Pride

I don’t know if I have mentioned before that my husband is in the National Guard. He has been serving in the Guard for 11 years, and he is currently working towards becoming a Military Chaplain. Part of his training to become a Chaplain requires getting his Masters in Divinity and going through a military training program. He is currently completing the first half of the military training program, which means he gives up 6 weeks of his summer and has to be away from family and friends, oh yeah, and his pregnant wife. He also gets to re-hash a mini basic training (for the benefit of his co-trainees who don’t have prior military experience) in 90+ degree weather in the South, i.e. extreme humidity. We are not from the South, so while we do get 90 degree weather at times, it is always dry. Humidity adds a whole level of misery to high temperatures.

Along with working full time, he is also a full time masters student. When he isn’t working, he can often be found reading a heavy theology book, listening to lectures or writing a paper. He is definitely the more outgoing social person in our relationship. But, he often has to turn down invites to hang out with friends or visit family in order to get homework done. It’s not easy, but he usually makes school one of his top priorities. It is a tough balancing act. There are times that I just want my husband all to myself, but it just isn’t possible. I know that he makes a big effort to try to keep a healthy balance and make me feel valued and appreciated.

I say all this, not to brag or gloat, but to say I am so proud of the sacrifices he makes to follow his calling, and to give glory to God for giving him this calling. If you told R 5 years ago that he would become a Chaplain; he would have gotten a good laugh. He was not even remotely heading in that direction. And yet, when he felt God leading him down this foreign path, he followed whole heartedly. It has been outside of his comfort zone in so many ways, but he doesn’t seem to let that deter him. I have so much respect and admiration for the way he jumped into this and hasn’t looked back. Yes, it has required sacrifices on both of our parts. But knowing that my husband is growing spiritually and leading others along that path is amazing, and beyond my wildest dreams. I love supporting him on this journey and getting to see his heart for service members and their families.

25 Weeks and Weird Dreams

The first dream was on Monday night. I had one short dream that there were big spiders in my bed, and I was trying to kill them all. I think I forced myself awake from that dream. When I went back to sleep I had a stressful nursing dream. I dreamt that I just came home from the hospital and I was trying to nurse my baby. As soon as she would latch on and I felt like we were figuring it out, I would get interrupted. People kept stopping by the house and interrupting me each time I would get settled again and start nursing. At one point, my nieces and nephews were crawling on my while I was trying to nurse, and I just kept trying to find a private place to nurse again. Weird! I have no idea what brought on that dream.


Then, last night I had such a bizarre dream about giving birth, but this one wasn’t stressful. I dreamt that I had just given birth to my baby. She was bundled up in a blanket and laying on a table, while I was laying in bed trying to remember giving birth to her. All I could remember were these little snippets or flashes of the birth. From what I could remember, it wasn’t painful at all. And right after the birth, I didn’t feel pain or soreness or anything. My mom came in the hospital room and went to pick up my baby, and I realized I hadn’t even held her myself yet, so I asked her to bring her to me so I could hold her. Then I watched a video of the labor to see what had happened, since I couldn’t really remember. In the video, my husband and I were in the hospital room with a couple friends of ours (no idea who they are in real life) and we were drinking. I was totally drunk in the video (which is not like me IRL, even when I’m not pregnant) and I had these faux sleeve tattoos on and apparently I was having a great time and not at all concerned with the effects of my drinking on my baby. The drunk part explains the pain free birth and not being able to remember it. So, strange!

Another weird part about these dreams is that even though my baby is in the dreams, I’m not really paying much attention to her. I don’t remember really looking at her and seeing what she looks like in either of the dreams, which is kind of a bummer. After the nursing dream, I vaguely remembered seeing my baby’s face and thinking she was pretty, but I don’t remember any of the detail of her face.

So here is my 25 week belly picture, actually taken at 25 weeks 1 day. I didn’t think I would be taking any bare belly pictures. Not because it bothers me when other people do it, but because I didn’t think it would be very cute. I have to say, I think my belly is pretty cute right now. So, I figured I better take advantage of this stage in the pregnancy, before it’s not so cute and has stretch marks.

