Morning Musings

So here I sit, up early on a Saturday morning because my little boy began his morning calisthenics at 6:30 and is still going strong at 8:45. I don't really mind though...I'm an early riser anyways, and I love being able to lounge on the couch and watch my belly move. This is a really strange connection to make, but bear with me...remember that movie The Mummy and those beetles that would crawl around under people's skin? That's kinda what watching Ezra move reminds me of now, except way less creepy and way more amazing. I was reading on my What to Expect When You're Expecting app that it's a good idea to count the number of your baby's movements in an hour (there should be at least 10) to make sure that all's well in there...let me tell you, that is not at all necessary with my little guy. He is pretty much constantly in motion when I am not. If I'm up teaching or going for a walk he'll be still, but the moment I sit down he's a little bundle of energy again. He especially likes to wiggle around just moments after I eat, which was particularly true last night when my husband and I went to Buffalo Wild Wings and tried the Asian Zing wings...super hot, super delicious, and super baby-moving! He was kicking so hard after those wings that shopping afterwards was a struggle (which if you know me well you know that shopping for me is NEVER a struggle!). Don't you worry, I powered through ;)
Some other ridiculous and random thoughts I've been having lately: I had another doctor's appointment on Wednesday, and during this appointment they did the glucola test where they make you drink what tastes like Kool-Aid with extra sugar and then after an hour they draw your blood to ensure that your body is processing sugar the way it's supposed to and you don't have gestational diabetes. I hate needles, I hate blood, and I hate pain, so this was an appointment that I've been dreading. I was so whiny about the whole blood-giving experience that afterwards I exclaimed to my husband "How in the world am I going to get an epidural if I can hardly stand a little needle in my arm?" This statement immediately struck me as ridiculous...like really Val, do you really think the epidural is the part of the process that will be the most painful? Yes, I fully intend on getting an epidural during the delivery of little Ezra...although I hate needles, I am not my mother (who told me once that she doesn't remember much pain from either of her completely natural childbirths, just a lot of pressure...she is either the toughest woman ever, which is very likely, or she has the best case of delivery amnesia ever). I am a pain wimp, so I fully intend on that needle going into my spine ASAP. I accidentally found myself watching A Baby Story yesterday (which is a really bad idea when you're expecting, but when I wasn't expecting I wasn't interested in it at all), and one woman went about her delivery with an all-natural mindset while the other immediately went for the epidural at the first sign or discomfort...NIGHT AND DAY DIFFERENCE! Neither one looked pretty, but boy did they sound different! One was crying and exclaiming that she was going to die, the other was smiling and joking with her doctor. Um yeah, I'll take the latter please!
Well, it is now 9:20, and little Ezra is still doing his exercises...my little wiggle worm! I'm going for a walk at 10 with a fellow preggie, and I'm hoping my movement will lull him to sleep for a little while...we shall see!

The Joys of Maternity Jeans

I stuck it out for as long as I could...I was able to wear my regular pre pregnancy pants unzipped with a belly band over them for 6 months of my pregnancy, and it finally got so darn uncomfortable that I broke down and bought some maternity pants. Wow, what a difference! I understand why some women don't want to go back to wearing regular pants after baby. Without a button or a zipper they are just so stinking comfy! I was able to find quite a few at Goodwill and other thrift stores and consignment shops, but one staple was still missing from my maternity pant wardrobe...skinny jeans. Maternity skinny jeans are impossible to find at a reasonable price, so I splurged. I went into Motherhood Maternity (where they are clearly trained to deal with highly emotional women concerned about how big they're getting) and forked over a good chunk of my Christmas cash for the perfect pair of maternity skinny jeans...so worth the money! I put them on and you can almost hear the hallelujah chorus start playing in the background, they are just that good!
In other news, Ezra has a new hobby...it's called kicking-mommy-in-the-ribs-in-the-middle-of-the-night. Painful AND sleep reducing. I've been like a walking zombie all week as a result. Not to mention I just entered the third trimester and I'm feeling extra tired all the time anyways. And huge. But, it's all a part of pregnancy and I can't complain about this little baby boy who I already love so much, so I'll just grin and bear it through the hurdles until I get to see his sweet face in just 3 short months!

