Let this be a lesson that every up has its downs. First, let me make this disclaimer: I am not complaining. I have been so extremely fortunate to have had a very easy pregnancy, but these last couple of days have been not so fun.
1. You got me in trouble at the doctor's office. Apparently your little growth spurt tipped the scale in a way that my ob didn't like. (Correction: my ob's PA; however, I don't necessarily want to propagate negative feelings about PA's since I am one). In my professional opinion, the lecture wasn't necessary, but still...you got me in trouble.
2. Heartburn with a vengeance. I keep reading that pregnancy can give you heartburn, and since I had issues with this prior to pregnancy, I fully expected to single-handedly keep Tums in business...and then weeks and months went by, and NOTHING. Holy moley, last night it reared it's ugly, and I mean ugly, head. I have no idea what brought it on, but let's just say I understand why people go to the ER with heartburn thinking that they have a heart attack.
3. ALLERGIES. Again, I had these before you, Henry, but they have been AWFUL. Add to the problem that I really can't take any medication that actually helps, so I spent the better part of last night tossing and turning in a snoring, congested fit of insomnia.
Ok, gripe session over, commence lesson of the week.
I have heard a lot of women say that the only reason they continue to get pregnant more than once is because the arrival of their new little one somehow wipes away all of the bad memories and experiences of the pregnancy so that you WANT to go through it again. I'm sure things will get worse from here, and maybe I will be one of those women passing this little nugget of advice onto future preggos, but from where I sit at this moment, I think it's helpful to remember the bad (or at least the not-so-good). There's not much in this world worth having that doesn't require sacrifice, and honestly, although bittersweet, the sacrifice makes the reward all the sweeter. [For those that know me, I am a serious movie-quoter and I just got a flash back of the line in A League of Their Own where Tom Hanks tells Gina Davis, "The HARD makes it good."]
So Henry, I want you to know, that while this pregnancy has been easy for me by comparison, it has not been easy. Every day, I make conscious decisions to put you and your needs before me and mine. And I would gladly do it again and again, and will continue to make these sacrifices again and again for the rest of your life.
I am documenting this not so fun week, because someday, hopefully far in the future, you are going to hate me...or intensely dislike me, be embarrassed of me, or silently (or not so silently) catalog all of my faults and flaws. Well, Henry, let this be a plea to add times like this to my "pro" column. Despite all of the mistakes that I absolutely guarantee I will make, and all of the times I will disappoint you, please remember the sacrifices I made for you. Remember that I sacrificed my pride, my vanity, my very body, for you for 40 weeks so that you could enter this world as a nurtured, whole human being. I am praying that the patience and love that I displayed to you in your formative years will remind you to take it easy on me when we are pressing forward through the unpleasant journey that is adolescence. And when you are standing in front of your mirror as a pimply-faced, hormonal teenager, cataloging all of your flaws, please remember that you are worth it. You are worth all of the bad days, the good days, the terrible two's days, the days that you pee, poop, or vomit all over your mom. And, as always, let me take this moment to point you towards your heavenly Father. For as much as I love every single hair on your head, He created them. He loves you infinitely more than I do, and I pray that you know Him early, that you know Him deeply, and that you follow Him always.
Ok, Henry, that's it for now. I am officially locking this letter in a virtual time capsule of sorts that we call a blog.
Love,
Mom
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Dear Henry...
Happy 21 weeks! We are officially over halfway through this pregnancy!
I have to say, kid, you've taken it pretty easy on your mama. I've continued to feel great throughout this pregnancy, and have pretty much continued living my life the way I did before you were formed (sans a few bad habits, like margaritas and diet sodas).
I think you have been going through a little growth spurt. Last time you were measured, you weighed in at 7 ounces at 18 weeks, and according to my books, you should weight about 12 ounces. You have almost doubled in size! I can definitely tell when you are going through a growing phase, because there have been some days lately where I feel like a bottomless pit...literally my hunger is completely insatiable sometimes. Also, I went from wearing my pre-pregnancy clothes pretty comfortably, to not being able to button my jeans comfortably almost overnight.
