Week 26/27!

It’s here, the third trimester is here! The Christmas trees and decorations going up for sale at the local “Walmart” clued me in to the fact that we are hurtling towards the end of the year. It is getting so hot over here, most days it is well into the 90’s. David has taken his P.E classes indoors at this point it would not even be safe, let alone comfortable, to be in that heat for so long. The sun here is unforgiving and relentless. We were blessed last year with one of the wettest rain season Namibia has seen in decades. So I guess that means we are in for a dry hot one this year. I was reading the Lowe’s blog recently and they had a post about their house in Mexico. It was funny to see all the fans in their house, we have the same thing here! It sounds like the locust plague of Egypt is happening in our house, but no, it is just the fans moving the hot air around the house.

 
How far along? : 27 weeks 3 days.

Total weight gain: Enough to grow a healthy human being!

How big is baby?: He is over 26cm long!

Sleep?: Sleep is good. Last night was funny. Reese likes to stretch as far as he can and then kick with all his might. Last night I yelped in my sleep. Woke David up. He kept doing it. Then he would push himself as far to one side of my belly as he could reach and then just hang out there with his legs tapping on the other side. David got the Seahorse soother for me and as soon as I started to play it he settled down, but a few minutes after the music stopped he went back to kicking as hard as his little legs would allow! We have noticed that music calms him down a lot. Even singing in church makes him slow down. I hope this stays true when he is an outside baby.

 
How are you feeling emotionally?: Content.

Movement?: All the time! We are trying to catch it on video, but of course as soon as the video turns on he mellows out. I did catch a whole bunch the other day, and then I realized I never hit the record button. Duh!

Food cravings?: Cucumbers, French fries, ice cream, water.

What I’m looking forward to: 30 WEEKS!!

Best moment of the week: There were so may this week. Him carrying on like that last night was amazing. We got to see him beautiful little face at the last appointment. I got booked into the hospital for the delivery, stuff is getting real up in here! Talking to my mom on Skype about when I was born, really funny story. 
And then we started our prenatal classes. I have been looking forward to this for a while now. Well since we started trying for a baby in 2009 I was looking into the classes that are available. We found a great class led by a Christian lady. She runs a vaccination/baby clinic in town. The class will run for five weeks and will cover things from the birth to baby care. The dads will even have to bath a doll and then if they do it right they will get a certificate! The class will then run again for three weeks after the baby is born. And the lady will come to our house to help us adjust once Reese is here. When we got to the class we also learned that she is a passionate Christian lady too, so that is a huge blessing for us! We also will be in this class with two other couples so there is a great opportunity to get to know some more local Namibians!
But the best moment of the week was when I could pick up Reese’s heartbeat on my home baby monitor. It is basically a microphone that you strap to your belly. I have had it since week 13 and it finally picked up the heartbeat this week. It is strong and fast!

Dr’s Appointment?: My app. this week went great. Reese is a big healthy boy. He is measuring over two weeks ahead. The dr. said that this means he could come any time from the 9th of Jan. My edd is still only Jan 21 though. The dr. is not ready to move it yet. He did double the amount of magnesium I take every day to try and slow down the braxton hicks I have been having. And he laughed at me when I told him my rib hurts. I guess that means its normal!

Stretch marks ? Not yet. And I smell like a Caribbean holiday thanks to my coconut belly butter.

Thankful for:  I am thankful for all the people around the world who have been praying for us and who are excited for this little boy!

99 days.

That’s all.

It’s October, and time for a cheesy baby update.

Hi! (waving wildly from my bed!)

Things over in Namibia are going swimmingly! 
David is at school, he came home yesterday red from a sunburn (or tan as he calls it). On Monday he teaches 4 P.E classes. He has been teaching the kids American football. According to him it is quite funny to see them throw the ball and then pop up like meerkats to see where the ball goes. But he reports that they do love playing it. He is still terribly busy at school, I expect he will just get busier and busier as the end of the year draws near. 
I will be going in tomorrow for a few hours to teach my Health/Science class. It has been difficult not being able to be at school more often, I really feel like I am missing out on what is happening there, but I know that keeping this baby healthy and on the inside is my biggest, and most important, job right now.


On the baby news front, I am at 25 weeks that means over 60% done and only 15 weeks until my expected due date!!

 
How far along? : 25w 2d

Total weight gain: Depends on what scale I get on…

How big is baby?: The size of an eggpalnt. Or almost 13 inches.

Sleep?: Meh, sleeping only on my right side now. My left side feels bruised from laying on it so much.

