The speed of time

I feel like this pregnancy is quickly running away from me. I have kept journals for every pregnancy, detailing my physical changes, all of my emotions and hopes for each particular baby. I am soon approaching the 13th week, and have yet to purchase a journal, much less write the details of the past three months. That is at the top of my priority list...to be accomplished within days! In the meantime, I seem to be a broken record. When I have the chance to actually hold a conversation with someone, they all tend to be the same conversation...focusing on my pregnancy. So, in the event that you have some of the same questions, I thought I would address them all here for you inquiring minds.

How are you feeling?
To which you would visibly notice discomfort before a response. I don't want to complain...I appear to be having a healthy pregnancy and feel so blessed! But people ask, and I can't lie. Up until a week ago, I was queasy and nauseous ALL the time. I could go maybe 1.5 hours without eating and often did so gagging down anything that sounded pleasant in hopes of avoiding the bathroom. And while some of that remains (I can go a full 2 hours now), I have noticed an obvious improvement in the last week. This usually passed around week 14 in my previous pregnancies, so I am hopeful.

WOW! You are only 12 weeks? Why are you so big?
There are a few obvious responses to this. #1...This is my FOURTH baby! My body knows quite well what it is supposed to do, and it responds quickly. #2...In case you weren't around for my previous babies, my youngest was 9'11''...we grow 'em big! #3...I eat CONSTANTLY! I have yet to take any "belly" pictures, but if I muster up the courage I will post one someday.

How did your boss take the news?
She was AMAZING!!! I was so nervous to break the news, after only being employed for 2 months at the time I told her. She was immediately supportive and excited for our family. There will be a lot to juggle and work around when the time comes, but she has proven she will support us the whole way!

How are the kids processing the news?
So much better than I envisioned. I know the reality of it and the impact of it will change once this little bug arrives, but they have been great. Paige is beyond excited. She already has it planned where she will sit when she feeds the baby and how she will protect him/her from Nathan. He, on the other hand is not phased by it. He will tell you where the baby is if you ask him. Other than that...he doesn't care. That is partly due to his "almost-3-ness" and partly due to his wonderfully refreshing laid back personality.

Do you have a preference or a hunch about the gender?
I honestly can say I have no preference this time. I have always had a desire with my previous pregnancies, and God always gave me the opposite and amazed me with how right it was for me at the time. We have all the clothing we need for either and will break the tie in family votes one way or another. There are no words to describe the relationship between a Mama and her boy...so another son would be amazing! At the same time, there is something breathtaking about little girls and I would love for Paige to have a sister. We all win no matter the outcome!
Paige is convinced it is a girl...and blatantly admits to wanting a sister. We have talked about the fact that God makes that decision, and He will give us whatever is best for our family. We don't play it up much, but talk about all the fun things that would come with a brother or a sister.
I do have a feeling that it will be a boy. I say that, also admitting that I have been wrong in my guesses 100% of the time with my previous pregnancies. I am going with a boy only on the sickness indicators as compared to previous pregnancies. This pregnancy has modeled Nathan's like a book from the start.

Will you find out the gender?
When Mike and I found out we were pregnant, we both initially said it would be so fun to be surprised...just this once. We knew with the others and this time we don't need to do anything as far as purchasing things. But, that feeling quickly passed as we got into the details of adding another one to the mix. 2 of the kids will share a room and we hope to move before the baby is born and could get rid of 50% of our storage if we know which clothes we won't be needing. Knowing Paige, she will need some time to digest it all and we just can't wait that long to know. I always feel like I bond even more knowing that piece. We hope to find out next month!

Have you talked about names?
This one makes me laugh. Mike and I are at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to choosing names...we don't agree, so we take turns. We each have total veto rights and the ability to offer suggestions. If we follow the pattern, it is Mike's turn to choose the first name and my turn to choose the middle name. Since we don't agree on many, we don't have serious talks about names until after the anatomical ultrasound. Why fight about both when you could decrease it by 50%? We have both thrown a few ideas around, but will do the researching and debating once we know the gender. We love hearing ideas from others...so comment away!

Those are the most common questions I get these days. Feel free to leave others in your comment and I will do my best to respond. We are so excited to be welcoming another little bug into our family. There are days the anticipation gets the best of me and I have to focus, realizing we have many more months to wait.