Hum a little tune

I drove my husband out of bed at 4 this morning. Usually, he is the one who drives me away with his very, very, very loud snoring. But this morning it was my turn to drive him away. Over the past week, I have developed the habit of humming when I first begin to fall asleep. I don't snore, I just hum. I'm not sure where it comes from or why I do it. I know that it will wake me up. And usually I am awake just before I hum. But for a brief second I fall asleep and hum.

This morning Jermaine and I both woke up at the same time to go the bathroom. When we came back, I quickly went back to sleep and began humming. Jermaine, however, could not fall back to sleep because I would hum every time I exhaled. I am not sure how long he stayed before he decided he couldn't handle my humming, but I don't think it was very long. I will say, he is much nicer than I am when he is snoring and I can't fall back to sleep. I usually yell at him to be quiet. He just grabbed his pillow and left.

I am not sure if my new habit is related to the cold I am finally getting over or the fact that Josiah is taking up more and more room. But it makes me laugh to think that Jermaine is now having to leave the room in order to sleep.

Waddling, coughing, and baby kicks

Not much new to report in the world of baby. Our crib came in last weekend, but we have not put it together yet. Other than that, I haven't done much baby shopping lately. We tried to register at Target last weekend but the computers were all broken. We'll try again soon.

My principal and a co-worker told me on the same day that I had begun to waddle. And I think my ever-expanding belly was touched by more people this week than ever before.

Last week, one of my students had a horrible hacking cough and I made a mental note to avoid her, but it didn't seem to work. I now have a horrible hacking cough. Jermaine has done a very good job of taking care of me.

So as I rested today, I watched Josiah kick and roll around in my belly. I guess it doesn't matter that I'm not feeling well. He is growing and moving and healthy, which makes me very happy.

Bottles, mattresses and baby names

Jermaine and I spent Black Friday registering at Babies R Us. We have completed most of our Christmas shopping, so we didn't need to brave the crowds for others. So I thought we would use that time to register. It is amazing to me the conversations you'll have while trying on Baby Bjorn baby packs and while trying to pick out bathtubs.

I had to call my sisters to get advice on bottles and diapers. Heather told me that it really doesn't matter which bottle I pick, little Josiah will tell us which one he likes best. A friend of mine recommended Dr. Brown's bottles after going through 5 different brands. I guess, that's just something all mom's go through if breastfeeding doesn't work. I have already started praying that breastfeeding is a snap. If I have to pay for diapers, I don't want to pay for food my body is supposed to make for free. We still have to pick out a mattress. For some reason, I feel I need to research that before adding it to a registry or buying it ourselves.

Since before we knew we were having a boy, Josiah was the only boy name we liked. I feel in love with the name years ago after reading about King Josiah in 2 Kings 22 - 23. It is a great story, you should read it. We have purchased and read two baby name books and looked through several others and have not found any name we like as much. So our first born son's name will be Josiah Robert Lobaugh. Joss for short. Robert is a family name. It is my dad and grandfather's name, as well as Jermaine's dad's middle name. Both of them are Bob's.

Little Josiah is growing everyday. According to the books, he is about 13 1/2 inches long and weighs 1 1/2 pounds. All I know is that he moves all of the time. In fact he is busy kicking me right now. Jermaine has finally be able to feel him move. I think Jermaine was beginning to think that Josiah stopped kicking me on purpose whenever he put his hand on my stomach. I can even see him move every once-in-awhile. It won't be long before I have alien baby.

Squirmy Wormy

Our little boy is now 23 weeks. He weighs a pound now and is about 12 inches long. At least that is how big the websites says he should be. He can hear now and some day, I might get Jermaine to sing to him.

But the biggest change is how much he moves around. I have been able to feel him move for over a month now. But now, I can put my hand on my stomach and he will push against it. Jermaine is jealous. He has not felt our little one move yet. Maybe if he had patience, he would feel our squirmy wormy move. I hoped Jermaine would be able to feel him move tonight. But no such luck. Jermaine got so frustrated, he stuck his tongue out at my stomach. I think it is unfair that dads can't feel their babies move like moms can. I can't wait until Jermaine can feel our little squirmy wormy.