How are you feeling emotionally?: Overwhelmed. I ventured out to the grocery store last week. (did not last very long, had to leave without most of what I was intending on getting) And the sight of a baby boy toddling around had me in tears. And then in church on Sunday I was reminded of the journey we have taken to get to where we are and I just felt such a wave of gratitude crashing over me. This is real people!


Movement?: All the time now. On Thursday night we watched my belly move for a long time. It was kind of weird to see the rippling movements. Now I can feel him rolling and pushing, not just the little punches and kicks. Also the hiccups I have been waiting for! It is down right magical to feel him hiccuping in there 🙂

Food cravings?: Salt, Chocolate, and jelly beans. Healthy no?

What I’m looking forward to: Seeing Reese at the next appointment.


Next Appointment: The next routine app is on Nov 20.

Stretch marks ? Nope. My belly is itchy though thanks to mosquito bites. 

Thankful for: Today I am thankful for David, he has been amazing. He is so involved in all of this. Last night I had to swat his face away from my belly, he had  his mouth right by my belly button talking to Reese (although I am pretty sure that is where his butt is). He likes to have “private” conversations with his son (he walked around last week saying “my son, I have a son, MY SON” with that fool smile on his face again). And the nursery, he has been so absolutely involved with every little decision that has been made in the baby room. He even wants to cook, but nobody really wants that…..

Weekly wisdom: Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch missionary said: “When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.”

normal day… BAM! AWESOME DAY!

David wearing Reese’s bronco cap

Baby Reese Echols (and us parents, wait I am a parent?? What? AAAAAAAHHH!)  got his first package today!

 Squueeeeee!

We picked it up and then waited FIVE hours (stupid time change) for the sun to come up in America. David’s parents and brother (Hi Steve!) skyped in and watched us open the package. Surprisingly I only cried a tiny little bit, I was afraid I would ugly Oprah cry when getting baby stuff, but I think this stuff was so cool I was feeling more “awesome!” than “I loooooooooooovvvee tthiis stuff sniff-sniff!” Does that make sense, or has the bed rest addled my brain?

Anyway without any further rambling from the brain addled pregnant woman here is a picture journey through our package! (You’re welcome, I know you are just interested in what was in the package anyway, nosy nellies!)

My mother in law calls these sassy! I like the “instructions not included” one and David likes the “Nothing is wrong I am just testing you” one.

This little receiving blanket and carters outfit are SO cute. I love the little overalls. I am having a baby!!!!

This is a onesie, I must be quite a weakling…  Flames on the side. I love little baby shoes!  Tiny little baby pajamas. I love this set, the pants are awesome. I wish I had a pair just like it. I would wear it all the time.    The avalanche onsie is awesome. David was wearing his avalanche shirt today, we are looking forward to introducing Reese to “propa” sport’s teams. Also the Bronco receiving blanket is one of my favorite things to have. He is going to be so cute all wrapped up like a little Bronco Burrito.    The Bronco loot, here we have almost everything we will need for football Sunday. The best part is the little hat, it is exactly the same as David’s. Squeeee! Also notice the little Bronco socks, don’t tell David I told you but those tiny little Bronco socks are his favorite thing by far. He keeps talking about them, and he took one out to get a closer look. I think he may have made a silent squeee in his heart when he saw them.   The Bronco onesies. I think my favorite one is the white one with the bronco pattern on it. So cute!   And of course the hat, the little bronco beanie hat. Forgive my tired look, but see what I am holding? The seahorse soother! This is from our registry and it is something that I have wanted for the baby since we first started trying to get pregnant a hundred years ago. I am so happy to have this in my hands finally, it is like a milestone to me. Weird right?! Again brain addled by bed rest…. And finally the coolest Bronco thing to ever come out of the orange and blue kingdom, baby Reebok cleats! I will give you a moment to look at them and take in their awesomeness…… Now you think you have taken in how awesome they are, but check this out: BAM! We want to give a HUGE thank you to our awesome family in America for this package. We have no words to express the love we felt today. You took time to go out and find things for this baby then you sent it, regardless of the shipping costs. We love you all so much! And we can not wait to see you next year. When Reese will be sporting these BAM! cleats on his little cute baby feet!!

Bed rest again?! Why yes!

