And the countdown begins...

I could make the obligatory apologies about being a bad blog-updater, not informing family and friends of how everything is going... and I could make excuses about being too busy, too tired, or too pregnant, but I won't! Instead, I will not grovel. I will just share lots of pictures and hope it will pacify you. And I will distract you by telling you to look at the countdown at the top of the blog - can you believe the due date is less than two months away!? I know I can't.

I didn't really take a "28 week" belly picture, so the following picture, taken on Halloween, will have to do. Brad and I went as eggs and bacon. I couldn't see over my tummy to know that I should have pulled my yellow shirt down for this picture. We had a block party at our house to try to get to know some of our neighbors with the hopes of connecting with them further. It was great fun, and a lot of cute costumes were seen. I guess you could say we dressed Samuel up as well. ;-) We made some great connections and would appreciate your prayers for those relationships.

After finishing most of our Christmas shopping yesterday, Brad and I took this picture at the Domain, a big shopping/living area here in Austin. This week will be 32 weeks, and my belly is surely growing! Samuel is still very active, and I can now tell where his tushy, feet, and head are. I can pinpoint the head easily because he gets hiccups (!) often. It's the cutest little feeling. Brad and I only have one more birthing class left, and I'm irrationally getting excited about the birth.


I know it seems late in the game, but I'm actually switching doctors and have an appointment with my new OB's office on Tuesday. There was nothing "wrong" with my doctor; he gave good lip service to natural birth, but the other doctors in his practice definitely don't have a good track record, and I just did not feel totally at ease about how the birth would go if complications arose. Sure, the baby and I would be healthy in his hands, but I would rather a C-section or some other artificial birthing means be used as a last resort, and I feared it would be his first choice. Through my birthing class, I heard about this fantastic OB right across the street who actually has midwives as part of her practice (the only office in Austin of its kind, which is surprising, since this is a nice granola haven). Her philosophy is centered around natural birthing practices and avoiding C-section if possible. When I heard how easy it would be to switch, it was a no brainer.

In other news, we had family from both sides over to our house for Thanksgiving this year. We were so thankful that Bruce and Nancy, Karen and Kevin, and Ryan and Melissa all could make it. My brother Larry and girlfriend Ali even stopped by that weekend to say hi! I love having family over, and when everyone pitches in, it makes everything easier and more fun for everyone.

On Friday after Thanksgiving, Nancy and Bruce treated us all to A Christmas Carol at the Riverwalk IMAX theater. I was so thankful that I didn't get sick and nauseous like I did at the Polar Express IMAX. Maybe pregnancy is strengthening my constitution? As you can see, we had a blast being the dorks that we are!

On Saturday, Kevin helped Brad put up our first Christmas lights!! Mom helped me decorate inside (thanks guys!!!). Brad and I finished up the exterior illumination this past weekend in the mid-30 degree weather. I LOVE LOVE LOVE having Christmas lights on the house. This is the best picture I could get - if you look closely, you can see bulbs on the pecan tree, a wreath on the door, lights on the house and shrubs, and two pre-lit trees. It feels like Christmas to me!

My name is...

That's 15 pounds extra you're looking at - all baby (I wish!). At our appointment today, Nurse Judy measured my baby bump: 25cm. She said that was terrific and to go home and grow a big, fat baby. Nurse Judy, I'm working on it! We also heard the baby's heartbeat, at 140 bpm. He sounded so strong. Instead of breakfast this morning, I was privileged enough to drink a dextrose drink (flat orange Fanta) to test for gestational diabetes. I passed - good thing I studied. The rest of the day my brain didn't work as well, but I made sure to make up for the lost food with a two egg snack, a ham and cheese lunch, and a turkey filled pasta sauce with dinner. Much better!

Last Wednesday, Brad and I started our natural birthing classes with a Bradley method instructor (appropriate name, huh?). We were both rapt, trying to soak up everything we could. Brad and I left feeling a teeny bit more educated. I left to have a restless night of sleep - will I be able to do a natural birth? Will the doctor and nursing staff all support me in the way I need them? Will Brad, my birthing coach, be able to see me in pain, and help me handle it by natural means - for hours - to bring our son into the world? A friend of mine told me I struggled with worry. Wow, wake up call. This is God's child, whom He watches over and protects. And He will protect us during the birth as well. I feel better knowing little Samuel Hill (yes, we picked a name!) is in His able hands.

