feeling blessed.

As my pregnancy progresses, I realize how much God has blessed me with caring and compassionate friends, students, and parents. Not a day goes by that someone doesn't ask me how I'm feeling, which can admittedly be annoying at times, but I know it's just people trying to show that they care.

This past Monday James's basketball team had its end of the season banquet. The parents had insisted that I be in attendance as well, which didn't seem odd, I just assumed they wanted to thank me as well. Well, I underestimated their gratitude! At the end of the banquet the moms presented me with a balloon bouquet, a basket full of things for Baby Garcia, and the kicker--our jogging stroller and car seat! James and I were completed overwhelmed by their generosity, and it's still hard for me to fathom.

I also met with one of my students' moms who wants to throw a baby shower for my students at her house--she was so thrilled that her daughter and I came up with this idea, and I know that she will throw a great party. The invitations for my "big" shower went out this week, so things are slowly picking up speed and soon James and I will have a house full of baby stuff--time to start packing!

feeling big.

The past few days or so I have felt really big. When I look in the mirror I feel like I've just ballooned recently, and I find myself feeling uncomfortable whenever I'm in one position for too long. I have continued to drive the bus 4 times a week, plus teaching and dorm duty, but those bus rides seem longer every week as my back starts to hurt. Sleeping has also become more difficult--I usually try to get to bad as early as possible because I know that it will take me awhile to fall asleep, and that I will end up waking up during the middle of the night several times.

I have had a really good week of teaching, as I've been able to plan lessons a week or so into the future, keep up with my grading on a daily basis, and I have just felt really prepared and like I'm "running on all cylinders" which is a good feeling. I keep wondering what next year will be like, but I guess only time will tell!

pregnant lady at the bar

Last night a bunch of us went out to celebrate Kelly's 30th birthday. We went out for dinner at the Big River Grille and then headed to the Big Bang dueling piano bar. I drove myself so that I could leave whenever I felt ready, but thankfully the birthday girl rode up with me so I was only alone on the ride home. It was really strange being pregnant in a place where everyone is ordering up drinks and shots, but I had a good time. I ended up leaving at 10:45, although I wasn't tired yet, my back had started to hurt from sitting in uncomfortable chairs. I'm glad that I left then because I definitely felt the sleepiness creeping up on me as I got closer to Bell Buckle.

In other news, I had two doctor's appointments this week, neither of which James could make it to. My first one was the normal check-up, no real excitement, and I was with a nurse practitioner so it was just kind of weird. My second was for the 3 hour glucose test, which is about as fun as it sounds. Luckily I brought papers to grade and flowers to cut out for baby's mobile, so the time went pretty quickly. By the time I was done I was so hungry that I wasn't really hungry for anything...I hate that feeling. I felt weird the rest of the day as I tried to figure out when/what to eat.

But the good news came yesterday morning--I passed the 3 hour test! No gestational diabetes for me. I celebrated by eating two cookies...which is probably not the best thing to do, but oh well :). My goal through these last 11 weeks is to only indulge in sweets once a week, and to try and keep healthy snacks on hand. I'd really like to keep my weight under 200, which I think is doable given my recent drop--surpassing that mark would mean I'd have to gain 2 lbs a week the rest of the pregnancy, which seems pretty excessive.

28 weeks

The beginning of the 28th week brought along lots of news and changes. I found out last week that I did indeed fail the one hour glucose test, although not by much, so I get to go back for the 3 hour fasting test. I hope that I pass that one, because I don't think I can handle the stress of counting carbs and testing my blood for the next 2.5 months! They also found that I have low iron levels, so I have to start taking a supplement to boost those.

The most exciting, and worst news, was that I had my first real sickness experience on Sunday. I went for a long walk with Maggi Sunday morning, then came home and went out to lunch with James, Jody, and Mike. I felt a little weird before we left, and then while waiting for our food I had a major "I need food now" moment, but once I ate, things seemed okay. Then it all came back. Twice. Being upright brought me to the toilet, so I just laid down the entire day. James left for the NCAA games up in Nashville, but Kelly brought me ginger ale and saltines to try and force my stomach to accept something. I felt well enough the next morning to get up and get ready for school, but the whole lack of nutrition the day before definitely did not agree with me being an active teacher. I made it through my first three classes and then went home for the afternoon.

Today I've felt better, although my appetite at lunch was definitely lacking--too many nauseating smells to deal with at once.

Tomorrow I get my Rhogan shot and Thursday is my 3 hour glucose test, so I'll be running back and forth quite a bit the next few days. And this weekend is Kelly's 30th birthday, so I hope I'm feeling 100% by the time it rolls around!

3rd trimester--woot woot!

The past few weeks have once again been a blur of activity, and I'm not sure it will ever calm down!

I'm currently posting from Vire, France in Lower Normandy. James left this morning to fly back home, but I still have two more days here with the students and Moira. Our trip has been beyond spectacular, it almost has seemed too good to be true. It's been the perfect mix of activity and downtime, and I've felt pretty well most of the time.

I'm mostly excited to report that I'm now officially in the 3rd trimester--only 91 more days to go--which seems SO crazy. James and I were able to purchase several French baby books here, and the family we're staying with allowed us to take some of their daughters' old books as well, so little baby girl's French library is filling up. I can't wait to teach my daughter French!

I've been feeling well these days, although I am slightly worried about the glucose test I took before we left. I was told they'd call with the results on Thursday or Friday before we left for France, but I never got a call. I assume they actually did call this past week, but since my phone doesn't work over here, I have no way of knowing what the results were. I go back to the doctor in two weeks to get the shot I need since my blood is negative and the baby's may be positive, and I desperately do not want to have to do the 3 hour fasting blood sugar test.

I also had another big weight jump this visit (7 lbs in 4 weeks). I tend to not gain any weight one month, and then gain twice as much as I should the next, and I definitely don't feel like I've gotten any bigger since I've been in France, but who knows!