Meanings of the womb

Here are a few different words that are all other ways to describe the womb.  I received this in an e-mail newsletter from Nancy Campbell who has the Above Rubies ministry.

"house of life"
"nesting place"
"palace of a child" (This is what it means in Chinese)
"sanctuary"
"the secret place" (from Psalm 139:15)
"cradle of the unborn"
"God's creative workshop"

Me at 27 weeks, Ronnie at 20 months

I feel HUGE today!  Wow!  This belly (and butt and hips) is just getting bigger and bigger, and my maternity jeans are getting tighter and tighter!  I'm going to have to get some larger sized pants!

My prayer now is that this baby will hang on at least 10 more weeks so I can have my homebirth this time.  I was 5 days short with Ronnie, so I need to make it!  Now watch, I'll go past my EDD this time.  LOL!!!  And if I do, I am going to be SO huge I cannot even imagine.  God, give me the strength to handle this growing belly, butt, and hips for the next 10 to 15 weeks!  Whew!

26 week belly photos

Michelle asked for them, so here you go! :)

26 week prenatal visit

I went for my monthly prenatal visit today.  Blood pressure was excellent, baby's heartbeat was 152 and we heard some kicks on the doppler too.  My belly measured low at 21cm, but that is because baby was laying transverse today.  No swelling, just a tad on the ankles, but that is normal.  I do need to work on my water intake, that is the toughest thing for me.  And I need to kick the sugar, I have gotten way off track with this pregnancy.

I also got heartburn at 2:00am last night, that is the first time with this pregnancy.  Heartburn only hit me at the very end last time, so I didn't deal with it much.  I have been miserable with it all day!  So I got some Lily of the Desert Aloe Vera juice, the Herbal Stomach Formula.  I also picked up some papaya enzyme chewable tablets, basically the natural version of Tums. Hopefully these two things will help control it, I still have 3 months to go!

I got a free glucose meter over the weekend, so I can monitor my blood sugar through the rest of my pregnancy. So far it has been excellent, so I am happy with that.

I will start going to the midwives every 2 weeks now.  I go back at 28 weeks for a blood draw to test my iron (I think?) and to see if my blood has built any antibodies to baby's blood.  I am O neg and if this baby has O pos blood, and some of it mixes with mine, then my blood will attack baby's, and that is not good.  Ronnie is O pos, so after he was born I had a Rhogam shot to keep my blood from building antibodies to O pos blood.  But, we have to test my blood now just incase baby's blood may have mixed with mine in utero.  I'd rather be safe then sorry!

25 weeks

Big belly!  LOL!!

24 weeks 1 day

This photo above is a baby that was delivered at 24 weeks. So this give you an idea of how big/small our baby is right now inside my belly.  Absolutely amazing!!  No wonder I am feeling so much movement and some rather strong kicks, look at those long legs!  I am just continually amazed at how fast a baby grows in just 9 months time.  And that even when delivered at this early stage, sometimes they can make it, thanks to our technology.

According to the Baby Center e-mail I received yesterday, baby weighs just over a pound now and is about a foot long from head to foot.   Pretty much everything is developed for the most part, now baby will start to fill out and gain weight.  Which means mama will too! :)

First born

Here you go mommies - a different kind of survey for a change - it's all about your first born! Just copy and paste it in a new note for yourself!

1. WAS YOUR PREGNANCY PLANNED? Absolutely.

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? Yes.

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? I was VERY excited!

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU? Never was and never will be.

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 33

HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? I was charting my cycles and the day I was supposed to get my period I didn’t, so I took a test and it was positive.

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? Ron via e-mail since he was traveling, and then some internet friends.

8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? Nope, and we still don’t find out!

9. DUE DATE? 7/17/07

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? I was nauseous but I never actually got sick.

WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? Hard to remember much, watermelon towards the end is all I can think of.

12. WHAT IRRITATED YOU? I don’t remember feeling irritated by anything particular.

13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? Boy

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? Nope, I was thrilled for him to be a boy.

15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? About 25lbs.

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? 2

17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? The one up in Michigan was planned, the one at work was supposed to be a surprise, but I found out.

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? Not at all.

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? It was supposed to be at home with our midwife, but since my water broke 5 days before I was 37 weeks, I had to deliver in the hospital. Centennial Hospital in Nashville.

20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? Well, it was 7 hours from when my water broke until he was born, but active labor was only 2 hours long.

21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? I rode with my midwife in her van and Ron followed us in the car.

22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? Ron, my midwife (who was a doula in the hospital setting), Dr. Wilters, my nurse, and then a bunch of other nurse/staff people who I was hardly even aware of during that time.

23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? Natural birth

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? Nope, nothing.

25. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 6lbs, 9ozs

28. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN? June 21, 2007 at 7:40pm

30. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Ronnie Gerald DePew III