100 Days Left!

So from today until his due date March 8th we have exactly 100 days! I've been waiting for this benchmark for a while now. It seems that all of pregnancy is a waiting game. First, I couldn't wait to find out if it was a boy or girl, then I couldn't wait until I started feeling flutters. Next, I couldn't wait to start showing, and then I couldn't wait to feel kicking. Now, I can't wait until the kicks get strong enough to feel from the outside. Just one benchmark after another and nothing ever seems to satisfy...I just keep looking forward. I know I should enjoy this time because once he comes things will never go back to normal, but it's so hard because we just can't wait to meet him!

As far as showing and kicking go, things are in full swing. I remember when I used to think I was "showing," but I think it was all in my head. I would wear maternity clothes anyway, but I used to still be able to look decent in something non-maternity. The irony of being pregnant is that you want to show so badly so you can tell strangers about your pregnancy, but then when it finally comes, you decide to try on something non-maternity and realize just how much you've been kidding yourself. Except for oversized sweaters and cardigans, I pretty much need something full coverage to make this bump look good. However, it's all fun and games....until I try to "hop" off the couch quickly and then I realize that this bump comes at a price, haha!

Kicking is the same...I used to think I felt kicks all the time, but looking back I'm not sure if they could really be classified as such. Now, the kicks are strong and relentless. Sometimes I just sit and laugh because it's so weird that I am not alone in my own body. I know I will miss them when they are gone. However, just like with wanting to show, once it starts there is no going back...not that I want him to stop kicking, but the frequent bathroom visits are getting old and I'm only in the end of the second trimester.

Here's a look at how he's gotten bigger at weeks 12, 16, 20, and 24:

What I'm Thankful For

So I haven't been doing my 30 things in 30 days, but there's a lot I'm thankful for. I'll go ahead and list those things all at once instead of spreading them out on facebook. They are in no particular order...

1. Our home - I love it even more now that we've started to reevaluate, clean out, and make room for baby. I'm so thankful that at the end of a work day I have a place to go that is ours.
2. & 3. Our neighbors - It's wonderful to have my sister and her fiance right next door. I dread the day when we are no longer neighbors. It's so nice to have her so close - not just so I can borrow milk and such, but it's nice just to be able to walk right next door and hang out with one of my best friends at a moment's notice.
3. I'm so glad Kara found someone to share her life with. Yes, that's great for her, but (selfishly) it's also great for me and Brandon. Brandon and I were worried while Kara was dating (not only does Kara have to spend her life with whomever she marries, but so do we, haha), but we know she made a great choice and we are happy that we are going to have an awesome brother in law.
4. Sam - Sam loves me unconditionally. I can't imagine life without him (although I'm sure our cat can).
5. Jack - Jack's love isn't nearly as unconditional. He is annoying and badly behaved. Still, he is a great cuddler!
6. My mother - She gave me life and she raised me well. Nothing I can say in this blog can really explain why I'm thankful for her with just a few words, but I will say that I am thankful for how she has been there through every phase in my life. I look forward to seeing her in her new role as John Mark's Mimi.
7. Teaching - I have always been thankful that I have known just the right thing to do with my life. Teaching fits me perfectly.
8. My Employers - My bosses at school are one of a kind - they're very special and I can't imagine working for anyone else. Being treated well by my employers is something I don't take for granted.
9. Coworkers I love - My job wouldn't be nearly as special if I didn't have 9 wonderful team members who I see almost more than my non-work friends (or even Brandon on some days). We have a common bond in teaching, but it stretches outside of work too.
10. Our wedding - This year we have been blessed in many ways. I am so thankful that one of the biggest days in our life went off without a hitch (well without any major ones anyway). We are thankful for our travel agent, wedding planner, and photographer who made it so easy and enjoyable!
11. Facebook -Without it, having Tami & Mom (and many, many others) so far away would be so much harder!
12. Apta 32 (girlfriends/roommates from college) -  Somewhere along the way it was determined that we would be the group that stuck together (it was probably at our first New Year's Eve party). I can't say (and I bet they'd agree) that has always been easy to stay close - we've all gone through different phases and things continue to change. However there's one thing that won't change and that is our history together. Only these 4 girls can reminisce about the same things as I can for the past 8+ years. Life wouldn't be nearly as fun without them :)
13. 13's husbands - When I think back on our friendship in the beginning and all of our "romantic" drama and adventures it makes me so happy to see how we have all met our perfect matches. I am thankful for how happy my friends' husbands make them and how we've all come together to make a little hodgepodge family.
14. Brandon - I don't have enough space to list all the things I love about Brandon, but I am incredibly grateful for his presence in my life. I am so thankful I found my perfect match.
15. My son - Even though his presence has increased my bathroom visits, I am definitely thankful for all the little kicks and punches that remind me he is there.

