Along the Way...

I'm a little over halfway to the big day when we meet this little guy. I was able to hear the heartbeat again last week and heard some significant kicking on the handheld listening machine. Still not feeling significant kicks, but as I understand, those will come soon enough. I'm trying to prepare myself to fit about 14-20 inches of baby in my eight-inch torso. In many ways, it would be easier if Jerod could carry the baby, what with his four-foot torso and all! :) Thanks to my genetic sponsors for making me short-waisted.
On the symptom side, I really still can't complain. I mean, I haven't even BARFED yet! (thank you, LORD) And I don't have any additional food aversions to my usual. Though I have had a disturbing uptick in ideas about sausage biscuits. I have not given in to these ideas, however. I could eat lemony-limey-citrusy things like crazy. If it's tart, I pretty much want it. If it's chocolate, I couldn't care less (bizarro!). My mouth is watering just thinking about the lime-pineapple bars in my freezer.
Sleeping has already become a challenge. The purchase of the body pillow radically transformed my hip/back comfort level, so bravo on that. Sadly for Jerod, I have developed the pregnancy SNORES! Of course, they don't bother ME at all...but I am wearing a breathe-right strip every night to alleviate the sawing sounds so he can get some sleep. And...my worst symptom thus far has been the onset of carpal tunnel in both wrists. According to the doc and my "what to expect" app, symptoms are due to swelling in the wrists that put pressure on the nerves in the wrist. So, I've been sleeping with these wrist splints. Makes me feel like I could put ninja-karate moves on anyone who would dare attack in the night! It's just annoying, as I can't even get my make-up on the in the morning without my hands going all tingly pretty much constantly.
BUT, people who have kids say being a parent is great...so I'm choosing to believe and focus on that. Ha! For now, I just have to look a fright when I go to bed with all my paraphenalia.
More later on our hospital tour!

Introducing...Baby Shepard Giles Jones!!!

Sorry, Shepard...I won't make a habit of showing everyone your personal parts...
just this once.
Sweet.


ARCH!!!

Facing us. And waving. He's friendly.

Baby, Baby...I'm taken with the notion...

...to love you with the sweetest of devotion.

So, we're having a BOY in June! (maybe July--we'll see if he's timely) I've been waiting a while to write about it and letting it all sink in. I can't begin to fathom all the changes we'll undergo as a family this year. I just don't think you can know until you do it. So, here's to the unknown, chaos, crazy love, learning about baby gadgets/toys/shows/clothes/diapers!!

There seems so much to learn that sometimes I get very overwhelmed with it all. Thankfully, we have a great network of folks who are ahead of us on this river of knowledge and will help us along the way. I understand what they mean when they say "it takes a village..." We've already been blessed from every side with giveaways/hand-me-downs/cast-offs, and we're only halfway through the pregnancy.

Last week, we did our ultrasound and were able to see sweet baby boy squirming and moving around. I'll have pictures of that up as soon as I can get my scanner reconnected. (more on that in a minute!) By the grace of God, I've had a remarkably easy pregnancy thus far with no sickness or discomfort (yet), so I was beginning to wonder if he was still in there! He is! We saw his little fingers and toes and his heartbeat...and his boy parts. All such a wonderful and reassuring sight of the gift God has given us.

We're doing fruit-basket-turnover at the house...consolidating our office and guest room. And by the magic of IKEA and some creative thinking, we are working toward two very cool rooms. One to welcome visitors and one to welcome baby boy. It will really make you re-think junk you've been holding on to when you have to make room for a new human. Of course, in the move, the scanner seems mad at me that we left it unplugged for so long and doesn't want to cooperate with me currently. I shall send it to bed without paper and see if it straightens up! Next post will hopefully be baby Shepard's first photos. :)

And a few words from Psalm 139...which we had read at our wedding:

For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.