6 MONTHS!!!

Wow...that's all that I can say.  The farther along I go in pregnancy, the more amazed I am that I am blessed with this wonderful experience!  I am SIX MONTHS along!  Crazy!  I remember thinking, three months ago, how great it would be to get here...and how slowly it seemed to be coming!  But now it feels like it came so fast!


Declan is now about 12 inches long,  the size of an ear of corn! He weighs somewhere over a pound, supposedly gaining 4 ounces last week alone! The most amazing fact to me, this week, is that my uterus is now the size of a soccer ball.  A SOCCER BALL!  Crazy.  It does explain the belly pic below, though!

Declan has been kicking like crazy the past two days and seems to be getting stronger!  It is wonderful but sometimes distracting!

This past Sunday was my last weekend on the worship team for church until sometime after Declan is born, which was sad for me.  However, it was a GREAT Sunday to leave off on, God was there and it was amazing!

What I found interesting and strange was that during practice, we had a couple of times where the bass rumbled through the floor and I could feel my internal organs vibrating...and I could feel Declan vibrating!  Such a weird feeling!  Then, I was sitting on a subwoofer and the drummer started pounding on the kick drum and Declan started squirming!  I know he heard it and now I am interested to know if he will like music with lots of bass when he gets older!

My energy level seemed to go up this past week, or I was more motivated to work through the drowsiness!  I was busy from sun up to sun down Thursday through Saturday and I was up early on Sunday to be at church by 8:00 am for worship practice and I didn't get overly tired until Sunday after church...whew!

My mom came to visit this weekend and helped me with Declan's room.  I will do a separate post soon about the different projects we did and that I am finishing up.  I can't wait to get the wall decorations up and the room put back together...it is currently very undone!

I am not really having any cravings, though I did eat more than my fair share of pumpkin cupcakes this weekend...they were SO good!

Random Thoughts:  In about three months my life will radically change, and I cannot even fathom how much or exactly how.  I look forward to it on some levels but on others I will miss the freedom that we have now to go out on dates randomly throughout the week and have friends over at the spur of the moment or regularly without having to think about how it might effect a wee one.

I know I am on the cusp of a great adventure, but as the unknown is always scary, I have to constantly remind myself that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  I am on God's path, not my own, and his love never fails, never gives up, never runs out on me!

Cheers, my lovelies!  Thanks for keeping up with Declan and me.

~ N ~

23 Weeks

And what a week it has been!

We had another ultrasound on Friday that was extremely painful!  The woman who did the ultrasound pushed soooo hard, even using TWO hands on the ultrasound-thing.  It was essentially pushing a wide stick VERY hard around on my very soft abdomen for an hour.  I am still sore.  Terrible business.  I am glad that Ryan was there with me, so that when Declan grows up he can testify to all the pain his mother went through BEFORE he was born...

I am moving on now, to the update!

At 23 weeks, Declan weighs just over a pound and is more than 11 inches long!  His sense of movement is developed enough that if I were to dance, he would be able to feel it!  His ears have developed to the point of being able to hear sounds outside, such as Sammy barking or the vacuum cleaner running.

I feel him moving quite a bit now and would almost swear that as I was falling asleep last night and had my arm draped tucked across and underneath my belly that I felt him kick against my arm.

Last night, Ryan even was able to feel him kick!  That is a first and made me soooo happy!

Below is my pregnancy belly photo for this week.  :)  Eventually when my belly rounds out a bit more, I want to do a photo shoot with Ryan.  And then edit the pics myself.  I look forward to that, more than any photo shoot I've done before.  :)

My energy level is up a bit, at the level I would call "pregnancy normal."  I get tired easily, rest for a while, then I feel better.  I stayed up the other night past midnight and I somewhat regret it the next day, when I was just so sleepy!  I have to learn to be more careful and keep to a schedule even when friends come over.

Cravings:  none, really.  I occasionally want ice cream or cheese or chicken, but nothing that if I don't have it now, today, NOW,  that I will not survive without.

Random thoughts:  I look forward to starting to decorate Declan's room this weekend.  I've bought some supplies and have been taking my time in forming a plan and have a good idea of what I want to do.  It makes it feel so much more real...tangible.  I finally feel like I'm doing something!  That feels really good.

22 Weeks :: The Mini-Miller's A...

This past week-ish has been incredibly busy!