The excitement of the birth was also upon me last week after we toured the hospital. They took us by the nursery to see the hours-old babies. I just melted in front of that window. There was a newborn boy that looked so at peace - just looking around, checking everything out, waiting, naked, for whatever was coming next for him. He made me think so much of how much joy God has given me through this blessing. And how much joy I will have in the end no matter how difficult.

Off to Babies R Us!

While Brad was in India, my mom came to visit, and we went to Babies R Us (my first time for baby looking). While looking at the cribs, she snapped this pic - I think I was basking in the baby glory. In just a little bit, I'm meeting a friend for lunch and Babies R Us again. She already has her "little man" and is going to tell me all the things I do and do not need - thanks, Jenn!!! It should be very helpful. Brad and I will go later to pick the other important stuff - bedding and furniture.

Here's a belly shot at 20 weeks - doesn't look much different than last time, huh? Well, I've gained 10 pounds total, which is on target. The baby weighs 12 ounces. Does that not compute to anyone else!? Haha! I know, I know - there's a lot of other stuff causing that weight. Baby Pete should be about 9-10 ounces, so you can understand that I'm worried about having a big boy! And I'm trying to do this naturally? Guess what? I need prayer!

Sweet Baby Face

As an update from the last post - no nosebleeds since then (and thank goodness!).

Our appointment this morning was fun. We got to see a lot of Baby Pete's organs, like his stomach, kidneys, heart and ventricles, cerebellum, etc. It was amazing to see God's knitting so up close and personal.
Baby Pete is within all of the "normal" parameters, but we all know that as part of this family, he'll never be normal! And that's a good thing! The really neat thing about this morning's appointment is that they took 3D ultrasounds of the little guy. I'm not sure if we'll have any more ultrasounds from here on out, but we can almost see what he looks like with these, so I guess that's pretty good!

Oh my - isn't he so cute!? If I do say so myself... Now that is not a hole in the top of his head, that's just how the image is translated since those bones won't be fuzed for many months. I think his whole face is precious and can't wait to kiss it. Brad thinks the little guy has his nose and my mouth (we get into guessing what he's going to look like). What do you think? Leave a comment to vote on who he looks like more at 20 weeks past gestation!

Baby Pete was unusually shy this morning. He's usually a big ham for us, but today, he was hiding a lot, so although we have more pictures than this, these are the best. Speaking of shy, look at him covering his face! We had just viewed his boy parts... What do you think of those cute hands!? And yes, that's the umbilical cord hanging out in front of him.

Another exciting development - Brad can feel Baby Pete! He's moving all the time now, and sometimes, I think he's knocking on me to get out of there. I don't blame him; he did look rather squished today. I told him he better stay in and get healthy - let's see if he starts out a listener.

Brad and I will attempt to choose baby things this weekend. We love all the little themes, so it's hard to choose! I hope Baby Pete will like it (like he'll notice).

We're just so thankful he's healthy and developing well. We pray all the time for how God will use him greatly. I pray he knows Jesus at a young age and shares Him with all he knows. That's a tall order, mister!

One side note on today's appointment: I refused my flu shot. I just don't like the idea of putting trace amounts of mercury or aluminum or whatever other junk is in there in my body while Baby Pete is developing. My doctor obviously let me make this decision (he is legally bound to of course), but he highly discouraged it and suggested I get the H1N1 vaccine as well (which I will also politely decline). I do know that if a pregnant woman contracts the flu, her system is not always able to handle it well. Please pray for strong immunity, health, and special protection during this time - especially since I will be pregnant most of the winter.

Make the nosebleeds stop!

TMI alert - Pregnancy Symptoms follow!

It's common knowledge that pregnant women have extra fluid hanging around (everywhere, by the way). But this extra fluid isn't just about bloatation. Almost since the beginning of my pregnancy, I've had a lot of sinus congestion. This is normal, and it's no big deal. Some extra tissues and hocking in the morning do the trick. But last night, I woke up around 2:30, in a light sleep, and all of a sudden felt liquid in the back of my throat. This has happened to me before - a nosebleed in the middle of the night. In fact, I get nosebleeds every few months or so - I'll have a few in a row, and then they'll go away. So, I got up, pinched, tilted, and tissued, and laid back down hoping the blood would stop so that I could get some more sleep. (I had a tissue in my sleeping hand just in case.)

