32 Weeks

I've really enjoyed my week off so far. Wes was able to take off the whole week for Christmas this year, and it's been really nice having him at home. I like being at home together and doing things together. We both agree that this has been the best Christmas we've had since we've been married, and we imagine that next year will be even better with Isaac being in the picture.

Aunt Angi gave us a brand new crib a couple weeks ago. We were both very shocked by that. We thought Aunt Angi planned on giving us Lacy's old crib (which isn't really that old, since Lacy is only 13). Instead, though, she gave my mom the old crib and bought us a brand new one. It's a sleigh crib in a dark cherry color, and it's beautiful.

Today, we bought a dresser for the nursery. It's not a perfect match to the crib, but it's pretty close. It's good quality too, so we expect it to last until Isaac moves out of the house. And thankfully, we didn't have to spend much of our own money to buy it, due to a very generous gift from my grandfather.

I worked in the nursery a little bit tonight, putting things away in the dresser and setting up the mobile. I felt so happy when I was doing that. As I was putting clothes, bibs, and other things away, I imagined Isaac wearing those things, thinking about how cute he's going to be. I thought about how much I can't wait to hold him and rock him. I thought about him looking up at the mobile in wonder, listening to the music and watching Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eyeore circle around him. Wes walked in there at one point and said, "You're really enjoying this, aren't you?" Happiness overwhelmed me as I said, "Yep!"

Three baby showers have been planned for January now. My family is throwing a shower on Saturday, January 12th. We'll invite all of our family and friends to that one. My church is having a shower for us on Sunday, January 13th. Everyone from our church and Old Fellowship (our home church) will be invited to that one. Then my coworkers are throwing a shower for me on Thursday, January 24th. So far, I've registered at Toys 'R' Us. Later this week, I plan to register at Wal-Mart. The only big ticket items that we need are a changing table, gliding rocking chair, and toy box. Everything else we need is still essential - diapers, bottles, crib sheets, clothes, etc. - but we're going to wait until after all the showers are over to buy anything else.

Last week, I mentioned that I was a little frustrated with people being so negative about child-rearing. Since that time, I have had people tell me more of the positives concerning motherhood. I've been very thankful for that. Yes, I know it will be a huge adjustment, and things will be difficult, but I really needed to hear someone tell me it's worth it. And I did. Wes and I went to Guido Gardens this weekend and ran into someone that we know, and the person told us just that. His exact words were, "Well your lives are fixin' to change, but it'll be for the best. It's worth it." We also had some friends join us for a communion service on Sunday night, and they brought their two children with them. They seemed so happy with their kids, and they were a joy to be around. I mentioned to another friend that I was behind on Christmas shopping but that I should probably get used to that now. She said that yes, things will be different with Isaac here next year, but I'll take him with me everywhere and that I'll learn to adapt to having less sleep and less personal time. That made me feel better. Before, when I heard all the negatives, I'd honestly think, What did we do? I never stopped being happy about being pregnant, but I'd become very apprehensive about our impending parenthood. So hearing the good side of things has been very reassuring.

One of the gifts I received this Christmas is a book called Parenting by the Book, by John Rosemond. There have been a couple nights that I've had trouble sleeping, so I've already read the first 62 pages. It's been very enlightening so far, and it's opened up some great discussions with me and Wes. It's also causing me to re-evaluate the way I think about things. One thing that the author says really stuck out to me yesterday:

"If a perfect God could not raise children who were perfectly obedient, what chance do you have? The Adam and Eve principle: No matter how good a parent you are, your child is still capable on any given day of doing something despicable, disgusting, or depraved" (36).

I think that's something I always knew, but put that way, it gave me a different perspective. In all the many years that Wes and I have been working with children, we've seen many things that would break anyone's heart. There have also been some things that have happened in my own life that I do not want repeated in my home. So that's been something on my mind quite a bit, that I want to do whatever I can to give Isaac a good start in life. I know there's no such thing as the perfect parent or the perfect child, but I don't want to do anything that will be a huge detriment to him. Hearing John Rosemond put things in those terms took a burden off my shoulders. We can lay the foundation, but ultimately, Isaac will have free will just like everyone else in the human race, and he'll be responsible for his own decisions.

For a while, my prayers were focused on having a healthy pregnancy, Isaac's physical and mental development, and a safe delivery. Lately, though, my prayers have shifted more towards his character and spiritual development. I still pray for those other things, of course, but above all, I want him to have a relationship with God. And that has motivated me to want to be a better person myself. The whole idea, "Do what I say, not what I do" doesn't work too well, in my opinion. Isaac will be more interested in what Wes and I are modeling for him on a daily basis. And if I've learned anything from working with children, it's that they imitate everything.

