23 Weeks...24 Weeks...25 Weeks...

Well, it's been a while since my last pregnancy update.  So much for weekly pics and news!

I'm grateful to still be in the basically-feeling-good stage of this pregnancy.  These golden days of feeling Baby's movements, having an immensely precious connection with him/her that no one else gets to experience, having energy, not feeling sleep-deprived, not yet being at the point of waddling everywhere :), are cherished by me, especially since I know that harder days are coming.

It's a funny thing: on the one hand, I feel like things are slipping along so smoothly and easily these days.  I think, "Hey, I can do this!  It's not so bad, trying to balance the needs of my three sons and my husband and all the other people in my life while being pregnant--not nearly as hard as I imagined it might be during those emotional first weeks of pregnancy.  This is easy!"  But then, at other times, I think, "You know, this is kind of hard; and I think it's OK to admit that!"  But mostly, it does feel easy; and I'll be grateful for each day that feels that way!  :)

Although I'm not eager to rush through this stage, I do look forward to the baby being born for several reasons.  Obviously, the first one--and the most significant by far--is meeting our amazing little one and beginning the process of getting to know who the child is in all his/her uniqueness and God-given characteristics.  Besides that, I'm anticipating stepping on the scale and seeing my weight go down, wearing smaller clothes, being able to turn over in bed without a second thought (rather than the careful planning that rolling over requires in the later stages of pregnancy!), and seeing if the terrible eczema on my hands will lessen after the pregnancy hormones rushing through my body have departed in peace.  During the last few years, eczema has been a bothersome part of life for me; but my hands have NEVER been this bad.  On the good side, my hands are the only part of my body currently affected by eczema; but they are horrible.  It used to be that my fingers would get itchy patches and would occasionally get so dry that the skin would crack open.  Now, however, I have large, red, scaly, itchy patches--not only on my fingers--but worse, on the backs of my hands.  There is no way to hide it (other than a return to the glove-wearing days of the Victorian Period, but somehow wearing beautiful gloves and blue jeans at the same time doesn't quite work!), and I have had a number of people ask me if I burned myself (adults ask that) or the more blatant question, "what's wrong with your hands???" (kids blurt out that one).  I'm actually relieved when someone does ask me so that I can tell them what it is and assure them that it's not serious and not contagious!  If I lived in the Old Testament period, I'm sure I would have been cast out of the camp long ago and would have had to wander around calling out, "Unclean!  Unclean!"  :)  Maybe, after this pregnancy, the eczema will lessen tremendously.  Live ever in hope, right?  :)

Before each of my children was born, I always thought, "How am I ever going to...fill in the blank...with my children?"  With Josiah, it was a general, "How am I going to survive as a mom?  How am I going to do anything?"  :)  With David, there were two things that concerned me: how to take a shower if no one else was home to watch Josiah and David, and how to go out with both Josiah and David (this was when we lived in Israel...we didn't have a car so we either walked or took public transportation).  Before Tobin was born, I worried that I'd never get good at going to Walmart with all three boys.  Now I look back and grin sheepishly as I realize that somehow, I did indeed learn to do all of those things and now I wonder why I ever was concerned about them!

But of course, this time around, I have a new fear: how to handle mornings.  When Tobin wakes up, he is hungry and--not surprisingly--doesn't like to wait very long for his breakfast.  He won't understand if I say, "Sorry, Tobin, but The New Baby had a diaper blow-out, and I won't be able to feed you your breakfast for 5 more minutes.  Just be patient, OK?"  That will work for Josiah and David--no problem--but not Tobin Bear.  I've already resigned myself to sitting at the kitchen table with a Boppy pillow, nursing The New Baby and simultaneously shoveling Cheerios into Tobin's mouth...but if it gets too much more complicated than that, I don't know what I'm going to do!  A year from now, I'll look at this and laugh at myself--I hope!  :)  

Before I get to the adjustment period as a mom of four though, I have to give birth to this child.  I've been thinking more and more about the fact that somehow, this baby has to get out of my body!  Yikes!  :)  It was interesting after homeschool co-op last week to sit around with a few other moms and hears bits and pieces of their labor stories.  One of the moms got epidurals very early in both of her labor experiences and happily sailed through labor and delivery.  Another mom, who has 5 children and gave birth to them at home, obviously didn't have any medication.  But the third mom (who has 6 children) has done both: sometimes having quick labors and going the natural route and sometimes having longer labors that wear her out so much that epidurals give her the break she needs to recover her strength for the actual delivery.  In my mind, I had pictured her as going the strictly-natural route, and I was a little surprised--pleasantly--to hear that she's done both.  It was a completely peaceful, respectful conversation between all of us with none of the infamous "Mommy Wars" about the best way to give birth...but it did remind me of the reality of what's coming!  Ah, but at the end, A BABY!

Back during week 23, I had a routine appointment with the midwives; and this time I saw Marty which was good because she's probably the one I saw the least during Tobin's pregnancy.  It was an enjoyable appointment, complete with a surprisingly short wait and a friendly chat with the midwife.  I love how they take time to talk with their patients!  I was measuring exactly right for this stage.  Baby's heartbeat was 148, solidly in the middle range.  My blood pressure was good: 122 over 66.  My weight was 160.5 pounds.  I was shocked when Marty said I had only gained 5 and a half pounds so far this pregnancy because, really, does this growth I'm sporting look like only 5 and a half pounds???  :)  When I got home, I had to look back in my records to see if she was right; and sure enough, at my first visit with the midwives, I was 155 pounds.  However, I'm really counting my starting weight as 150 because here at home, at the very beginning of the pregnancy, that's where my weight was hovering.  So, 10 and a half pounds.  That sounds more reasonable to me; but oh my, when I look at these pictures, I think I look all that--and more!  :)

~ 25 weeks, 1 day...on Palm Sunday

~ David wanted to be in the picture with me, so he picked a daffodil, too, and stood with me in the flowerbed while Jeff took these pictures...doesn't it look like he's thinking, "wow, Mommy is BIG"?  :)