20 Weeks (and 2 days..)

Please, please, PLEASE ignore how I look in this photo. I haven't washed my hair in days, and I'm sleep deprived and tired. At least I took a picture though! Ultrasounds coming soon!


Wow. I'm halfway through this pregnancy! I can't begin to say how absolutely blessed I am. This pregnancy has gone without a hitch so far -- such a blessing after our loss.

We had our 20 week ultrasound on Monday. I was so, so very nervous. I was worried something was wrong with you, even though up to this point all the ultrasounds had been perfect. This one was no different. She kept trying to kick the ultrasound probe! They said that everything looked perfect, and then they confirmed that she was a she!

Then we met with the midwife. I literally could not be happier with her! She was super upbeat, super excited about our pregnancy and stayed in there to answer any of the questions we had. I was very encouraged by the meeting. She's very pro-natural. I learned that Central Baptist (the hospital we've chosen) has a birthing ball, a birthing stool AND I can labor in the water (I can't give birth there, but I can labor there!!). She also managed to point us towards some natural child birth classes. She was perfect!!! I finally felt like I had found what had been missing before with my prenatal appointments. Carl and my Mom liked her too! Carl asked about the number of people allowed in the room (of which I was thankful, I'd forgotten!) and she said that it was up to us! Wonderful! This hospital is very "your baby, your body" which makes me very happy! She'll be allowed to stay with us the entire time, they'll do all the tests and stuff right there in the room!

This pregnancy was rough in the beginning. The first trimester is hard. I'm not going to lie. It's especially hard when you're in classes and working. But the second trimester has been much easier. I still have some problems (mainly constipation) but the midwife and I talked about that as well, and I think we may have some relief in the future.

I love midwifery. I have seen 2 doctors with this pregnancy, who have just said "take stool softeners" I explain that I have and they say to drink more water. My midwife LISTENED and discussed other options with me and said to call if I had any more problems.

I'm on an antibiotic for a UTI and very tired. But feeling a million times better than I did previously!

Mom and I went to our apartment in Richmond Monday night after the appointment and began to organize. When we moved stuff in thats literally all we did - move the stuff in. Mom and I got the bathroom looking GREAT, the bedroom livable (and quite organized). The living room and kitchen still need work, just a lot of boxes still... but it's getting there. Carl and I did this all backwards. We got married and moved into a 2 bedroom, we got pregnant and moved into a 1 bedroom. What's wrong with THIS picture? Because of this, I'm really having to downsize and put things in storage. It's hard.

What REALLY sucks, is that we have an "apartment" sized washer and dryer in this apartment, and no hookups for a larger one. The washer works fine, the dryer takes over 2 hours to dry a load. This means we'll have to do the laundry mat or bring it all home to my parents on weekends.

Please be in prayer for us. I can't go into details right now, but we could use some positive thoughts sent our way!

UPDATE: Here's the ultrasound pictures!