Weeks 9-12

This should be the last "multi" post. Hopefully things get a little more interesting from here on out!

Week 9 was a tough week. It was the week before Christmas, and everything that I had been avoiding was staring me in the face. So what does a crazy pregnant woman do on the week before Christmas? She battles the mall. And stops at the ice cream stand because she needs a pick me up. She goes to the mall to buy Christmas presents, but really sits in the fitting rooms at the stores until she gets the energy to walk to the next store. My sweet husband was at work late every night that week, so he couldn't help me, so I zombied across the mall and prayed for the gifts to fall into my lap. They didn't, and eventually I found the energy to buy gift cards (and felt so very guilty for doing so.) Christmas festivities stalked us, and while it truly is our favorite time of the year, we politely declined most invitations. We were ready to sit on our couches, be with each other, and embrace our last Christmas without our baby Duck with us. It was kind of sad sometimes, I can't lie. Christmas is the most romantic part of the year for us, because we started dating at the end of November, got engaged while putting up our Christmas tree, said "I love you" for the first time in the middle of December, and really just fell in the love with the season as we fell in love with each other. I know that we will probably see Christmas in a brand new light next year, and that our baby will allow us to see a side of Christmas that we hadn't before, but for now, my hormones cherished this last Christmas with my husband... because I think I'm really going to miss our nights at home together. I am, however, looking forward to watching my family love on our baby next Christmas, so I guess everybody wins.

Week 10 was a fast paced, stop and catch your breath week. It was nice to finally find a week that didn't drag, but at the end of it, I needed several naps to bring me back to earth. We had a wonderful Christmas, our expectations were blown out of the water (as they usually are,) and we loved being able to bless our family with gifts. The biggest memory from week 10 was that my belly finally popped a little bit, and while it has fluctuated for a few weeks, this bump seems to be here to stay. I transitioned to maternity jeans, and despite Old Navy's best attempts, I've learned that skinny jeans just won't be a part of my wardrobe this pregnancy. It has been strange to wear pants that cover my entire stomach, and despite my best Tiffani Amber Theissen imitations, I still don't feel cute in them. I've come to accept that this is a part of life now, and I do my best to look like anything but a paper bag... but some days, you just have to wear sweats. I have gained 1 pound so far, so I'm thankful for that... but I still fear being a pregnant woman. Some people might love to showcase their enormous stomachs... but I would really prefer that strangers not touch me. Or that I don't look at pictures and cringe. Or that my stomach doesn't look like it's been mauled by tigers (stretch marks are coming. I already see a few.) I'm working through my anxieties, because they cannot be avoided, but I'm thankful that I still have several months before I get too large.

Week 11 was another quick week. I guess that maybe this is why people like being pregnant during the holidays. December flew by, and that was a month knocked out without us realizing it. We are officially 1/4 of the way there, and I just love being able to put things into fraction form... said no one ever. I truly believe that these next few weeks will move equally quickly, because we're about to enter the Killam family birth season. Our families birthdays topple right on top of the other. Dad's birthday is January 27, Mom's is February 17, Jared's is February 27, Stella's is March 5, Lee's is March 19, Jack's is March 22, My grandma's is March 30, and I end it all on April 9th. By the time we make it through this season, the third trimester will be upon us.From what I hear, it's miserable, but it flies by. Dear Lord, let it be so. I am, however, very excited that my baby will enter the world 3 months after the birth season, because hopefully the family will be rejuvenated enough to enjoy a birthday party again. Let's be real, nobody likes that many parties in a row, and by the time we get to my party, even I'm over it. The exhaustion did return in full force this week, so I was especially thankful for a four day weekend, and I promise, I slept 13 out of 24 hours on each those days. It was so hard to function, but I think maybe baby just needed to be still for a moment, or four. I finally felt like myself on Tuesday (for most of the day,) so I did a little housekeeping that I had been putting off for about 12 weeks. This is my blog. It's a place to be real.

Week 12 was the week that we finally announced our pregnancy to everyone who didn't know. It was a sweet relief, and while I did intend to wait until 14 weeks, there were so many of you lifting us up that it almost felt like lying to keep it a secret. Our intention in keeping it a secret was not because we feared the worst, but because one of my greatest pet peeves is dealing with Nosy Nancy's. Maybe it makes me anti-social, maybe it makes me rude, maybe it's something I need to work on... but I'm not an incredibly touchy person as it is. When people that I talk to once every few months come up to me and put their hand on my stomach, I get a little edgy. The baby is apparently the size of a peach... that "bump" you're rubbing is bloat, not baby. But things get complicated, because you don't want to say "Hey, thanks for rubbing my fat roll," but on the inside you're sighing. My mom talks to my fat roll a lot, despite my interjections that the baby can't hear through the blubber. But she's my mom, and she's always done strange things that don't make sense... Like trying to convince me that Donny Osmond is attractive. Anyway, it's just how I am. Consider the personality before you go to rubbing my adipose tissue. Wow, I feel better. Week 12 has been a weird one, because every morning when I wake up, I never know what's in store. One day, I cleaned all day long. The next, I was sick all day long. Yesterday, I was just fine until about 6, then I went into psycho irritable mode. At two o'clock in the morning on January 4, I woke up and made up for 12 weeks of morning sickness. It's been a weird, weird week... but hopefully the happy trimester will come quickly.

Okay! You're completely current with the Gaines fetus. We are falling madly in love with this sweet baby, and the more we plan for our little one, the more we realize just how well the Lord prepared us to be this baby's parents. It's so exciting.