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning. I'm not having any problems right now - just the usual swelling (but not too much swelling), back pain, and difficulty sleeping. I'm still exercising every week. Usually, I'll do yoga one day, work with weights another day, and walk over a mile once or twice a week. The main thing I want to talk to my doctor about tomorrow is my birthing plan. My next appointment will be January 8th, and then after that I'll have weekly appointments. So, less than two months to go now. Time is flying!

31 Weeks

The past week has been incredibly busy, but a good kind of busy. The talent show went really well. I was really proud of all the students who had the courage to perform in front of their peers. Some of my students told me the next day, "You did SO good last night, Mrs. Sherrod. I didn't know you could sing like that!" Several people complimented me on my song, so I think it's safe to say it went well. It was the first time I sang a solo in quite some time (over a year), but I felt better about that song than any other I've done before. It was all God though...I did a ton of praying beforehand.

I didn't get much rest this weekend either, but that's par for the course this time of year. My mother-in-law's family got together on Saturday to celebrate Christmas, and we had a great time. Afterwards, Wes and I decided to stop in Savannah to do some Christmas shopping. The traffic was unbelievable, and so was the crowd. It took forever to get out of there. Sunday, we had all the normal church things to do. Plus, Wes had a meeting in the afternoon, and I went to the school for a couple hours to work on some things. Then choir practice lasted until nine o'clock instead of eight, because it was our final rehearsal before the Christmas cantata. So needless to say, I was exhausted on Sunday night. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Amazingly, though, I had plenty of energy at work yesterday and today. It's so hard for me to believe that there are only two more days before Christmas break. A whole semester, over. Wow. I'm very proud of myself for all the things I've accomplished with my students so far. I've stayed very focused and determined to get certain things done before I go out on maternity leave. During pre-planning (in January), I plan to work on as many things as I can for the substitute. Isaac is due on February 22, but he could come early. My constant prayer has been that God will allow me to carry him to term, and it would be so wonderful if that would happen. But, I really don't have any control over the situation. Isaac will be born when God's ready for him to be born.

One thing that has irritated me a bit lately is all the negativity I've heard from people about child-rearing. Don't get me wrong--I want to know the truth, and I want to be prepared for what's coming. But if I hear one more person tell me how horrible our lives are going to be after Isaac is born, I might scream. Yes, I know everything will change. We won't be able to come and go as we please, we'll be sleep-deprived, and we'll have to have a ton of patience with Isaac. But there has to be some joy in parenthood, right? That's what I want to hear more about. I want to hear people tell me how much they love their children and how blessed they are to have them in their lives. So far, those kinds of comments have been few and far between though.

People make the same kinds of negative comments about marriage though. I think it's really all about perspective, and if you really have the drive to make something work. My life verse has been Matthew 19:26, "With God all things are possible." I have no idea how I'm going to survive on so little sleep or how I'm going to be able to juggle home and work. What I do know is that with God all things are possible. ... That's it. Dependence on Him. There are things I won't be able to do on my own strength, but with Him all things (in accordance with His will) will be possible.

30 Weeks

This is going to be short, because I am beyond exhausted. I did rest this weekend, but not as much as I normally do. Aunt Pam's birthday party was on Friday night, and my dad and I had a combined birthday party party on Saturday night. Sunday was church as usual. I went to bed earlier last night than I did the previous Sunday night. It's just been a long day - good, but long.

My glucose tolerance test went better than I expected. When it was over, my head didn't hurt and my hands weren't even shaking. During the last hour of my test, Wes went to Larry's Giant Subs to get some lunch for the both of us. After the test was over, I ate that, plus the snacks I'd brought with me, but I didn't feel like I would faint if I didn't eat. So far, I haven't heard anything from the doctor. I may call later this week to make sure Lab Corp faxed the results to the office, but usually no news is good news.

Isaac seems to really enjoy music. I played some classical music to him through the fetal microphone, and there was a ton of movement during that time. For the last couple of weeks, I've also felt movement during choir practice. Then today, I was practicing a song for the talent show, and he moved in response to that too.