It's so amazing to me how you are your own unique person already. You are very active and squirmy, and love doing what feels like somersaults in my belly. You don't really have a routine of your own yet, you mostly follow my lead. You get really active after I eat, so I think you have a big appetite like your daddy. We are still going on runs together, although you have been really pressing on my bladder lately. It would be so much more enjoyable if you would quit that :) Your most active time of the day is when I lay down before I go to sleep. I'm really hoping this doesn't become a permanent routine, little one....your daddy and I both really like to sleep.
You, me and Daddy have been watching a lot of basketball games lately, mostly Baylor and Arkansas, prior to the conference championships. I'm reading that you can hear now, and although I doubt you can hear your daddy outside the womb, you do seem to react quite a bit when he is yelling at the tv. I'm not quite sure if you're scared, or just excitable like he is. Either way, get ready, because we watch a lot of sports in this house.
The dogs love you already. They love to lay their heads on my ever-growing belly. I keep hoping that you will kick while they do this, just to see their reaction, but this hasn't happened yet...here's hoping. That would be really funny.
We love you already, Henry, and can't wait to meet you.
I have to say, kid, you've taken it pretty easy on your mama. I've continued to feel great throughout this pregnancy, and have pretty much continued living my life the way I did before you were formed (sans a few bad habits, like margaritas and diet sodas).
I think you have been going through a little growth spurt. Last time you were measured, you weighed in at 7 ounces at 18 weeks, and according to my books, you should weight about 12 ounces. You have almost doubled in size! I can definitely tell when you are going through a growing phase, because there have been some days lately where I feel like a bottomless pit...literally my hunger is completely insatiable sometimes. Also, I went from wearing my pre-pregnancy clothes pretty comfortably, to not being able to button my jeans comfortably almost overnight.
It's so amazing to me how you are your own unique person already. You are very active and squirmy, and love doing what feels like somersaults in my belly. You don't really have a routine of your own yet, you mostly follow my lead. You get really active after I eat, so I think you have a big appetite like your daddy. We are still going on runs together, although you have been really pressing on my bladder lately. It would be so much more enjoyable if you would quit that :) Your most active time of the day is when I lay down before I go to sleep. I'm really hoping this doesn't become a permanent routine, little one....your daddy and I both really like to sleep.
You, me and Daddy have been watching a lot of basketball games lately, mostly Baylor and Arkansas, prior to the conference championships. I'm reading that you can hear now, and although I doubt you can hear your daddy outside the womb, you do seem to react quite a bit when he is yelling at the tv. I'm not quite sure if you're scared, or just excitable like he is. Either way, get ready, because we watch a lot of sports in this house.
The dogs love you already. They love to lay their heads on my ever-growing belly. I keep hoping that you will kick while they do this, just to see their reaction, but this hasn't happened yet...here's hoping. That would be really funny.
We love you already, Henry, and can't wait to meet you.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Drumroll please...
Ok everyone, now that we have had our gender reveal with our family, we can officially announce that we are having a BOY! His name is Henry Robert Johnson, and we are so excited to get to meet him :)
We picked his first name mostly just out of a compromise. We had a hard time coming up with names that we agreed on. JP really likes traditional (he says Southern) names, and I like more unique names. We decided on Henry, because it is definitely traditional, but it's not crazy common. My hope is that everyone knows how to pronounce and spell his name, but that he doesn't have 50 million kids in his class with his same name. Robert came from my Grandad who passed away last fall. I wanted to honor his passing, but also just wanted to honor his life and the person that he was. And seriously, have you ever met a Bob you didn't like?
It was also important to us that the names didn't mean something stupid. Some translations of my name say pearl. What does that even mean? Coincidentally, and absolutely not on purpose (although this is in the plus column for JP) both Henry and Robert are Germanic. Ha. Henry means "ruler of the home" or kingdom (think Henry VIII). Robert means "bright fame." Our prayer for our little guy is that he is a strong man of God that will rule HIS home...not ours.
A few updates on the pregnancy:
I am now in my 20th week of the pregnancy. I am finally starting to show, although only a little. What's been really funny is watching my belly grow and shrink, throughout the day. The only thing I can possibly come up with is that Henry has taken over the lower half of my abdomen, which is quite possibly SHOVING my intestines up higher than they used to be. Seriously, I feel like I gain 1-2 inches by the end of the day, especially if I eat a large meal. Speaking of which, I have had to adjust my eating slightly. Although I know I am not big, and it will only get worse from here, it is seriously UNCOMFORTABLE if I eat too much. Sometimes I literally feel like my stomach will explode. As much as I love food, it is seriously not worth the discomfort. Therefore, I try to eat smaller meals at mealtimes and just supplement with small snacks throughout the day. So far, so good.
