15 weeks

We're expecting! :-) In case you missed it.

I'm 15 weeks this week. We've had 2 ultrasounds and at each everything looked "normal" for the gestational age on that day. Big ol' round head, spine looked good, cord and placenta doing their job.

I think it's a she. Last week at my OB check up he said the heartbeat sounded feminine, for what it's worth.

The pregnancy has been very different so far. I escaped sickness until the last couple of weeks and then all of the sudden *bam* losing my lunch (literally) in front of my students. This baby likes chicken *smile* but doesn't like sweets. This is hard for mama to adjust to. Mama LOVES sweets. I mean, I still eat the occasional piece of chocolate but for the most part I can pass. I am very very very tired and hoping the 2nd trimester will bring some change in that.

Each doctor's appointment gets a little easier. I was pretty stressed about the first one which fell the Monday after Sammy's birthday. Next we had an appointment with a perinatologist to get a level 2 scan and some extra blood work to rule out any open neural tube defects. When the dr walked in while sonographer was scanning she exclaimed "there's a head!" SMH Everything else looked ok too.

I hesitated to tell my kiddo's about it last week...I was losing my lunch and they were concerned I had a "stomach virus" or "head virus". :-) I decided to wait until after today's appointment to tell them. Without movement for proof of life I was just a little nervous to have to explain *again* that sometimes babies die. I told them the next morning and they were excited and over it in about 2.5 seconds. They giggled and said the picture looked like a puppy or kitty. I assured them I have a baby human growing in me, not a puppy or a kitty.

It's harder to plan this time. With Sammy, at this point, I had a list of the necessities and a few different favorites for a boy or girl picked out. This time, I can't imagine actually putting a nursery together or starting to gather all the required baby stuff.

I think I felt a swift kick to the left side early this AM. I rolled over and *jab*. :-) Only 2 weeks until we *hopefully* find out if it's a he or she and get confirmation that all the developing has happened in an orderly fashion.

the one with a lot of cheese

I found myself dispensing advice this week...and as I said it, I knew it was true but I also knew I struggled to live it. Lately my coping mechanisms seem lame, cheesy, if you will. Wanna know what it is?

My hope is in the Lord. I shouldn't rely on my work, my relationships, or anything around me to give me hope. It's interesting too, when I fix my heart on the Lord, when I look to Him for hope and peace, the craziness of life seems a lot less crazy, a lot more manageable. I find myself reading all kinds of cheesy wall hangings and shaking my head "yeah - it IS thankful people who are happy, not happy people who are thankful". All the stuff I used to cringe at, seems to ring true.

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I woke up yesterday with cheesy potatoes on the brain. Looked around the 'net and found a recipe that seemed easy enough. These are reheated, I didn't have the right light (as if I know anything about that) last night so this was my breakfast potatoes.

Cheesy potatoes for supper and breakfast? Yup. Thanks to this little one:

Cheese!

When I get a craving, it's no joke.