Baby Talk - 27 weeks

My pregnant belly today - My photographer had to get to work at his other job, so pardon the I-just-got-out-of-bed-look. I feel thick all over.

I haven't taken many pictures of my pregnant belly. I usually do the classic "right-before-I-leave-for-the- hospital" photo. I should do more, it would be nice to have a record of what I looked like and how much weight I had gained along the way with each one, but I never do, all I know is that I am fast approaching the weight where I was when I gave birth to Abby (after vacationing, I may already be there, and I still have 13 weeks to go, YIKES!) . But per a request from a friend, please indulge me with a little "baby talk."

Names - We haven't come to an agreement on a name. We mull through the same names over and over, never coming to a conclusion. Joseph likes to look through baby name books or lists...I don't....I honestly don't think that there is a name out there that I haven't thought of, that I will suddenly fall in love with. He always points out that with Brynn, that is exactly what happened. I think boy names are different though. I want classic, not unique.

He still likes the name Lance....we all know why....I just don't want to have to log on to People Online every morning to see who his next fling is with. Sheryl Crow, Ashley Olsen, Kate Hudson, who's next? I think if he and Kik had stayed together, I might be able to roll with it. I respect Lance immensely for what he has accomplished in his professional career and for what he has overcome in life, but the matters of his personal life don't settle well with me. Joseph says he genuinely likes the name and I believe him, but let's be real here with Joseph's love for cycling, it's obvious who his namesake would be...so, that's where we are with Lance...this topic has come up every time we're expecting. Brynn is all for Lance...in her words, "So he can go bikin' with Dad!" Who knows, maybe I'll concede.

Names we both like....Nathan, Zachary, Jacob, Matthew..... other Hebrew names like that.

I like the names Isaac and Ezra....he thinks he could get used to them, but they're not his top choices.

We've pretty much decided that the middle name will be Joseph or William (my dad) depending on what we choose for the first name. But he also mentioned the possibility of Lance as a middle name. I have the same reservations for using it as a middle name.

Other rambling "baby talk" - I was just telling my sister-in-law, Alyson, last week that I am more nervous about having this baby than any other baby. She made me feel a little better when she said her fourth (she has seven) made her feel apprehensive as well. I thought I would feel like a pro by now. I attribute it to the fact that we are in a new place and they have a different way of doing things. We've chosen to deliver in Davis. Joseph does lots of work with that hospital and really likes it, he also thought it would be nice to try a female OB. I've always had males....and I've been happy with both of them, but in case this is our last (we're undecided) I thought I'd give a female a try. Which brings me to my next point, at the hospital in Davis, delivering with a CNM (certified nurse midwife) is the thing to do with a normal low risk pregnancy (or so they tell me). They recommend it for the fact that the midwife is with you through the entire labor and delivery, rather than the doctor catching the baby at then end, (but if you do become high risk, they call the doctor in) lower use of meds and episiotomies...to name a few. They were mortified to learn that my last two births in Spokane were calendared and induced for non-medical reasons. To me, they were perfect, I had my other children taken care of, they broke my water, gave me the pit, I labored for a few hours, got an epidural and then had a baby within an hour or so. I've never had a baby without pitocin or an epidural, I have this vision of me asking for my epidural and them telling me, "No, we don't do that here."

Another factor, when I'm in pain, I want to be left alone to deal with the pain, I'm fine with counter pressure from Joseph, etc., but for the most part I like to do my own thing and I don't want to talk to ANYONE! I'm wondering if having the CNM there will make me irritated because I'll want to be left alone....but then another part of me thinks, "Why not try something different?" So we have some thinking to do in the next few weeks.

So, things are going well. The baby squirms and moves around alot. I LOVE the feeling of a little person moving inside of me. That's what I always miss the most when I'm not pregnant. Seriously, one of the most wonderful and magical feelings is to feel something that's living, move inside of you. We don't know if this will be "it" for us or not, and it may sound silly, but I get sad when I think that this might be the last time I feel that amazing miracle inside myself.

So there you have it....thanks for indulging me in a little "baby talk."