Another pregnancy blog! Sorry, I really am not trying to turn this into a pregnancy blog… On Thursday after a particularly stressful day I had a bleeding scare. At around 11pm there was blood on the tp, so after freaking out, sitting in the bathroom crying and praying we rushed to the ER. Our last experience at the Medi-clinic ER was not too great so we decided to go the the catholic hospital. When we walked in they took one look at me and said, yes this is a quote: “Please, no. Please go somewhere else.” We have heard they are the best hospital in town. Clearly we heard wrong.
So back to Medi clinic we went. When we got there they put me in a wheel chair. How horrifyingly embarrassing! Then they wheeled us to Labour and Delivery. The whole time I could feel Reese kicking, I think this helps me to stay calm, as I have to keep my stuff together for him now. They put me in a room with a lady who was sleeping, I felt bad for her. They turned the lights on and started their battery of tests. By this time there was no more blood, so I could breath a sigh of relief, but then they said it was a bloody show which usually shows up right before labour. Hello! This baby still needs to cook for at least 16 weeks!
I tested positive for a UTI too, they said since the bleeding stopped they think the infection caused the blood and that I needed to see my OBGYN. Most deliveries in Namibia are C-sections so you would be hard pressed to find a half-alive OB at midnight anywhere. We were sent home on orders to rest and see our dr asap.
On Friday our dr was fully booked so we had to go sit in the waiting room and hope that someone was miraculously healed and did therefore not come to their appointment.
If you are keeping tract this is the THIRD time seeing the dr in a week. Another horrifying embarrassing thing to me. David does not get why it embarrasses me. He did another ultrasound, our baby boy is measuring two, TWO, weeks ahead! Everything else looked fine and like it should.
He did put me on an antibiotic for the infection. Here is where I want to ask for prayers, I am allergic to almost all antibiotics. So the ones that are safe during pregnancy are not safe for me. So I am on one that is “not ideal” as our dr. put it. This made me bawl. It is terrifying to take a little pill that may hurt my baby. But an untreated infection is worse. I am also on a pretty high dose of magnesium for a few days to keep my uterus relaxed. And I am on lovely bed rest. My bed and I are becoming close friends.
Please pray for us. Please. We need this infection to clear up, and for things to stay on track. Thanks for sticking with us on this journey to our baby boy!!

Time for a baby update :)

How far along? : 23w 2d

Total weight gain: Around 15 pounds maybe? But David says I am all belly 🙂

How big is baby?: At our appointment last week Reese measured 17cm from crown to rump, so he is getting nice and tall. We are so proud! We had a long discussion over what side of the family he will take after, if my side then he will be a tall and really big boy!

Sleep?: Meh, I have noticed that when I am awake he is awake. I wonder if this means we will have a completely nocturnal baby.

How are you feeling physically? Ok. I have a dr. appointment today to deal with some consistent cramping. Hopefully it is just RLP and nothing else. Will update if there is any news to tell.  Update: Just got back from the dr. He felt around my belly and when he touched the left side it was so painful! He was concerned that it may be some kind of placental abruption, so that was terrifying. Also it is the side that I have the ovarian cyst on so off we went for another ultrasound. Everything is fine with Reese and my ueterus and Placenta are in tact. The dr. thinks it is either in my colon or the ovarian cyst, and that we should keep an eye on it. But for now we should just manage the pain with some tylenol. It has been getting better over the last few days. The absolute best part was when he put the wand on my belly we caught Reese giving a really big yawn. The dr. said he looked tired, no wonder he was up all night kicking me in the bladder 🙂

How are you feeling emotionally?: Content. I am nervous about getting his room finished, and having everything we need. I am so happy that we are having a little boy. I still find myself surprised when I realize that it actually happened. We are having a baby. I am humbled by this gift God has given us. Sad when I think about the fact that none of our family is close. David feels this way too. I think it is one event that is really difficult to go through away from family. It will be so strange that none of our family will actually see me pregnant, it will just be “hi! Now we have a baby!” And so excited to be going through this with David. He has been amazing.

Movement?: Yes! Daily now. It is funny though, he will kick and punch and roll and as soon as David comes over he freezes. I think maybe Reese hears David’s voice and then goes really still to try and listen to his daddy’s voice. Or he is just being ornery.

Food cravings?: Cucumbers and tomatoes. Salt.

What I’m looking forward to: I still haven’t felt any baby hiccups yet. I am looking forward to that!

Next Appointment: The next routine app is on Oct 22, then we go every two weeks! And then today for the cramping issues.

Stretch marks? Nope. My belly is itchy though.

Gender: Still a boy. We did have a little scare at the last app though. Reese was just very sleepy I guess. I jokingly said “it is still a boy right?” and the dr went quiet. Then he searched for a long time. David and I kept looking at each other. Then at last he found the boy parts. In my head I was preparing myself to leave with an Eliana in my belly, and to go to the store and return the blue blanket I bought.

Belly button in or out? In, but shrinking. It freaks David out.

