Real

Today was my first ultrasound. Sadly, Alan couldn’t come with me because he’s doing some unalterable training program this week and couldn’t get out of it.

I have to admit, I was nervous. I was afraid that somehow this whole thing was just in my head or that something had happened or really any of the many things that can go wrong early in pregnancy. But the ultrasound tech said everything looked good. I don’t think I even realized how nervous I was until it was over and I just felt relief sweep over me like a tidal wave. I could see the flicker of the heartbeat on the monitor, and thanks to all the baby boards all over the place, I could actually see what she was talking about when she pointed out the various identifiable parts. It’s sort of hit me that yeah, this is all real. It’s really happening.

Anyway, here’s the print-out she gave me…

Apparently I’m measuring at 9 weeks and 3 days, which is about 6 days ahead of schedule and puts my due date closer to March 4. Somehow this doesn’t surprise me in the least. Alan and Zach were both on the bigger side. So I guess we’ll see.

We have officially told our parents now and everyone is very excited. Lisa is already planning knitting and quilting projects, which is impressive since we won’t know if it’s a boy or a girl until Week 20. My mom is already planning her trip out here in March, which I knew she would probably do. Still, since she hasn’t even planned their trip in November, that’s also pretty impressive. So now it just remains to tell the grandparents and extended family. It’s not much for Grammy and Addison and they have three great-grandchildren already, but I think it will be a very big deal for Alan’s paternal grandparents. They only have Alan and Zach after all. I just worry that once we tell them they won’t listen to the fact that we already have a name picked out for a boy. I have no doubt that they will be expecting another William. They already have a tendency to refer to Alan as Billy.

Alan and I still can’t decide on a girl’s name. From his list, I like Ada, Dani, Hadley, Lara, and Pippa. He actually originally had "Pippi" on there, but I made him accept Pippa as an alternative. From my list, he likes Danika, Leia, Maia, Mika, and Mischa. Frankly, I’m not crazy about Maia, Mika, or Leia. I’m not sure how I feel about Pippa. It’s different and it’s been on my name radar ever since I read "A Great and Terrible Beauty" by Libba Bray (so well before I’d even heard of Pippa Middleton). It’s a little like Petra… Really interesting name, but I just can’t decide if I really love it or not. Maybe that’s a good thing in a name.

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Anyway, life here is good. Lisa and Kurt were here for a brief visit and a good time was had by all. We went to the brand-spanking-new Ikea in Centennial yesterday and got a bookcase, a coffee table, a wok (only $5!), an ice tray that makes tubes of ice to fit in bottles, and two light cords to  make hanging lamps with. All told we spent less than $70, which makes me very happy, and the coffee table is remarkably solid for costing only $20. We also found a sofa we can agree on, which is downright miraculous. Now we just need a few hundred dollars we don’t need for anything else. We would have gotten food while we were there, but the place was a madhouse since it only opened on July 27th.

I realized yesterday that I’m not going to have any pants that fit by the time the cooler weather rolls around. All my summer stuff is on the larger side because I bought it at my heaviest, then lost weight. So it’s still plenty loose (good thing since my stomach is so unhappy these days). But my jeans and pants are almost all newer. So when temperatures start to drop in September, with my expanding belly and hips, nothing I currently own is actually going to fit me. Ugh… sometimes I actually hate shopping, especially when I know that the clothes I buy will only fit me temporarily. I am looking forward to ordering a dress for the ball in December though. I’ll have to order it in late October, so I’ll just add some inches to the belly measurement. I found a great site that custom makes all these beautiful dresses and they leave the hemlines very long. Since it’s impossible to find ready-made dresses that are long enough for me, this place sounds pretty promising.

Last, but not least, it has been suggested that I come back to Connecticut while Alan is gone and I’m essentially a single mom. The problem with that is how close he’s leaving to when I deliver. If he were leaving in a couple months and I would be going through the whole pregnancy on my own, I might consider it. But I’ll be doing all my prenatal care here. It hardly makes sense to move two weeks before the baby is born. And I don’t think I could cope with moving with a newborn. Besides, Alan and I have made a home here and I want him to remember me in a place we shared, not some random apartment he’s never seen. It’s why I probably won’t move when our lease is up, despite Alan wanting to. Besides, it’s entirely possible that he’ll get stationed somewhere new when he gets back since his contract will be up and he’ll re-enlist. So I don’t see the point in moving for less than a year.

Okay, I desperately need to eat something and I’m going to watch "Red Riding Hood."

~Liz