Two down, One to go!

So many things to talk about in this blog post. So many exciting things and scary things and wonderful things…..where to start!
Today, I “officially” enter my third trimester. I’m not sure week wise that I’m really there yet, but month wise I am. March 12-June 12 is three months…..eek! So exciting, but scary too. So many things to think about. This is the time that everyone tells me I’m going to start feeling the aches and pains of pregnancy. I’d say they are right :>). At work this past week, my ribs and lungs really hurt, and in between my shoulder blades. Nothing a few Tylenol couldn’t fix, but still uncomfortable. Must have been all the organ relocation and squishing that comes with a human growing in your abdomen. I have hip pain now just about every night I sleep. Some nights it really bothers me. Others, I’m too exhausted to even notice. It has totally inhibited my ability to sleep in. I wake up at about 6:30-6:45 each weekend morning just cause my hip hurts and I’m hungry. I’ve become really disciplined about going to bed on time so that I’m still getting plenty of rest. Other than that, I feel like I’m adjusting really well. There is part of me that doesn’t feel HUGE like I know I’m about to be. I saw a pregnant woman at the store the other day who was beyond huge. I looked at her and thought to myself “oh geeze, is that what I’m in for!?!?!”. Then I saw the two other rugrats running around next to her and I quickly had to look away or I would scare myself from ever having more children. All in all, I feel pretty good about myself right now. Trying to stay positive and hopeful for continued comfort.
I guess the most exciting thing to talk about was our appointment this past week. As most of you know now, IT’S A BOY!!! I, honestly, couldn’t be more thrilled. I do have a confession to make. We sort of held back some of the details from our last sonogram….the one where Calvin wasn’t cooperating. When I was wiping off all the jelly from my belly last time, the sonogram tech looked at us and said “ If I had to call it right now, I would say that I’ve seen enough evidence to call it a boy at 70% assurance”. With the cord and crossed legs, however, she wanted us to be clear that it wasn’t a confident guess. We understood, but of course we began to think in that direction. Yes…I wanted a girl, but purely for selfish reasons. It would be the first girl on both sides of our family, making her very special. And, I would get to live out my fantasy of making a completely girly nursery, complete with ribbons, bows and lace! But….God has a better plan, and He already knows that Calvin, Conner, Caleb and James will be the best of cousins growing up, and I couldn’t be more excited about it. A lot of people asked me if I was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t a girl. No….not at all. And Dave feels the same way. We’re just excited to finally know so that we can move on with the whole planning process.
I have to take a few moments to give a shout out to my doctor, Dr. Cope, and talk about how pleased I am with her. The more and more I talk to her, the more pleased I am with her. She is definitely the right doctor for me. As many of you know, I hate anything and everything that has to do with doctors. Now, to my credit, I’ve gotten A LOT better as an adult. But, I still feel like I am the best patient when I’m ignorant :>), especially when it comes to pregnancy. It’s funny….my models of pregnancy at this point in my life have been my two sisters-in-law, both who view this whole preggo thing very similarly to one another, yet completely opposite then I do. Both delivered their children a la naturale, both chose to have an advocate alongside in the form of a dula or midwife, and both wanted to know every little thing about pregnancy and all the details about what was happening. While that is a perfectly fine viewpoint to have, most of you know that is NOT how I am. The less I know, the better off I am. Along those lines, I was concerned about needing to take a birthing class. Everyone who I had talked to that took classes at Baylor said that the birthing classes were very detailed. They made you watch multiple videos, gave you diagrams of everything from delivering the placenta to an episiotomy, and told you every little detail of labor and delivery. Nope….not for me! No way jose! I do not want to know every detail, and I have very strong feelings about Dave remaining at my shoulders facing me the entire time. No husband of mine is going to be assisting by grabbing a leg or cutting anything! So, I had decided not to take a birthing class because all it would do was scare me to death. Dave agreed, but wanted me to check with our doctor just to make sure. While I want to be prepared, I also know that you can over prepare yourself. When I approached my doctor about this, she totally agreed, and I was so thankful. If she had said that she really felt like I needed to take a class, I would have taken one. I trust her. She’s a doctor! I’m not! I know she will do what’s best for me. I told her that I wasn’t going to have an elaborate birthing plan or come in with the idea that I knew exactly what I was doing. I totally trust her to make the right decisions for me, but I also know that anything can happen while you deliver, and that when that time comes, I’m going to be looking to their wisdom to guide me along. Now don’t get me wrong….I certainly have my preferences. I would prefer not to be induced or have a C-Section, but again, I know that no matter what, the doctors are going to be there for me as an advocate, not to push their own agenda. And Dr. Cope and I have the same agenda….which is a safe, healthy, as close to pain free delivery as possible (wink wink).
There are so many things I could ramble on about right now. Dave and I have our big trip to San Francisco in a few days, so our next blog post will be all about that. Then, the following week, The Norvells come for a few days, and then Grandpa Vendsel comes for our nursery weekend extravaganza! But I’ll close with a few pictures. Last weekend, I took a MUCH needed weekend trip with my bestie, Brooke, to visit our other bestie, Lauren, down in Houston. Lauren is preggo, too! She’s about 6 or 7 weeks behind me. Her tall, athletic build hasn’t revealed it too much yet, but she had just the slightest bit of a tummy while we were there. We had a great, relaxing time. Saturday, we didn’t get out of our sweats or PJ’s until the evening when we decided to go to dinner. I really do enjoy our time together and I hope that we get to do it again with our kids. She’s having a boy, too, and if I keep my fingers crossed, Brooke might not be too far behind us :>). I love these girls, have been blessed by them and challenged by them and encouraged by them consistently over the past 10 years (yes….10 years we’ve known each other!). I’ve never been one to have a ton of friends. I seem to pick out one or two and become close to them. No matter how many people I meet along the way in my life, these girls will always be there for me and will always be my litmus test for friendship.