Mommy Brain and Miller Stub

Sooo I have been noticing some major issues with what I like to call "mommy brain" (although I've heard it called the much less flattering "pregnancy stupids", which sounds insulting but is actually pretty accurate). Aside from the whole wrecking-my-husband's-car-by-putting-it-into-reverse-instead-of-drive incident, which I'd rather not talk about, I forget things like the names of stuff ("Honey, what's that thing called that keeps our food cold? Right, a refrigerator!), I have about 20 different students assigned to remind me of different things throughout the day (i.e. what time we go to lunch), and yesterday on our professional development day during which the only thing I needed to bring was my laptop...I'll give you three guesses as to what I forgot, but the first two don't count. And from what I hear, it doesn't ever get any better! I used to be known as "the elephant that never forgets" in my family, but I guess what mom told me was true - girls take your beauty and boys take your brain.

I had a doctor's appointment today, and all is well with baby Ezra! He has a healthy heartbeat, and I'm still measuring right on schedule! Surprisingly my weight gain is right on schedule too, even with my massive holiday eating (I had myself convinced that I gained 20 pounds in 2 weeks from all of the goodies I consumed). And speaking of the holidays (which were lovely by the way) wouldn't you know that my stubborn little boy wouldn't let anyone feel him move the entire time we were with family? He's been moving so much lately I just knew that my whole family would get a chance to feel him kicking...but he chose that particular time period to kick toward the inside instead of the outside, making it nearly impossible to feel him move unless you sat with your hands all up on my belly all day (which one cousin said she would do). This made for a rough time in my bladder, let me tell you! There was one morning when he was kicking so hard you could watch my belly move, and of course my sister was in the shower, my dad was outside, and when I called my mom over to feel and she put her hand on my belly he immediately stopped. There is a rumor of a trait passed down from generation to generation on my mom's side of the family known as "the Miller stub"...apparently we're a stubborn people, although I refuse to admit that I am the least bit stubborn 😉...but I think somehow our son may have inherited this trait...must come from my husband...

Happy New Year!

2013 is upon us, and there are so many exciting changes in store for the year! In a perfect world I would love to say I'll blog my way through the whole year, documenting important life moments...but let's be honest, I started this particular blog last year, blogged 4 times, and never looked at it again. I even toyed with the idea of making this into a pregnancy blog when I found out I was pregnant in August, but we can see how far I got on that. Consistency is not my strong suit. But, seeing as this is a new year and a "fresh start" if you will, I have high hopes for myself this year!
As I said, this year will be full of exciting changes...my sister is getting married, I will hopefully finish earning my teaching license, we are looking for a new home to move into, and the biggest change is that my husband and I will get to meet our baby boy! He is due to make an appearance on April 11th, and I must say being pregnant with him has been a joy! I never really experienced morning sickness, and have managed to avoid many other unpleasant symptoms of pregnancy thus far! Our baby boy is healthy according to the ultrasounds (we had to have two because he refused to cooperate during the first one), and he has perfect toes and a strong kick (future soccer player like his daddy?). And here's some exciting news: finally, after months of deliberation, a few arguments, and lots of prayer, we have decided on a name for our baby boy...his name is Ezra Jude Burden! Ezra means help, and our time in North Carolina is covered in evidence of the Lord's help and provision. Without the help of The Lord, our lives and our relationship would look incredibly different. Jude means praise, which we give to The Lord for all of his help and provision. So, as a tribute to The Lord we named our son Ezra Jude. This name holds so much significance to us, and is the perfect name for our little boy! We cannot wait to meet this little miracle!
So many exciting changes are in store for us this year, and hopefully I will be a good little blogger and talk about them all...we'll see!