Yes, talent show. The student council is putting together a talent show for this Thursday as a way to raise money for their group, and I told Shannon I'd sing if she needed me. So now I'm singing Breath of Heaven on Thursday night. I've been practicing it quite a bit today. I sang the song multiple times, and Isaac moved most of those times. It's really a fitting song for me to sing too, being "great with child" right now. Wes and I were Mary and Joseph in our church's Christmas cantata last year, so I have a Mary costume that I'm going to wear while I'm singing. I tried it on today, and it still fits. I just hope I don't get really nervous and mess up the song. I usually only sing in church, which is a much less threatening environment.

Well, it's almost my bedtime. Time to get ready for another day!

29 Weeks

One of my first thoughts today was, I can't wait until I get home so I can go back to sleep. When you start off the day thinking that, it's not a good sign. I was extremely tired this morning, but part of that was my fault. I was going to go to sleep right after dinner at 9:30, but I ended up staying up so I could watch a couple shows on tv. Why did we finish dinner at 9:30? Because we didn't get home from choir practice until nearly 9:00.

Yesterday, I taught Sunday School for the first time in over a year, because Wes needed me to fill in for him with the youth class. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and I thought for a brief moment that I might want to do that again on a regular basis. Then I reminded myself that the baby is due in less than three months. I am resolved to not take on any new responsibilities between now and then, because I have no idea what my recovery is going to be like.

I left Sunday School feeling energized, but all of that energy was sapped from me by the time morning worship was over. There were about seven or eight little kids (little, meaning under the age of six) who sat on the pew in front of me. One of the ladies sat right in the middle of them. Well, she clearly had her hands full, so another lady and I sat on each end to help her. They were very antsy - putting hymnals on top of their heads (instead of singing from them), ripping up their bulletins into shreds, talking, etc. One tried to give another girl a piggy back ride while we were singing. I told him to stand up and then without thinking about it scooped up the little girl and put her on my hip. About halfway through the song I realized I shouldn't be holding her. By the time that song and the next one were over, my body was telling me it was more than ready for me to put her down. I've never been more happy when it was time for children's church.

After church, we went over to Aunt Karen's for lunch. Everyone in my family was there. We visited with them for a little while and then went home so that Wes would have time to prep for his lesson and I would have time to rest before church in the evening. By the time we got home, ate dinner, and watched a little tv, it was 11:00 before I went to bed. So needless to say, I was exhausted when I woke up this morning.

It seems like since I started the third trimester, I've been moving much slower. I've been making a point to do that, especially at work, but I've also been getting tired faster. Wes and I went to Office Max this weekend to buy a padded stool/chair. He put it together for me on Saturday, and then we took it to my classroom to make sure it was the right height. Having that at work made all the difference in the world today! It was so much more comfortable than the bar stool I'd been using previously.

The swelling in my hands has continued, but it seems to happen more when I'm at home. The doctor's not worried about it right now, but that's because my blood pressure is fine. In talking to my dad yesterday, though, I realized that some of the things I've been eating have a high sodium content, so that's one reason for the swelling. Hopefully between watching my salt intake, drinking more water, and staying off my feet as much as possible, I won't have any excessive swelling.

My 3-hour glucose tolerance tests is this Wednesday. I am not looking forward to that at all. At least Wes will be there though, so I won't have to worry about driving.

I know I've said this at least a few times in my blog recently, but I am so thankful for Wes. He has been so supportive throughout this entire pregnancy, and I really can't imagine doing it without him. Whatever I need, he does it without complaint. When we bought the chair this weekend, I cringed when I saw the price ($99.99). I asked if he was sure he didn't mind me getting that for work, and he said, "If it means you will stay off your feet and make a point to sit down more, then so be it." We also went grocery shopping right after that, and he was a huge help with that. We had the "divide and conquer" mentality while we were shopping. He'd go one way, I'd go another, and we'd meet in the middle whenever we had our items. He also pushed the buggy (shopping cart), loaded everything into the car, and carried all of the bags inside when we got home. It actually went really fast with him there, and something that I normally dread doing was actually pleasant this time.

Honestly, I've never seen a man more excited to become a father. When I mentioned the prepared childbirth (aka, lamaze) classes, there was no resistance. It was a given that we would go together. And he loves to hear me talk about Isaac and feel him kick. While we were resting yesterday afternoon, Wes was talking about something, and Isaac started to kick. I showed him where to put his hand to feel the kick, and we both waited quietly. We didn't feel anything at first, so I told Wes to start talking again. As soon as he heard his daddy's voice, Isaac started moving again. Wes loved that...and I loved seeing his eyes light up and the smile on his face.

My Aunt Sherry said recently that this is a really exciting time for me and Wes. It definitely is. I can't wait for Isaac to come into the world!