Peace Out, First Trimester

Tomorrow = 14 weeks! I'm ready for that blessed second trimester everyone keeps telling me about, although I have a sneaky suspicion it might not find me feeling as glorious as it would if there were just one little peanut in there. Still, after a couple of days of severe discomfort (from way too many hours sitting in the car would be my guess) and many, many nights of poor sleep (from extreme nasal congestion), I'm feeling pretty chipper and very excited about the next stage of pregnancy. I've discovered the joys of the Neil Med Sinus Rinse, which while terrifying at first (it involves shooting salt water up your nose until it comes out the other side, and briefly reminded me of the horror of my childhood swimming lessons) has quickly become my favorite invention of all time. I figure that at 14 weeks, I'm halfway to the point where - though not the ideal situation - the babies would have a pretty good chance of survival if born. Twenty-eight weeks will be near the end of April. I'm praying that we make it to at least early May.

Here's my latest belly pic, taken this morning by my favorite photographer. You'll have to look past the scary no-makeup look. I'm practicing for when the babies come.



Christmas '09 was wonderful! We managed to make it to see both of our families. I wouldn't want to do the driving part again anytime soon, but we had a great time eating, relaxing, and celebrating with everyone. Special thanks to the Parkers who threw us our first baby shower! We brought home so many wonderful gifts that we couldn't see out the back window of the Jeep on the ride home. Cousin Spencer and his wife Ada were generous enough to give us their little girl Sofie's crib, as she is now in her first big girl bed. We're so blessed! Can't wait to see Kevin try to put it together. Hope it goes better than our Ikea table, which had the legs on backward for about two years before I had the heart to say anything to him about it.

During one sleepless night at my mom's, I started reading through the many Christmas cards she'd received. I was amazed and touched by the number of people - some of whom I don't even know personally - who wrote that they were praying for me and the babies. It's really humbling, and it's much appreciated to know that people think so much of my family and are rooting for us all. Please keep the prayers coming! I do have days where my positive thoughts are a little harder to come by, and I get a bit overwhelmed with worries about the future. I feel daunted by the thought of getting through the winter months ahead; I have a hard time with winter anyway. Hopefully the time will pass quickly. I tell myself to stop imagining the worst and start expecting the best, and I keep visualizing us with three healthy babies at home with us in 2010.

Happy New Year!