What's in a name?

Alot I think. People with the same name tend to have similar qualities, though there are always exceptions to this...I really have noticed it to be true - it makes you wonder if parents don't actually pick the name of their child, but rather the child has a name and the parents "find"it...fun things to ponder.

Anyway -
There is a "career" fair going on at the school today and a deaf lady came in needing help. No one on this campus knows how to sign, so my boss was trying to find a way to help her, mostly with a pen and paper. Well, a few minutes later she came in to tell me that a young man working the career fair helped the deaf woman. He very patiently wrote out a ton of information for her, directed her to the two different booths that had the type of job she was looking for, and stayed with her at each one to make sure she got everything she needed, smiling the entire time...
his name?
Patrick.

And it may sound odd...but I felt strangely proud...as if it had been MY Patrick. =P

The Belly and the Beach

We just got back from a fabulous weekend at the beach house...did Sunday really have to come so soon?

Before leaving I had been wondering if the belly would be a flotation device or not. Well - it is! It is pretty funny actually. Except when you want to dive down to pet manatees and the belly makes you pop right back to the surface. *sigh*

Patrick owes me a manatee petting!

It also makes it hard to forage for shells, but Drew helped me with that, and with "Fish hunting" =)

Another fun belly in the ocean fact - it feels marvelous floating around weightless...a little odd maybe with the baby tumbling around...and then you get out of the water and you become 6 months pregnant in a matter of seconds. UHG!

Staying in the water forever does not work though, not only will you get properly sunburned...you will get sea sick...seriously!

But my flotation device and I had a fantastic time, got way too much sunshine and sloshing about, ate very naughty food, pouted only slightly when Mojitos were made, and laughed so much my cheeks hurt!

I love the beach! I can't wait to take the baby there next summer! What will Patrick think of all the fishes I wonder?

Hello?

Really I am blogging for me. But sometimes...sometimes I get a little bummed out that more people don't read it. Usually I don't care at all, like I said - it's for me. It'll be fun to look back some time from now and see all this oddness that was my first pregnancy...and what's changed, and what I've learned and how I've grown and all that jazz.

But I have these moments...like right now...when I think..."Gee...doesn't anyone else care?"
I know I can be very silly sometimes...
And if you ARE reading - thanks! =)

I'm just having a hormonal pregnant lady moment - it'll pass.

Perfect

I was a bit silly and scheduled an appointment on my Birthday - so off I went to the birth center, tiara and all...

I was extremely upset when I weighed in...I swear there is some weird fat warp there, because on my at home scale I gained 3lbs...on their scale I gained 8!!! I was prepared for a gentle lecture...especially after such a gain...but it did not come, in fact Michelle (my midwife) said "Well you are supposed to have a gain about now"

All that worry for nothing!

I got to ask a few questions as they trickled back to my swiss cheese brain (really need to write those down!) and the baby has a perfect heartbeat. Perfect.

=)

Each time I go to the birth center I am reminded of how much I love it! Everyone there is so nice, and you can tell they really care. It makes me so happy!

My next appointment is in a little over 2 weeks...I will be at the 28 week mark! Already! WOW!!!

Now off I go to celebrate my Birthday with some yummy ice cream cake! =D

OMG My Boobs are LEAKING!

Need I say more!?

25 weeks - And the belly grows and grows and grows...

Wow time is flying by! 15 weeks to go...well since I want to be ready early, about 13 weeks to go...and since I hope he's just the teeniest bit late, maybe 16 weeks to go.
It really is hard to judge these things.

Today I had a friend say to me "My goodness you are REALLY pregnant!" LOL* That of course made me happy =D

This morning I put on a shirt I had purchased just before the Germany trip. It seemed more snug. I looked up at Drew and said "Drew, I think my shirt shrank!" He was very amused by this and wasted no time in informing me that it was more likely that my belly got bigger. Yah...That's probably true...but it doesn't SEEM bigger to me. Though...the last few days I have been getting some comments about the size of my belly...maybe it IS getting bigger?

Cool!

All about pee

SO pregnant women pee alot. It is a simple fact. WHen I say alot I mean ALOT!

Last night was one of the first nights I slept through without getting up to pee since about my 3rd month. I was totally worried! How strange is your life when you worry that you slept through the night and didn't pee?

Have no fear though, I have peed insanely since then. And gotten lots of kicks to remind me that Patrick is alive and well and enjoying bouncing on my bladder. Bounce bouncey bounce.

Another funny pee story - the other day I was sitting in the bathroom and suddenly could not remember if I peed or not. I seriously sat there for about 3 minutes, utterly lost..."Did I already pee? Do I still need to pee? Pee again? I am so confused"

That is just sad...

but admittedly...damned funny too.

Tofu and Alien Belly

So two cool things from yesterday - I was able to eat tofu for the first time since becoming pregnant. It was good! I am very happy! I missed it SOOOO much!
AND
We can officially see the baby moving around. It looks so very odd, and very different from a kick.

=)

Some things no one tells you...

Remember early on I was mentioning how weird pregnancy is? Well it is still weird. Usually pretty cool - but still weird. There are new things to add to the weirdness...

