Maverick Joseph Nieman, 20 weeks
I cannot even begin to write how exciting it is to finally have a full name for "baby Nieman". There's so much to say about Maverick's development since last time I wrote.
Last entry was at 17 weeks, I think... Since then, I've had an ultrasound, gained 2 pounds, and am now five pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. Dr. Hayes says everything is going perfectly: the baby's heartbeat is 144 beats per minute, almost TWICE my own heartbeat.
The "quickening" I was feeling a few weeks ago has now turned into kicking; kicking my bladder, kicking my stomach, kicking my husband's hand on my belly, kicking the ultrasound monitor... It seems like he's always moving, or has built a jungle gym inside of my abdomen.
If you haven't figured it out yet, we're having a boy. My intuition was right. :)
Over Labor Day weekend, my husband and I took a nine hundred mile road trip to Union, Missouri, in my Aveo. Upside was that gas only cost us 60 dollars the whole way up, and 50 the whole way down. Downside was that my poor husband had to drive my tiny little car that far. When you're well over six feet tall and mostly legs, it's difficult to drive an economy car. :( The road trip is when I realized that Maverick could hear things going on outside of my womb; when the stereo was turned up
and a song with strong bass came through the speakers, Maverick moved along with the beat of the music. You could actually see from the outside of my stomach his little body moving around and pushing against my belly!
We took the trip to Missouri so that we could see my in-laws, who I believe are the most wonderful people in the world. They threw us a VERY surprise baby shower on Sunday before Labor Day, and now the only things Josh and I have to buy for the baby are a crib and stroller, and lots and lots of diapers. Everyone bought green and yellow clothes, and now that I know it's a boy I've bought some blue things. One thing across the board: baby clothes are so fricking cute!
I got tons of wonderful advice, lots of offers for whatever help we could possibly need, and in general felt more love from other people than I have in a long time. What this amounts to is, through logic, reason, weighing the pros and cons of life, my husband and I have decided to move to Missouri next spring. The only family I have here are my grandparents, and they fully support our decision to move. They also know that Maverick will be here for about half a year before we move, and we will be back often to visit. It just makes sense for us to be close to a network of people who love us and will love our child; most of my friends are still in college and my very best friends (including Maverick's godmother, Anna, and his "Aunts" Jennifer and Wendi) know that this is the best decision we could make for ourselves and our child. As much as I hate the idea of leaving home, I know it's what is best for my son. And now that I'm a mother, his well-being is the most important thing in my life.
I won't keep you guys in suspense to much longer, here is the picture of Maverick from the ultrasound:
Last entry was at 17 weeks, I think... Since then, I've had an ultrasound, gained 2 pounds, and am now five pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. Dr. Hayes says everything is going perfectly: the baby's heartbeat is 144 beats per minute, almost TWICE my own heartbeat.
The "quickening" I was feeling a few weeks ago has now turned into kicking; kicking my bladder, kicking my stomach, kicking my husband's hand on my belly, kicking the ultrasound monitor... It seems like he's always moving, or has built a jungle gym inside of my abdomen.
If you haven't figured it out yet, we're having a boy. My intuition was right. :)
Over Labor Day weekend, my husband and I took a nine hundred mile road trip to Union, Missouri, in my Aveo. Upside was that gas only cost us 60 dollars the whole way up, and 50 the whole way down. Downside was that my poor husband had to drive my tiny little car that far. When you're well over six feet tall and mostly legs, it's difficult to drive an economy car. :( The road trip is when I realized that Maverick could hear things going on outside of my womb; when the stereo was turned up
and a song with strong bass came through the speakers, Maverick moved along with the beat of the music. You could actually see from the outside of my stomach his little body moving around and pushing against my belly!
We took the trip to Missouri so that we could see my in-laws, who I believe are the most wonderful people in the world. They threw us a VERY surprise baby shower on Sunday before Labor Day, and now the only things Josh and I have to buy for the baby are a crib and stroller, and lots and lots of diapers. Everyone bought green and yellow clothes, and now that I know it's a boy I've bought some blue things. One thing across the board: baby clothes are so fricking cute!
I got tons of wonderful advice, lots of offers for whatever help we could possibly need, and in general felt more love from other people than I have in a long time. What this amounts to is, through logic, reason, weighing the pros and cons of life, my husband and I have decided to move to Missouri next spring. The only family I have here are my grandparents, and they fully support our decision to move. They also know that Maverick will be here for about half a year before we move, and we will be back often to visit. It just makes sense for us to be close to a network of people who love us and will love our child; most of my friends are still in college and my very best friends (including Maverick's godmother, Anna, and his "Aunts" Jennifer and Wendi) know that this is the best decision we could make for ourselves and our child. As much as I hate the idea of leaving home, I know it's what is best for my son. And now that I'm a mother, his well-being is the most important thing in my life.
I won't keep you guys in suspense to much longer, here is the picture of Maverick from the ultrasound: