Baby Bulge

Seth insisted on taking a photograph of my belly this morning...we thought the profile shot was the most generous. I had my 3rd appointment at New Dawn Midwifery today. (www.newdawnmidwifery.com) There are three midwives there who I see, and one of them will attend the birth at Park Ridge Hosptial in Fletcher, about 20 minutes away. They choose to work with Park Ridge (rather than Mission, the hospital in Asheville), because it offers a clamer setting with birthing rooms, complete with tubs for water births. They even serve vegetarian meals! We are hoping on and planning for (and praying for) a natural birth. I know many women who have had natural births (and many who have not!) and I'm enjoying hearing lots of birth stories, especially as women at church have just learned I'm pregnant and are eager to share their women's wisdom. A few other decisions we've made: we will not learn whether the baby's a girl or a boy until birth, and we don't plan to share names until after the birth (I want the baby to be the first to know her/his own name). In the meantime, we're calling the baby Bean. I was 12 weeks pregnant last Friday, and today I had the opportunity to hear the heart beat for the second time with the doppler. It sends a shiver! I also had blood taken (I was quite brave and courageous) and other unmentionables. All looked good, I'll get results of the blood work next week. In the mean time, I am in physical pain when I keep my pants buttoned, so (with the exception of the new larger pants I bought last weekend) I tend to run around with buttons undone and zippers half zipped, thank goodness for long shirts! The everyday, all day sickness of the first trimester has passed (thank you Jesus!), and the exhaustion is still there, but much diminished. I'm eating real meals now, variety, it's amazing. Onto the 2nd trimester!!