Oh My Word

Identity is an interesting thing, especially when we are confronted with things about ourselves that we don't expect. How quickly babies grow in the last weeks of pregnancy and the impact they have a woman's body easily falls into this category. Sarina and I were walking through Frick park with good friends Brian and Robin today, and when we came to a pretty spot, she suggested we take a belly picture. So we did. When she saw it, her reaction: "Oh my word!"


After looking at herself in the picture, she proceeded to hand the camera around for us to look at. Of course, she was the only one surprised by the picture.

Just five days to go until the due date, and Micah has grown larger and more active. He's running out of room, and Sarina's nightly contractions encroach a bit too much on his personal space. We've decided that both Sarina and Micah are ready to be done with this ordeal.

Table for one, please

No, we don't have a baby yet! However, we seem to have a very nice table.

I took this picture this past weekend. Sarina and I were sitting outside waiting for our chicken to finish cooking, enjoying some fancy-pants grapefruit soda from Trader Joe's (think Squirt but for high society). Sarina has really taken to resting things on her belly. She has also found that it is convenient for catching food that would otherwise have fallen on the floor. Using the belly as a table does come with risks. Micah doesn't appreciate the pressure, and has a tendency to kick things.

Only 10 days to go until the due date!

The Belly, V: Megabelly!

Another picture from graduation, but worthy of special note. Behold, the megabelly (33 wks)!

The Belly, IV; Sleepy Mommy

You want pictures?! I've got pictures! Here's Sarina, 28.5 weeks pregnant.

Something happened a couple of weeks ago. We think that maybe Micah is too big to fit back over Sarina's pelvis anymore ... and he sort of just "popped" out. And out popped Sarina's belly too! It really was an amazing change and seemed very sudden (though perhaps it was happening gradually and we just didn't notice).

Micah being bigger, Sarina notices him moving a whole lot more often, and I've had the opportunity to feel him more too. Yesterday, Sarina was sitting on the porch and called me out to feel Micah moving around. He was pushing hard enough to make my hand move! Fortunately, this doesn't actually hurt Sarina.

With all his movement, I decided to say hello, with very interesting results. Immediately after my "Hello, Micah!" all motion stopped. I think that he might find my voice a little startling, as this wasn't the first time that this happened. Who knows what is going on in that little baby mind, but it does seem that he doesn't know what to think when I talk to him. Very amusing.

Sarina has just three more weeks before her papers are all due. Being a mom and a student looks tiring, doesn't it?

The Belly, III

It's been a couple of weeks since our last post, and the belly has grown significantly in the intervening time. As you can see from the sign Sarina is holding, she is now nearly 23 weeks along. Very exciting!

Both mother and baby remain healthy. Sarina is still experiencing pretty significant ligament pain, but is doing fine otherwise. The ligament pain makes sleeping a treat (if you enjoy discomfort). To compensate, Sarina sleeps with an armada of pillows to support her belly and legs and prop up her back. Any more pillows and I'll probably be sleeping on the floor.

Micah now constantly reminds Sarina he is alive and well by pummeling her bladder and other internal organs. I haven't been able to feel him myself yet; hopefully I'll have that chance in the next couple of weeks. By all accounts it's a remarkable experience, and I can't wait.

In other news, Sarina started her final term at Seminary this week! We can't believe that she's almost done. By contrast, I can't believe I'm still in school ... I'm finishing up my 9th year of college this year, my 22nd year of education (including kindergarten). If anyone asks, just tell them I'm going into the 22nd grade next year, and won't graduate until I complete at least the 23rd grade. And that's only if I'm not held back! (haha)

The Belly, II

It's been three weeks since the last belly update. The belly is coming along quite nicely! Sarina is in her 17th week of pregnancy, and supposedly our child is 5 in. long. Huge! (considering what it started as, of course)

Here's our question though: how can such a small thing make so many clothes not fit so fast? It's ridiculous. I thought that when you bought maternity clothing, it was something that you did once to replace enough clothing to make it through the nine months. I had no idea that buying maternity clothing would be a "process" that had to be repeated.

Case in point: the Electrical and Computer Engineering department is having its annual winter "ball" on February 10th. Obviously, Sarina needs a new dress, but here's the irony: whatever she buys won't fit her in perhaps as little as four weeks. It's good that we don't have too many formal outings planned between now and July. Whatever we buy won't be a maternity dress-- it'll be a maternity dress for weeks 16-20.

Back in the swing of things; The Belly, I

The week we've had in Pittsburgh since the holidays has been nice. Sarina has started class again at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and I've returned to work as well. Sarina is in the fourth week (of ten) of her winter term, and only has one more term to go before graduation! Since I've finished my coursework at Carnegie Mellon University I'll be spending my time doing research for my dissertation ... which should be done some time in the next couple of years (ugh!).

The baby won't arrive for a while, but until then there are other things we take can pictures of. Like Sarina's belly, for instance. Sarina is just now beginning to show, though it may not be obvious to anyone but us.



We plan on taking one picture a week to chart the change. We've been reading a pregnancy book that describes what's going on with our child day to day. Though we can't watch that development, it's very exciting to begin to see the changes we can observe.