Last Wednesday (the 5th) we found out that we are having a boy!  His name will be Declan (pronounced DECK-lan, similar to "DEClaraiton" removing the "ratio" and leaving the "n") with the middle name of Andrew.  Declan Andrew Miller.  Before you say anything, yes, I know what the initials spell.  Sometimes, in the fight to preserve marital harmony, you compromise on certain things...this was one of my compromises...I got the first name I wanted.  ;)

Declan means "full of goodness" and Andrew means "man, warrior"...I think he'll be a good man if the meanings behind names really mean anything.  It is fun to think of.

So, since the ultrasound, I have learned that my son (o.my.goodness--my son!) responds to sugar, caffeine, and ultrasound poking/prodding/pressure by dancing (at least, that's what it feels like!).  He practically didn't stop moving for two days after the ultrasound.  Previously, I only felt him move once a day or every other day...now it is several times per day.  So sweet.  Sometimes, it feels like feet or hands, and sometimes it tickles.  It is very sweet.

We decided to have a gender-reveal party centered on the "theme" of miniature...since Declan's code-name was "Mini-Miller."  I felt it was appropriate and reflected both Ryan and I.  When I have the pictures from him, I will do a separate post on the "Mini-Miller Gender Reveal Party"...mainly because I think it was awesome and I really enjoyed putting it together.  I am discovering that I REALLY like putting together parties for rather cheap...it is a new thing for me to enjoy, I usually despise details.

Moving right along, we did the party on Thursday night and on Friday prepared to head up and say good bye to my very sick grandmother...who passed away before we were able to get up there.  It is sad, but there were many good things to come out of her life (my mother being one of them!) and since she was 76-ish she had experienced much.

Cute story.  As told to me by my mom who was with my grandma until the very end...apparently, my mom and my aunt were discussing Declan and my aunt asked what we would use for a nickname, would it be "Dick"? {never, never, never, never, Never, NEVER would I name a child "Dick". Never.ever.ever.} When my grandmother heard this, she roused and proceeded to say, "NO, not Dick, Declan!" I believe she then fell asleep or at least fell quiet.  I was thoroughly amused by this and was glad that she corrected my aunt...if you do wish to call him something other than "Declan" you can call him "Deck"...no "Decky" or "Dick" just "Deck".

I went thrifting while waiting for the funeral plans to be put into place and picked up some cute outfits for Declan and a few items to use in his room.  I will do a separate post also about how I'm changing up his room...as I get around to it!

I stayed with my family through the funeral and then came home; returning to work on Wednesday.  I haven't had time to do a picture this week, and since I'm almost at 23 weeks, I don't feel it pays to do one.  Sorry. 


At 22 weeks, DECLAN is about 11 inches long and according to the ultrasound last week he weighed in at one pound that day--right where he should be according to the doctors.  :)  Technology is amazing!  He's starting to look like a miniature newborn (strangely, I already thought he was looking like that) His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises lack pigment (even though I know they'll be blue!). 

I've been suffering from a bit more heartburn lately...and I think it's unfair that when you eat healthy foods (like bananas and dried apricots) that you should get heartburn.  I think I should only get it if I eat like crap.  Oh well, something I will not understand about pregnancy.  I am having lots of vivid (and funny) dreams again, I have a few new tiger stripes (stretch marks) on my stomach and haven't gained any weight since my last appointment three weeks ago (so, I am still -1 pound from my starting weight).    I am beginning to find it difficult to bend over, specifically for extended periods of time.  Having a more difficult time breathing when bending over.  Tying my shoes today was difficult!  I am sure it will only get worse from here...

Since you've made it this far in the post, I will tell you about the dream I had the night before we went in for the ultrasound...

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I dreamt that I had the baby and it was a girl...after the delivery (when I found out that the baby was a girl) I fell asleep or passed out, and remained unconscious for several months.  Long enough for Ryan to name the baby and have TONS of cutesy girl-baby pictures of the child.  When I woke up, Ryan was there and announced to me that he'd named her "Ivy Livey" (pronounced in a way that it rhymes). I was livid!  That was not what we had agreed upon!  Why did he name her such a stupid name that rhymed?  I was so mad.  I don't remember what happened after that, but I am pretty sure I woke up mad, but was then relieved to find out it was not true.

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Thanks for stopping by to read my updates and random thoughts on pregnancy.  I hope you enjoy my sometimes wacky point of view.  :)

Toodles!

~N~

21 Weeks...and More Crazy Dreams

I've made it another week!  Crazy!  Just over 5 months pregnant.  I can hardly believe that I'm already this far.

