said I have placenta previa. It shouldn't be a big deal and usually corrects itself as the pregnancy progresses. The upside is I get to have another peek at Baby Girl at 28 weeks.
- No, we do not have a name picked out. I want to see the baby and see if the name fits before we start putting it out there. Also, some people (no names) feel the need to offer their opinions and we don't really want to deal with all of that. I mean, if we've taken the time to pick out a name that is special to us and that we think we want to name our first-born, please don't ruin it by saying that you don't like it (probably because that girl who stole your lucky pencil in the 3rd grade had that name). Please keep this in mind around others who are pregnant and pass it on. You're welcome. ;)

I'm sorry I don't have the pics of our little girl to post yet but Troy's got to the get scanner working (it appears to not be compatible with Windows 7 so he'll get that straightened out).

Thank you so much for all of the prayers & well wishes!! It really means a lot to us and we're excited to get to share this experience with everyone. We are so so excited about becoming parents and can't wait to meet our girl. :)

Valentine's Weekend

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's weekend. Ours started off with a very pretty but short-lived snow. It was perfect: couple of inches of fluffy crunchy snow that was on the ground and trees but not at all on the roads.




Saturday we did some running around and then went to dinner at Maggiano's with our friends Ryan & Kim. It was delicious as usual! We also saw Wayne Ellington eating there with what looked like his family which was pretty cool after the 100 years of basketball festivities and the win over State. Troy had a beautiful bouquet of flowers sent to me at work on Friday and they have been pretty & fragrant all weekend (and into this week)!



Also, I'm now 18 weeks along and we find out a week from today the sex of Baby Benton. Can't wait!

Pregnancy Update

I am halfway through my 17th week and everything is going well! We can't wait until our next appointment on the 23rd to get the ultrasound. Don't forget to vote in the poll to the right about whether you think Baby Benton is a boy or girl!

Latest stats:
- Still feel good. In fact, most days I wouldn't even say that I really feel pregnant.
- Tired but not as much as in the beginning. Although lately I seem to have some weird pg narcolepsy in the evenings where I will just conk out on the couch even if I'm trying really hard to stay awake (totally did this at our neighbors while watching the Hurricanes game...I just can't help it!).
- My cravings have still been mostly dairy. Haven't really liked chicken since I tried to eat Chick-fil-a on my birthday in December. I mean, seriously, who throws down their Chick-fil-a sandwich halfway through?? Apparently this girl.
- Need to put down the peanut M&Ms. Really...I have a giant bag that I keep in my drawer at work and I am nearing the bottom. Speaking of bottom, I think they are settling in that general area. Hmmm.
- My chest is still sore but I only notice it conveniently in the middle of the night when they wake me in pain as I roll over. Fun times.
- Troy & I are endlessly fascinated at my belly's new texture. It feels like an exercise ball...very tight (a new sensation for me in the belly area...haha!). It's kind of fun to poke. Not too hard, of course. Troy gets nervous when I do that but the doctor practically pushes through to your spine so I'm sure my light poking isn't doing any harm. Right...RIGHT?? I'm sure it's fine.
- I have been in maternity clothes for a couple of weeks now. FYI...Old Navy has awesome maternity pants. They are "real waist" pants...no stretchy panel. However, why is it that maternity pants seem to be so long in the crotch? Is that in case you actually have the baby while wearing them? I just don't get it. Also, they must really expect your rear end to become huge because they are also very generous in that area.

That's about it for now! Our latest thing is shopping for nursery furniture so hopefully we'll get that ordered soon. Then it will be time to paint and pick out bedding! I'll post pictures of everything as we get them. Stay tuned!

Snow Days

My, this is a lot of winter weather we've been having! I like the snow and the other weekend was really fun getting to get out and play in it (well, as much as a pregnant lady can). However, I think I'm just about ready for spring to roll in. It has already been nice leaving for work and it not being totally dark outside. But I guess we'll see what happens. If that old groundhog was right, we'll probably have a few more snow days ahead of us. I just hope they're as much fun as the last ones! Here are some pics from our adventures in our neighborhood: