belly pics

February 18 (20 weeks)

April 13 (23.5 weeks)

Someone asked us today if we were taking daily pictures of my belly... umm, no.  We have tried to do monthly ones..but then again we didn't start until February, we missed March, but we did get April.  I finally feel like I am looking pregnant and not just wide!  

This month has been full of firsts... I felt the baby kicking and moving mid-March and then somewhere around the end of March Ben was able to feel her moving around.  I also popped out enough that strangers are feeling bold enough to comment on my pregnant state.  Some even offering their well intentioned advice.  Also I think being noticeably pregnant has made people feel quite comfortable enough to touch my belly... which is great and weird at the same time.  I love feeling my own belly when I feel her move, so I understand the intrigue to want to reach out and "touch" the baby, but for someone who has been self-conscious of her belly her whole life...it is still a little instinctive to want to pull away.  I'm getting more used to it now though...and enjoying this sort of induction into motherhood.  

So at 25 weeks, I'm feeling great and am pretty thankful for a mostly uncomplicated pregnancy so far.  As far as the test results we posted about last time, we have just decided to wait and see.  We briefly considered the option of doing an amniocentesis...but since the ultrasound didn't reveal any new concerns and after hearing so many cases of false positive blood test results, we didn't feel like there would be any real viable reason for doing the amnio.  We are just continuing to trust God for the development of this baby.... it's all in His hands anyway.  

And now a few thoughts from my baby daddy:

Speak for yourself, Baby Mama...at 25 weeks, I'm feeling bloated and gassy.  It's been exciting to feel her move...the baby, that is.  Those little elbow or foot pokes make you realize the three pregnancy tests you forced your wife to take may have been right (though they still don't prove anything).  When you first start tracking growth, the baby is compared to a grape, then a strawberry, then a plum, then a carrot...I've had enough thinking of my child as a fruit or vegetable...right now she is about as heavy as a package and a half of hot dogs.  I much prefer to compare her to a tube of mechanically separated chicken and pork.

(Ok...Thanks, Ben.)  How sweet...I know our daughter will really appreciate that her Dad thought of her as hotdogs.  Come to think of it, it is one of Ben's favorite foods...so I think it is his way of showing his love.