12 Weeks!

Officially 3 months pregnant!  And just a few days away from the second trimester.  Praise God!  I really need all of the ailments to vanish right on the day.  I always thought I'd wear my maternity like a feminine sun dress--an avatar of the fertile, life creating, woman.  Instead I'm wearing them like leopard print, lycra stirrup tights--sweaty, breathless, tired, and not cute.  I'm hoping that the second trimester will bring me that mythical energy, a settled stomach, and an extreme resistance to springtime allergies (that last bit is probably just wishful thinking).

In other news, we got to see our little Chippy this week.  We had our first appointment at the midwives' office.  It was mostly uneventful, but when it came time to go into that dark ultrasound room, I was so thankful to have my husband there.  She covered me in blue gel and put the little wand over my belly, and just like that, there it was.  Clear as day!  Jason and I held hands as we watched the sweet little thing bounce around.  We thought it would be more stationary--lounging around in there.  Boy were we wrong!  We have a little acrobat!  It was flipping and spinning and twisting and putting on a real show for us.  I got a little teary eyed and Jason was just awed, gently squeezing my hand the whole time.  It had a hearty heart beat of 165 bpm and lots of cool tricks.  I expected it to look more like a tadpole, but it had a nice round head, arms, legs, and a thick torso.  Every bit of that two inch baby was my favorite.  I can't believe how much I love it already.  We spent the rest of the day shell shocked and awed--thinking of our sweet little baby who isn't so little anymore.  It definitely made it seem so much more real, seeing that little thing growing in my belly. 

And speaking of belly, weird, weird things are going on.  I wake up feeling weird movement in my abdomen.  Not like baby kicking or moving--more like things shifting and pushing.  I keep telling myself that it's all in my head, but yesterday was unmistakeable.  Slightly painful and very weird are the only ways I know how to describe it.  I have to think it's just my body making room for a growing baby.  The other, weirdest change is the texture of my hair.  For the last two weeks, I couldn't figure out where all this oil was coming from.  I hadn't changed any of my shampoos or conditioners and it wasn't until I started googling that I drew the connection.  Maybe ladies who don't have oily hair get that glowing, shiny hair.  But I'm constantly fighting the oil, and whatever glow and shine baby is giving me is coming out in an oily patch on the back of my head.  I've tried to combat it with clarifying shampoos, but that does nothing for the oil and gives me dead, frayed ends.  Any solutions are welcome.  Right now, all I've got is the pony tail.  See what I mean?  Leopard, lycra stirrup tights.

Other than that, it's sleep, sleep, sleep for me.  I've had to cut back on my babysitting duties because I'm just not my best me when I don't get my 4:00 nap.  I spent all of this weekend just sleeping (I think I was awake for a total of 4 hours of Saturday) and I still feel like I could use a nap.   Maybe after some Girl Scout cookies.


That's all for now!
Love,
Ashley

Her Stats:

Weeks Pregnant:  12.75

Baby size: Large plum

Weeks to go: 27.25

Cravings:  Pork fried rice, vanilla ice cream, Powerade (fruit punch!), strawberry-banana smoothies, milk.

Food aversions:  Corn sounds horrible right now.

Feeling:  So tired.

Missing most: Not feeling like a schlub.

Loving most:  Maxi dresses.

Gender predictions:  After seeing the ultrasound, I think maybe a girl?  50-50!

His Stats:

Patience level:  7.

Cravings:  Cheetos.

Loving most: My wife.  No. Chocolate.

Missing most: Free time.

Her worst symptom:  Wrath.

Feeling: Almost happy.

Gender predictions: Carl Winslow