The size of an avocado

Here we are into week 16, or 4 months into the pregnancy.

Other than it being a nice even number, it is also the week of Thanksgiving, which got me thinking...

This will be the last Thanksgiving that I spend without my little bundle of joy. It will simultaneously be mine & Jay's last Thanksgiving together as a "childless married couple". Of course time doesn't stop for anyone, and even if you are not pregnant or have any children you would continue to see changes. It just seems that children are more visual markers of time elapsing, referring back to when so and so was such and such age, that type of thing.

It is going to be so cool to experience all those special events and holidays with a little person that is part Jay and part me. I'm sure that everyone that has ever been pregnant or had a child that is reading this, probably finds it comical that I am just now realizing these things- but then maybe it will help everyone to remember and be appreciative?!

It is my week to round at the hospital and I had to bite my tongue when I saw the radiology tech this morning. I mean, I don't want to be greedy because it was just a week ago that I had the ultrasound done at the office-but I know how much the baby changes week to week and I almost asked her to scan me. She didn't even know I was pregnant. Precious baby- I can't wait to meet you!

We are going to Camden/Holly Springs for the latter part of this week to celebrate Thanksgiving with everyone- it will be our first trip back since we found out we were pregnant. We were there right before Labor Day weekend, Jim's birthday- which was only days before we found out we were going to be parents! Much has changed and happened since then- all for good.

I am continuing to feel well. I don't think I mentioned my mouth surgery in any of the posts- but I had surgery on my mouth on the 14th of November and I am doing well from that now- still on soft foods for a month. I ended up losing a pound last week and when I weighed this morning I was still down a pound. I am sure the numbers will start climbing before long though...

Jay was peeking over my shoulder when I was getting on the scales- this is no big deal because we tell each other what we weigh all the time- it was just funny that he was trying to be sneaky about it. When baby Gillespie & I stepped off the scales then Jay took his turn...he claims he has gained all the weight in this pregnancy- what a trooper!

I have to say that though I know that we don't really know what we are in for with this new parenthood thing- I really do feel at ease about things. We have a great group of family and friends around us- providing support- and I am so THANKFUL for each and every one of you reading this (and even those who don't have computers hooked up to the internet...)

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone- and hold on tight, Christmas is up next!

A little miracle

This is week 15 in the life and development of Baby G. I am still not showing- I have some adipose tissue (fat) that was there before I got pregnant but no "baby bump" yet. I can tell something is going on in there based on the firmness of my lower abdomen when I push on it though. Occasionally I get Jay to push on it (because asking anyone else would just be weird) and he says "Don't poke on the baby!" I think he is worried about hurting the baby. Anyway- since I am not showing yet I thought how cool it would be to "see" the baby and the wheels in my head began turning...

I work in a building where numerous necks and hearts are scanned on any given day. Well, the machines they use to scan hearts and necks are the same machines they use to scan growing babies so I got to wondering if they might not mind to let me see Baby G.

It was about 4:30 pm on Tuesday and decided to run downstairs (not literally running-seriously there wasn't a bear after me or anything like that) and check. A very sweet radiology tech (I know she is married to Joey but I don't know her name and her badge was turned backwards) & I ran into each other in the hallway and so I asked her if she would mind to let me see my baby. The biggest grin came over her face and she said "Of course- come on in!" I told her that I was 15 weeks along and clarified that I was not looking to know gender or if anything was abnormal- I just wanted to see Baby G.

As I got on the table and adjusted my clothing, I could see the screen out of the corner of my eye. Then as she moved the wand around- there was our precious little miracle (which this week is 4 inches long and the size of a small apple)! She got a couple good views but the most precious moment was a picture that she captured of Baby G's right hand. Baby G was just a wiggling and that right hand kept pushing out as if to say "stop squishing me". You could see the perfect little hand- the palm, four fingers and a thumb. I got tickled because I couldn't help but think it looked like a "High-five". It just made the pregnancy feel even more real- it is amazing- really! I don't understand how anyone could kill a baby through abortion after seeing that. A perfect little human being growing and changing daily. Thank you God for letting me be a part of this!

I have to wonder if God looks at our spiritual lives like a growing baby. Unable to sustain life or attain everlasting life without Him. All I know is if I feel so blessed now I can't even imagine how I will feel when Baby G is born. I guess I will have a better understanding of my parents' love for me for one thing!

The best thing about being pregnant so far for me is how much it has made me think less of myself and more about this precious bundle growing inside me. It feels like your love just grows overall and you want to protect and nurture. I can't wait to meet Baby G and introduce he/she to a world with all of you to help Jay & I love he/she.

Third appt with doctor!

