8 Weeks and Counting

Well, we've made it to 8 weeks - and I'm encountering the first joys of motherhood... Morning Sickness. I've been sick since Thanksgiving with an Upper Respiratory Infection, which led into pleurisy. For the past week or so, that has been compounded by the very comfortable feeling of always feeling like someone is running my stomach through a washing machine. Nice. :) I know it will be all worth it in the end, though.

Last week when I was residing on the couch (out of school all week due to the pleurisy), an AMAZING surprise arrived on our doorstep. I opened the door to find a HUGE box of maternity clothes, books, and dvd's. Melissa & Dave had sent me what looks like ALL of her maternity clothes. I was SO excited - not only to have so many goodies that I won't have to go out and buy myself, but also because they are from Melissa. I'm an only child, so I've never had a sister to share things with - which made this even more special! I love having a big extended family. It's so much fun to have more people to share our lives with.

We go back to the doctor on Tuesday for a check-up where we'll be able to see the heartbeat. We're very excited about that. I've been reading about what is going on with our baby each week. This week, he/she is the size of a kidney bean and is constantly moving and shifting - even though I can't feel it yet. Amazing! The heart is forming - and has been beating for a couple of weeks now, twice as fast as mine... which, for those of you who know about my heart/blood pressure issues, that's pretty quick!!! :)

Yesterday, I saw a commercial on TV for a pager that an expectant mom can wear - and it will page the dad-to-be everytime the baby kicks! I'm not sure that's the best idea... I'm going to let Michael rest while he can. In fact, he's on "vacation" right now. I'm in Spartanburg "letting" my parents take care of my medical needs, while he stays at home to catch up on some much needed relaxation. He has run himself ragged over the past 3 weeks trying to help me stay comfortable, so I figured he deserved a few days to chill without any responsibilities... other than Christmas shopping, and cleaning the house, and washing & ironing the clothes, and... Wow! Am I a sweet wife, or what?!?!