16 Weeks!

I haven't updated anything on the pregnancy lately so I feel like now would be a good time. Things are going really well now. I am officially out of my first trimester and all the things that people have told me have been true so far (the sleepiness and nausea have subsided for the most part). I did have one out of place throwing up incident since bidding farewell to trimester 1, but I will spare the gory details. Overall, I have been very lucky. My pregnancy hasn't been too terribly difficult. Mood swings have been in check (generally speaking...), cravings have been mild, no scares so far, etc. The baby seems to be doing well. The heartbeat is strong, but I am still waiting to feel it move. I have been told it feels like a flutter so I am paying very close attention because I don't want to miss it. There have been some things that have taken a little getting used to such as people feeling like they can touch my belly as if I were Buddha (so I am not used to this one yet), not being able to sleep on my stomach, doubling the amount of times I go pee on an average day, unusual irritability in places such as the grocery store (I swear I have almost rammed my cart into a couple of old ladies ankles. Don't worry. I contained myself), and, oh, yes...the rubber band...I feel like I am actually starting to look pregnant now and not just like I am getting fat which is a good thing. This is not such a great picture but whatever...

My students have been varied in their reactions. They ask a lot of questions. Some of them even pretend to cry during class to "prepare" me. Aren't they sweet? Sadly, I still do not know the sex of our little bean, however, I am scheduled to find out May 14th! (Hopefully the little thing wont play an evil trick on its mother and cross its legs or anything). I don't think I have ever been more impatient for something to come. So today, I decided to take my chances with some less conventional methods to see if I could find some answers. One of the teacher's on campus has gotten a reputation for determining the sex of the baby by hanging a sewing needle on thread over your hand. She has done this for several teachers on campus and so far has been right for all of them! Naturally, I seeked out her gift. According to the needle I will be having a girl, and then 2 boys (was not prepared for that one!). I understand this seems completely ridiculous, but before she checked me she checked the other teacher in my department who is also pregnant (and due on the same date!). She already has 2 kids and this test will tell you the sex of all of your kids so she did her little thing showed Heidi's first kid was a boy (right so far!). Then she did it again and it showed that her second kid was a girl (2 for 2). I couldn't believe it! Maybe there is something to this voodoo magic after all? As reliable as the needle has been I will be confirming its findings anyway : )
Matt and I have started the process of clearing out the guest room in order to make it a baby's room. The closet is officially emptied, but the room is pretty much in shambles. My sister was nice enough to give us my nephews old crib. Austin was even nice enough to leave some old milk spills on it for us!Once we find out what the baby is I plan to sand it and paint it white for a girl or stain it dark brown if it is a boy (summer project #1). I am still not 100% sure on what I want to do for either sex as far as the room goes, but that's OK because I still have a lot of time (right?!).