29 April: It's a girl! (Jen)
We had the ultrasound yesterday and the whole experience was kinda a bummer -- I'll write more about it later. But it's just one, and it's a girl, with all of her parts in place!  HOORAY!!

24 April: Prayer to St. Joseph (Ben)
You’re not in the story much
We see you doubt, respectfully
Offer to hide your new love’s sin
Until an angel sets your mind to rest

This child is God?
Well, all parents think
Their children are wonderful
But this is more

A great burden you are asked
To carry: a wife you cannot
Know, the way you knew
Your first wife

A child you did not bring
Into the world the way
You did his brothers

But your staff
Full of white doves
Marked you as the one

Who would raise God?

You bore shame
For God
Bore blame
For God

You gave up all
Your rights and life
Because of Mary’s ‘yes’

What was it like
To teach
‘He through whom all things were made’
To build a chair?

Did it hurt you
When you found him in
The temple?

He said that of course
He would be in his Father’s house
Are you not his father?

Was it hard to give
This child in whom
So much was invested
So many hopes and dreams
For whom you gave up so much
Back to God?

Pray that I can do the same.

23 April: And two more things! (Jen)
We had no idea how milk comes out of a nipple, so we finally asked a good friend. She described it as being like a shower head, with milk sort of spraying out of multiple places in the nipple. We were fascinated by that, so I had to share it.

And this morning, as I was brushing my teeth and spitting dark pink foam into the sink, I thought I should blog about "pink toothbrush". What to Expect suggests that a woman see her dentist at least once, if not twice, during pregnancy, because "The gums, like the mucous membranes of the nose, become swollen, inflamed, and tend to bleed easily because or pregnancy hormones. These hormones also make gums more susceptible to plaque and bacteria, which can soon make matters worse. ... Studies show that [periodontitis] increases a woman's risk of having a premature or low-birthweight baby and having preeclampsia... Another [danger] is the tendency for uncared-for teeth to loosen in their sockets during pregnancy (which explains the old wives' tale that a woman loses a tooth for each baby)." (181). I've only been experiencing pink toothbrush for a few weeks now, but Ben and I were both glad that I'd already read enough to know what was happening when my mouth seemed to fill with blood...

22 April: Tips and tales on buying bras -- so far (Jen)
Ben and I had to make a crazy, last-minute trip to the States yesterday, to renew my passport -- it's a long story -- and almost were arrested at the border -- an even longer story. It did, however, bring us to the States, the land of cheaper oil changes, cheese, and bras. That's right. We went to TJ Maxx to get me another bra. Here's my story... Before we knew we were pregnant (5 weeks into it), my breasts were already very tender (my nipples would hurt when the water hit them in the shower!) and beginning to swell. I thought I had just gained weight over the holidays... Eventually they developed -- and still show -- a complicated interlacing of bright blue veins, visible even in my ever-enlarging and pinkening areolae (the colored area around the nipple). My nipples have changed dramatically, too! They're bigger in every respect and now seem to be made of clusters of translucent balls, much like a miniature raspberry. One breast seems to be growing and developing much slower than the other, but I'm sure that's "normal". In the second month, my bras felt very tight around my rib cage and I found that every time I breathed I wanted to unhook my bra (I think this is because as my uterus expands, it pushes my intestines up and into my lung region -- I've noticed lately that when I have lots of gas, the area above my navel gets really hard -- I think that's because my uterus is taking up the space below my navel and forcing everything into a smaller area). We decided that it was time to buy me a larger bra.

When Mom and Dad Amundgaard came to visit us in February, they bought me two XL sports bras to sleep in (I find it very uncomfortable to ever be without some kind of support -- and I've heard that wearing sleeping bras can help protect against sagging boobs). Those bras were so comfortable that they were all I wore for about a month; then I/the babe had a growth spurt and they no longer fit. A friend of ours, with a new baby, suggested that we buy a larger nursing bra and start using that now. So we bought one from Motherhood Maternity for about $35 -- it has padded straps and little hooks at the top of each breast to let one side down at a time -- cool. When we bought it, the woman helping us told us to make sure that I could fit my fist in with my breast, because my breasts could grow that much more before the baby's born. So we did -- and it's a little big, but much more comfortable than the other bras. I wore it everyday and sometimes nights, and didn't wash it for about a month. We decided it was time to buy me another bra so that I could at least trade out while I was doing laundry. My mom came to visit and bought me a pregnancy camisole with a built-in nursing bra. Now I sleep in the camisole and trade out between it and the bra when I do laundry. So I'm pretty well set. What to Expect, though, says that some women can expect their breasts to increase 3 cup sizes!! Mine have already increased one cup size and 3 sizes around my rib cage -- and my milk hasn't even come in!! The book also mentions that wearing underwire bras can cause mastitis, but I can't stand how my boobs look and feel without underwire, so everything I have bought -- and hope to buy -- has wire (except the camisole, which makes it comfy for sleeping in). I'll let you know how the wire thing goes.

