It is alive!!

It's official! My stomach is alive!!

During tax season I help my aunt out at her tax office on Saturday's and every night of the week but Wednesday. Wednesday is my night of rest!! So, I'm resting up a few minutes ago...lounging in the bathtub and Little Man is moving and a shaking, enjoying his bath. lol.

I'm laying there reading my book when I notice my belly button moving slightly. I look down and the left side of my stomach is moving! I've seen him kick which is awesome BUT this ain't no kick. He is moving and my stomach is moving!!

Of course Hubby and I were totally thrilled to see our little one moving around like that. God is amazing, I can't say that enough!! We are blessed beyond belief to be given this wonderful opportunity to see God's power of creation. Life begins at conception...how true this is!!

Yesterday, at 25 weeks 4 days, I had my Glucose test. I went expecting the worse, praying for the best, and enjoyed chugging down the orange "soda" type drink. I'm a fan of Fanta and Crush so it wasn't bad to me at all. The worse part of the test was the finger pricking!! UGH! Stab me with a knife or a million needles but don't prick my finger!!

After my sobbing from the finger prick (no not really) the nurse tells me my sugar is a 100, which is good and my iron is 115, which is apparently also good. Heck if I know. I just know I won't get my finger pricked again, or I hope not. Laugh if you want but all I could think was if I fail this I'm going to have to prick my finger every day to check my sugar, I can't do that. Give myself shots? Sure I can handle that but pricking my finger?!? NOPE!

So this Friday we will be 26 weeks. That means our due date is in, get this...14 weeks. 14 weeks people!! The thought of that excites and scares the mess out of me!! I've grown up on a farm so I know how to raise all sorts of animals, I've been the mama to Tiny (my little chihuahua, see below) for 6 years and I've got two house plants and two plants at work BUT A BABY!!!

The first night I brought Tiny home I put him in a box by my bed and he cried and cried. I picked him up and put him under the covers with me and he hasn't cried since. I don't think a baby will be that easy! Shoot I know they aren't! With a dog you put out some food and water for them, love on them and they grow up to love and adore you. With a baby you have to get a room ready for them, you buy books that sorta tell you what to expect and people have showers for you to make sure you are prepared with all the necessary things you will need. They even have this HUGE store you go to and register for everything you will need. Babies aren't like dogs!!

And speaking of this huge store...This past Saturday my sister and I went to register at BabiesRUs for the two showers I am having. What a job that was. Talk about overwhelming. I think we spent about two and half hours in that store and I still have to go online and "fix" my registry. There are swings, bottles, diapers, onesies, play-yards, crib sheets, ointments for every ailment, car seats, boppies, bottle liners, breast pads, shampoos, soaps, rattles, teethers, jumpers, bouncy seats, crib sets, bottle warmers, diaper genies, clothes, clothes and more clothes...how is a woman to know what is the right "things" for her little one? By the end we started just scanning everything. I'm hoping we didn't accidentally scan a dress. lol.

The midwife gave me a little chart for fetal counting. You are to pick a two hour time period to check to see if you feel the baby moving 10 times. This morning I picked 7-9. I think by 7:30 I had his 10 kicks for the day. I felt him moving around from about 6:30 until about 9 when I guess he decided to take a nap.

She also gave me my paper for pre-registering at the hospital and asked who his pediatrician is going to be. With all these questions, things are really starting to seem real. I guess having the bassinet sitting up in our room already didn't hurt in helping the sinking in process but those questions drive it home!! We are having a baby. It's official. It's real. And time is flying by!!!

And my stomach is alive!

And the Award goes to...

Just a little update on what is going on in preparation of Holden’s arrival…

Yesterday Hubby did something that once again proves to me he deserves the Husband of the Year award. I had been complaining about getting the nursery ready and getting a matching crib set (crib, changing table & dresser). My complaints had been going on for a few weeks. Well yesterday, I reached my peak. Since money is a little tight these days, (in preparation of Hubby’s new job and the cost of Little Man’s arrival), that was my main gripe. At any rate, I get home and Hubby lures me into the nursery by making up this great story regarding my dogs, and here is what I find:

Needless to say, I was so happy, so excited and the realization hit me, once again, how very blessed I am to have Hubby as my husband. He takes care of me no matter what sacrifice he has to make and I’m proud to walk by his side through every challenge life gives us. He is a great husband, the best father he can be to two little boys that live a thousand miles away and I know he is going to be a great dad to our Little Man. Shoot he already is!

Speaking of the subject of this entire blog – Little Man. Boy has he been moving and a kicking lately. I don’t know if he has been this active the entire time and I never knew b/c of the way he was positioned, but dang he has been active lately. If any of you knew me as a child, it shouldn’t surprise you, Little Man seems to be this way too. Like Mama, like son.

Picture of me at 23 weeks & 4 days

It's a...

If you haven't heard, we are having a boy. We found out last Tuesday at our ultrasound/prenatal appointment. As expected, we are totally estatic! We would be happy either way but a tough little boy is what this family needs!

You know, I was just thinking...how embarrassing it is to have your "privates" exposed to the entire cyber world. I hope this isn't one of those things that ends up haunting our child. Hey, just a thought?!?

Based on the ultrasound, our due date is still around May 15th. Time is flying by!! I'll be 23 weeks this Friday so that leaves us with 17 weeks. I can't believe it! Little Man will be here before we know it. We can't wait!!!

His kicking/punching have gotten a little stronger. A couple of nights ago I was relaxing in the tub and noticed my stomach move during one of his Tae Kwon Do sessions. It popped out a bit. I called Hubby in to check it out and he put his hand on my belly only to have it kicked pretty good. Hubby was surprised at the force. This was the first time he has been able to really feel Little Man. I'm blessed with feeling him every couple of ours. He seems more active in the evenings but that may be because I'm just sitting around doing nothing and notice the movements.

We are starting to think about the nursery and getting things ready for a registry. The nursery is going to be decorated in a jungle theme (lions, tigers, monkeys, giraffes, hippos, etc.). I'm sure everyone thinks we should go farm animal, but he'll get his share of the farm in real life. There is a play yard I want to get him that has ponies on the mobile and a jumperoo that is a horse that makes all sorts of sounds but that will be for the living room.

In other news...

There is a new man living in our house. I call him Hubby but you can call him Staff Sergeant Hutson. My sister rode with us to Parris Island today for him to get "pinned".

We are very proud of this much deserved promotion. This makes all the battles he has faced during active duty worth it.

On the way to Parris Island we stopped to take some photos at the Ruins of Old Sheldon, Prince William's Paris Church. It was built in 1745, burned down by the British Army in 1779, rebuilt in 1826 and burned down by the Federal Army in 1865. Here is a picture of my sister and I acting silly behind one of the pillars.

Hubby is going through the process of getting hired at the Department of Corrections. We hope to hear from them next week regarding a starting date. With the economy the way it is, every job is a blessing these days. Please keep us in your prayers.

Take Care & Stay Warm!