Fast forward five and a half hours to me waking up at 8am - TOO LATE! I should be working by now! Ugh. I force myself to get up and get ready for a late start. I'm brushing my teeth when the blood starts trickling down my lips and teeth. Not now! I'm running late and have a mouthful of toothpaste. I grab a tissue and try to spit out the toothpaste in my mouth, which gave new meaning to "pink in the sink".

This was not the usual nosebleed. This is the worst nosebleed I think I have ever had. I went through tissue after tissue, pinching here, pinching there, praying, "Please Lord, make it stop!" The tissues were soaked in almost seconds. I managed to, not looking down, get the trash can on the counter - this allowed me to completely fill it up with tissues. I was shoving them down to fit even more. Minutes are passing, and of course, the blood is also going down my throat, so I'm now holding my nose for dear life, spitting in the sink, and trying to wash it all down the drain - without looking down! Any movement would make the gushing start.

About 20 minutes in, I think I might have a coagulation that could hold still for a while. So I, looking up the whole time, mind you, get ready for my shower. The shower was pretty quick, as I just wanted to get out of there before the bleeding started and I was forced to get blood all over my towels. I got out, and things were looking good. I said, "things", not me. I looked awful. One of my nostrils just had this huge bloody cork in it - siiiiiiiick! Well, just to end this long TMI tale, I had to leave that cork in until about 10:30. At 10, I had a phone conference, so you can imagine me just praying that the geyser would not return.

Of course, in the pregnancy realm, all of this is "normal" and "safe" - unless you start feeling faint. Right now, I have almost 50% more blood than I usually do, and I guess today it needed a place to go. I just pray I get a bloodynose-free day tomorrow!

Hey now, if you've read this whole post - I warned you that TMI followed.

Let's play 'What's between the legs?'

This week's checkup went great. Praise the Lord!! It was a pretty quick, routine visit. The usual blood, urine, weight, blood pressure were taken, and Nurse Judy took an ultrasound to get the baby's heartbeat. As soon as she put the control on my tummy, this is what we saw:

How sweet is that little foot? Just for fun, she measured the foot - 2.23 cm!! Wow, Lord, can your creation be any more amazing? I'm blown away, truly. In our household, "pigs" are special, and we were so happy to see our little one's cute piggie wiggies. They kind of look big, huh? See the thigh at the bottom of the picture, well, then baby Pete proceeded to cross his legs, just like he was having some coffee and reading the paper! Ha! It tickled me. Nurse Judy is not an ultrasound technician, but she said she's never seen that. Heehee. He's so cute. I can't believe how long his legs have grown since 3 weeks ago - and certainly since the precious gummy bear picture from the first visit. The kid likes showing off his feet, huh? Remember how tiny they were then?

The top picture, below shows the heartbeat. Can you see the arm and hand? The baby's hands were up to his face the whole time. This one looks like he's had a rough day. Haha! The bottom picture kind of shows his long legs. Doesn't it look like the face was pointing towards us?

And here's a sweet shot of his beautiful profile. His head is to his chest, very fetal position. Hey, it's comfortable to me, too!

And, as usual, last but not least - what do you think is between the legs?

Our next doctor's appointment is September 14. We will get to see baby Pete's organs and do a "gender check". =)

Brad leaves for India tomorrow morning. I will miss him terribly! Especially as the little guy moves around every day (did you know they sleep on a 40 minute sleep cycle?). He'll be back September 6, and until then, I am pleased to share him with the precious Indian people God has called him to. I cannot wait to go there myself and meet Monica, the little girl we sponsor. Please pray for the team's boldness, effectiveness, health, safety, and unity. Here's the blog they'll be posting on: http://partofindia2009.blogspot.com/

Where did this belly come from?!

All of a sudden I have this belly! This pic was taken at 15 weeks. I'm almost 17 weeks now, and the belly doesn't look much different. When I look down, my belly doesn't look very large, but boy oh boy does it look different from the side!

I'm at that in-between stage of my pregnancy where I can't really wear any of my clothes. A couple of friends (you rock!) have given me some maternity clothes. They're a little too loose right now. So, I've been using the bella band a lot. It's this spandexy thing that looks like a tube top, but you put it over your pants so you don't have to button them. Oh, is it a relief to have! I had friends who were like, "I was able to wear my favorite jeans the whole time I was pregnant with it!" Uhh..... did their hips not expand like mine are? I'm having trouble just getting a lot of my pants ON, let alone having to pull them on and off for the bathroom all day.

