Two Healthy Babies

The fun news (with pictures!) is that I have a new niece! She was born yesterday afternoon and is very cute! She makes 3 girls for Nathan's brother's family - just like my family growing up.

I visited her twice today and enjoyed holding her and watching her tiny face. :)

The other news is that I had my first doctor's appointment on Monday, and things seem to be going well for my own little one! The nurse practicioner said that my uterus "feels like it's 8 weeks pregnant." That's a good sign that everything is where it's supposed to be. Our first ultrasound is scheduled for December 19th, so I will have pictures to bring with me to Oregon for Christmas!!!

All in all, a fun, baby-filled week so far... and it's only half over. :) That's my kind of week. :)

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward." - Psalm 127:3

Multi-Grain Cheerios!

The jury is out - Multi-Grain Cheerios will be my tummy's cereal of choice at least for the rest of the first trimester. I am eating a bowl of cereal with 100% Folic Acid in it every morning so that my baby has all the proper brain food it needs. There are precious few cereals with that criteria. I already counted out Life, and now Total has made it on the "bad" list. I think their main fault is that they get too soggy too soon - in any case, they don't make me feel good. But Multi-Grain Cheerios stays reasonable crunchy throughout my eating time and tends to stay happy in my stomach - which then allows me to start eating other snacks to keep me feeling good. :)

Tonight, we have been invited to participate in "Mass Chaos" at the Hughes residence. Almost every Hughes will be over at my in-laws' house this evening for pizza and pandimonium. There will be 15 of us, with 3 having the potential to be added later in the evening - that's including 6 kids ages 4 and under! My mother-in-law wants to try for the first attempt at a "grandchild" picture for her Christmas card. We'll see if we get a good one. Also, number 7 grandbaby is due any day, so if "she" arrives before the out-of-town cousin goes back home, we'll have to try to take another picture with "her" in it. (The parentheses are because they're fairly sure it's going to be a girl, but you never know... ) For Thanksgiving tomorrow, we will all meet again and have all 18 of us around the dinner table. Not sure where they're planning on putting everyone, but that's half the fun, right?

"I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High."
-Psalm 9:1-2

Getting the Hang of Things

Well, thankfully, it seems as though Sunday's induction into "true" morning sickness shouldn't be the norm. For that, I am EXTREMELY THANKFUL!!! Praise the Lord!

I figured out that my sickness can be mostly controlled by what and when I eat. So, since I haven't eaten all night, the mornings are the worst time, and my stomach is the most picky then. But if I'm faithful to eat something tummy-happy first thing when I get up and then have regular snacks throughout the day, I am pretty okay. I'm also trying to get a snack in right before bed so that it will be a little less time between snacks. :)

So wierd. I'm not usually a snacking person, so its a stretch for me to be creative enough to each that many more times during the day without getting sick of what I'm eating. I normally have breakfast, lunch and dinner. Period. Now I have breakfast, 1-2 morning snacks, a small lunch, 1-2 afternoon snacks, a small dinner, and 1-2 evening snacks.

I think the main problem with Sunday's episode was that I took my shower before eating, so my body was OVER-hungry, and then I had something with a little too much flavor and my stomach just said, "NO!"

So, all that to say, I think I'm getting the hang of this. I am very blessed to have a morning sickness that is mostly controllable - I know of several friends and relatives where that didn't help them at all. God is good!

"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!" Psalm 34:8

Ladies' Fall Fellowship

Saturday night I hosted a table at our church's Ladies' Fall Fellowship. I have gone every year since I started attending here over 7 years ago, but this is the first time I hosted. I had to bring a table setting for 8 and centerpiece. Since I was told there was sort of an "apple" theme, I decided to use that for my table. I already had the apple cookie jar and apple/pear shakers that my mom got me, so that made for a good centerpiece. I bought the square of apple fabric and the napkins and walah! The tea lights were left over from throwing my friend Joanna a bridal shower last year.

The message was on living a transformed life and was based on Romans 12:1-2. It covered familiar territory, but definitely included needed reminders for all of us on this walk of faith.

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

As for my pregnancy symptoms, it seems as though the sickness got ramped up one more notch this morning. I ate most of a Quaker breakfast square for breakfast since I was singing in the choir this morning and didn't want milk in my throat - well my stomach had other ideas and decided to give it all back. Mmmm. My first foray into true sickness. So, I had a few saltine crackers instead, and thankfully those stayed down. I had a few more crackers between the first two services to try to give my stomach a little more subtance. This afternoon and evening, I have felt progressively better, and thankfully have not had a repeat of the episode this morning. But, we'll see about tomorrow morning... Maybe this will turn into true "morning" sickness. We'll see...

New Symptoms

Well, I guess I am officially starting to deal with some degree of "morning" sickness. For one thing, it's not just the morning, but all day. I'm not sick, necessarily, but my stomach isn't always very happy - and it is directly related to what I'm eating or not eating. The hard part is that I often feel hungry (like there's a gnawing pit in my stomach), but at the same time, don't feel like eating anything. Strange and wierd. Thankfully, if I keep myself distracted and eat little snacks throughout the day, I'm pretty okay. This is a lot better to deal with than some women have, so I am counting my blessings if this is how it will be for the next couple months.

Patience

With all the excitement of our baby news, this devotional from last week didn't get posted. I found it very encouraging:

"If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer."
- II Corinthians 1:6

"Patience...is the ability to bear affliction, delay and interruption with calmness, perseverance and confidence in the goodness of God (Colossians 1:11-12). It is inward peace as well as outward control. It is the submission of our schedules, our viewpoints, our dreams to the greater plan of God, with the conviction that He has a good reason for every delay He allows to come our way."
- Barbara Bush

"And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light."
- Colossians 1:10-12

Fun Beginnings

This picture was taken last Saturday, October 28th, when I took a home pregnancy test that came out positive. :) I want to take a picture every month so that my mom especially can see the progress I'm making even though she can't be with me all the time. This is me at my normal size - and baby is 4 weeks, 3 days old!




Last night, at the Hughes family dinner, I received some gifts for the baby - his/her first presents! I guess there are some particular booties that my mother-in-law has gotten for the other moms-to-be, but she couldn't find them this time. So, instead, she found these patriotic baby socks since our little one is due on the Fourth of July! Also the classic baby keys, and a VERY soft plush kitty. Some of the other grandkids have similar plush toys in other animals - we get a cat since we have a cat at home. :)

I also bought a baby memory book today! I want to be able to record things as they happen, rather than try to recall them months down the road. There are a few pages for pre-birth stuff, so I figure it will be nice to get started - especially recalling the memories of when we first found out, etc.

And we even got two "congratulations on expecting a new baby" cards in the mail today. Very fun! It's sinking in more each day that it's actually happening. With every new pregnancy symptom, it just gets more "real". And, as of this post, I'm still feeling good as far as sickness goes. Praise the Lord!

Happy News!

As you can see from the pregnancy ticker above, I am pregnant! We've known for almost a week and just told our close family and friends last night. :) According to the pregnancy wheel, I'm due July 4th, 2007. So far, I feel fine, but we'll see how everything goes. If you think if me, keep me and this new little one in your prayers - health and strength for the full term and beyond.

God is very good to us. I rejoice when I think about what is going on inside of me at every moment:

"For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it 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 saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there were none of them."

-Psalm 139:13-16