One thing that has been super disappointing is the lack of appropriate clothing for preggo ladies. I am not needing maternity clothes really, but some of my clothes from my pre-pregnancy-body days just aren't flattering right now. It's not that they don't fit, but because of the way I'm carrying, and the lack of baby belly, I kind of just look like I gained a disproportionate amount in my belly...boo.
Now that we know what he is, there are a few projects on the list of "to-do's."
1. Decorate the nursery (duh)
2. Decide on daycare vs. nanny and start that process
3. Plan a baby-moon
By the way, I am intentionally not posting ultrasound pictures because we ended up with a disproportionate amount of gender-revealing pictures and I feel like I should spare the world and my son the embarrassment of close-ups of his genitals.
We picked his first name mostly just out of a compromise. We had a hard time coming up with names that we agreed on. JP really likes traditional (he says Southern) names, and I like more unique names. We decided on Henry, because it is definitely traditional, but it's not crazy common. My hope is that everyone knows how to pronounce and spell his name, but that he doesn't have 50 million kids in his class with his same name. Robert came from my Grandad who passed away last fall. I wanted to honor his passing, but also just wanted to honor his life and the person that he was. And seriously, have you ever met a Bob you didn't like?
It was also important to us that the names didn't mean something stupid. Some translations of my name say pearl. What does that even mean? Coincidentally, and absolutely not on purpose (although this is in the plus column for JP) both Henry and Robert are Germanic. Ha. Henry means "ruler of the home" or kingdom (think Henry VIII). Robert means "bright fame." Our prayer for our little guy is that he is a strong man of God that will rule HIS home...not ours.
A few updates on the pregnancy:
I am now in my 20th week of the pregnancy. I am finally starting to show, although only a little. What's been really funny is watching my belly grow and shrink, throughout the day. The only thing I can possibly come up with is that Henry has taken over the lower half of my abdomen, which is quite possibly SHOVING my intestines up higher than they used to be. Seriously, I feel like I gain 1-2 inches by the end of the day, especially if I eat a large meal. Speaking of which, I have had to adjust my eating slightly. Although I know I am not big, and it will only get worse from here, it is seriously UNCOMFORTABLE if I eat too much. Sometimes I literally feel like my stomach will explode. As much as I love food, it is seriously not worth the discomfort. Therefore, I try to eat smaller meals at mealtimes and just supplement with small snacks throughout the day. So far, so good.
One thing that has been super disappointing is the lack of appropriate clothing for preggo ladies. I am not needing maternity clothes really, but some of my clothes from my pre-pregnancy-body days just aren't flattering right now. It's not that they don't fit, but because of the way I'm carrying, and the lack of baby belly, I kind of just look like I gained a disproportionate amount in my belly...boo.
Now that we know what he is, there are a few projects on the list of "to-do's."
1. Decorate the nursery (duh)
2. Decide on daycare vs. nanny and start that process
3. Plan a baby-moon
By the way, I am intentionally not posting ultrasound pictures because we ended up with a disproportionate amount of gender-revealing pictures and I feel like I should spare the world and my son the embarrassment of close-ups of his genitals.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
We're pregnant!
Ok, so I'm a little late to the game, but better late than never, right? It's official, circa July 31, 2013, our little family of two will expand to include another whole person. I still feel a little self-indulgent, writing a blog period, but I figured, if nothing else, it will help me to document this time for our future little one. So here goes...
We found out we were pregnant the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We had just seen our family, and were en route to La Porte High School's playoff game, where I was the "team doc" for the day. For the rest of the season, I was on pins and needles standing on the sidelines, terrified I would get tackled and this would jar the baby. Haha, we made it through the season all in one piece. Now for a long list of questions that literally everyone asks me as soon as they find out I'm pregnant.
1. Was this planned?
I find this questions slightly bizarre and intrusive, just because so many pregnancies are NOT planned, but yes, we were planning on having a family, just didn't expect things to move quite so quickly.
2. How am I feeling?
Honestly, I feel better being pregnant than I did before. I am still exercising, and find that although sometimes my balance is a little different, and crunches don't feel so hot, my endurance is slightly better than before. I don't know if it's all in my head, or if it's the excess blood I keep reading about that is currently circulating in my body, but regardless, cardio feels GOOD.
