The Closer You Get

This week is gonna be an eventful one! I've already blogged over at the Front Porch about having to go to court tomorrow (abbreviated version: Ex-neighbor suing me for her insurance deductible, needing to prove negligence to win, which is a fat chance). After we get that behind us, we get to be giddy future-parents again.

If you've been watching the "Quick Facts" box over on the Russellbaby website, you know that our next appointment is this Thursday. Last time was our 8-week visit, but it was little more than annual exam-type stuff and declaration of "Yep, you're pregnant....Everything seems OK....go pay and we'll see you next time." This time Dr. B, Leah, and I will get to hear the heartbeat and may even get an ultrasound (which is one of the ways that they detect a heartbeat). Obviously we both know and believe that we are pregnant, but this may make things seem a lot more real to the both of us. The time will come when he/she will be moving around, kicking, and hiccuping to the point where there is ALWAYS a constant reminder, but as of now, we don't have that.

It seems like every day, I'm learning something else that simply amazes me at the miracle of childbirth. I read in one of Leah's books today that a woman's uterus expands by something like 200 times its pre-pregnancy size. And a pregnant woman's blood volume increases by 50%--which doesn't count the baby's blood (mom's blood never comes in contact with the baby's). Even at 12 weeks, our baby has eyelids, limbs, and is starting to grow hair. From now forward, almost nothing new is gonna form--everything is just growing!!

Leah and I were at Subway yesterday, eating lunch. I caught myself looking for the highchairs. Yep, there they were--right by the door. We've even bought our first bottle of "baby" detergent (All's version is much cheaper than Dreft) and Leah has washed some baby clothes and they are hanging up and ready in the closet of the soon-to-be nursery. Even simple stuff is getting ready to change drastically, and I can hardly wait.