P R E G N A N T !

It has been a few months since I have posted to this blog, and a lot has changed. I am hoping to start posting regularly again, as long as I have something worth saying. :-)

One huge blessing is that about a month and a half ago, God helped Hubby find a good deal on a car for us. It is wonderful to be able to go longer distances than we could on our bikes. Today I was able to drive about 45 minutes to meet a dear friend at a coffee shop in a town about halfway between our houses. Hubby and I have also been able to make a few trips to visit immediate and extended family members. And, of course, it surely is convenient (and way more pleasant) to just load groceries into the car, rather than stuffing them in backpacks and carrying them home on our bikes. Hubby has also been able to use the car to haul equipment for his computer and audio business, and we have been able to give lots of rides to people who don’t have cars. Thank You, Lord.

Hubby whisked me away for a weekend getaway to Cannon Beach (where we got engaged) to celebrate our first anniversary (January 22). We stayed at a bed and breakfast. Our room had a gas fireplace, and the hosts brought us breakfast in a basket to our door, so that was very luxurious.

But the biggest blessing of all is that we found out that we are expecting a baby in late August or early September. The official due date is August 27, but I’m telling myself early September, so I won’t get too disappointed if August 27 comes and goes and the baby is still inside me! I’ve heard that your first baby usually comes later than its due date, but the timing is in the Lord’s hands.

I am planning to give birth in, and have all my prenatal care done at, a local free-standing birth center (that means it is not part of a hospital). I will have three midwives at the birth and at most of my prenatal appointments. I am looking forward to having the same ladies care for me and my baby all throughout my pregnancy, during birth, and for a couple of months after birth. We do not have insurance, so we are just paying for the birth center out-of-pocket, but the cost is very reasonable compared to a hospital, and I didn’t want a hospital birth anyway. I want this pregnancy and birth to be as natural as possible—no drugs, no episiotomy, no artificial methods of labor induction, etc.—because I believe that a natural pregnancy and labor are best for both mama and baby. I also want to be able to labor in whatever positions are most comfortable, and the birth center encourages this. One other nice thing about the birth center is that the birthing suites have large tubs for laboring in or even giving birth in.

I had my first prenatal appointment at the birth center just a few days ago, and we got to hear the baby’s heartbeat, which made everything seem so much more “real.” I am so looking forward to meeting this little person and getting to know him or her and trying to raise him or her in the ways of the Lord! So far, we are planning to wait until the birth to find out if Baby is a boy or a girl.

I am noticing changes in my body. As I was trying on clothes this afternoon, trying to come up with something nice to wear to a friend’s baby shower, I realized that almost all of my skirts are officially now too tight to breathe comfortably in or sit down in. I have accumulated a few maternity dresses that I am looking forward to wearing, because they look so comfortable, but they are all still a little too big in the belly. I’m kind of at an awkward in-between state right now…. I think I’m going to have to hit a few secondhand shops to search out some transition pieces for the next couple of months.

I am pretty tired a lot of the time, especially in the evenings. I have read that a pregnant lady’s energy level is supposed to pick back up in the second trimester, so we’ll see if that is the case for me. I hope so. :-) I am also mildly queasy off-and-on, so I’m looking forward to the queasies tapering off.

The plan is for me to continue working (as a nanny) through May, and then I will forever be a stay-at-home wife and mommy, which I am so looking forward to!