Half Way

Actually, a little more than half way; I'm officially in week 21 now. I don't have any new ultrasounds to put up here, but I'm scheduled for one in a week or so so check back in then. I'm starting to feel my stomach being pushed up into my lungs now, which is appreciated by neither lungs nor stomach! Meals have now turned into a decision between satisfying my giant appetite and keeping food intake to a minimum so as not to compromise my ability to breathe....! The top of my uterus is about 2 fingers above my somewhat distorted belly button, making me officially huge like a barn :) I actually had to ask Mark for help putting my shoes on the other day because we had just eaten and I couldn't reach past my large stomach to get to my own feet .... sad! I have vowed never to resort to one of those go-go-gadget-arm/ reach-and-grab tools that old people use to pick things up off the floor, but I'm wondering whether I'll be able to make it through another 19 weeks of getting fat without using one!

We had a great Christmas and new year ... we spent the 24th/25th and 31st/1st at home in T-town, but did do some travelling while Mark was off rotations. We got to spend some time interviewing at a residency program in the south of Texas (read: Mexico), and went back to Oklahoma City to visit our small group leaders from church there ... but the most memorable trip was to Illinois to see Grandmama Crouch. She had a fall just before Christmas and broke her hip, and we weren't sure that she would even make it through surgery (being 99 years old tends not to be an advantage when undergoing surgery). But she came through remarkably well and we were able to visit her at the nursing home she is now staying at. She is an absolute inspiration to us - a pillar of faith who can recite Psalm after Psalm even when she can't quite remember who it is she's reciting them to. Of course, the fact that she is blind and has over 20 grandchildren and even great-great-grandchildren doesn't help her keep people straight...! She was still excited that she'd be gaining another great-grandchild, though.

This is an old photo of Grandmama and Grandpapa when he was still alive ... I found it at Mark's Uncle Jim's house where we stayed for the couple days we were there, and it nearly made me weep! I definitely wish I had been able to know Grandpapa.

While we were there, Mark was able to feel the baby kick for the first time - the look on his face was priceless :) I've been able to feel it moving around in there for 4 or 5 weeks now, but we weren't expecting him to be able to feel it for another few. So that was a fun surprise ... the baby seems to be awake (or at least active) for a greater part of the day now. I didn't used to feel any movement till around lunch time, but over the last week or so it's been moving around sporadically all day. My BabyCenter update for week 21 said that by now the baby weighs 3/4 of a pound and is about the length of a carrot (Which apparently is 10 1/2 inches, which may mean that I was gypped into buying midget carrots at Walmart...). Its eyelids are now developing, and it can hear my voice and things going on outside. Its bones are getting more solid and limbs are getting more proportionate, and it's starting to fatten up in preparation for looking cute in May :)

We still haven't decided on names for sure ... there are several boys' names that we're considering (Levi, Samuel, Isaac, Micah, Asher, Jack, Zachary) but girls' names are proving more elusive. My favourites are Sophie and Anna; others on the list are Rachel, Rebekah, Leah and Elizabeth. Grandmama's middle name is Elizabeth, as is my Aunt Libba's real name, so that's a fairly strong contestant. We're open to suggestions!