camping pictures

Photos from our camping trip last weekend are posted on our photo album (see link at left). Here is a sample:

Week 20

I have reached the halfway point! According to Baby Center's Pregnancy Calendar, I am on day 141 with 139 days left to go! It seems hard to believe and each week seems to be passing faster. I am wishing I had done even more to document these past few weeks, as I really want to soak up every little detail! And now, to answer some of the questions that have been popular in Month 5.

How do you feel?
I am really feeling great at this point. I have a lot more energy & a desire to really start working on baby's room, and especially to shop! The only real "symptoms" I can say I have would be: acid reflux at night if I drink anything before bed; some persistent lower back pain; and occasional cramps in my side. The belly is definately starting to get in the way & it's harder to get comfortable at night. Still, I love month five and feel more beautiful than ever!

Do you have a name picked out?
Now that we know the gender, the next most popular question is always, "what are you going to name her?" We have firmly decided to keep this a surprise until her birth, much to the dismay of many. It's a decision we're not changing. We need something to be a surprise & we don't want any criticism of the name we've picked out. However, when people ask me, my new answer is going to be "we haven't decided yet."

What is your favorite thing about being pregnant?
I really enjoy maternity clothes so far. They are comfortable, and cute too. Plus I get a lot of compliments these days. I like it when people offer to help me carry heavy things. I love the idea that I get to be this close to my little girl for 9 whole months and she will share a part of me!

Any cravings?
Not really, anymore. I pretty much eat anything & everything. And a lot of it! The only thing that's really turned me off is Mexican food or anything with beans. That just doesn't sound good.

Have you felt her move?
I think so, but still nothing definite. I first noticed some flutterings last week, Monday the 14th. But then I felt nothing for a few days, then I started feeling it again. Brett is anxious to feel something on the outside, but there's nothing yet!

What have you bought so far?
Really, not much of anything. I bought a couple cheap outfits. (Then of course we got the big gift box in the mail. I won't be buying many more clothes, except some things for her to sleep in!) I've bought diapers & wipes. That's really all. I'm getting a car seat from the Life Care Pregnancy Center, and Mom's going to help me get a stroller next weekend. I'm anxious to get started on the nursery, but we still have to get rid of some of our current furniture!

What else is going on besides the baby?
I'm still working every day. Brett got a job at a new bank (State Employees Credit Union) that he likes a ton better than the other bank. He seems to be in really good spirits every day when he gets home. (Plus they have great benefits that are FREE for all of us, even when baby arrives!) Oh, and he's warming up well to the idea of a little girl. We're staying active in the church, and even hosted some teenage boys for a Disciple Now weekend last weekend. This coming weekend, we're going camping with friends. Life is still going on even as we prepare for a new life.

a blast from the past

I was thinking about how our little one might look. I couldn't resist.

Week 18

I woke up last Wednesday, the first day of the 5th month of my pregnancy, and it seemed as if my belly had popped out overnight! She's really starting to grow now. That was the first day complete strangers started noticing and asking me when I was due. I guess I've started to walk like a pregnant lady too. :)

Saturday afternoon I got home and a suprise package was waiting on our doorstep. It was from Brett's sister Karen in Texas. We opened it to find 3 HUGE boxes of baby clothes. Karen has two boys and said in her letter that she never got to fulfill her fashion fetish and was so excited we were having a girl so she could do that! Altogheter there were 25 brand new outfits in these boxes, ranging in size from newborn all the way up to 24 months. Our daughter is going to look good! We had a lot of fun at our first "mini baby shower."

I still don't think I've really felt the baby move yet. Sometimes I think it might be her moving around in there, but I'm still not sure. I just want to feel one single kick where I'm certain that's her moving. I read sometimes it doesn't happen till about Week 20 so I still have some time, but I'm anxious to have that milestone of pregnancy.













17 weeks (4 months)












The day I hit 5 months (18 weeks)

Brett is shocked at the amount of clothes we got!

