18 weeks, and doing fine

Is this pregnant tummy? We think so!!

By the picture, it's clear baby is still directly over top of bladder and bowels, making all of that bodily function stuff *extra* fun. Mostly, it just means peeing every hour, or less, and waking up - and, therefor, moving my body - from a couple hours of dead sleep can be quite uncomfortable.

I haven't felt any movements, or "flutters" yet, and am trying not to be concerned about that. They say most women mistake them for gas bubbles, and I've had plenty of that, so I may have felt it and not realized that that's what it was. Things must be going alright, and baby must be developing, considering the drastic tummy difference from 15 weeks.

It's been fun and heartwarming to have started receiving baby stuff. Our friend Anita gave us our first receiving blanket a few weeks back (which, having belonged to a baby prior, still smelled of baby. Coo.), along with a wonderful book, A Child is Born - an incredible resource. Upon a visit with my mom this week, we received our first baby clothes: a couple of onesies and some teeny-tiny mittens. I nearly started crying at the sight of those tiny t-shirts!

I now own overalls! When I was younger, I always had this image of being pregnant and wearing overalls. It just seemed to me to be thee maternity attire, the thing that says, proudly, "I'm pregnant!". And all the pregnant women I'd seen in them were absolutely adorable. Out shopping with my mom, we, very much by accident, came across a couple pairs. One pair fits now, and the other...well, I'm hoping they won't be too big (or am I?), but my mom assured me that I'll fill them out (if that's true, I might be a bit frightened here...they're huge).

A new development: swollen feet and ankles. That's one of the scariest things I've seen my body do, ever! To look so completely different, and scarily odd shaped, nearly made me start bawling. It's really not so bad, though, since figuring out what was causing it: my shoes (at least, that was part of it). My lovely little slip-on's, that I thought were going to be so good for getting in and out of easily, are just snug enough that the part of the foot not inside the shoe was completely puffed up and unrecognizable after a couple days of being in them nearly all day. Plus, noticing this came at the end of my two hour drive home from Brainerd, with only a brief break to get out and pee. Lessons learned: comfortable footwear is an absolute must (comfortable, meaning absolutely not snug whatsoever), walking/sitting/standing for any length of time is a no-no, and the salt intake balance is a delicate one. (I ate at Taco John's during my Brainerd visit, and I think that was a huge contributor, not only to the swelling, but also to my insatiable thirst; and some people eat that crap all the time - bleh!). It helped to elevate my legs, however, and to continue taking in water like I was stranded in the desert. I woke up this morning to normal-looking feet. Yay!

The trip to Brainerd, albeit short, was so great! I got to hang out with some wonderful women (this was a family trip this time), and it was really wonderful to get so much congratulations and comforting words of support. As soon as I arrived in Brainerd, I was greeted by my mom, my cousin Kristi, my grandma, my grandma's sister-in-law and my mom's lifelong friend. All very clearly happy for me. My mom and I had some fantastic one-on-one time, shopping for maternity clothes, and later just hanging out and talking. The next day, I had the fortune of spending a couple hours with my other side (dad's side): my cousin Mary (like a sister to me), my two aunts, and my grandma. It was a happy accident that we all got to hang out, and it was one of the best visits I've ever had. I had planned to visit my grandma, since she'd been diagnosed with terminal cancer a month or more ago, and this just made it that much sweeter. Pictures were taken for this event, and I can't wait to see them.

Off to bed, to dream (lets hope I can sleep long enough). Speaking of dreaming: nothing terribly scary yet, as so many women say they have some frightening dreams during pregnancy. I've had one baby-related dream, and it was unusual, but not scary. I did have a dream the other night, however, that I'm wondering about: I dreamed that I was running. Not away from anything, but more like I was out or a run (I am not a runner, have never enjoyed it). I started excelling in speed, and before I knew it, I felt as if I was floating or flying through the air, completely free. It was the best thing I've ever felt in a dream. Could this have been pregnancy-related? Hmm...

One last thing. I picked up the book, The Tao of Motherhood. So beautiful. Then again, Taoism is the closest thing I've found that I can relate to in terms of a philosophical belief system, so it makes sense that I would find joy in this book.