Ben and I went to the doctors yesterday for my monthly checkup. It was a pretty quick appointment. They took my blood pressure, weighed me, let me ask a few questions and the best part of all we got to listen to our babies heart beat. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a big worrier! Since I’ve been pregnant I’m constantly worried about the baby. When I heard the heart beat yesterday, many of my worries were put at ease. It was hard to hear the babies heart beat with mine in the background, but it was there as rapid and strong as ever. The worry of my weight gain was also put at ease. I had secretly weighed myself at a friends house and according to that scale- I had gained 8 pounds. I didn’t doubt it for a second because I have been eating like crazy. Every couple hours to be exact or else I get really sick. Anyway, I figured if I kept gaining that much by the end of my pregnancy I would have gained over 60 pounds. I can’t afford 60 pounds!! (Even if I am pregnant!) Yesterday when they weighed me at the doctor’s office I was prepared to hear how much I gained. To my surprise I had only gained one pound. What a relief!!! The nurse told me that was about how much they wanted me to gain and now after the thirteenth week they wanted me to gain a pound a week. I haven’t quite got used to the idea of gaining a pound a week from here on out, yet I’m just happy I only gained one pound instead of 8 so far. The moral of the story-always compare weight using the same scale! 🙂

Even though I’ve not quite gained two pounds from the pregnancy I’m starting to get a little belly.  The part from my belly button down sticks out and won’t suck in.  My pants are indeed tighter and from the looks of things elastic waist bands are going to become my best friend really soon.

My emotions have been off the scale lately. On Monday night we watched the very sensitive movie Rocky II. During which I started bawling and couldn’t stop. I didn’t have any reason to cry, yet I couldn’t stop. I’m so grateful for Ben. He is so good to me. He just hugged me and let me cry. I’m sure he thought I was crazy but he never suggested that. Everyone deserves a husband as great as I have.

A couple of years ago my husband had the fabulous idea of keeping one’s journal online. He was sick of carrying around his journal and trying to find time to write in it. For awhile he kept it in his backpack or locker trying to find a few spare minutes here and there where he could pull it out and jot down a few things. As he carried it around he got more and more frustrated. He then had the brilliant idea of using the computer and the internet to keep all of his journal entries in one place where he could access them anywhere at anytime. I’m willing to bet that the average American spends more time on the computer than off. With this in mind it makes perfect sense to combine journaling with the ease of using the internet. Enter Pyxlin! Pyxlin is Ben’s idea of keeping one’s journal online. One is able to access it anywhere they have an internet connection. Pyxlin allows one to title entries and categorize them, and to add pictures to entries and tag people or subjects within the entry for an easy find later on. Pyxlin also allows one to click publish and the company MemoryPress will print the journal into a beautiful hardbound book. Keeping a journal has never been so easy! You never need to worry about anyone reading your journal or it being destroyed or lost. Because it is on the internet it is always preserved and safe. If you do print one out and then lose it, no worries it is all still safe online. Also as far as being private, every time you access your journal you are required to log in with your personal ID and password. Making your journal for your eyes only. If you go to the website www.pyxlin.com you can try it out with the free trial. It will be amazing to see how the ease increases the amount of times you write in your journal. Journals are so important and we all know we feel guilty for not writing in them as much as we know we should. Here is your chance to improve and get rid of that guilty feeling.

One of my favorite quotes is, “smile, you never know when you are making a memory.”

Now write it down so you will remember it!!!

I found out early last month that I am expecting a baby and I have been sick ever since. When I went to the doctors for a different aliment they asked if it was possible that I was pregnant. I told them that it was a possibility and then they started listing off symptoms- all of which I had been experiencing but hadn’t given a second thought. After peeing in a cup and waiting 15 minutes I was told I was going to have a baby and my due date was August 11th (My mom’s birthday). After crying from the shock I couldn’t wait to go home and tell my husband. Unfortunetly I couldn’t go home until my last class finished at 5:30. All day I felt like I was going to burst with the news I was keeping as a secret. I considered calling Ben but decided I wanted to tell him in person. Ben and I continued to keep our secret for about a month until we gave our families a Christmas gift of Baby items. They were all so ecstatic because this will be the first grand baby on both sides. (I know spoiled rotten immediately comes to mind.)

I have decided that pregnancy is similar to faith. Someone tells you that you are pregnant and you believe them. You begin having symptoms or maybe you’ve already been experiencing a few of them. The symptoms remind you that you are indeed pregnant and the nurse was telling the truth. Every now and then you begin to doubt and think how is it possible? I don’t have a belly yet and I haven’t felt any overwhelming spiritual connection with the little person inside of me. Do you see the connection to faith? As we begin to develop faith we see little reassurances along the way that what we are starting to believe is true. Then doubts enter our mind and we wonder if it’s all true. Maybe at times we think something is wrong with us because we aren’t having this amazing spiritual experience and everything seems a little normal. Our lives haven’t changed drastically and we wonder if we were wrong to believe in the first place. Yet, deep down you truly believe and you are excited at the thought of the future that lies ahead of you with your new information.

Just like faith produces amazing results when allowed to develop, the little person inside of me is going to change the world. At least my world. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be pregnant and I wish every woman had the opportunity to experience what I am just now beginning to.