In Case You Wanted To Know...

Baby shower with people from my church ward - May 21, 2011

Baby shower with Lemmon family and family friends - June 18, 2011

Baby registry on Amazon.com - http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/baby/XA8B2J260XG0

Any clothes or toys on the registry are just things that I liked, but I'm more than happy about people giving me their hand-me-down clothes and toys. I only put cloth diapers on there, but disposable or hand-made cloth diapers are fine, too.

Anyone who can't make it to a baby shower but still wants to send baby Hank (and me!) a baby shower present, message me on Facebook and I'll send you my current address. If you buy a present through the Amazon.com registry, it will automatically ship it to my address.

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So now, to address some of the questions that I've been repeatedly receiving from many people over the last five months or so...

I'm 25 weeks (6 months) along right now, and my belly is big! Not BIG, but... big enough that I don't just look really fat, people on the street would probably think that I was pregnant but not want to ask me in case they're wrong. Yes, the baby is kicking and moving around vigorously (when he's awake). Brian felt him kick once, but Brian was mostly asleep at the time, and when I asked him about it later, he totally forgot about it haha.

For the hundredth time, pictures of me being pregnant will be on Facebook (and probably here, too) after the first baby shower. I don't care how many times you ask me, or how many people ask me, there will be no pictures before then. I will never, under any circumstances, take pictures of my naked stomach.

Don't touch my stomach without asking first. If I say yes once, that doesn't mean you can keep touching it whenever you want afterwards. Don't take it personally if I say no, it's not because I hate you, it's because I have personal physical touching boundaries. I have people who frequently touch my hair or my arm without warning and often for no reason, and it bothers me as well. If I weren't pregnant, people touching my stomach would creep me out, so I don't really see why having a baby in there would make it less creepy.

No, I don't have weird cravings. No, I didn't get morning sickness during my first trimester. Yes, I do wake up four times a night to pee, and it's exhausting. My immune system is lower because of the pregnancy, and I've been sick four times in the last month and a half. Yes, I AM trying to take care of myself, but it's an uphill battle when I can't get enough sleep or take any cold medicine. Advice about eating right and sleeping more and taking medicine do not apply to my situation, but I appreciate the sentiment.

Yes, Brian has been very helpful and supportive. He's been spoiling me silly by doing all of the chores around the house! He usually does most of the chores, he just does a few more now that I physically can't do anymore because of the pregnancy and my being sick so much.

It's a boy, his name will be Hank, and he's due to be born mid-August. Yes, I'm glad it's a boy. Yes, I would've been happy if it had been a girl instead. I don't care if you don't like the name. It's not a family name, Brian and I just liked it. You can call him whatever nickname you want until he's old enough to understand English, at which point you will call him Hank, unless you are a blood relative.

Yes, of course I am very excited. No, I don't know what I'm doing and I've never even held a baby before. Yes, he will be a wrestler like his daddy. No, he does not have a choice. No, I will not be a working mom until my children (of which there will be more than one) are ALL old enough to be in school, or unless I have an acceptable form of childcare (ie living near or with family). No, I don't know how many kids I will be having, but I'll be sure to let you know when I'm done.

Yes, I am concerned about having a baby while I'm still in school and very poor, but Brian is an amazing husband, we will make it through anything and everything, and we are very good at living in a tight budget. And we know (and are related to) very generous, loving people who feed us from time to time.

Brian and I both have a year left of school. No, I don't know where we will be living afterwards. When we graduate, Brian plans to go into the Army. Yes, I worry about his safety. No, I will not "forbid" him to enlist or stop him from doing anything he wants to do with his life. For those of you who have said that you would never "allow" your spouse to join the military, I understand your point of view, but I don't agree with it. Brian is a grown man who can make his own decisions responsibly without me telling him what he can or cannot do. I support him fully in his decisions.

Yes, I would welcome any helpful tips or advice that you want to offer regarding pregnancy, labor, and/or child-rearing. Yes, I do reserve the right to completely ignore your advice if I don't agree with it. No, you may not be offended. It's my child, I will do what I want to regarding the raising of my children.

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One thing I've learned: other than family members, don't tell people that you're pregnant until you're in the second trimester, at least. Don't be offended if you asked me, because I'm not mad at you or anything, but having multiple people ask you every week what the gender of the baby is well before you can even get the ultrasound gets old after a few months. It was such a relief to finally know the gender because I wouldn't have to hear that question anymore.

I can't even tell you how much I'm looking forward to the end of the school term in a month. It's already getting difficult to move around with my belly and my increasingly creaky joints and painful body parts, so I can't wait to spend the last trimester of the pregnancy lying around and doing nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's gonna be awesome.



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