Everywhere I go, people ask how I'm feeling. I guess that's the question you should ask when a person is generating a new life inside her body. The truth is, I'm feeling so much better now that I've entered into the second trimester! I'm 17 weeks along and all seems to be well. As of my last midwife appointment, I had lost four pounds but I have a feeling that I'll be up at least one or two at my next appointment.
We spent Memorial Day weekend with my parents in Indiana. My brother, Matt, and his wife, Michelle, were there too. It was such a relaxing weekend! We really had no agenda aside from making strawberry jam using the strawberries that we picked ourselves on Saturday morning. The six of us, Peter, Alexander, Dad, Matt, Michelle, and I picked over $40 worth of strawberries. I made 18 16-ounce jars of freezer jam and we still had a huge bowl of cut berries, one bowl of puree, and one large bowl of uncut strawberries left. We'll be eating berries until we turn into berries! The jam turned out really well and has passed the taste test of my very discriminating little one. It was my first attempt at making jam - I think I'll try it again with other fruits. We're due to pick blueberries during the second week of June but I'm not sure that blueberry jam sounds very appealing.
One more note before I work on unpacking my suitcase...I have begun to feel little flutters caused by the baby kicking. Each day, I seem to feel one more and they're a tiny bit stronger. It's fun to finally feel these on a consistent basis. It reminds me that there is a reason for the weight gain, the moodiness (sorry, Peter!), and the constant cravings! Only three more weeks until we find out if we'll reuse Alexander's clothes or if we'll get to buy pink and purple. My hopes are slightly raised for the female variety but at this point, I'm praying for a healthy baby with all his or her fingers and toes!

Heartbeats!

I told Alexander yesterday morning that I was going to the doctor. He wanted to know why. I told him that I was going to listen to the baby. His response was, "But the baby can't talk!" I smiled and said that he was correct and that they would use a special machine to hear the baby's heartbeat. He said he wants to hear it. He put his ear next to my tummy but said he couldn't hear anything. My midwife told me that Alexander is welcome to come to any of my appointments. I hope to take him with me to one of my next appointments.

I love going to my monthly appointments because now I get to hear the baby's heart beat each time. She puts the Doppler machine on my tummy and I immediately hear: whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!! It's a pretty happy sound! Baby's heart beat was in the 150s yesterday. That's in the normal range and according to Emma, is indicative of a baby girl's heartbeat!! Boys usually have slower heartbeats and girls have faster. I'm not getting my hopes up for pink dresses but it was pretty exciting to know that there's a possibility of having a girl.

Alexander will not be happy at all if it's a girl! He is counting on a baby boy and says that he wants a brother. He asked me what the baby's name is going to be. We have lots of options and no definitive answer for him!

I have scheduled my 20-week ultrasound which is when we hope to find out if the baby is a boy or a girl. We're seeing a maternal fetal specialist and they'll look at everything to make sure that baby is healthy and happy. This is scheduled for June 12, just a few days after we return from our Florida beach vacation!