Everyone talks about the baby kicking. A very fun and exciting thing to be sure! But they don't talk about the baby moving around inside you. That feels really strange...and sometimes makes me feel just a teeny bit motion sick...seriously!

Also, everyone talks about the odd things that can happen to your hair - it can become thick and gorgeous, stringy and greasy, or in my case weird and frizzy and thick. But body hair, like many of the pregnancy oddities, is not mentioned until you are already well into your pregnancy. I imagine this is because people would not do it otherwise. For example, the hair on your legs grows more slowly - cool right? Well I now have a monkey belly!!! Yes - furry fuzzy belly! Drew says he sees no difference - but he is also probably the first guy in the world who didn't think my boobs got bigger at first. In his defense, they started out pretty large...I don't think either of us imagined them getting much larger...they did sadly (happily to him of course)

So...motion sickness, fuzzy belly, what else is there you ask?

That would be the weirdness of other people. Now, this is something you are always warned about from the start. However, the warning are geared towards thin pregnant women. Thin pregnant I am not! So instead of hearing "Oh my God you are so huge!?" Something I would actually love to hear by the way because it would be confirmation that the outside world knows I am pregnant...I hear "You can't even tell you're pregnant!" Really? Cuz my belly is atleast 3x larger than it was, I have pictures to prove it - exactly how fat do you think I am!?

Or how about this one - instead of people bombarding me with "unwelcome" tummy rubs and advice I do not want...I get nothing.

NOTHING! Now the people who know I am pregnant, of course touch the belly, say hello to the belly, and offer up advice, some of which I have found quite awesome actually...BUT people who didn't know look utterly surprised when they do find out *Cue shocked wide-eyed expression* "Oh wow! I had no idea! Congratulations!!!"

Grrrr....

Maybe being a thin pregnant woman is not easy either...but atleast people KNOW you're pregnant and don't just think you are REALLY REALLY freaking fat and round

*sigh*

Maybe I am the exception to the rule but I, personally, would love it if complete strangers touched my belly and asked me constantly 'So when are you due? Boy or girl? Pick a name yet?' and made comments on the hugeness of my baby belly, and offered up bizarre advice. But really, maybe that is just me.

As my very wise mom and hubby keep telling me...it doesn't really matter what the outside world thinks or believes, or says or doesn't say, they tend to be in their own lives anyway...*I* of course know I am pregnant, the people I love who love me back know I am pregnant...and some even have told me how lovely and glowey I am. That's really all that matters =) Now, if I could just get that to sink into my brain...

24 Weeks - Enter the Baby Time Warp

I am now 24 weeks. Which means I technically have 16 weeks until my due date. Being very familiar with Murphy and his ass biting...I am preparing for 14 weeks, and the extra time I will hopefully have will be time to just relax a bit. Really...I want to make things so cozy for Patrick that he may be a few days late. The chances are pretty good since I was 2 weeks late, and my cycles are longer. If I stay hydrated - which I have been doing a MUCH better job of - I should be good to go.

So...that in mind...as I said, I want to have everything ready in 14 weeks.

The problem is we seem to have entered the Baby Time Warp Zone. I first became familiar with the time phenomenon when planning my wedding. Then we called it the Wedding Warp Zone.

It seems to be back again for baby, speeding up time at a neck breaking rate so you look at the clock see that it is almost 8pm and you swear you just started the day. What the hell happened to my day!?

But we must push onward, and work with the time we have, even if it is moving at warp speed.

Cuz Patrick is coming when he's coming...and we want to be as prepared as we possibly can...

and I can't help but shake the feeling that no matter how prepared we get in these next weeks...he's ganna surprise us all anyway.

And we shall call him....

Patrick.
Patrick Pumpkin.

Drew started calling him that pretty much since we found out I was pregnant, and announced to the world that that is his name since we found out it's a boy.
I've been a bit on the fence. But after everyone in Germany was calling him Patrick, it has really grown on me.

So Patrick Pumpkin it is.
That of course is not his official name...
Patrick Josef Dambrell
Josef is my late Opi's middle name.

It has a nice ring doesn't it?
=)

Growing, growing, growing 23 Weeks

Drew and I just looked at pics from 6 weeks on...wow the belly has grown!!!

Pics as Promised - The baby!

Here he is at 19 weeks.
Hard to believe he used to look like a weird little bean, and now he's looking like a real little person...

23 Weeks - The Mango

According to all the websites I have obsessively subscribed to, the baby is now the size of a mango!

Somehow, seemingly over night, we can now SEE the baby kick! It is also much easier for outside people to feel him kick, depending on where he's kicking. The kicks are obviously getting a bit stronger too.

I'll be a little sad when he's not in there anymore.

I am starting to get more uncomfortable at night. It is becoming harder and harder to sleep - the bathroom trips every couple of hours don't help much either.

I'm still a little bummed that I don't really look pregnant enough for people to say "Oh she's pregnant!" instead of "Pregnant or fat, pregnant or fat?"

Oh well.

I have been told by Germany family that I am glowing and look wonderful. Always nice to hear. =D And we all know that family does not necessarily have to be nice about stuff like that LOL*

I keep reading that my belly button will be popping soon...I keep wondering when that will be and what it'll feel or look like...will it just happen overnight too?

Pregnancy is full of little surprises.