Merry Christmas

Well, Merry Christmas, a day late. I've been so busy and so many things have happened, I feel as though I should update the blog, but I'm not sure what all is interesting to people.
To comment on the pregnancy. At about 16-17 weeks, I started feeling the flutters of movement. I was unsure at first if that was the baby, but many people had described it to me and the nurse said it was likely that I would start feeling it and she was right! 2 days before our big ultrasound, on a Saturday morning when we were lying in bed, I told Nathan that tic-tac was moving around a lot. He put his hand up there and she gave him two hard kicks! He was sure hoping it was a soccer-playing boy after that! I think it was exciting for him to finally feel it, because he'd tried before but they had been so little, that they couldn't really be felt outside.

So Monday afternoon we had our big ultrasound! The technician explained what she would do was take pictures and measurements and then point stuff out to us. It was just so neat to watch everything on the screen while she was doing it. She labeled the pictures as she was going, so I could double-check but I thought it was pretty obvious what was seen on the screen. It is just so amazing, the way God creates life so small. So then she spent a good 5 minutes looking at our little baby's bottom and assuring us that those were girl parts, and there were no boy parts. LoL

Nathan had said something as we walked in about not wanting to know if it was a girl, but he was pretty excited once he found out. Just worried that he would spoil her too much! He's watched his brother with their two little girls and Jason has a hard time saying no to them, I think Nathan is afraid he'll be the same. Its sweet that their daddy loves them so much and dotes on them so much.

Wednesday we flew in to Albuquerque where it is colder, but there is no snow. Thats ok. It would make traveling home hard, so if it does come, I hope it comes soon and not too much to clear off later.

At Christmas yesterday, we opened presents with just the 6 of us (yes, my brother is engaged and his fiancee Paula is with us too) then we had more family members join us for Christmas dinner around 2:30pm. Also my cousin Cindy and her husband Brian flew in later in the afternoon with their little girl, Corinne. She is 5 months and pretty adorable. I kept thinking that next year, our little girl will be about that age at Christmas and how fun and exciting it would be. I did get to hold Corinne for awhile and amid playing and smiling at others, she would lean back and snuggle into my arm. :-) So sweet I can't wait!

I caved...

At the end of last week, I was uncomfortable in my hair tie closure pants and even the fun belly band that sounded so wonderful didn't cut it for me. Obviously my old pants are not fitting.
So Sunday after church and a wonderful pot luck (lots of yummy food and lots of choices! Read: pregnant woman's DREAM) I asked Nathan to take me to target.
"You mean, you want to buy FAT PANTS?!"
Thanks dear, you're such a caring and loving husband....
So, we went and I grabbed 3 different pairs thinking it was like normal pants shopping and I'd have to try on a million to find something that felt nice.

Oh MY goodness! Elastic waistbands are the most WONDERFUL things ever!!

I told Nathan I wasn't going back to regular pants, these were comfy and baggy in just the right places and although I didn't look very good, it didn't MATTER.

So anyway, I thought I would be in maternity pants starting this week and my belly, which was obvious to those who know that I'm not normally fat, went away on Monday. Its back to the small bulge which doesn't look like much, even those who know me....
About a third of my old pants still fit, ones that are lower, were saggy or loose before, or dress pants where I can't button the inner closure, but the outer closure is just fine.
Anyway, so now I'm trying to hide my small bump at work till after Christmas. Because then it'll be a couple weeks before they see me again and it may actually be noticable to everyone.

I'm also super excited because last week I set our 'big ultrasound' appointment for Dec 21. Hopefully Tic-tac cooperates and we can tell if its a he tic-tac or a she tic-tac. I'm still thinking its a girl, but another teacher at work is convinced its a boy (because my energy level is still up). I can see advantages to having either as your first.
I'm also really excited because now that I do have a bit of a bump, Nathan is starting to seem excited. And I can't wait for him to see our baby on the ultrasound. Cause those pictures, even at 18 weeks are so good now! You can totally see the baby and their features and all that good stuff. So I'm excited to see it, but MORE excited to see Nathan see it and get excited.

I've started to feel Tic-tac move around just a little. And I know Nathan cant wait till he can see it and feel it. Its so little right now though that he can't yet. :-( But he's looking forward to it, I can tell

New wardrobe? ...Maybe soon

Today was my 3rd doctor's appointment, and although its nice to hear the heartbeat, I felt like it was an appointment I could have had over the phone.
Dr comes in, listens to heartbeat and asks "Have you had any problems?"
"Not really," I say.
"Ok, that's great, see you again in 4 weeks!"

However, I did talk to the insurance lady and the nurse weighed me and checked my blood pressure. Weight was up about 4 pounds, but I did have on heavy shoes and an extra pair of pants. We'll get to that later...
So the whole visit with check in, money talks, vitals check, dr visit, and check out was all within an hour. Efficient, friendly, and professional.

And then....

After work, I went to the post office to pick up a package. Pick up a package. No paying, nothing complicated, just show up, get an envelope and leave, right?
Yeah...RIGHT.
The man, who I'm sure was very worn out with the holiday rush, took at least a full minute to verify my ID and the other 2 people picking things up. Then went to the back for over 5 minutes and came back with 2 letters (not my package) then took another 5 minutes to get his scanner thing to work and make those 2 people sign in at least 2 places and write their address on the back of the card they came in with (which already had their address!) Then he turned to me and said "oh, let me get your package"
Uh huh....
So he goes to the back for another 5 full minutes and comes out empty handed. He has to go ask another postal worker who is helping customers where my package might be. You'd think with such a big warehouse in the back, they might have some sort of system, though it appears they just throw it all in a pile and have to go digging. Apparently the second postal worker had a little more of an idea where the package might be because the third time my man came out, he was holding my envelope. Victory.
So I sign, with my own pen, because he doesn't have one on the counter, and then he says "oh, you didn't need to sign, the scanner took care of it." goody.
All in all, over 20 minutes (I timed it) to pick up a package.

So based on today's experiences, I'd prefer the government NOT to run my health care.

But back to the title of the post. My belly is beginning to bulge, just a little. Sometimes in the evening, it was getting a little poochy, and occasionally I'd unbutton the top button of my pants after dinner. But today, all day, I felt big and I had to put hair ties over both buttons on my pants. And they were stretching...
When I got home, I put on my bigger jeans (again with a hair tie button closure) to go to walmart after we ate. Well, we ate and I was uncomfortable walking around in those sorta tight, sorta feel like they're falling off jeans.
Perhaps I should look into maternity pants?
Naaaah.....