3. Any morning sickness?
None. Absolutely none to speak of. I had not one morning where I felt the slightest bit nauseous. I guess I'm lucky in that regard?
4. Any food aversions/cravings?
Really no. Just like any non-pregnant person, there are days that I feel like eating certain things, and days that I don't. I would say that this feelings are slightly stronger now that I am pregnant, but there is nothing that I am avoiding (other than things that are doctor-directed), and there is nothing that I just have to have.
5. Are we finding out the gender?
Absolutely. In fact, we already know, but are waiting to say until we have our gender reveal with our families this weekend.
6. What do we want?
I think I can safely speak for both of us, when I say we just want a healthy baby. Ideally, we want one of each, but whose life is ideal anyway?
7. Am I sure I'm pregnant?
So this is a new one. I'm currently 19 weeks pregnant, and not really showing unless I'm wearing something tight and you look really close. But seriously people, do you think I'm stupid? I don't understand this question. Yes, I am pregnant, Yes I am sure, Yes I have ultrasounds to prove it. Haha.
8. Have I felt the baby move?
Yes! I first felt baby kick around 16 weeks. Apparently, this is pretty early compared to most people, but I felt it. There was no fluttering or gas bubble feeling or any other vague feeling that I hear other women talk about. It was a KICK. In fact, the first day I felt it kick, JP could feel it also. We keep joking that our baby is going to be a runner, because apparently it has really strong legs, and is constantly kicking them.
9. Do we have a birth plan?
Yes. Our birth plan is to have a healthy baby, however that needs to happen. That's the extent of it.
I guess that about does it for now. Look for a new post next week where I will officially document the gender for the world to see.
We found out we were pregnant the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We had just seen our family, and were en route to La Porte High School's playoff game, where I was the "team doc" for the day. For the rest of the season, I was on pins and needles standing on the sidelines, terrified I would get tackled and this would jar the baby. Haha, we made it through the season all in one piece. Now for a long list of questions that literally everyone asks me as soon as they find out I'm pregnant.
1. Was this planned?
I find this questions slightly bizarre and intrusive, just because so many pregnancies are NOT planned, but yes, we were planning on having a family, just didn't expect things to move quite so quickly.
2. How am I feeling?
Honestly, I feel better being pregnant than I did before. I am still exercising, and find that although sometimes my balance is a little different, and crunches don't feel so hot, my endurance is slightly better than before. I don't know if it's all in my head, or if it's the excess blood I keep reading about that is currently circulating in my body, but regardless, cardio feels GOOD.
3. Any morning sickness?
None. Absolutely none to speak of. I had not one morning where I felt the slightest bit nauseous. I guess I'm lucky in that regard?
4. Any food aversions/cravings?
Really no. Just like any non-pregnant person, there are days that I feel like eating certain things, and days that I don't. I would say that this feelings are slightly stronger now that I am pregnant, but there is nothing that I am avoiding (other than things that are doctor-directed), and there is nothing that I just have to have.
5. Are we finding out the gender?
Absolutely. In fact, we already know, but are waiting to say until we have our gender reveal with our families this weekend.
6. What do we want?
I think I can safely speak for both of us, when I say we just want a healthy baby. Ideally, we want one of each, but whose life is ideal anyway?
7. Am I sure I'm pregnant?
So this is a new one. I'm currently 19 weeks pregnant, and not really showing unless I'm wearing something tight and you look really close. But seriously people, do you think I'm stupid? I don't understand this question. Yes, I am pregnant, Yes I am sure, Yes I have ultrasounds to prove it. Haha.
8. Have I felt the baby move?
Yes! I first felt baby kick around 16 weeks. Apparently, this is pretty early compared to most people, but I felt it. There was no fluttering or gas bubble feeling or any other vague feeling that I hear other women talk about. It was a KICK. In fact, the first day I felt it kick, JP could feel it also. We keep joking that our baby is going to be a runner, because apparently it has really strong legs, and is constantly kicking them.
9. Do we have a birth plan?
Yes. Our birth plan is to have a healthy baby, however that needs to happen. That's the extent of it.
I guess that about does it for now. Look for a new post next week where I will officially document the gender for the world to see.
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)