Thankfully, I have not been sick this trimester. (I did gag the other day which turned into throwing up, but other than that). Bruce and Nancy are coming to help paint my hallway and pantry - which have smells from the former owners of our house - (THANK YOU Bruce and Nancy!) while Brad is in India. I and the little guy will miss him terribly!

We go to the doctor tomorrow for another checkup. And I suppose we'll see if this little guy still looks like a little....guy. I have gotten very used to the idea of having a boy and hope it isn't taken back! I went to Hobby Lobby to get some scrapbooking stickers the other day and just gravitated towards the little baby boy stickers! I have a little man on the way!!! (i think ;-)

For over a week now, I've been feeling the baby move. It's crazy!! It feels like spasms, and they're mostly on my left, so maybe that's where the baby likes to hang out. I hear in the next few weeks he's going to start growing even more quickly. WOW! I can feel him on and off all day and can't wait for Brad to be able to feel him, too.

Baby Pete at 14 weeks

Our doctor's appt Monday went great. We kept hearing "terrific" over and over again when they looked at the data. Every parent gives a big "Praise God" when hearing such a thing.

I'm feeling a lot better, now dealing with tiredness (still), smells (but better), and indigestion. I've gained a few pounds but still don't really look pregnant - soon enough, I'm sure! Strangely, none of my pants will close, so Brad gets to see me in the "gym outfit of the day" each evening. Haha! Here's a pic in Fort Lauderdale - you can see my tummy poking out a little.

Oh, and yes, our vacation was fantastico!! We had a wonderful, relaxing time.

And now, without further adieu - pics of Baby Pete! I got a 13 minute DVD too, which is so cool. I can't seem to get it in digital form, though, b/c it's a big file! I would love to play it for you anytime though. Some things we saw in the video: the heartbeat (and heard it!), the brain, the spine, little arms moving (we even thought the little one was about to suck its thumb), legs (the baby was sitting cross-legged the whole time), the mouth opening and closing, and the nose. It was truly joyous.

Here's a picture of baby Pete's profile. The little ribcage and hand just make me smile! Can you see its brain? How about the nose? See how it looks upturned? Now, that is mommy's nose. ;-)

Here's where the practitioner is taking the baby's heartbeat. Very strong, she said. If you look closely, you can see a little black mark in its chest - that's the heart!

Here's another profile shot - the mouth is open! Apparently, baby's practice sucking in the womb, and we kept seeing the mouth open and close - it was so precious. At one point, the baby lifted its hand like it was about to suck its thumb. OK, I want this job! You can also see a leg - the baby was sitting cross-legged the whole time.

Now, here's my favorite picture - the baby looks like a little turtle with a darth vadar helmet! And, if you watch the video, the baby reminds you of a turtle, too. It's so neat that you can see both hemispheres of the brain, huh?

Drumroll..... we have a good idea of the gender!! We're not supposed to know for sure for another two months, but the practitioner saw a "structure" (haha!) between the legs! These two pictures are from the bottom of the baby looking toward "his" head. Notice, the baby is sitting cross legged. Now, it looks to me like the structure could be a little foot (OK, daddy, a BIG foot), but when you watch the video, you see three somethings! Don't start buying blue yet!! We'll let you know for sure. But I did change the blog background in honor of this news. Either way, we're so thrilled! And we're thankful you're on this journey with us.

Anniversary tomorrow!

Already almost to week 12 - after which the first trimester ends. Crazy!! I am definitely more hungry this week. My nose is still super picky. Unfortunately, I can't seem to ingest more than 300 calories at one time without being miserable afterwards. So basically, I have to eat small things all day.

Tomorrow is mine and Brad's 6th wedding anniversary! We each have some things to do in the morning, but in the evening, we're going to the Melting Pot for dinner and then Harry Potter! I told Brad he's going to have to eat most of the food. Haha.

We're better friends than I ever imagined. I'm so lucky!

A Miracle!

WOW! I'm so overwhelmed by God's goodness to us. After two years of trying to get pregnant, it finally happened! Thursday, we went to the doctor and met Baby Peterson for the first time (see first photo above). The doc said everything looked great, and the little "gummy bear" was positioned where we could see it very well. While we were amazed at its little heartbeat, it all of a sudden started wiggling and kicked its little foot!! My heart leapt, and I could help but laugh and cry at the same time. It was the most amazing thing I've seen in my whole life, and I can't wait for more. Can you see its little hand balled up by its head? How about the little foot (with toes!) on the upper right? Methinks those are daddy's toes. We're so thrilled!