Life With Meredith So Far

I had my latest OB appointment and an in-depth ultrasound on the 21st, and things are looking good so far!  We struggled to decide if we wanted to find out the gender or wait for a "surprise" in May, but in the end curiosity and impatience won over and we decided to go ahead and find out at the appointment.  The baby was very cooperative and seemingly eager to show us that she is a girl (as in legs spread wide open for the world to see!).  Casey was really hoping for a girl, so he was beyond excited.  Besides that excitement, everything checked out well and she is a seemingly healthy baby so far.

I have been pretty shocked at how this pregnancy has flown by so far with very little complications.  I had a little morning sickness for a few weeks during the first trimester and was constantly tired, but besides that my biggest issues so far have been some serious hip pains (not a big shock since I already have hip and knee issues anyway...) and lots of forgetfulness.  I usually pride myself on being a very organized, ahead of the game, overachieving person, but good grief people aren't kidding when they say you lose your brain and memory with pregnancy.  I have almost forgotten to pay bills, lost things at school, forgotten my classroom keys and other items on several occasions...the list goes on and on.  I am hoping I can get things under control soon, because the next few months are going to be even busier, so I really need to get back into the groove and get on top of things again.  Making lists helps...sometimes.  I guess I am just getting prepared for when the baby comes and life has to be a little more "fly by the seat of your pants" and a little less "plan out every detail of the day a week in advance."

This baby has also gotten a lot more active in the past couple weeks, which is a little fun and very odd all at the same time.  When I first started feeling her move, I told Casey, "I'm not quite sure, but either this baby is moving around or I am about to make a very loud fart, FYI."  She's now moved on to a point where I can feel movement and know that's what it is for sure, but we're not yet to a point where other people can actually feel anything (hopefully soon for my husband's sake...he's dying to be able to feel her move!).

We're also decided on a first name for our little girl:  Meredith.  It's maybe a little old-fashioned seemingly and not one of the "2012 Top 20 Names," but we like it for those and other reasons.  We both agreed we wanted something out of the ordinary, but not so odd that people would question our sanity.  I also have a bit of an obsession with names of Welsh, Gaelic, and other European origins, so it fits perfectly.  We're still debating on a middle name, but top contenders at the moment are Joan (chosen because of Joan of Arc as well as my Grandmother), Serra (a unique spelling of "Sarah" and a \nerd reference for my husband and one of his little obsessions...), and Elise.  Not sure which one will win out, but Meredith is more than likely the first name we will go with, though I can't say that will a 100% guarantee because you never know what will happen at the last minute when the baby is born...how I ended up with my name is a prime example of that...

Nothing else very exciting to report in our lives recently.  It's all about baby and normal, day to day activities, but that's ok.  I will take a boring life any day.