That was the "tales" part; now for the "tips". With what I know now, this is what I wish I'd bought: one XL sports bra for sleeping in during the first trimester; one maternity camisole with built-in (non-nursing) bra to sleep in during the second trimester (one cup size larger than pre-pregnancy and 2 sizes larger around the rib cage -- and non-nursing camisoles sell at Target for under $20 whereas my nursing camisole was around $40 -- thanks, Mom!); probably 3 normal bras from TJ Maxx or Ross or the like (they're about $7 each at TJ Maxx, so I'd get one for the first trimester that's larger around the rib cage; one for the second that's larger in cup and rib cage; and one for the third trimester that's larger yet in both places); and then, about 2 weeks before the baby's due, I'd buy one or two nursing bras. Of course, I'm only about half-way through pregnancy, so I may change my mind on this yet, but that's what I'd recommend now.

P.S. I have another cold. Unbelievable!

16 April: Big Changes in the Second Trimester (Jen)
I can feel the baby (or, babies?)!!! HOORAY!!! I first felt movement on Sunday, April 6th, but I didn't really believe that it was the baby. Ben and I had just had a big meal and were in bed for a nap. I felt something like marbles being pushed outward -- three of them. Then it stopped and I felt nothing until this past weekend. I kept thinking "it must be gas moving around, but I don't feel gassy!" Then, at our most recent appointment with the midwives, Monday the 13th, while we were listening to the baby's heartbeat, I felt that same gassy movement feeling and then the heartbeat stopped. She asked if I had just felt the baby move and I told her that I felt something, but didn't know if it was the baby or not -- and she said "that's it! That's your baby!" That made me soooooo very happy!! I usually only feel the baby once a day -- if that -- and it's usually at night when I'm trying to fall asleep. I can't feel the movements on the outside of my belly yet, but I still sometimes tell Ben to try to feel the baby anyway. He's so sweet and massages my belly and puts his head on it, and even kisses my belly! He's the best!!

Other changes include my feeling better overall -- no more cold! Lots of blowing my nose still (and lots of minor nose bleeds), but more energy and no more pressure in my ears, and no more coughing (that's the best part!)! I've also started to notice more blood in my body. When I get headaches, I can often hear a pulse -- the midwives said that this is very common -- pregnant women often claim that they can hear their blood flowing. CRAZY! On Sunday night I was on the phone having an extremely stressful conversation, and I could feel a strong pulse in my neck, then my chest, and then my belly. I guess that as my body went into "fight or flight" mode, all that extra blood overloaded my core! I was so worried that night and the next day that the stress might have hurt the baby, but the next day was the appointment with the midwives, and the baby's heartbeat was its normal 160 bpm, and my blood pressure was normal, too. Phew! I also find myself sitting a lot, and almost sighing when I sit down, like I didn't realize how tired I was until I let myself rest. BabyCenter.com says, to moms in their 18th week (like me), "Your heart has to work 40 percent to 50 percent harder now to support your pregnancy." No wonder I get pooped so fast!  :)

Oh, and at our visit on Monday, the midwife said that the top of my uterus (the fundus!) was more than an inch higher that it had been the week before, and that its size is more on track with a uterus of woman two weeks ahead of me in her pregnancy (the fundus is now exactly half-way up my navel, so in the next couple weeks my "innie" should become an "outie"!). So she tried to listen for two heartbeats. She found strong heartbeats on both sides of my belly, but since they were the exact same frequency, she couldn't say anything for certain. Our ultrasound is only 12 days away, and boy are we excited for that! Oh, and even my maternity tops seem to want to roll on up my belly to rest below my breasts and above my belly. It's kinda fun to be able to feel the effects of the growth of my belly, but really annoying when I'm in public!  :)