I need to try to get Jermaine to go get my a milkshake. More later.

And the verdict is...

Jermaine and I went to the doctor today for our 20 week sonogram. Everything looks great. Our little one is 10 inches long and 14 ounces. The heart rate is 148. And my due date has been pushed up to March 9th.





Jermaine and I asked the sonographer write down the gender and put it in an envelope for us. After our appointment we went to the Botanical Gardens and opened the envelope. And the verdict is... WE'RE HAVING A BOY!!!

The pictures include 2 profiles, his face, his heart and the proof.

The sonographer tried to get a better profile shot. But when she asked me to turn to my side, hoping to get him to move, she got more than she asked for. He did move, he just turned around and faced the other direction. Not even born yet, and he is already being defiant. We also saw him suckling and punching the air.

starting to show

I have spent the last three weekends trying to find maternity jeans that fit. I have finally resolved to order them online. My jeans and belly band are not enough to keep my expanding belly in. Thankfully, all of my dress pants still fit. I actually bought my first maternity sweater today. A few of the shirts I bought at the beginning of the school year are starting to get snug, and I purposely bought them bigger, so I would have room to grow.

Our little one will be 20 weeks on Friday. Which means her senses are starting to develop. I keep trying to convince Jermaine to sing to the baby, but the only thing he will say is "Hi, baby! It's your daddy." So if he won't sing to the baby, I guess I will just have to settle for playing music for the baby.

I watched a delivery video the other day. Now, I am wondering what the heck was going through my brain when I agreed to this. I am actually having a debate with myself between drugs and no drugs. Most people think I am completely crazy to even consider not using drugs. But I'm not sure an epidural is right for me. I hate the idea of being confined to the bed once I've gotten the drugs. I hate being confined, especially when I'm uncomfortable.

Week 18

How is it that something tha weighs only 7 ounces can make my stomach stick out so much? At 18 weeks the baby is about 5 1/2 inches long from crown to rump or about the size of a bell pepper or a sweet potato. I love the way different websites compare the size of babies to a vegetable or fruit. My stomach is definately growing every day. My shopping trip for maternity pants was highly unsuccessful last week. But I did buy a belly band, which has got to be the best invention ever. I can wear my own pants and NOT button them. The person who came up with this was a genius. I will be wearing it every Thanksgiving, pregnant or not. I am going to attempt to find jeans again this weekend. Hopefully I will have more luck.

Everyday I am more and more certain I can feel the baby move. Despite what my sisters think and all the books say, I know it is not gas. It is either the baby moving or my internal organs doing flipflops. But it is NOT gas. After having my gallbladder out a few years ago, I have become one with my body and know when my stomach is not happy with me. Speaking of unhappy stomachs, I have for unknown reasons thrown up twice this week. Which may be more information than you want to read. But I find it very bizarre that I only threw up twice in my entire first trimester and have thrown up twice in a week.

Jermaine and I have two more weeks before we find out if we are having a boy or girl. Family members will have to watch their mail to find out and the rest of you will find out in November once all the grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles know.

It's all about the heartbeat!

Jermaine and I heard our baby's heartbeat for the first time today. Which was very cool and somewhat surreal. Much like to whole experience of pregnancy. Jermaine said it sounded like a dog barking. Leave it to him to compare it to a dog. The baby's heart rate was 140 beats per minute. I was hoping to be able to have some real medical insight into the baby's gender. But 140 is the cut off. If it is below 140 it is more likely to be a boy and above 140 more likely to be a girl, at least according to "What to Expect When You're Expecting." I guess we'll have to wait three more weeks for the sonogram. Of course, if Jermaine's dad gets his wish, the baby won't cooperate and we won't be able to tell.

I would like to know how come none of my pants fit me and my stomach looks like a road map because of all the stretchmarks and I have only gained 2 pounds. Pregnancy doesn't make sense.

I'm tired. It's time for bed, even thought it is only 8:30 on a Friday night. This party pooper is going to bed.

quick update

I am more than certain that I have felt the baby move over the past several days. Which is a very weird feeling. It is like having a tiny alien in your body doing sommersaults. When I walk it is very much like what I imagine it would feel like to have a water balloon in your stomach. It is all very strange.

