Week 20 update

First pregnancy picture.  I never think I look pregnant enough to pose for a picture until about this point and even now I had to shape my shirt around my belly to make it look right.  Half way through!

The big news this update is that the sonogram went really well and everything looks good.  We saw *very* clearly that we are indeed having a boy and his heart, spine, legs, feet, head, and all look good.  Lydia ended up coming with us to the sonogram and so she got to see her little brother. We're all getting more excited but it does seem like a long way to go.

Two weeks ago I was getting a little nervous because I wasn't feeling the baby move that much.  I had felt him move here and there but I felt by this point I should be getting a daily reminder that he's there.  I actually prayed to feel him move more.  God answers abundantly!   I've been feeling the baby move pretty much at least 3 times a day ever since I prayed that.  Thank you God!  It's great to get to that point now.

Of course it's also the point where I'm starting to feel more uncomfortable.  Sciatic nerve pain and stiffness after sitting is the worst of it so it's not too bad.  The doctor said "walking is your friend" so I need to keep moving more.

I think I've lost that 2nd trimester energy burst that I had felt the past few weeks.  Staying up late at the women's retreat didn't help and so maybe I'm just catching up from that but I've been having to go to bed early the last few nights.  Unfortunately that cuts into my study time so I'm hoping I can catch up soon.

Made the facebook announcement so I think everyone knows now.    

Week 18 Update

I've felt really good the last two weeks.  I even cleaned a bathroom yesterday!  That says a lot.  I finally feel like I have some energy.  Not too much to post this week.  I got a new prenatal vitamin (after insurance it's free!) and it's a lot easier to swallow than my last one.  It's a mail order thing that comes automatically until I cancel so it's super convenient too.

Feeling the little guy move here and there.  Looking forward to seeing him via ultrasound in two weeks!

First hike of 2014 (also Hiking with a pregnant lady part IV)

Many long-time readers of my blog know that I used to post pictures of us hiking all the time, especially back when I was pregnant with Dylan and when he was a baby.  Martin would also post them on his old blog and call them hiking with a pregnant lady.  We still hike fairly frequently but blogging about it started to seem trite.  This hike, however, was pretty remarkable.  This was the first time that we hiked when there was snow still on the ground.  This has been an unusual winter here in DC in that it stayed cold for a long enough time period for snow and ice to stick around.  Usually we have a cold spell and then a couple 50+ degrees days here and there to give us a break and to melt any snow.  I've been lamenting the lack of break this January but it gave us this unique opportunity to go on a truly winter hike.  Today was the first day it got above 40 degrees and we were all ready to get outside.  It still took a shirt, a fleece, gloves, and a ski jacket for me to be comfortable in 40 degree weather but I enjoyed it nonetheless.  We went to Fountainhead Regional Park to hike the beginning of the Bull Run Occoquan Trail (BROT).  We have done other portions of this trail before but this was by far my favorite.  The trail was clean, far enough removed, and there were lots of picturesque water views.  We made it almost to the 2 mile marker (which meant an almost 4 mile hike) so the kids impressed us with their endurance.  We did have a little bit of a rough start because Lydia had a "I'm not going, my legs are tired" mini-tantrum at the beginning when she found out we forgot the lunch and snacks that we packed (we started hiking at 11am).  But we got her going and she was happy for the rest of the way.  Although Martin did have to carry her on his shoulders for a spell or two on the way back.  It was fun hiking on the snow and ice especially since we had our hiking sticks/ski poles, but on the way back it got kinda muddy so we were glad we started when we did.  You can see from the pictures below the beauty of the frozen creek and the leaf-covered forest ground.  And you can see how frozen the water was that Martin and the kids could stand on it!  Anyway, we had a really great time and hope you all enjoy the pictures - especially you snow birds in FL!