26 Weeks!

22 Weeks

22 Down...8 Strong

February 4- I am 22 weeks pregnant and Jarrod and I have been together for 8 years. It’s funny to think of what the last 8 years has brought me: a friend, a boyfriend, a fiancé, a husband and now a baby. February 4, 2001 Jarrod and I were heavily flirting on a retreat. I would have never thought I would be carrying his child eight years later.

Jarrod and I have been through a lot in the last eight years. I’ve experienced some of my worst moments and some of my best moments with him. There isn’t a person out there that knows me better then he does. I’ve been so blessed by the last eight years. He’s taught me a lot about life, myself and relationships. Now, it’s time for him to teach our daughter the same.

Bringing a child into the world sends so many crazy thoughts into a persons head. What will she look like, how she will act and what kind of woman will she be. I find myself so many times praying that she doesn’t turn out like me in a number of ways. I go through my list and begin to panic. “What if she has this trait?” “What if she does what I did?” I’m not saying I think I’m horrible; however, there are certainly things about me that I’m not proud of. Though, I wouldn’t mind if she has my curly red hair! As much as I hated it growing up, and sometimes hate it now, it is something that’s unique and yes, sometimes red hair can be beautiful. As far as Jarrod’s traits…I hope she has his puppy dog eyes and his brains, his compassion, loyalty, and patience. Oh, and his humor. That man makes me laugh more then anyone I’ve met.

I realize there is so many things that help shape a person. I guess what I am saying is that I hope I am a good mom. All I know is to listen to God and accept the help from our families.

I’m so thankful for how the last eight years have turned out and I am excited to see all the joys the next eight years will bring.

The Real Story

In reaction to Jarrod previous entry I must defend myself. It is not fair that he becomes comatose the second he hits the pillow. Who doesn’t spend the first few moments of bedtime to pray, reflect on your day and make a list for tomorrow? Come on everyone does that right? I do every night which usually reminds me of something I had forgotten to tell him. I don’t want to forget by the morning and plus I’m usually still asleep when he leaves for work so I must tell him when the story enters my thoughts. That is why I calmly and quietly say, “hey babe."

Now let me inform you on Jarrod’s “less than endearing new habit.” At our last doctors appointment the doctor warned us about me lying on my back. He said at this point I should not be flat on my back for anything including sleeping, exercising, ect. It will keep my blood from flowing to the baby and will result with the both of us feeling yucky. Since Jarrod is overly cautious, if for a second I’m on my back he freaks out. I’m completely a side sleeper, I’ve always been. However, since this little girl has changed so much about me including my taste buds why not my sleeping habits as well. I want to sleep on my back so bad, and usually at some point in the night I end up that way. BUT not for long…I wake up at least twice a night with Jarrod rubbing my belly to see if I’m on my back or not. He then wakes me up by poking me and saying, “Becca, Becca rollover” which I respond with a frustrated sigh. One night I swear he woke me up 10 times and half of those I wasn’t even on my back. As annoying as it is to not get a full night of sleep, I wouldn't have it any other way. I’m so thankful that I have a husband that cares about the health of me and his new little girl.

You Scared the Crap Out of Me!

Lately Becca has developed a less than endearing new habit. While we're laying in bed, trying to go to sleep, she will wait until the precise moment where I'm transitioning from being awake to being asleep. At that point I still respond to cues from the world around me but I'm completely disoriented from drifting into the quiet of peaceful sleep. It's at this point that an interesting topic has popped into Becca's head and she decides to start up a conversation. Amongst complete silence she lets out what seems to be a booming, random interjection like "Jarrod...", "You know what...", or "I was thinking..." I am abruptly pulled back from my descent into dreaming and brought back to reality with a shortness of breath from the fear of having no idea what just happened. Generally, after catching my breath, the first words out of my mouth are, "You scared the crap out of me!" which results in a small giggle from the other side of the bed. To be fair I don't honestly think she is startling me on purpose, and while Becca has the uncanny ability to sleep in almost any situation (in a car, in a plane, on the ground, etc.) when we're in our bed I usually fall asleep much faster than she does leaving her to sit in silence with just her thoughts.

A couple of nights ago, we went through the routine again. I was just entering my comatose state when a startled "Jarrod" was uttered. Jerked from my sleep I responded with a half-hearted "What?" to which she informed me that she had just felt the baby kick. For a few weeks now Becca has been concerned about the fact that she hadn't felt the baby yet. During the ultrasound we had seen our little girl flailing about, but Becca still hadn't felt anything. So now that she had finally gotten the confirmation that we both were waiting for it was a pretty exciting moment. A few little thumps, a pause, and then a few more thumps were all she felt but I was more than happy to be awaken for those thumps. Hopefully in the future I'll be a little more patient when Becca decides to start a midnight conversation. And hopefully soon I'll be able to feel some thumps too.

My First Belly Picture

It's a Girl!

Monday we were scheduled for the appointment that we've anxiously been waiting for since we first found out we're pregnant: the ultrasound. As most of you probably know, from the moment you start telling people you're having a baby the first question everyone asks is whether it's a girl or boy. Up until the first ultrasound there's no definitive way to know, even though wives’ tales abound, so you're left with referring to your child as "it" and making completely uneducated guesses based on feelings, genetic trends, and completely off the wall theories. Needless to say, finding out what it is has been at the forefront of our minds for some time now.

At our last appointment the receptionist told us that the ultrasound office was in the process of moving and would be in the same location as our doctor by the time we showed up. Very convenient, until we show up on Monday and realize that it hasn't moved yet. So we proceed to navigate the maze of a campus that St. John's has become until we finally reach the correct entrance of the correct wing of the correct building. Along with us were both my mom and Becca's ready and willing to head off on the shopping spree to end all at the moment the gender was revealed. I'm actually very glad they were both there because their excitement made the moment that much better. We only had to wait a moment before we were ushered back to the ultrasound room where the ultrasound tech quite sternly instructed the moms to the other side of the room to watch on another TV.

The whole things started very quickly and before I knew it I was staring at an active image of our baby. We could quickly make out the head, abdomen, and tucked in legs. The ultrasound tech asked us if we wanted to know the sex of the baby and after we told her yes there was a quick flip of images across the screen and she announced we were having a girl. While I didn't see what it was the clued her off on what the baby was, my mom (the mother of three boys) quickly leapt from her seat and gave me a big hug. We all know she would have been happy with a boy, but she's wanted a girl to spoil for a long time so the announcement meant a lot to her. Everyone was obviously very excited even though neither Becca nor I really saw any proof to back up the tech's claim. Becca asked if she was sure that it was a girl to which she received a disinterested yes. That was enough proof for me (I figure she'd done this a few times) and Becca's mom later explained what the lady had been looking for and showed us on the pictures our proof.

The ultrasound tech continued looking around at different parts of the baby taking pictures and measurements of various body parts. Throughout the session we found out a few more important things. The baby is not cooperative; she flung her arms around and moved throughout the exam making taking pictures very difficult for the tech. She also has her legs crossed, which may not sound significant, but apparently that's how Becca was the entire time her mom was pregnant and she still stands with her legs crossed to this day. So basically what we found out is that we're probably going to have a little Becca running around in the near future. I'm think I'm okay with that.