Jermaine says I am showing. I am not so sure. I do know it is time for new jeans however. I think I might as well buy maternity jeans at this point. What good is casual Friday, if I can't comfortably fit in my jeans anymore?

Besides being pregnant with my best friend Jeneille, I just found out that my college roommate, Ashley, is also pregnant. We are actually due just 12 days apart. I am so excited to have people to go through this with. God's miracles are everywhere.

At the bequest of my sister....

...I am updating my blog more often. I really should be grading papers, progress report grades are due tomorrow. But family is much more important.

I think Jermaine and I have picked names. If you want to know what they are give me a call. We decided on the names today as I drove home from church. So they might change. But crying at the thought of meeting a child with those names, are a pretty good indication that they won't change. Okay, really only I cried with the girl's name. I am hoping that is a sign that we're having a girl.

Jermaine's parents survived Ike. But their roof no longer keeps the water out. Today, Dad covered it in tarps. Jermaine and I would like to go down this weekend and bring them anything they need and help clean up anything we can.

No real updates on the baby. I think I felt it somersault the other day. Of course, all of the books say it is too early to feel the baby move. So maybe it was gas, but I choose to believe it was the baby. I also, got the pleasure of throwing up for the second time since becoming pregnant. Percy gets all of the kudos for making that happen. Seeing your cat throw up and then proceed to eat it was a little more than I could handle.

I am now officially in my second trimester. And I have read that I should not be as tired any more, but I am exhausted. I accomplished absolutely nothing this weekend but 6 scrapbook pages, putting away the laundry(that was washed last weekend) and sweeping the bathroom and kitchen floors.

And now I am going to go to bed and leave all of my papers to be graded until the morning.

4 beautiful nieces

I have four absolutely beautiful nieces: Jayna, Raegan, Addison and Kaelyn. All of them are in Nebraska with their mothers, those selfish women, and I miss them terribly.

Jayna sang her ABCs to my picture on the computer today and blew me a kiss. She is the oldest at 2. She has the cutest Minnie Mouse voice and the sweetest temperment of any child I have ever met. At least until she gets tired. When I was home this summer, I got invited into the playroom at Grandma's house to play. And by play, I mean sit in the little tent house with all of the other toys and stuffed animals. Jayna can already read Goodnight Moon. Okay maybe she's not reading it. But she knows exactly what words are on which page and recites with beautiful expression.

Raegan is 21 months. And already a reader. Okay, she doesn't read books yet. But she will let you read to her for hours. Her favorite books have animal pictures in them. Jermaine and I got her a book with animal pictures in it this summer and you never saw a child so happy to see the next page as she was. She and I talk on the phone often, with Renata translating for me. She is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her new little brother, Joe.

Addison is just two months younger than Raegan and a ball of energy. Jermaine and I fell in love with her emphatic "no." She will wave her arms and shake her head vigorously all the while crying, "NO! NO! NO!" It is about the most precious thing in the world to see. If she doesn't want you to do something, she will let you know. This summer Jermaine and I tried to sing to her, but she was having none of it. She has also recently learned to say Naunie. Which just melts my heart. Because now the three oldest can say my name and not my other sisters'. I guess that is one good thing about my unique name, all the babies can say it. She is the protective big sister of Kaelyn. Kaely is her baby as far as she is concerened. Which just makes me laugh now, because when I was home she practically ignored her new little sister.

Kaelyn is now 7 weeks old. I got to hold her when she was just a few days old. Now I don't recognize the pictures of her. Basically, because I am convinced that Heather is taking a picture of a different baby everytime. But she is absolutely beautiful and apparently is as hungry as her Aunt Naunie.

13 weeks and counting

Pregnancy makes me very hungry!!!! It is crazy how hungry I can get right after eating. And I do mean immediately after eating. It feels almost like I haven't eaten anything at all. This does not bode well for not wanting gain an enormous amount of weight. Maybe I will breakout that new pregnant lady workout DVD yet. I only bought it a month ago.

