Boy oh Boy!

On Saturday at 20 weeks, I went in for my anatomy scan and we found out we are having a BOY!!  We are both so excited!  I really feel like God has been preparing me for a boy this whole time, because I've had a gut feeling since day one that he would be a he!  In fact, James and both sets of parents also thought it would be a boy, so we really weren't terribly surprised.  I had told a friend recently that if it was a girl, I would be very happy, but I'd have to adjust my thinking a lot.  I guess mother's (and father's) intuition is a real thing!  Anyway, it was so exciting to get to see our little man on the screen.  He was moving around a little and halfway through he had a huge yawn.  Its so exhausting to be a baby.  :-)  The nurse estimated him to weigh 13 ounces...almost a pound!

We are naming him Alexander James Shepherd, and we'll call him Xander.  We've had this name picked out since we got married, and it happens to be the ONLY boy name that we both love, so it was a pretty easy choice!  Alexander means "defender of the people" and I just love that.  I pray that he will grow up to be a man of God who stands up for the downtrodden and helps those who are in need. 

I am getting very excited about doing the nursery and getting baby stuff now that we know it's a boy.  We have had two Bradley classes so far, and it's been ok, although we did a really awkward and (in my opinion) dumb relaxation exercise at the last class.  I can't relax while lying on the floor with a group of people listening to a pregnant woman from the 80s wearing a hot pink and turquoise leotard talk about visualizing air flowing to your baby, and recognizing your inner goddess.  Hopefully it will get better!   

I can't believe we are halfway there!  I am feeling pretty good.  The weirdest part is that I can feel the weight of my uterus; it's a strange sensation.  The best part is that I can finally feel little kicks!  They are very low in my abdomen and feel like little jabs, or sort of like bubbles popping.  I just love it!  I can't wait until they are strong enough for James to feel. I was starting to get a little worried that I hadn't felt anything yet a few weeks ago, so it is very reassuring for me.  We can't wait to meet you little one!

18 Weeks

Me at 16 weeks

 

I am now 18 weeks, almost halfway through!  Baby Shepherd is the size of a baked potato this week; about 5.5 inches and 7 ounces.  I have started feeling actually pregnant now, and I caved and bought some maternity pants.  They are pretty awesomely comfortable compared to my normal jeans, which technically still fit, but dig into me all day.  They also smooth out my belly, making me look pregnant rather than just chubby, so that's a bonus.

I still haven't felt any movement that I can definitively say was baby, though I probably have felt flutters and not realized that's what it was.  On the doppler though the baby's heart is strong and he/she moves around, so I will probably feel it soon.

Baby has been giving me some unpleasant symptoms recently including shortness of breath and heart palpitations (all normal), but the worst is round ligament pain.  I had to call the nurse to see what it was because I thought I injured myself.  It feels like a pulled muscle on my left side and hurts every time I sit down, stand up, walk, or even breathe deeply.  It is very uncomfortable and makes me feel like I'm 80 years old hobbling around, but it's a very common pregnancy complaint and can happen throughout the second and third trimester...oh boy!  Apparently the ligaments holding my uterus in place don't like all the stretching that is required as baby grows.  But all in all, I'm doing great and enjoying the miracle of growing a life.

James and I are very excited to find out the gender coming up in a couple of weeks!  We bought a nice crib tonight off Craigslist for a good deal, so I am excited about that.  And we have signed up for a Bradley childbirth class that starts later this month.  There are so many things to do in the next 22 weeks so I'm glad to be checking a few off the list.  I can't wait for baby to get here, but I am thankful for the 9 months to prepare.

Lent

Ash Wednesday was a couple of weeks ago, and I had a hard time this year figuring out how to observe Lent.  I didn't grow up following the church calendar, so Lent is something that I choose to observe because I think it is a good way to ready my heart for Easter. In fasting from something in my life that is important to me, I am forced to have moments of discomfort, and in those moments I can stop and thank God for His ultimate sacrifice for my sins, and pray for those around the world who are in need.  Then when Easter comes, it is time to rejoice, because the sacrifice was paid, and Christ is risen!

This year I started reading a book called A Place At the Table by Chris Seay. This book encourages Christians to fast from actual food.  Not completely of course, but he suggests choosing the main foods of a third world country and only eating that for the 40 days of Lent.  His book also has 40 days of readings featuring people in poor areas of the world and the struggles they go through.  

I'm not following the book completely because I didn't think it was a good idea for me to eat only beans, rice, tortillas, etc., for 6 weeks.  Baby needs more diverse nutrients.  So instead I decided that I will make beans and rice once a week for dinner, and I will save any money that I normally would spend on myself for fun stuff and give it to a charity.  It's not much, but just a little bit helps me to remember what Christ did for me.