Life Update

Soooo...what's new. Well, I'm still pregnant, for starters. I've gotten concerned emails from folks wanting to make sure I was still in a motherly way, since I haven't said anything else about it lately. So yes, I'm still pregnant! I'm now almost 22 weeks along, and I'm definitely starting to show, if I wear maternity clothes. If I wear regular clothes, I just look like I ate way too much. For a long time. But I have a few maternity skirts and that makes all the difference in the world. I actually look pregnant. Used to, I'd try on some clothes someone gave me and say to my mom "ugh....this makes me look pregnant!" Now, I try on clothes and say "look, Jacob!!! This makes me look pregnant!!!" Funny how that works. I’ve had a hard time finding maternity skirts so I finally bought a few pair of maternity jeans (Goodwill) and turned them into skirts. They’re nice, but my closet consists of denim, denim, and more denim right now. Jacob likes denim best, so I guess that’s a good thing!

I've also started to feel the baby move, which is exciting, I think. For the first few days I really couldn't figure out what it was, but then when it kept feeling the same way, I figured it out. I first started feeling it a little at 18 weeks, and then a lot more regularly around 20 weeks. Jacob can also feel it now, for the past week or so, which is cooler than cool, if you ask me. The first time I held his hand there and he actually could feel something, I cried a little. It was so sweet. According to "What to Expect When You're Expecting," Baby Ellis is now over 8 inches long and weighs nearly 1 pound!

I met with my midwives several weeks ago and really liked them. There will be two of them working with me and we'll start regular check-ups and visits around 6 months. I love the hands-off approach, as far as that goes...I don't have a disease that needs to be treated...I have a baby! The midwives did one check-up the day they came out (they come and check me at home) and everything looks good and normal....including the baby's heartbeat. :) It was 156, which puts it in the girl range, but my boy cousins all had girly heartbeats, so you can't go by that, I guess. We're not having an ultrasound (unless there's a need for one...) so what we’re having will be a surprise. For those of you who didn't know, we are planning for a home birth. Maybe that's a little off-the-wall, but hey...what else did you expect??!! "Normality???"

Okiedoke...what else...oh, I'm not sick anymore, thank God. I was really getting tired of throwing up every single day. I've never been sick much (at least as far as stomach stuff goes) so all that getting sick was aggravating! I was really sick for a few weeks (I want to say weeks 9-14 or so) but I've been good for a while now. Now all I do is eat. And eat. And then eat some more. But really, I only eat whenever I'm hungry, which puts it at, oh...every 17 minutes. I love salt. Salt is so good. I started craving chocolate covered pretzels (chocolate AND SALT....life is good!) a few weeks ago, so somebody (who shall remain nameless but has a lot to do with my present condition...) went out and bought me a bag of chocolate covered pretzels. When those ran out, he made some more for me. Then we went to Florida (more on that in a sec) and he bought me a BIG one at a chocolate shop. Nice guy, I think. I also LOVE salt and vinegar potato chips. Oh, yes, they're on my diet. Everyone has to have the right amount of salt, vinegar, and potatoes in their diet....didn't you know that? Anyway, kettle cooked is the best, but any kind will do in a pinch. I'm in trouble since the family store started carrying (since someone lodged a complaint with the owners...) kettle cooked salt and vinegar...I've already had two bags. Individual size, of course. They're just so good! Not that this has anything to do with the chips, but I have finally gained a few pounds....just 4, I think, last time I weighed. But that’s been a couple weeks ago now, so…yikes!

About that Florida thing....Jacob and I were able to make a trip to GA and FL to see all of my family there around Christmas. I got to take him to family get-togethers where he met all kinds of distant cousins and other relatives and he really loved that. Haha. Not. We did some sight-seeing stuff in FL and walked on the beach and all that sort of fun stuff and that part was really fun. By the time it was all said and done, we were gone for about ten days and were sure glad to get home. Vacation is nice, but home is home. My family ended up staying a full two weeks or something...we met up with them some once we got down to FL, but we didn't travel or stay together.

I think that'll be all for now...I'll talk to y'all later.

Maybe. No promises...