Alright already!! :)

Yes, I know! I know! It has been a long time since I have posted anything. Honestly, there hasn't been much to write about! I haven't been sick much, I haven't grown much.. but I'll go ahead and be very detailed for the sake of having something to write! =)

Yesterday I became 16 weeks pregnant. Another month and I'm half way done. That's pretty scary to think about! But like I keep writing, sometimes it seems to go so fast and others it seems like November is so far away.

My "morning" sickness has for the most part gone away. Once in a while I'll just start gagging or I may even puke, but that's far and few between now. The last time I puked (about 10 days ago) I threw up so hard that I burst blood vessels in my nose and my nose started bleeding. It scared me, because sometimes I'm afraid I'll end up in a coma after I hurl. I get a bad headache and I'm light headed. I found out later that bloody noses are not uncommon in pregnancy, due to increased blood volume to fill myself and the baby. So in the end it was just gross, not scary.

I visited my family in California two weeks ago. While I was there, my belly popped a little bit. When I arrived there wasn't much to show for a belly, but by the time I left my Mama said it was sticking out a little! I said it looked the same. However, when I got home, John said he noticed it too. I will have to post a new belly picture as soon as I find my camera charger! I still don't think there is any change.. well maybe a little bit of one, but it's mostly just when I eat and get full and then my belly sticks out. Ok ok fine.. maybe I am just in denial. To be honest, my jeans are borderline un-wearable.. at least when I try to sit. I am only able to comfortably wear stretchy pants and my largest pairs of shorts now, though I am still too small for maternity clothes.

A girlfriend of mine in California that recently had 3 babies gave me just about all of her maternity clothes when I visited. I think it is her way of somehow proving that she isn't going to have another baby, at least for a while. Watch, she'll get pregnant this summer! =) I wonder if she has any idea how grateful I am to her.

As I said earlier, in another month we will be half way to being parents. At least parents to another human being rather than just our kitty. And we have yet to even being thinking about names, where to do a baby registry, or how to decorate the room. Naming our fish was easy. Naming the frog that sits on the window every evening was easy. But naming our baby? Hard. What if we name it Hermann and he doesn't look like a Hermann. Or what if we name her Susie and her classmates call her Susie-Floozy.

Upon becoming pregnant, I have become privy to certain secrets of pregnancy. Secrets shared by other pregnant women or new mothers. Things I wasn't taught in 6th grade "On becoming a woman" class. Freaky things that can happen to a woman's body, besides the common growing boobs and stretch marks. Things that I won't even dare write about on here. These things are shared in hushed voices.. experienced mothers can probably imagine the things I am speaking of. For the rest of you, if you ask me to, I might share these secrets. Then again maybe there is a reason these secrets were not shared with me until AFTER I got pregnant. Maybe I am not supposed to share these things until you are already pregnant, lest I scare you off from motherhood completely. =)

On a different note, I made a decision on where to have the baby. When I first learned I was pregnant I did lots of research on the local hospitals, because a hospital was the place to have a baby. Then once my excitement settled down I thought more and more about it. If you know me, you know that I have always been somewhat a believer in "natural healing" or whatever you want to call it. What I mean is, if I catch a cold I prefer to ride it out and let my body heal itself rather than ingest medicine. Or if I have a sore muscle I prefer to stretch it out and massage it, rather than take pain meds. I felt the same way about this whole pregnancy. I don't want to be strapped down to all kinds of monitors and tubes and what not while I am trying to have a baby. I just feel that my body is made to do this, and the less intervention the better. Soooooo, I decided on having the baby at a birthing center with a midwife.

My BIGGEST concern in making this choice was what they would do if there were complications. If they were ill equipped, I was going to have the baby at the hospital no matter what. John and I had an appointment at the center on Tuesday and they exceeded my expectations. They have the equipment to handle most types of complications, and what they can't handle they send to the hospital which is only a few minutes away. The fire station is around the corner so an ambulance can be there quickly. If, during my prenatal care, they find anything unusual (like I become diabetic or hypertensive), they no longer see me and I am sent to doctors for the rest of my care. Only healthy women with healthy babies are allowed to deliver at the center. Anyone else is sent to a hospital! Have you seen those water births on TV? That is what I am hoping for.

I suppose that's all I have for now. I hope the entry wasn't too long! I'll make sure to post a picture of my still (mostly) flat belly soon!!