Womb Language

I must say that our son communicates very well for not even being born yet. :) We found out about his ability to communicate the other day I held my water bottle up next to my side. The bottle was full of cold water and the little guy must not have liked it very much because a moment later, I felt a strong kick against the water bottle. I suppose that it could also have been a kick from curiousity. "What is that cold, wet thing?"

The past few weeks have been very fun. Nathan and I have been experimenting with talking to the baby and seeing what other kind of stimuli will cause him to react. The easist thing to do is for me to move onto my side. Once I turn to one side or the other, it frees up his space and then he wiggles around. can feel movement on two sides, presumably hands and feet. He also responds when Nathan talks and sings to him, or when I place my warm hand on the place where he is kicking. While we were on vacation last weekend, I had a piece of applie pie and ice cream (Julian is famous for apple pie so I had to try it), and he wiggled so much that it almost felt like a vibration. I guess I need to really watch the sugar intake!

Into the Final Stretch

At about 6 months, stretching is definitely happening. The little guy is sitting high up and making it interesting to eat, and is kicking my ribs (luckily not too hard yet). Yesterday he gave me a few good kicks while I was at work, and I started laughing. I am working with an all male team out at this client, and they looked at me funny. I commented that I was having a bit of trouble concentrating because I was getting kicked. They didn't seem to know what to do with that remark. :)

Here are some pictures. I have been sick and out of town so much lately, that I think most people who haven't seen me in a while will notice a difference this time. :)

A Weekend Away

This weekend, Nathan and I are taking off. We are going to stay at a little bed and breakfast in Julian, CA. It is a wonderful thing about California, that in a couple of hours, you can get to so many great vacation spots. Julian is a small town up in the hills outside of San Diego famous for its apple orchards. We just wanted some place beautiful and quiet to get some needed R&R and tiem together before our little one joins the world. I was reading a pregnancy magazine recently, and it seems that this sort of trip has become very popular. It is now dubbed a "babymoon." Guess what, they even advertise for "babymoons" now. :)

Anyways, I think that this weekend will be great. Time with Nathan over the past few months has been so precious. I knew that we loved each other, but I think that this pregnancy has given us a unique opportunity to show each other love in new ways. I have been more dependent than I ever have before and have seen Nathan really take care to help in whatever way he can. Actually, there are even some bright, sunny flowers on our dining room table that he brought home a couple of days ago.

Pregnant Ladies are not built for 12 hour days

That is just a fact. I will not say any more!

Half a year

Yesterday was the 6 month visit. I can't believe that I have been pregnant for half of a year now.

The visit went well. It kind of felt like a half pregnancy/ half mental health visit. I have finally recovered from the food poisoning from last Saturday. I thought it was over on Monday afternoon, but then I was sick again Tuesday morning. It took a lot out of me, more than I had expected. My midwife assured me though that the baby was doing just fine even with my flu and showed me how to feel where he was positioned. Yesterday he was head down and ready to go. (Not yet Baby!)

I signed up for classes and took home materials to decide on which birthing class we will take. I think that we will go with Bradley, but they also recommended a class called Birthing from Within. It has some New-Age tendancies, but it also looks like it has some really helpful things. I think that I can customize the program a bit.

In other news, Nathan is great. He got some beautiful summer flowers for me and lots of gatorade while I was sick. He also spent Monday working from home so that he could keep an eye on me. :)

A prayer request

Please pray for me and the little Jonesie. I got food poisoning last night and have been sick all day. I began to feel better for a while, but realized that that was only because I hadn't eaten anything in a while. I am trying to stay hydrated, but I still feel like I am not keeping enough liquids. Nathan is off to the store for some safe for pregnancy OTC medicine. This is tough too because I was supposed to have a very busy work schedule tomorrow.

Thanks!

Off to Orlando for Training

Every year, KPMG sends me somewhere to go for National Audit Training. This year we are in Orlando (much better to be here in May than in August like my first year). I have to say tht although we had to fly out on Mother's Day, and I didn't get the roommate that I was hoping for, it has not been unpleasant. This is the first year that I got to travel with friends and have great people to spend time with in the evenings. In prior years, it has felt rather lonely and disorienting to be at training. Here is a picture of the hotel. It is pretty first class and they have the best food (not that I am a huge critic right now :) ).

Humorous... really :)

This goes along with the "Big" post from a few days ago.

This morning I was at my client's site heating up a few pieces of turkey bacon in the cafeteria. A lady came in and said "Wow, you really do breakfast. Do you make eggs too?"

I replied, "No, I was just trying to get some exta protein at breakfast."

She then remarked, "Oh cool, you must be on one of those low-carb diets!"

I smiled and said, "Nope, I am pregnant and I feel better when I get some extra protein in in the mornings."

So funny! really, I took no offense, it just made me laugh. I can be almost 25 weeks pregnant and it still looks like I just need to go on a diet. :) Maybe this is a commentary on how few pregnant women there are in the Southern CA region, or how many fad dieters there are.

Great Lectures

Last weekend, I drove up to see my side of the family. They live in Northern CA. Nathan had to work, so I drove alone. Knowing I would have a lot of time on my hands, I downloaded some lectures before I left from Dr. Peter Kreeft. I have listened to these lectures about 3-4 times each over the past few years. They are so profound and so packed with information that each time I listen, I learn something new. My favorite lectures are ones on books by CS Lewis, espeically the lecture on Till We Have Faces. There are also good practical lectures for conservative Christians that defend Tradition, the male priesthood, and Pro-Life.

Here is the link:

www.peterkreeft.com

Cliick on audio.

Big

Throughout the pregnancy, I have been slowly getting bigger. Duuring this past month, however, I have really noticed a difference. Sometimes I feel like I am going through puberty again, with my body changing all the time. No wonder a pregnant person gets emotional!

Some fun instances of "Big:"

Yesterday, I was clearing some dessert plates, and accidentally got a little bit of chocolate on my shirt. Someone had to point it out to me because it was on my shirt just below my belly and I could not see it. We laughed and I remarked that at least I can still see my feet. :)

One evening, when feeling especially large, I whined to Nathan, "I feel so big right now." He smiled and said, "No, you are big-and-beautiful." He knows how to handle his insecure pregnant lady.