(To the right is my new precious niece- read more later)

Well- we went for our third appointment today. Dr. Fuller was out hunting so we saw their nurse practioner- Sheila. She was a very nice woman that took her time and was very kind & thorough. You would never guess that she's been doing this for 18years based on her enthusiasm. That just speaks volumes of how much she enjoys what she does, because you know they must have to answer the same questions dozens of times a day!

Sheila checked Baby G's heartbeat with a doppler. She found it pretty easily but then Baby G was being a bit of a rascal and trying to hide. Sheila was able to find it again and counted beats for a total of about 150 beats per minute (bpm). She said that was perfect! They look for a range of 120-160 bpm throughout the pregnancy (at least from this point on). It is so amazing to be able to hear the heartbeat. I am not one to cry over very much but I think that if I thought about it a whole bunch I probably could cry at the miracle of a little person growing in me! It is after all the closest thing to having a part to play in a miracle that humans are granted!

Next visit will be in December and we will have our second ultrasound. That is where we will be given the option to find out the gender of Baby G. I still don't want to know but I have to say that my "not wanting to know" has been a much bigger deal with everyone (excluding Jay) than I thought it would be. I always imagined it to be a very personal thing but that has not been my experience at all. In fact it has rather taken the fun out of it for me to this point. I have a handful of friends that see my perspective- Amy, Peggy, George, my brother Paul and his wife Chennelle (who just became parents...but more on that in a bit)- but overall people almost think it is their right to know what gender my baby will be- that is weird.

One more thing on Baby G- he/she is the size of a lemon this week, that is pretty big compared to a few weeks ago, and he/she will only get bigger from here on out. For those who don't see me very often, I am not yet showing. I can tell that my shape is changing because my pants are getting more and more snug. I have only gained 2lbs so far though. Ya'll pray that I only gain what the baby needs because that is a big concern for me.

Ok- Paul & Chennelle (my brother and sister-in-law) had a precious baby girl- Letisha-Jaelle last Tuesday. They are all doing well. My heart is just breaking that I won't get to meet her till she is several months old- but my thoughts are with her.

Well- I guess that's that. I can't think of any changes for Jay. He is doing well. He is pretty proud of me because we have now purchased a crib and a high chair for under one hundred dollars (combined value). Kelly, a very dear friend that works at Acxiom, sends me links from their intranet of stuff she thinks I might like- so far it has saved us an enormous amount of money.

Hopefully we'll get some feedback this month- I'm just wondering if anyone is reading this???

Last week in the 1st Trimester!

Well, you may have heard of "Babycenter.com" but if you haven't, it is a great website that gives you week by week development of the baby. I subscribed to it pretty early on and love checking it out every week to see what Baby G is doing. I'm attaching- or copying and pasting- what Babycenter.com had to say about our little one's development this week...

"Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce. As you start your second trimester, most of your baby's critical development will be completed and your odds of miscarriage drop considerably."

Isn't that cool? I highly recommend that anyone that is a visual person to go to their website and checkout the pictures they have. One of the coolest features I have enjoyed is how they compare the size of the baby, week by week, to objects that I can visualize. I have the say that the blueberry was the cutest one to date- Jay & I spent that whole week referring to "our little blueberry". This week as noted above, Baby G is the size of a medium shrimp! I think next week's object comparison will be a lemon- Baby G sure is growing fast!

I still don't have to wear maternity clothes, cause I am not really showing yet. I have however opted to wear maternity pants once or twice in the last couple weeks- mainly because I just didn't want to be "as squished" in the stomach region. My regular jeans fit fine while I am standing, but when I sit for a while- let's just say they are not so comfortable!

A while back (maybe 3 weeks) my friend Rachel & I- Ok- PAUSE FOR UPDATE-for those of you who know Rachel, I know you love her too- but for those who don't know her she is a friend of mine from church who found out she was pregnant about 3 weeks before we did. She is 5 weeks ahead of me and today is a special day for her and her husband Dennis- (yeah guys!!)- because they get to find out gender of their little one! Ok- back to what I was saying- Rachel & I went to JC Penney's a few weeks ago and bought a bunch of the same maternity shirts for cheap- like $6.50 a piece! I've worn almost all of them by now because they work for pregnant or not. Their best feature is that they are LONG; so even if I wear my regular jeans or whatever they cover the waistline...very, very nice!

At a risk of making this a little too wordy I want to send a shout out way north to my baby brother Paul and my sister-in-law Chennelle, who are going to make me an auntie for the first time any day now... I can't wait to meet the little one (they did not find out gender). I wish you only good things in the next little bit and send my love and prayers to you both, I mean all three!

My next post will probably be next Tuesday after our next Dr.'s appt. Ya'll don't hold your breath- it will still be too early to find out gender (which I don't want to do anyway)- and there will not be an ultrasound this time either. Next ultrasound will be in December. Ya'll have a great week and stay tuned for the next update in precious baby G's life!