milestones today

I'm 19 weeks along. That's almost 20 weeks. That's almost half of the total of 40 weeks typically required to bake a baby to perfection. Marilla is fully assembled at this point, she(?) just needs to fluff and get chubby and get longer. And as a reminder, I do not know if we're having a girl. I'm just speaking hopefully and tongue in cheek. Ish.

And in what won't make sense at all, I want to tell you a story about Addie as a gardener. I love to garden. It's one of the few things I can point to any more and say "THAT. That is a hobby of mine." If you looked at my life, you might think that sitting around was also a hobby. I suppose Facebook is a hobby, but it's not one I'll willingly claim. It's more of a substance-abuse thing, and I might need an intervention...

But gardening. I ordered a Burpee catalog, and I'm eagerly awaiting that little delivery of glossy porn, because I have a real yard to play with this year. I may try seeds, but here's the thing with me and seeds: I'm terribly impatient! I have a grow light and a seed tray and I've started plants this way before, but after about a week, I invariably have to take a toothpick or a chopstick and carefully scrape away the top layer of dirt to see if my seeds have sprouted. And then I have to see how close the little plant is to breaking through. It's disruptive to the growing plant and I don't care. I can't help myself. I love to peek!

This last week has been a little scary because I've had some very painful cramping. Painful enough to wake me up, but not accompanied by anything truly panic-inducing like hemorrhaging. Because of how my uterus has relocated things, I can't quite pinpoint what part of my body is cramping. Too low for tummy, possibly too low for uterus, too high for round ligament pain. Intestines? Should I be expecting a painful time on the toilet? When said painful time never arrived, I started wondering what the hell was going on. Because I've only felt Marilla in this past week, I couldn't be certain that I was still feeling baby movement, or if it was gas or or or. So on Tuesday, I went to the doctor and begged for a heartbeat check (it's also been quite a while since my last doctor visit due to the holidays and my doc's schedule). I was reminded of my gardening need: if I could just gently peek inside me and check on that baby, I'd feel so much better.

155 beats per minute later, the doc posited that perhaps I had a touch of a stomach bug and advised warm baths and prunes (see post below). And I've felt Marilla more strongly each day since, in that gut dropping feeling you get on a roller coaster when the ride drops more quickly than your body expects. It's disorienting to physically experience that when you're sitting quite still (see above: alternate hobby), but still wonderfully reassuring.

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Blake had his first basketball game this morning! He's in a mini-league with a local church, where they focus on teaching basic skills and glorifying God through their play. His team is the Encouragers, they don't actually keep score, and he made a basket during the game! It was one of those "I'm going to die of all the awkward cuteness" hours, everyone gets equal play time, and the coaches are incredibly patient. He loves it.

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I can almost park in the garage.

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The orchid Rob gave me for Mother's Day one or two years ago (can't remember which) is about to bloom for the first time since the original blooms were done. Not only have I kept it alive (orchids scare me), but it's thriving! I'm so proud.