06 April: Growing pains and my impoverished immune system (Jen)
I'm finally beginning to look pregnant. HOORAY! I feel like I've been suffering and have had nothing to show for it, until now. But along with this larger belly comes what the authors of What to Expect refer to as "growing pains". I'll let them explain: "the pregnancy equivalent of growing pains: the stretching of muscles and ligaments supporting the enlargening uterus. Most pregnant women experience these pains, which may be crampy or sharp and stabbing, and often are most noticeable when you are getting up from a bed or chair, or when you cough. The pain may be brief, or may last for several hours." (221) These pains started last weekend, when Ben and I were getting out of bed and as soon as I stood up, I felt a stabbing pain in the lower left side of my abdomen. I whispered "it hurts" and laid back down on the bed. Ben compassionately laid with me and comforted me, and after a few minutes I tried again. I thought it might be constipation or gas, but neither of those proved to be the cause. Later that day, as we finished with lunch, the same thing happened, and it lasted for about 30 minutes. Since then I get those pains on both sides, at least once a day. I now know how to handle them: move slowly and be willing to lay down as soon as they strike. They usually leave within an hour. While painful, these pains give me hope that the baby is growing well and that my body is doing its best to make a fitting home for our child. I still can't believe that I get the honor of carrying Ben's child. Wow.

Oh, and I've started gaining weight! By now I am supposed to have gained about 10 pounds; I rejoice, though, over the 2 that I've gained so far. I've been so sick -- especially in the last 3 weeks -- that I know that I've lost weight from fighting the fever, etc. Speaking of being sick, while I feel much stronger in this trimester than I did in the first, this trimester has seen the near decimation of my immune system. I am actually afraid to leave the house (except to go to church, which I look forward to each day of the week -- it feels so like home to us). I've had a cold since last Monday, with full on coughs and uber-thick green snot. My ears can get totally plugged, and the pressure in them and all up the sides of my neck can be extremely difficult to endure at times. My friend, Emily, emailed me the other day: "alas, those darn colds during pregnancy - and you can't even take anything. Actually, Jonah and I have had a pretty miserable cold the last couple days (we're on the end of it now) and as I took NyQuil last night I thought 'I'm so glad I'm not pregnant and can take this stuff!' I very distinctly remember boiling water and fresh mint quite often when I was pregnant. I would then sit over the boiling pot with a towel over my head to try to steam out the mucus (which I think your body makes more of during pregnancy)."  The worst part, for me, is the coughing. During the day, they aren't so bad, but at night, they come out. Last night and the night before were infuriating. They just keep coming, and if I actually cough something up, I usually gag on it. Imagine me in bed, sitting up straight while my body shakes with cough after cough, then I gag and my eyes begin to water. Ben has a kind hand on my back, and prays that my illness might be passed on to him. Alas, it does not. So I close our bedroom door, take a shower (maybe the humidity will loosen something up?), and sit up on the couch coughing until I exhaust myself completely and fall asleep. In these times on the couch I fight strong temptations to just take some NyQuil or get drunk enough on wine to calm my body enough to get the rest it needs. Last night Ben came out to me at about 5:30 in the morning and begged me to come back to bed. I did, but I fear that my coughs ruined any hope of sleep that either of us had had for the rest of the morning. At one point I looked over at him and he had a pillow on his head. This morning he suggested that he sleep out in the living room tonight. I don't want him to, but I guess it might be "best." This is soooo hard! We're still newly weds!!!

03 April: Burps, bacon, and babies (Jen)
I hate burping. Really. Not so much when other people do it, but I feel like my body is trying unsucessfully to vomit when I burp. So my whole life I've tried to avoid carbonated beverages. Why? Because they make me burp. Guess what one of the blessings of pregnancy is. Burps. Yuppers. The same hormones which cause my soft tissues to swell, etc., cause my digestive system to move more slowly. So I get "filled" at a meal much earlier than you'd expect, and I get heartburn and lots and lots of burps. Now that I'm into the second trimester, and have a much healthier appetite, I burp even more. Oh, what bliss! I am enjoying the appetite's return, though. And I can handle seeing raw meat again without gagging. I even asked Ben to make bacon for me last weekend, and he did and I ate a lot of it. I used to love bacon and I was afraid that I'd never be able to enjoy it again. This might seem funny to those of you who would love to be rid of cravings for such fattening foods. I would, too. But it's just so strange when your body starts acting so unpredictably. I started feeling like I wasn't myself at all anymore. So it's good to feel a little more like me again. 

As for "babies" -- I am thinking about the plural now, not just one anymore. While I'm very hopeful (and pretty sure) of having just one baby in my womb, we did have an alarming visit to the midwives last Friday. My mom was visiting us last weekend, so I took her with me to visit the midwife, so that she could hear the baby's heartbeat live. The midwife thought that my uterus was much larger than normal for how far along I am... she was wondering about twins, but we won't find out anything for sure until the ultrasound on April 28th. CRAZY! We're hoping I just had a seemingly large uterus that day... hmmm.... but it does kinda put some of the planning and registering on hold... there are twins on both my side and Ben's side, so I guess it's not totally impossible...