Lynda's Email, 20 Weeks Along, John's Schooling

Lynda's Email

Lynda emailed both John and me this morning. It was so cute. She gave us some baby name ideas and told us she made an impulse buy on an Ergobaby baby carrier for the baby. She said she couldn't help herself cause she is so excited about the baby. We love that she and other people are excited for his arrival. The anticipation has been and is great, given that the pregnancy is 9 long months! That's almost a whole year! Hopefully the baby will know, throughout his life, just how anxious we and his entire family were to meet him! FYI to everyone: John and I HAVE decided on a name for the baby. It's official and we definitely aren't going to change it. But we don't want to let the cat out of the bag just yet! We will definitely let everyone know his name after the baby is born. John and I call him by his actual name now, so if I ever accidentally refer to him using his name in these posts, please keep it a secret! 11/27/17

20 Weeks Along

We are HALF WAY THROUGH THE PREGNANCY! I can't believe it!!! It's down hill from here on out! Of course I use "down hill" loosely. I'm only guessing that the 3rd trimester won't be as bad as my first trimester... I mentioned to John last night as I got out of bed to get a drink, that it's getting harder to sit up to get out of bed. He said "Wow, and you're only going to get bigger, so it's only going to get harder." True. I mostly have just gotten thicker in my midsection. And my ribs expand so that I look wider, while facing the mirror. It's like- my torso is so short, that the baby and my uterus have to go somewhere, so my torso expands, width-wise. I hope our kids get John's height genes. Monday I was feeling frustrated that I couldn't tell if these somewhat sharp pains in my lower abdomen were cramps or baby moving. Mom was trying to explain to me what baby movements feel like. Then yesterday morning and this morning, I felt what were definitely baby movements. It makes me so happy to feel those! I usually feel him move when I'm lying down in bed to go to sleep, or in the morning when I'm lying in bed right after I wake up. I read that babies usually move when mom is lying down; when mom is up, walking around, the movement rocks the baby to sleep. That's pretty cute. I wonder how many hours a day the baby is sleeping now? I wonder if he moves a lot while I'm sleeping and so I don't notice it cause I'm not conscious... I'm still a little nauseated. It's okay though. I don't expect this nausea to go away completely until this baby is actually born. I've been able to go a few days at a time without taking anti-nausea medication, which has been good for my digestion... Baby is the size of a mango! He is about 6 inches long and just over 10 ounces in weight. He is half- way ready to meet me, being halfway through my pregnancy! The genitals are visible but the testicles have not descended from the abdomen yet; they're just waiting for the scrotum to finish construction so that they will have a "home" to move into in just a few weeks. Our baby is "plumping up" as new fat is getting deposited under the skin. Most of it is called "brown fat" and his designed to keep him warm until his internal temperature regulating mechanism kicks in after birth. The "white fat" doesn't form for another few more weeks. "White fat" comes in larger quantity and is responsible for the baby's pinch-able cheeks after birth. Baby will stay slender and somewhat wrinkled for now. 11/29/17

John's Schooling

Since John tested out of his Stats class (yay!) he now is thinking about the process of testing out of the next class- it's a human development class, or something. If it has anything to do with Psychology, he probably will successfully test out! John is so smart. I'm excited for him to start NP school so that he can focus on what he truly loves- Psychology. And I think he'll really enjoy working as a mental health NP 11/29/17