Is it fall yet? No, not because I want the baby to arrive. I am already tired of the heat! It has been in the upper 80’s and lower 90’s with higher humidity the past few days and I’m already tired of it. This is way too warm for May in Michigan. I find a way to cope with it in July and August, but May? No way! Thankfully we are supposed to be back in the 70’s in a few days. 😀

Of babies and acrobatics
I had my second ultrasound and everything checked out fine. Peanut is still a girl! I had this irrational fear that we would go in and the tech would say, “Oh, guess what? I was wrong! This is a boy!” But she’s clearly a girl.

I don’t know exactly what she’s doing in there, but the past several evenings/nights, she’s been trying out all kinds of acrobatic moves. She’s bumping from one side to the other and must be having a lot of fun in the process. David is getting used to me laughing out loud for no apparent reason. He knows now that it’s the baby entertaining me.

Last week I ordered the bedding we selected for the baby. I was not able to see it in person first so I’m hoping I like it when it arrives. If I do, I’ll post a picture.

I am very thankful that so far I have not had any problems with my back. I am thankful for every day I make it through this pregnancy without irritating my back. Every day that passes also gives my back one more day of healing from my previous problems and lessens the chances of my hurting it again. My physical therapist gave me some good exercises and stretches to do and I can tell they help a lot. Both the PT and my OB told me I am going to have to be really, really careful until after this baby is born. I know they are right and I’m being very good. But after almost two years of this it is hard not to feel like a continual burden on David. I’ve always been a take-charge, capable kind of person and the past two years have been a real trial for me. I am so much better than I was, but I still feel like an needy leech sometimes and it is tempting to be discouraged that I will never be completely healthy again.

Babies here, babies there!
One fun part of my pregnancy is that I have two friends who are also pregnant at the same time. Well, now only one. My friend Amy B. had her baby on Friday. This is their first baby and they named her Holly. Amy B. was fortunate to go almost two weeks early! My other friend who is pregnant, Amy C., is due in July. She is also having a girl and this will be her third child. I have to admit when I found out they were both having girls that I thought the law of averages would catch up to me and I’d end up with the boy. I mean, all three of us having girls? But that’s the case! It’s nice having friends who have “gone before me” and can offer advice and insight.

Maternity clothes vs. morning sickness
I’m going to take back something I said earlier. I have changed my mind and decided that morning sickness is worse than shopping for maternity clothes. However, it isn’t because I’ve had great success in the clothing department. In fact, yesterday I bought a khaki skirt that is not me at all. But I am desperate and it was the right color and longer. Dave looked a little skeptical when I tried it on, but I truly am desperate. I would like to have something to wear to prayer meeting or the evening service other than dressy dresses and jeans/shorts. Last week I visited a consignment shop a friend recommended and found many nice pieces. Unfortunately, none of them fit me. On the other hand, Peanut got three outfits. 🙂 But the morning sickness really was the worst. I mean, I can wear maternity jeans day after day and live with it without it affecting my quality of life. But the morning sickness? It was just evil. Last week I was at 21 weeks and it was the first time I felt really good (normal) since I’ve been pregnant. I’d rather wear maternity jeans and shorts every day for 21 weeks than feel like that again. 🙂

Church life
We are settling into our church and told the pastor on Sunday evening that we would like to begin the membership process. The next membership classes weren’t scheduled until early fall so he is going to look into doing classes with us soon so we can get this taken care of before I have the baby. We’ve found the church to be very welcoming. We’ve also found that my pregnancy probably makes it easier to get to know people. When you are a couple without children, it is hard to connect with people. On the other hand, everyone loves a baby and/or an expectant mother! It has given us more opportunities to meet people since everyone wants to know about the baby. So we are thankful for that.

What do you say when someone says…
It is interesting the comments you get when you are pregnant. I’ve read enough pregnancy boards to know that some people can be flat out rude or insensitive. I know others can be funny. Thankfully, I haven’t had any rude comments to this point. In fact, I haven’t had anyone come up and touch my tummy either (but I’m sure that is still coming!). However, there is one comment I’m never quite sure what to do with. People will say, “Having that baby is really going to change your life” or “Your life is really going to change when that baby comes.” Usually they don’t say anything else. Once in a while someone will also say, “That baby is going to bring you so much joy” or “You are going to be so blessed by her when she comes”. But usually it is just a comment about how much our lives are going to change. I’m never quite sure what is being implied by that comment. Three possibilties come to mind. One, perhaps they think we are stupid and it has never actually crossed our minds that our lives are going to change. Two, lives changing = bad stuff. And three, lives changing = you couldn’t pay me enough money to have a child at your age. Honestly, I don’t know what else it could be code for. I told David the other day that the next time someone says that to me, the smart aleck is going to come out and I’m going to say, “You know, we realized that last week and that’s why we have decided to put the baby up for adoption.” I’m thinking that should provoke some kind of a clarifying comment, shouldn’t it?

When people have made these comments, I’ve thought back to something a friend said a few years ago. I’ll call her Jane and her husband Tim (not their real names). Jane and Tim have a marriage a lot like ours in terms of personality, temperments, giftings, etc. They got married a few months after we did and you could tell by being around them that they were truly best friends and thoroughly enjoyed each other. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give them a 10 at their prospects of being happily married throughout life. When they found out they were expecting their first child, Jane made a comment about having children that I’ve never forgotten. She said (and I’m paraphrasing), “We’ve seen how much joy marriage has brought us by doing it according to God’s Word and I don’t have any doubts that raising children will be just as wonderful as we seek to do it according to God’s Word.” What a great attitude! Why is it that so many people speak so negatively about both marriage and having children? Why is it that people somehow feel they have to drag down your expectations before marriage or having children? Our marriage is not perfect and we’ve had our ups and downs like anyone. But marriage has far exceeded my expectations. I’m expecting the same thing out of parenting. I’m sure there will be days that this child will exasperate me beyond words. But I still expect it to be a rewarding and wonderful experience. So, I’ll let you know how it goes over when I make the adoption comment sometime soon. 🙂

Prayer appreciated
If anyone feels led to pray for us, here are a few thing that come to mind. First, for a healthy pregnancy, especially that my back will continue to do well and I will find a way to cope with the summer heat. I really despise summer and don’t do well with it anyway, so the pregnancy is going to add a whole new dimension to it. Second, that business would pick up for David. Things have been very, very slow to the point that it is becoming a real concern for us. We don’t understand why business has been so excellent for the past four and a half years and now that we have a baby coming things have dropped off so drastically. So we would appreciate prayers that we will have wisdom to know what to do about this situation. Third, that we would quickly become integrated into the life of our new church home.

Blessings to all!