Weekly wisdom: “The longer you wait for something the more you will appreciate it when you get it. Because anything worth having is definately worth waiting for.”

Also remember to check out the baby website that David has been working on. It has pictures, the collection of pregnancy blogs, and our registry is on there.

200 posts!!!

Oh the Joy in my heart!

Two days ago I started having bad cramps and pain, I ignored it for a while but by 7pm I was really uncomfortable and beginning to worry. So we did what any paranoid parent 🙂 would do, we headed off to the Emergency Room. I was terrified, at first I couldn’t stop crying, thinking that something was wrong with the baby, and then I just felt numb and I was trying to prepare myself for whatever was about to come.
At the ER the dr. seemed like he was really new or something. He seemed terrified about having to deal with a pregnant woman, he told me that what I was experiencing was not normal at all. And then he gave me tylenol and told me to see an OBGYN in the morning. We went home, but neither of us slept on Monday night. On Tuesday we went in to see our new Dr.

He checked me out, and then he said he wanted to check the baby too. He did a full, long scan. When he put the probe to my belly I wanted to squeeze my eyes shut. I was terrified that there would be bad news waiting for us. But when the picture popped onto the screen so did our bouncy baby. The baby was facing away from us, but it turned it’s little head, and then seemed to look right at us. (Probably annoyed at being bothered!)
I started crying like a fool, the doctor kept checking and measuring while tears spilled down my cheeks soaking the pillow (sorry dr!). The doctor announced that everything with the baby looks absolutely normal.
We even got to see tiny little toes, that I cannot wait to kiss, and at one point I could see lips. The cutest little perfect mouth. With Asthma meds I was terrified of a cleft palate as this is a side effect of the medication. But the baby is fine.

Then nonchalantly the dr says: It’s a boy. A boy. Did you catch that? We are having a boy! A son! I am going to be the mother of a little boy! Cue the tears and giggling for me and the chest puffery for David.  I have never seen him look that proud or that in love. I kept soaking the pillow, David kept sticking his chest out further and further, and the dr. looked sleepy. It was a perfect moment that I will never forget!

And.

We have decided to name our baby boy Reese Livingstone Echols. Reese (means “enthusiastic”) after a one of the most influential and godly men we know, Mr. Gareth Reese one of our professors at CCCB. And Livingstone based on 1 Peter 2:5:

Week 17 and 18

Guess what?! I am 18 and a half weeks along, that means that I am less than two weeks away from being half way!

Sex and size of  baby Echols?
I am told that Baby E is the size of a sweet potato right now. That makes me want yams and marshmallows, like David’s mom makes at thanksgiving! We have an idea about the sex of the baby, but we are keeping mum on the subject until the dr. can confirm with 100% confidence.

Maternity clothes?:
I bought my first pair of maternity pant this past week. I was in a weird place. I lost 26 pounds before getting pregnant, so ALL my pants were falling off. But I have been unwilling to buy new pants as I know I should be gaining weight, and that I will be growing in the next few months. So I have been walking around with baggy pants cinched at the waist by my belt, and a baby belly hanging over. Very sexy look 😉 So buying a pair of pants that actually fits was amazing. And I am not usually amazed by clothes.

Sleep?:
Meh. Some nights more than others.

Best moment this week?
I think every time I realize that this is real I am caught off guard again, and filled with joy all over again.

Food cravings?:
McDonalds. But there is not one here.

Weight?
7 pounds up. Exactly where I should be! I think I need to celebrate with a sleeve of oreos, and a Big Mac.

Movement?:
I felt the baby move on our anniversary. We were on our way to the restaurant and I felt a poke. I cried and cried, so I walked into the Chinese restaurant with puffy eyes and a wet face but with the biggest cheesiest grin ever. 

Symptoms?:
I am still really weepy and hungry all the time!

What I miss?: 
What a stupid question.

What I’m looking forward to?: 
The next dr’s appointment!! 

Thought of the week?:
Through reading through the Old Testament I am surprised by how many women dealt with infertility, it really should be addressed in churches more than it is…

Spring break!

School is out! It is spring break for us, finally. We have two weeks off, then a week of teacher training, so it is not a super long break but it is welcomed. David has been working really hard, as has all the staff and teachers at CHS. We are going to the coast for a few days with Marye and her parents who are visiting from Holland, and we plan on working on the nursery too. I will be half way through my pregnancy in about two weeks! HALF WAY! Also I would like some book suggestions, as we are kind of out of the loop on books here.
I have not written much about the school as I have been on bed rest, but next term I will be back to school twice a week! I am very excited about this. David said he would like to write a post about his discipleship class, so keep an eye open for that.