We are officially halfway through pregnancy with Little Man!! After the miscarriage last year and the bleeding scare we had with this one at 12 weeks, 20 weeks feels like the most amazing accomplishment!
I really LOVE being pregnant! (Especially during the second trimester. I didn’t realize quite how awful I felt during the first trimester until I was about 17 weeks along and then I realized how great I was feeling.) My very favorite thing about pregnancy so far (in addition to the ever-expanding belly) is feeling Little Man kick and roll around. I felt the first flutters at around 16 weeks, and then he started kicking hard enough for Blaise to feel it at 19 weeks. I’m starting to learn his sleep habits, and noticing that he tends to be really active when I first wake up in the morning, again mid-afternoon, and then as I’m going to sleep he’s reminding me that it’s apparently play time! 🙂
It’s been so great for Blaise to finally be able to feel him move and interact with him. It has to be hard for fathers-to-be to witness their wives experience pregnancy, but not get to actually feel what it’s like to have a baby moving around inside. I’m thankful that Blaise will have the next twenty or so weeks to read to Little Man and play with him even before he’s born.
We have also finally picked a name! And before you ask, we aren’t sharing it…at least not until he’s born! 🙂 I am thrilled that now we can call him by name as we talk to him. Choosing a name is an interesting and exceptionally difficult endeavor. We first made a list of things to consider…things like how it sounds with Ginter (Blaise has a lot of trouble with an ending “s” sound…people always think he’s saying Blake Skinner or something), what the possible nicknames would be, what the initials would be, if there are any famous people with that name, the popularity of the name, etc.
Our list of boy names was only 6 or 7 names, but we couldn’t seem to agree. I liked a few names a lot, but Blaise wasn’t sold on them (he’d known people in the past with those names). The one name that he really liked I just really strongly felt like wouldn’t fit this little boy’s personality. I can’t explain it, but thankfully Blaise trusted me. We basically started from scratch, and then one afternoon I told him the name I really liked and he immediately agreed. He said he had thought about it, but didn’t think I would go for it. Turns out, we were able to quickly pick a middle name and BAM…Little Man has a name!
I’ve had several people ask what it’s like being pregnant in Africa, and the truth is that’s hard to answer. I think it’s probably just like being pregnant anywhere else, except I obviously have a few more health concerns here than in the States (post about malaria coming soon). Our diet here in Tonj is really great…I’m getting plenty of protein, fiber, and even dark green vegetables. I take a prenatal vitamin along with a calcium supplement, and I’m very careful to drink plenty of water. But the great thing is that I don’t have to worry about weight gain, taking in too much junk food, or even high blood pressure. I naturally get more exercise, because walking is built into life here, and I even do my prenatal yoga in the evenings (I’m TERRIBLE at yoga, y’all!).
I think God has shown me tremendous mercy in that I haven’t had too many really strong cravings for food I can’t access. I did have a serious need for Pop Tarts that miraculously was satiated, and a mouth-watering dream about Pizza Hut’s Pepperoni Lover’s pizza that will go unfulfilled, but otherwise I haven’t really craved much. And I like beans while I’m pregnant, which is a HUGE blessing!!
I have been told that the second half of pregnancy flies by, so I’m really trying to savor having Little Man growing inside of me, soak up every single moment of time that Blaise and I get to spend alone, and really, really enjoy sleep every night!
Here are a couple of pictures of my growing belly at 20 weeks…
Also, on Tuesday I went to the market and bought a new lawE. I left my first one in Nasir, thinking I would be back to wear it again in a short time. Once I got to Tonj, I knew that I had to have another one, so this time I went with a classic black and white lawE…
We do ask that you keep all of us lifted up in prayer as Little Man continues to grow. I will blog about it soon, but I recently had malaria, which is VERY serious during pregnancy. Please pray for health and protection over us.