"Good thing I bought extra hangers!"















Is Brett starting to like pink after all? Or just a proud dad?

To My Little Girl,

I want you to know I've been praying for you even now that you will grow to be a mature young woman-- one who makes wise decisions, who chooses to follow Christ and honor Him in all she does. I'm praying you will accept Him at a young age and then become a passionate believer who is not afraid to share her faith. I'm praying that you will exude beauty both inside and out. I pray that you will trust your father and me enough to come to us with your worries and your concerns, that you will be able to see as someone in whom you can confide.

I pray that you choose your friends wisely, that they help build you up, not bring you down. I'm praying for purity in your relationships, especially those with the opposite sex. I'm praying for your future husband and that he will save himself just for you until you marry. I'm praying even now that you will come to see what it means to be a Proverbs 31 woman and that your future husband will be a man who respects that and can lead you spiritually.

I know there will be times when we will disagree. There will be times when you wish that you could be someone else, live somewhere else. But your father and I promise now to be the best parents we can be. We promise to cherish you and show you all the love we have to offer. We can't wait to meet you.

Gift registry

We found some bedding that we like at Babies' R Us when we went to register this weekend. (I know it's a little early, but hey, we had fun, and we know we're having a girl!) Tell me what you think! The crib is also the one we like. It is not a convertible crib, so it won't last but maybe a year and a half, but our goal is to have more kids after this! Our room won't be nearly as pink as the one in the picture-- we're hoping to paint it either tan or light olive green. I also put in a picture of the "travel system" (i.e., stroller/ car seat/ carrier) that we really like, that is gender neutral. There is also a portable crib with the same pattern.

My Baby's Development: Week 17

By week 17, your baby weighs about 4.97 ounces (140gm) and is 5.12 inches (13cm) long.
He or she has a much more normal "human" appearance now. She holds her head more erect and her body and limbs are longer in proportion to her head. Pads are forming on his tiny fingertips and toes. Soon those individual swirls and whorls will be apparent. Her eyes are looking forward now, but they are still firmly closed.

Meconium (composed of products of cell loss, digestive secretion and swallowed amniotic fluid), is accumulating in the bowel. This black gooey substance will become your baby's first poop!
The umbilical cord is growing thicker and stronger and continues to rush blood and nutrients to your growing baby. Her skeleton is tranforming from cartilage to bone. The bones remain flexible to make the journey through the birth canal easier.

It's a...

We had our big 17 week ultrasound yesterday. As I mentioned before, I was more excited about finding out the baby's sex than I was about finding out the health & well-being. Turns out, she is healthy and developing as normally as a baby should! The tech took about 20 minutes measuring all the body parts, looking at the top of her head, her spine, her ribs. He didn't talk a lot while he was doing this, but did point out what we were looking at every once in awhile.

Finally he decided to try and show us her sex. She wouldn't cooperate at first. She was sitting on her bottom, at the bottom of the screen. So he pushed down on my stomach & shook her around, then had me move my hips all around so she would move. She finally moved just long enough for him to get a picture, looking between her legs from the bottom up. In case you hadn't figured it out yet-- it's a girl.

I had to take his word for it, though, because I had no idea what I was looking at. Once he explained it, I could see what he was talking about, and there was a good deal of certainty behind his explanation.We also heard her heartbeat, and did all the other typical stuff we do at dr.'s visits. Everything is developing great.

I think Brett is going to take a while to warm up to the idea of having girl, since he did want to have a boy. We are comforted by the fact that this won't be the only chance we have! I know he's still excited, especially since she is going to be healthy, but really-- what guy can claim pink as a favorite color?

So now it's time to begin the shopping! I already began our registry at both Baby's 'R Us and Walmart. I will have to go back later to add more things with Brett, but I had a blast looking at pink clothes! Of course, we will have to restrain ourselves, because there are way too many cute things for little girls!