The Mini-Miller is now about 10 1/2 inches long (from head-to-toe about the length of a carrot!) and weighs three quarters of a pound.  And the M-M is moving quite a bit more.  What was once occasional, is now pretty much daily.  What a wonderful experience thus far!

This has been a great week.  I spent a relaxing weekend with my husband and playing board games two days in a row with friends that I haven't seen so much of lately.  Yay.  My ultimate happy place is being surrounded by friends, talking, laughing and connecting over board games.  So much fun.

Moving forward, I've had several good nights of sleep and some not so good sleep last night.  It's funny how much I already began to take the good sleep for granted.  No more!  Tonight, I shall appreciate it.  I think part of the problem last night was that I would wake up and start planning out the Mini-Miller Gender Reveal Party details for this Thursday night.  Then, I drifted in and out of some c-r-a-z-y dreams.  I shall describe them to you if I remember correctly.


In one dream, I was going into some sort of battle (think David vs Goliath) where I would be pitted against some sort of superior foe.  Well, I was preparing and this good-witch-like-lady shows up and says that she has one special cat that hasn't "bonded" with anyone yet and gives it to me to aid in my battle/quest (the dream was evolving).  The cat was big enough to ride, long haired and buff-colored like my Curly-Cat, only with a white "soul patch" on his chin.  The cat turned purple when you would ride him and I got the distinct impression that he turned into a dragon or a unicorn (so he would be comfortable to ride)...of course, the purple color would stay.

After trying to "bond" with the cat, he wandered off and I continued to get ready for the challenge.  While this was going on, some sort of flood came on and we had to evacuate the little apartment in a mall that we had been preparing in.  When I left, I couldn't find the special kitty, and had to leave him behind, knowing that we already have two cats and knowing that my husband would be most displeased if I brought home another cat...even a color-changing shape-shifting one.


The other dream that I remember is that Ryan and I were visiting his parents and we left.  We chose to go home via a high-speed train.  Now, apparently when my brain thinks "high speed" it thinks of multiple g's.  Here's what happened.  We got on the train, Ryan got strapped into his seat and the conductor of the train entered our modern-looking compartment (looked more like bus seats with those upright poles for balance), and introduced herself.  She was elaborately dressed in a sequined outfit and dripping with costume jewelry, her blonde hair adequately poofed up.  As I was talking with her, she mentioned how nice I was and then left...and immediately, before I could find a safe seat, she started the train.

It was reminiscent of being in a low-gravity tilt-a-whirl or scrambler ride at the county fair.  I grabbed onto one of those upright poles and held on for dear life as I was thrown from side-to-side and up toward the ceiling then back down toward the floor.  At some point, I managed to get buckled into a seat and reproached my husband for not making sure I was safe in my seat before strapping in himself.  After a while, I fell asleep on the train and when I awoke, I found our luggage in the compartment with me but no one else.  It was then that I realized that I left my huge new pillow at my in-laws house and I began to have a melt-down and my husband showed up.  He told me that he needed to "take a bath" so he left me in the capable hands of the conductor so he could go do that.  (Ryan only takes showers, so this was very strange)  After that, I think I woke up, for real from dreaming.

I find these bizarre and hilarious at the same time.  I hope you enjoyed them.  Now, onto more pressing matters.  The newest picture is below.

My energy level has come back up a bit, in my opinion due to the quality sleep I've been getting.  I did a couple of loads of laundry the other day, made the guest bed, and did some other miscellaneous cleaning.

Cravings:  Still just the chocolate milk and Saturday it was ice cream...particularly custard or a brownie sundae.

Other random observations:  I find that pregnancy has been liberating.  I don't have to "suck in" my belly.  People expect my belly to grow; me to get bigger.  So, in that way, I am really enjoying this new type of freedom.  If my tummy hangs out while I'm walking or if my clothes "make me look fat" it doesn't matter.  I'm growing a baby and that is beautiful.  I've read about other women not knowing that they would go through a stage where they didn't look pregnant, only fat, and that disturbed them.  I am not having that problem.  Quite the opposite, I guess.

Tomorrow is the BIG day.  Tomorrow, assuming the M-M cooperates, we will find out if the M-M is a boy or a girl!  I could not be more excited.  I hope I will be able to sleep tonight.  Thursday we will be having a Gender-Reveal Party, and I am really looking forward to it.  Even if a lot of people are unable to attend, it will still be fun and special to me.  :)

Cheers, and I'm sure you'll hear from me again this week.

~N~