Wanted: Flexible Baby

So a while back I temporarily got hooked on a show called Pregnant in Heels about a maternity concierge in New York City. The only episode that stands out in my mind is about a couple, who at the time, I thought was completely crazy. They wanted Rosie Pope's help in making sure they had a "flexible" baby. No, not flexible like a gymnast, but flexible as in a baby that is "up for anything" and that will "go with the flow." Basically the couple wants to make as few adjustments as possible for life with baby (they want to have their baby and keep their social life too). In the episode the maternity concierge takes them to a vineyard with a training baby that cries just like a real one would when hungry, wet, or just because. The trip is a nightmare and, of course, the couple realizes that life with babies is unpredictable and that the best you can do is adjust to the baby and take your cues from its patterns and plan accordingly. Life doesn't stop, but it changes - drastically.

Remember how I said I used to think the couple was crazy? Well, the reality of having a baby on the way can sometimes lead Brandon and I into a world of denial. I started to think maybe they're not so crazy after all...I have started to think if anyone can have a flexible baby it's Brandon and me, right? While reading my most recent baby prep book, Babyproofing Your Marriage, I kept reading about how busy and tiring parenting will be, but it never really does explain exactly what you'll be doing that has you so busy and tired. When I was telling Brandon about the book he kept saying things like "What is going to be so hard?" and "What exactly will you be doing while off for 5 months?" You think I'd know what to say back to him, but when I said changing diapers and feeding him it even sounded weird to me - could that possibly keep me busy for 24 hours a day? "Maybe it won't be that bad after all," I'd think. I guess I know deep down that we are wrong and that we must be missing something, but when you haven't done it yet it's hard to imagine what is going to keep you so busy. And here's what else we keep thinking: "I'm pretty organized...maybe it won't be that bad for ME (for them - yes, for me - no)."

So there are two things keeping us living in a fantasy world - the ideas that 1) Maybe it's not as bad as everyone says (hopefully they're all just exaggerating) and 2) Maybe if it really is that bad, it won't be that bad for us because we will find a way to master and overcome it like no one has before. Yes, as I type this I realize how crazy this sounds (especially to people who are already parents), but I think we have to tell ourselves these things in order to calm us down and give us hope (even though we know we are wrong).

At the end of the Pregnancy in Heels show she always tries to give the couple a new perspective that will help them with whatever it is their wants and fears are. The couple goes to the park with another couple and their children. The couple with children talks about how their life changed, but assures them that life doesn't stop, but that actually gets better. Though we can't imagine how life watching only kid movies, not being able to nap uninterrupted as you please, and spending our money on daycare (rather than fishing kayaks) could be defined as better, we have to have faith that all the parents who have gone before us are right. It will all be worth it in the end and, at some point, we won't be able to imagine life before John Mark!

P.S. There's no need to send me messages telling me about the realities of parenting...we are doing a lot of reading and trying to prepare. I think the bottom line is that we won't "get it" until he arrives! Just let us enjoy this last little bit of denial :)

How Are You Feeling?

I saw a comic that showed a well-rested, fresh, happy pregnant mother with everyone doting on her and right next to it there was a picture of a tired, frazzled mother with everyone ignoring her and doting on the baby. Right now I'm definitely in the doted on phase, so I guess I should enjoy it before it's gone. My students are always worried  about me (although I did hear one child say under his breath: "Mrs. Jones sure is forgetting a lot of things."), and all my coworkers and parents of students are always asking me how I feel. How do I feel? Aside from some minor backaches in the afternoon, I feel great. It's a strange thing to have people always asking you how you feel especially when you feel fine, but I know that before I was pregnant I always asked other pregnant women how they were feeling. I don't know if I'm lucky or it's just that I'm in the second trimester. If you have a pregnant friend, be sure to dote on them the most in the first trimester - this is a piece of cake compared to my weeks 2-11! I'm sure all those veteran mothers are thinking, "Just wait 'til you hit the third trimester!" so I guess I'll just be thankful for my great condition right now and hope for the best.

John Mark is kicking a lot...especially when I first wake up and when I go to bed. The kicking is strong and frequent (of course I've worried about ADHD -since I'm a teacher, I can't help it haha). It's not strong not enough for Brandon to feel yet. He will be kicking up a storm, but as soon as Brandon's hand is on my belly, it stops. Very frustrating! I'm sure it will happen soon enough. I just can't wait until someone other than me feels it. If Brandon doesn't feel it for real soon, I think he'll start "faking it" since I get so annoyed when he can't feel!

Overall, at 23 weeks, I'm feeling great. It's hard to believe that in 4 weeks I'll be in my third trimester. When you think of life in weeks, it sure does go fast! Here is my 23 week "bump":

An Exciting Time to Be a "Werner Woman"

Kara and I sure adored our Uncle Don when we were kids, and when John proposed to Kara John Mark gained an uncle - one that he is sure to love as much as we do our uncle.

Extended family is definitely a special thing...of course John Mark will love me and Brandon, but it will be a different kind of love that he has for his Auntie Kara and Uncle John. They'll get to spoil him and play with him and do "cool" Aunt & Uncle things!

To commemorate his birthday here are some pics of us with our Uncle Don!