19 Weeks - Lots of pictures!

July 12, 2009

19 Weeks - Lots of pictures!

As everyone read this past week, we are highlyanticipating the arrival of our little baby boy :) It is still quite surreal to the both of us that we are having a boy, given that two of his brothers have fathered girls. This will be the first Melugin grandson :) Granted - Melanie's mom screamed when she heard the great news!!!

We have really been contemplating the name that we will give to our child. None have really stood out yet, so we have been praying that God will help us with that!

On Saturday, we started the first of our Bradley classes. For those of you that are unfamiliar with that, the Bradley method is also known as "husband coached birthing." It is a form of study for natural delivery. We have chosen to do a natural childbirth for a couple of reasons: 1) God has given women the gift of carrying and delivering children into this world and I want to experience that. 2) I know a few people that have had horrible experiences with epidurals and drugs, so I would

prefer to avoid that risk. 3) For the pure health of the baby and myself. I believe that this is a decision that each woman should make for herself and there is no right or wrong decision. Jonathan and I have simply decided that this is the perfect way for us.

The class was amazing. It is an 8 week course held in the home of our Bradley instructor, Shelley. Shelley is 30 weeks pregnant with her 4th child and has delivered both naturally and medicated. There are two other couples in our class - of which both are also newlyweds and first time parents :)

We learned some pregnancy exercises and the simple basics of the Bradley method. What I LOVE about all of this is that it really does involve the father. He has a crucial role in helping me come time for delivery. It also empowers him to be supportive and encouraging during the pregnancy with the lifestyle changes that we are making, including the exercises! Jonathan is sooooo amazing!!!!

You will be hearing a lot more about our classes in future posts.

So - we are 19 weeks along - nearly 5 months pregnant!

One thing that I've really noticed this last week is the increase in the amount of hiccups that he is having. It actually woke me up a couple of times the other night.

Its funny, because you could tell in the ultrasound that he is already starting to lose space in my tummy. His legs seemed a little cramped for space!

At 19 weeks - his brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch.

He should be able to hear by now, so we have been trying to read to him on a consistent basis. If we are too tired to pull out the fairy tales or Dr. Suess books, he at least gets to listen to us reading our bible each night.

By our last ultrasound, he weighs about half a pound and measures about 6 1/2 inches, head to bottom.

He is about the size of a 6" Subway Sub:

The only annoying pregnancy symptom that I deal with now is the sharp pains in my side as the uterine ligaments grow. Jonathan and I use these to help him get used to comforting and getting me through minor pains, so that he will be (and I will too) a little more confident and relaxed come labor time.

My belly is growing daily - Here is the proof: