27 weeks

In my third trimester today!!!

I had a burst of energy for a few weeks that seemed to have disappeared this past week. I'm really hoping it was just a fluke and this week I get some of that energy back!  I really can't complain though.  This pregnancy has been going great!

Tuesday is my next ob checkup.  This is also when I have to take that glucose screening test that I am d-r-e-a-d-i-n-g. Ya know when you're a kid and you know your dentist checkup is coming?  Yeah, that's how I feel. I get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach every time I remember that's coming up.  I didn't want to take off of work so I made my appointment for 1:30 (the earliest after lunch that they schedule).  My ob only says you have to fast for an hour beforehand but if this is how much I am dreading the one hour test, I am determined to do all I can to prevent from having to take the 3 hour test.  Some girls fast hours before so I think that's what I'm going to do.  Just eat a bland breakfast at 6am and fast from then on.  I'm just really scared of passing out or getting sick from this whole thing.  Thankfully, after overhearing me whine about it to multiple girlfriends, Micah has decided to take a half day at work to go with me for support.  That makes me feel better.  At least now if I get sick he'll be there to hold my hair back while I puke.  That's romantic.  No, I'm sure I'll be fine, hopefully... :)

A friend of ours let us have her old crib bumper that she used with all of her kids.  This is what we'll base the theme and colors of the nursery off of.  I think it's super cute and I love that it reminds me of them :)

Speaking of the nursery, we haven't started clearing out our current office/guest bedroom because we put an offer on a townhome! That actually happened back on my birthday, December 28th. It's a short sale so the bank has 90 days to respond and we are at about day 30 now.  We could potentially be moving a month before my due date! However, we're just ecstatic that we're able to be shopping for a home right now!

26 weeks

Today begins the last week of my second trimester! Wow!

By this week Ezekiel should be almost 2 pounds, and a total length of about 14 inches!  Ezekiel's little room in my belly is about the size of a soccer ball. That's frightening from my perspective.  His eyelids in the past few days have finally separated and he's able to see around him! Also around this time they start to grow the hair on their head.  If the amount of hair that his parents have is any indication, I have a feeling that's well on it's way.

We have a crib and dresser on the way that we're really excited about.  Micah's grandma has very generously offered to purchase both for us, and ordered them last week.

Originally we had picked out a crib that was a dark espresso. It seems like that or white is the most popular choices out there right now and it's hard to find a natural wood color like this. Most of our other furniture we already own is dark, but we decided it didn't look right for a nursery. We found this crib and dresser in natural, and really liked how much "happier" it felt.  I can't wait to set them up! Or well, for my wonderful husband to set them up ;)

25 weeks

24 weeks

24 weeks

One night this past week after work Micah and I had to get a new battery for Micah's car. There was a long wait at the auto parts store (apparently the cold weather was killing everyone's battery, who knew?) so we decided to get some dinner and come back. I don't know what it was about dinner but something happened, and my stomach grew a few good inches before we got back. I even had my first stranger to ask me when I'm due, who was the man behind the counter at the auto parts store. It was like I became obviously pregnant in one hour! I thought it might go down, but it hasn't since (see picture). This past Friday one of the girls at work stopped dead in here tracks from across the room and exclaimed, "WHOA, where did that come from?!?" haha.

I'm definitely experiencing some sciatica pain in my left hip which makes working at a Montessori school more interesting, where most work is done on the floor. I'm guessing I should buy one of those body pillows but I refuse to by a snoogle that kicks my husband out of bed, and takes up more space than I do myself.
I'm actually feeling pretty good, considering my body is making a human being who is almost 2 pounds at this point and 14 inches long. It's starting to become more real that in just over 3 months we will have a real live baby in our lives. It's pretty daunting when I think of all that we still need to do and all the responsibility this little bundle of joy will bring. Then I remember that I only need to worry about what I can do today. Today I need to find a pediatrician. That I can handle, *phew*.

23 weeks

Taken at 23 weeks exactly

Had a check up today.  Everything measured as it should. Ezekiel's heart beat was nice and strong at 157 bpm. 

For the past month or so I've been experiencing a tightness of my whole stomach every once in awhile.  At first I thought maybe Ezekiel was pushing his whole body against me.  But now that I've gotten bigger I've decided there is no way that feeling could be him. I feel like one huge, over inflated basketball when it happens. The doctor today said it's probably Braxton hicks. I had no clue that's what those things felt like.

Next appointment is set for February 2nd, where I will get the joy and pleasure of taking the Glucose Challenge Screening where I get to drink a nasty concoction. Any moms out there with a suggestion of which flavor is better? Orange or lemon-lime? Ew...

Ezekiel

Hello All,

So the big news of today's post is that we have a name picked out for our boy. Ezekiel Reid French will be his full name, Zeke for short.

Why Ezekiel?
1. Ezekiel means, "God Strengthens"
2. Ezekiel is an Old Testament prophet, just like Micah.
3. Ezekiel is unique, like the names Karlene and Micah.

Reid will be his middle name because its my middle name. I wanted my boy to retain a portion of my name, and it was either going to be my initials or my middle. Obviously the first name Ezekiel rules out the initials.

The Book of Ezekiel in the Old Testament is nothing short of amazing. One of the most well known passages from the Book of Ezekiel is "Ezekiel and the Valley of Dry Bones."

Ezekiel 37:1-14 (NIV)
1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.
2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.
3 He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know."
4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!
5 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.
6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' "
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.
8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.' "
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
11 Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.'
12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.
13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.
14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.' "

So that is today's big news. At some point soon I will write on my reaction to the news that I am going to be a father, and my reaction to the news that we are having a baby boy. There is also some extra French Family news that I will post soon.

- Papa French

22 weeks

Taken today at 22 weeks, 3 days

For the past week and a half, at about 10 o' clock at night I realize that another day has gone by without getting a belly picture. Between Christmas, my birthday, family in town, work, etc. it just didn't get done.  On my way out the door to work this morning I decided to take a quick picture until I can get Micah to take a normal one that doesn't disproportionally show how big my belly is. (Trust me, it's way smaller than it looks in this picture). But for now, this will do :)

Baby French is getting stronger.  I am feeling his rolls, kicks, and punches more often now, and stronger.  At night when I lie in bed I can clearly see my stomach moving.  When I was in Sarasota I went out with my siblings to see Avatar. The vibrations from the sound was making Baby French move around the whole 3 hours!

At this point he should be about 1 pound, or a bag of coffee beans. That's heavy!

Still no crazy food combination cravings.  However I did have just one piece of Coconut Cake this year (a Mast Christmas tradition) and it sounds reeeeeally good to me right now.

For a few weeks I've had a strange discomfort just above my belly button that would come and go. I'm sure it's completely normal, and even has a name for it, but it's a mystery to me! I also had pain in my left hip for about a week or so.  Both problems seem to have disappeared and I haven't experienced either for a few days now.  Other than a bad cold that I'm fighting at the moment, I'm still quite comfortable and everything on my end seems to be going smoothly with the pregnancy.  We are so thankful!

I'm currently digging my nose in quite a few pregnancy and parenting books trying to soak up all the information I can. Please feel free to suggest more if you know of any good ones!