The only thing different about week 25 is I have been feeling a bit nauseous/queasy again. It definitely isn’t as bad as during the first trimester, but it is affecting my appetite a bit (not that that is a bad thing). I have also had a few nights where I wake up around 2 and then sleep kind of restlessly after that. It’s not that I am all that uncomfortable; I just can’t seem to fall back into a deep sleep. The last two nights have been much better though. I do wake up a couple times, but quickly fall back asleep.

I almost don’t want to write this, for fear that I will jinx myself, but I still don’t get up during the night to go to the bathroom. It is wonderful! But, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone this far into their pregnancy that doesn’t have to get up at least once, usually multiple times at night to use the bathroom. My mom says I must be dehydrated and need to drink more water. But, I don’t feel dehydrated, and I often drink a glass of water right before I go to bed. I don’t worry too much about it, mostly I am super thankful to be getting such good sleep still.

24 Weeks

Here I am posting a 24 week update about one week late, but at least the picture is from 24 weeks 2 days.

I am still feeling pretty good, but my belly is starting to feel big and tight, especially at the end of the day. Is it really possible for it to double or triple in size before I have this baby?!

Heartburn set in during week 24. I actually woke up at 2 am with raging heartburn. I couldn't understand why I would all of a sudden have heartburn in the middle of the night. It continued off and on the next day, but it has been really minor and short-lived ever since then. I can't figure out anything out of the ordinary that I ate to cause the heartburn, but I figure it is just par for the course at this point in my pregnancy.

I have noticed that I have had less of an appetite over the past couple of weeks, especially in the afternoon and evenings. I'm not sure if it because I have had a cold or just because the baby is crowding my stomach.

Baby girl continues to be a bouncing bean, especially early in the morning. I love feeling her move in the mornings and during the day at work.

I went to some yard sales on Saturday and hit the jackpot at one. I bought probably 15 pieces of clothing from newborn to 9 months. I found some really cute onesies and outfits that were in great condition. I am excited to be starting my baby girl's wardrobe!

Here are a couple pictures from 24 weeks:

I drove to see my family for Memorial Day weekend. I was so looking forward to seeing my newest baby niece who was just born a month ago. Tuesday before Memorial Day weekend I started getting slight cold symptoms. But it didn't feel like any cold I had ever had, so I thought maybe I am getting seasonal allergies (even though I have never had them before). By Thursday, I knew I officially had a cold. But, it still wasn't bad and I wasn't all that congested. On Friday I got to see my oldest nephew compete in the state track meet. Because I live so far from my family, it is a total treat to get to see my nieces and nephews in their sporting events. It was great!

I also got to see my closest friend from high school. We don't see each other very often and are really bad at keeping in touch, but when we talk or see each other it is as if no time has passed. She is very pregnant with her 4th child; she had less than two weeks left until her c-section. She doesn't know if it's a boy or girl!

Here we are in all of our pregnant glory together:

Isn't she cute?!

I saw my sweet baby niece on Saturday, but becasuse I had a cold, I wore a medical mask and still didn't feel comfortable holding her for very long. She has the sweetest little face. I could just look at her all day while she makes her faces.

Sunday the cold got worse. My mom and dad took care of me and made sure I took lots of vitamins. I also had my first experience with a neti pot. It was.....interesting. I felt bad exposing my grandparents and niece to a cold. I just tried to keep my distance and I wiped down all the door handles and surfaces with lisol before they came over for dinner. As far as I know, no one got sick this week, so that's good.

I can't wait to see my niece again when I am healthy and can really snuggle with her.

Monday, I drove the 9 hours home, which somehow turned into more like 11 hours. I had to stop and do a little shopping while I had the chance. :-) 

The cold has finally started to improve over the past few days. I feel much better and the congestion seems to decrease a little each day.

I have under 4 weeks until I see my husband again. I miss him a lot, but thankfully I have had great friends and family who have been checking in on me and inviting me to do fun things to help pass the time.