Week 22

Matthew took these pictures this morning before we went out to start looking at cribs. Our venture was not successful at all as we were not able to find any of the brands we hoped to look at. I think we're going to have to drive up to Denver to see what we want to see. Maybe we'll be able to do that next weekend.

This past week I had heart burn almost all week long from eating some spaghetti with tomato sauce and some onions. Those did not agree with me at all. I have also been having some lower back pain that I haven't been able to get rid of. Other than that, I am still feeling well and have been sleeping well.

I ordered some bedding yesterday for the nursery. This is the only thing we have done so far. I am anxious to get it to see if I like it as much in person as I did when I saw it online.

Such a good boy!

As usual, Max has been such a good boy lately.

• We take him to a park close to home occasionally to fetch the tennis ball. It doesn't matter how many other dogs are around or if they're trying to fetch the ball as well, Max is focused on getting that ball and bringing it back to us. He has incredible focus.
• Last weekend Matthew gave Max a bath. I tried this twice when Max was a puppy - once in the bathtub and once in the shower. Neither attempt was successful. He has been rinsed off with the hose several times, but we don't bathe him often as his skin gets so dry. That and he doesn't smell so there's no need to bathe him. Anyway, we went for a walk on Saturday and he got quite muddy. So Matthew decided to give him a bath. Matthew stood in the tub and tried to coax Max into the water. Max looked like he wanted to get in but wasn't sure how to do it or what he thought about it. Finally, Matthew put Max in the tub. He quickly sat down. Then he turned around a couple of times and laid down in the water. He seemed happy as could be.
• Saturday night our small group met at our house. We had 10 folks sitting for a couple of hours discussing our Bible study and praying. Max was mostly content to lay in silence during the meeting. At one point, I was crying while talking. I didn't notice this, but Matthew told me that Max got up from where he was and came over to me. He's quite perceptive.

I feel like I haven't posted about Max in quite a while which just feels wrong because he is such a big part of our family.

Week 21

I tried to wear a shirt that would show my belly a bit better, but I'm not sure I succeeded. Somehow the black shirt works almost like camouflage. How is that even possible?

A few things I am enjoying...my body pillow (I'll have to post a picture of it later - it's HUGE), feeling well, having fewer headaches, scrapbooking/journaling my pregnancy, secret belly pants from Motherhood Maternity, and maternity camis from Target (I can't remember the brand at the moment).

Several people have told me I don't look pregnant yet. I beg to differ, but I guess I see myself differently than everyone else. It's funny how I wanted to look skinny before I was pregnant, and now that I'm expecting I would like to look pregnant. Silly girl! I'm sure I will feel differently in a couple of months so I should just enjoy this stage.

Drumroll...

We had our ultrasound yesterday. It was amazing to see our baby's body - the face (although not a very good picture because the baby wasn't cooperative), all four chambers of the heart, the brain, the spine, the stomach, the lungs, the arms, the legs, the hands, and the feet. The baby was very active and Matthew was surprised that I could not feel all that movement going on inside me. At one point during the ultrasound, the baby was chewing. At another time, the hand was up over the baby's head. The baby weighed 14 ounces. The heart beat was at 138 beats per minute.

This was an incredible experience. Pregnancy really is such a miracle.

And now for the announcement. Max wanted to be the one to share the news. Isn't he sweet?

Dreaming

Like I have mentioned a couple of times already, I hope to find out the sex of the baby in just a couple of days. In the past week I have had two dreams about this.

#1 I dreamt that to find out the sex of the baby, I had to complete a series of picture and word puzzles. Somehow the results of these puzzles told whether the baby was a boy or a girl.

#2 I dreamt that Matthew and I were at the doctor’s office and suddenly realized we should be at another office for the ultrasound. We were now late for our appointment. I was afraid this meant we had lost our one chance to find out the baby’s sex. We decided to stick around to see if we could be fit in sometime during the day. All of a sudden, I was at home with really red and swollen legs and feet while Matthew was still at the ultrasound office. I called him to say that I was on my way. Either the dream ended or I woke up before I got to find out anything.

I am really excited about finding out if we have a son or a daughter and am equally excited about either.

20 week pictures

Here are pictures taken of me yesterday. I have been told (and have also noticed myself) that I do not choose very appropriate clothing for these photos. You can't really tell what my baby bump looks like with this shirt on. I will try to be more cognisant of this going forward so I will have better documentation of the growth.

Wednesday is the appointment where we hope to find out if the baby is a boy or a girl. I think a lot of fun will start then. We can really concentrate on how we want the nursery to look, names, etc. I am looking forward to it!

I have been reading several books about pregnancy. Do you have any suggestions of books you read to get ready for the baby...about nursing, taking care of the baby, what to expect, etc? Also, at what point during your pregnancy did you take child birth classes? Did you take any other classes to get ready?

Trip to Seattle

Matthew and I spent a week with our dear friends in Seattle over New Year's. We enjoyed a great time of fellowship, relaxation, and a lot of game playing (Hear Me Out, The Settlers of Catan, Train to Ride, Apples to Apples, and Carbles to name several). We also spent a day riding a ferry to Whidbey Island where we saw this light house and enjoyed some fresh seafood. It was really nice to spend time with our friends. We were happy to get home to Max though. He spent the week with our neighbors where I am sure he was spoiled. Matthew had an interview while we were in Seattle. We hope things will start to move forward in the job search now that the holidays are behind us.