the baby update.

I'm currently 26 weeks pregnant. I will officially be in my third trimester at 28 weeks, which is about a week and a half away. My due date is getting closer and closer. I have also started to count down how many weeks I have left rather than counting up how many weeks I am pregnant.

I had a checkup on New Year's Eve. The doctor said my baby has a good, strong, healthy heartbeat. That made me happy, especially because of my asthma.

We are currently in the process of figuring out how the heck we will be paying for our baby's birth. We definitely have a plan to pay off his birth, however it will be a slow, drawn out process, where payments are made on a monthly basis. I don't think my doctor's office likes our plan. So we are in the process of exploring other payment options. We'll see what happens. Sometimes the issue stresses me out, but hardly ever. My baby is coming whether or not they want him to. Ha ha. They'll get their money - it just may not be the way that they prefer.

The more time progresses, the more I get asked this question, "So how are you feeling about the baby coming?" And this is my answer - I am incredibly excited, and my excitement grows more and more by the day. I'm looking forward to meeting this baby that I've been carrying inside of me for 6 months. I'm dying to know what he looks like. Joel and I don't have everything quite in place yet - like we don't have all the furniture, clothing, etc - but that will come together as time progresses. We have a basic idea of how we plan to raise him (scheduling, feeding, sleeping, etc) but are still spending time informing ourselves so we have more details in place. But emotionally, we definitely feel ready for him. The idea of raising our children does not scare us. We aren't nervous about Levi's arrival. We've known each other for 6 years now, and have been married for four of those years. We feel confident in our relationship and our team working skills and believe that we are ready for this next step in our lives...well...as much as you can be ready without the actual experience that prepares you. We both definitely feel ready for him. I do have a little anxiety, but it's only about labor and delivery, and the physical recovery process postpardum.

We've also signed up for a birthing class next month. I'm looking forward to figuring out what kind of labor and delivery options to choose, but I'm dread learning about the gross parts - like the delivery. Ahh! I have to say, that ignorance is bliss! When it comes to pregnancy, I enjoy NOT knowing all the horrible details that come with pregnancy. It's less to worry about. Speaking of which, I recently came across some women who seem to be very concerned about me in regards to the fact that I have not decided the details of my labor and delivery and my laid back attitude towards informing myself. They amused me. I promise I will make a decision with enough time before labor, just not yet. I really am enjoying my ignorance for the moment. And it's one less thing to worry about.

I could be wrong about this, but I really don't think that postpardum depression will be an issue for me. Why? I think I will be a much happier person once my baby is living outside of me rather than inside. Just a thought.

Joel took some belly shots of my last night. I might put them up. I may not. I don't like them. My face looks fat. That seems to be a problem these days. I don't like having a fat face...ok well...I really just don't like being fat. I may share them. Maybe not.