Tuesday, June 13, 2006

My new favorite past-time...



These days my newest and most favorite past-time is watching my belly move around. It’s a combination of amazing and weird…an ongoing reminder that there’s a little person in there just waiting to make her appearance to the world :)

I’ve officially stepped into my third trimester (I’m 29 weeks today!) and am still feeling surprisingly well. The only pains I’m dealing with are some hip/joint tenderness and the arches of my feet hurting a LOT…maybe this is a good time to invest in some new “tennies”? But for the most part, I’m feeling great...I just hope that continues. However, when I think about how much longer I have and how much bigger I’m going to get, my hopes aren’t too high. Sometimes I think I’d like to skip over the next 3 months and labor/delivery and just have our beautiful little girl here with us. But I know there’s a reason for going through the entire 9 months…I think God has a lot more “preparing” to do in me.

We recently spent some time back in Illinois with our family and friends. While there, we were able to celebrate “in person” with baby showers and family get-togethers. It was so nice to see everyone and be able to share a bit of this experience with them. My little sister who is 11-years-old was a little hesitant when she first saw me with my “big belly”…it was so funny! After giving her a great big hug (I hadn’t seen her since Christmas), I asked her if she wanted to “touch my belly”, and as excited as she is to be a “young aunt”, she said no (I could tell she was a little nervous and didn’t quite know what to think). A bit later, the baby started moving and I told her to give me her hand (she did without knowing why). After I put her hand on my belly and she felt the baby moving, she had a completely different perspective of my huge belly. It was a precious moment :)

I just can’t wait to meet our little girl! Even on the days I’m not feeling so well, it keeps me going to think about the fun we’re going to have very soon. I’m so excited to go on walks, see her first smile, watch her taste her first spoonful of something she doesn’t like…there’s so many neat memories to be made.
The idea of “nursing” is still taking some getting used to….all of my friends who have been able to do it have told me how much they love it. After reading and researching the benefits of nursing, I really want to try to do it but am obviously a little nervous. I ran across a really neat product the other day that is made to help with nursing. I’m going to use it with our baby. It’s called Nursey Beads. You wear the beads around your neck. They are the perfect length for your baby to twirl, pull, and twiddle. Scary as it may be…I found out that babies will bite, scratch, pinch, etc while they’re nursing!...OUCH! Nursey Beads help distractible babies stay focused and nurse longer. Nursey beads are also designed as a keepsake of our special times together. I’ve already picked out a set of Nursey Beads that were handmade with “love” by The Delighted Child. My strand of beads incorporates purple (my favorite color), blue (Justin’s favorite color), pink (for the baby), and my favorite verse from the Bible, Jeremiah 29:11- “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

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