My New Favorite Person ...

After six months of getting no love from our less-than-friendly doctor, we decided to go with a midwife. I know you're probably thinking we've lost our minds and hired a matronly, brute woman with calloused hands who'll show up at our house with towels, a wash basin and candles ready to deliver our baby on our kitchen floor. Not so! My midwife - my new favorite person in the whole world (other than my baby's daddy, of course) - is AMAZING ... and, not to worry, she delivers at a hospital with all the luxuries of modern medical technology (not to mention pain meds!).

I had my first official office visit with her on Friday and I received more care and attention in one half-hour appointment with her than I did the entire six months I've been with Dr. Coldheart. I almost burst into tears right in her office. She actually took the time to review my medical history before my appointment - imagine that! I finally feel at peace with this whole scary birth process. Whew! I'm so sad I didn't find her earlier, but so thankful I found her in time.

26 Weeks

Baby Williams is 14 inches this week - the length of an english cucumber - and weighs about 1.75 lbs. Her newest trick is grasping things (like the umbilical cord). Her ears are better developed and she can now hear my voice and daddy's. She's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of her lungs. This is good practice for when she's born and takes that first gulp of air. We can't wait for that day!!!!

I read that I will now be growing about 1/2 inch per week for the rest of the pregnancy ... and I still have 3 months to go! Whoa. Overall, the pregnancy is going very well, but I could definitely do without the fire-producing heartburn. I can probably exhale flames and am pretty sure I have a hole in my esophagus. My back and sciatic have seen better days and ... oh, the horror ... my once-dainty ankles have been replaced by tree trunks. Nooooooooo! But it's all worth it, right?!? It's a good thing I already love this baby girl so much. :)

99 Problems and the Girl Ain't One!

I can't believe I used that as my title! It's funny, but it is so true. In life there are always less than perfect situations. There are things that create stress. There are things that bring me down. There are things that I have to deal with. But when it comes to my little girl there are no problems. I'm finding preparing for our little one to enter into the world pretty cool. Even things that aren't fun are kind of fun, because I know why we're doing them. So, I may have 99 problems, but my little baby girl ain't one!

Only 99 days to go! Gotta get my rap shaes on so I can kick out some mother goose rhymes!

25 Weeks

Baby Williams is the weight of a rutabaga (definitely not the cutest veggie!) this week - a pound and a half - and is about 13 1/2 inches. She's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat (awwwww). As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

No Warmth at the Dr.'s Office

Why is it that so many baby doctors are non-emotional and, simply put, not warm?

I've heard from so many people how cold their experience was with their medical Dr. when delivering their first child. What's happened? It seems that having a cold, sterile, experience is the norm not the exception these days. More and more people I've talked to have expressed that their trips to the Dr. were no different than getting their car oil changed. In some cases they had better experience with Jiffy Lube than their medical Dr. What happened to customer service and relationship within the medical field? Where is it written that a Dr. and patient can not have a friendly relationship and not just a cordial visit?

Dev and I have a friend who is a nurse and she could not bring herself to have her baby delivered by a Dr. That in itself speaks volumes to the lack of care she perceives in working in a hospital everyday.

All this to say that Dev and I are looking for the type of care that seems normal for someone having their first baby. We're almost 6 months along and we'll be meeting with a mid-wife on Friday in hopes of finding the right care for our baby, but also our baby's momma. We need a partner, not just a stiff in a lab coat that can perform C-sections.

Daddy's Post!

Hello everyone, daddy Williams is bringing the heat and writing this week! #1 We're having a girl! When I first heard the news I was a little disoriented. What do I know about raising girls?! I had a brother. I'm excited though and my desire is to be the best dad a little girl can have. How will I do this? I have no idea, but I do know that girls need to know they are loved. I can do that. Additionally, I believe girls need to be brought up to learn that their self esteem and identity is based in the fact that God created them in His image. Though the world may try, and punk boys may try, to have my little girl see the world through its and their eyes, I will do my best to raise my little girl so she understands that God loves her and has a plan for her life! In this, I pray that my little girl has self respect. She doesn't need an ego, but I'd rather her lean on the side of confidence in Christ and come off a little cocky than be pushed to and fro by the world's standards.

O.k. There's daddy Williams' rambling. Did you notice I only had one point? Guess, I'll have to work on the others!

24 Weeks

Baby Williams is the length of an ear of corn - almost a foot long - and still weighs just over a pound. Her brain is also growing quickly now, and her taste buds are continuing to develop.

I saw baby move for the first time, instead of just feeling her. My stomach started doing alien-like moves - a very strange (but cool) thing to watch. It made me laugh outloud. :)

23 Weeks

Baby Williams is the size of a large mango this week - more than 11 inches long and weighs just over pound. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that her increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world.

Baby's grown a lot in the past few weeks. It sometimes seems that I can feel my stomach expanding by the minute! It's also getting harder to tie my shoes.