Other than being hungry pregnancy is good. The last couple of days, I have felt the pressure of the baby on my bladder. Which is an altogether different feeling. I don't have to go to the bathroom. I can just feel a different sort of weight in my stomach. Kinda cool and weird at the same time.

According to all of the websites the baby is moving all over the place now. But I still can't feel a thing. I keep hoping to feel something. But if the books are right it will be another month or two before that happens.

I have my next doctor's appointment on Friday. I am not sure what is supposed to happen at this one. I just hope they don't have to draw another 8 vials of blood.

Baby at Week 11

Our little one is now 11 weeks big. Which means our baby is the size of a fig. His fingers and toes are no longer webbed and little tooth buds are formed under the gums. She is also moving up a storm, although I can't feel it yet. Although, during the sonogram we got to see him move all over the place. And I swear, during the sonogram, the baby waved to us. I can't wait to feel her move, but I'll have to wait another month or two.

As you can tell, I am very confused about what kind of baby I want. Actually, as of last week the gender has been determined. No outward signs yet, so if we took a picture we still wouldn't know what we were having. Our doctor will do another sonogram at 20 weeks and we'll find out then. Hopefully, he'll pose perfectly again for his next picture. Lots of people are guessing already if it is a boy or girl. I think it is pretty well split, with half saying a girl and half saying a boy. I got no kind of clue, but Jermaine says it will be a boy because I want a girl so badly.

My morning sickness is starting to go away. But Monday was a not a happy day for me. It was the first time, and hopefully the last, I lost my breakfast. Other than that my morning sickness doesn't seem as bad as it was a few weeks ago. Now if only the fatigue would disappear in time for the start of school next week.

In other news

To all of you who expected to get an update on my life in general, here's what has been going on in my life for the past few months.

Jermaine and I started our summer in NYC. This was my first trip to New York and I cannot wait to go back.

Shows we saw:Mary Poppins, RENT and In the Heights. If you are planning to go to New York anytime soon, you need to see In the Heights! It is now my new favorite musical.

Most Memorable moment:Probably the most memorable sight we saw was St. Patrick's Cathedral. I started crying the minute I walked in. I was in complete awe of this building that was built to honor God. And even if the people who walk through it do not honor Him, this building always will stand in worship of Him.

Overcoming Fears:Our first day in New York, Jermaine got me to the Observation Deck of the Empire State Building. The elevator ride was not the most exciting trip I have ever made. But I survived and seeing NYC from that vantage point was amazing.

Winnie-the-Pooh: I dragged Jermaine into the New York Public Library. And while there, we discovered that they have the original Winnie-the-Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Kanga, and Eeyore. The ones A.A. Milne played with as a toddler. Jermaine really wanted to take a picture, but there was a guard watching our every move.

I have also, been very busy with grad school. I just finished two summer classes. I am going to take the year off. I have recently become the department chair for the ESL department, and there is a ton of paperwork that I have to learn how to do. So, I thought I would alleviate some of the stress. Plus, I really just wanted a break.

Other than that, I can't think of what else has been going on with me. In my next blog, I will tell anyone who cares about my four fabulous neices.

Lots of love,

Naunie

We're Having a Baby

I got to see my baby for the first time today. And I wanted to share with all of you our excitement. Some of you reading this already knew, but most of you didn't. SURPRISE!!!

For the past nine weeks and three days, I have peed alot, drank my share of Sonic Lime Slushes and ate more crackers than I can count. I have also had to give up my love of steak, because this litte one does not do beef. (Does anyone have any good chicken recipes?) And I have taken more naps than I did in preschool. The latest one in the parking lot of the movie theater before seeing a movie with Holly. Pregnancy makes you very sleepy.

Our Spring Break should be very exciting, as our little one should join our family the Friday before Spring Break (March 13th). That is only if he/she does not take after me and shows up a month late.

Lots of love,
Naunie

Note: In case you cannot tell what you are looking at, here are some hints. In the top picture the baby is looking right at you. You should see a head, two arms and two legs, and a body. The bottom picture is a profile. So you should see the head, one arm (the white streak across the middle), and the body.