I'm not fat, I'm pregnant.

My baby "bump" - 16.5 weeks

There comes a point in pregnancy where your stomach starts to grow a little, but there is no defined pregnancy bump. What you are left with is a belly that looks like it's taken in a few too many beers...or hot wings. It's not cute. I have come to that point this week. I haven't really looked pregnant at all during my pregnancy so far, which made some students give me the side-eye when I told them I was expecting. Most of their responses were, "But you don't LOOK pregnant, Mrs. Hunn!" Yes, I know. But I promise you that there is a baby in there. A baby that makes me want to constantly eat, mainly in the form of carbs.

Anyways, back to the belly. I wore a shirt to work this week that I just wore last week and felt fine in, but this week it clung way too tightly to this growing belly of mine. I'll be honest...it made me a little self-conscious. I found myself grabbing my cardigan (that won't button anymore) and trying to pull it as tightly across my body as possible with a weird arm cross all while trying to appear completely normal to a class full of freshman students. So from here on out, or at least until I have a legitimate baby bump, I will be revolving my outfits around the 3-4 shirts I own that are way more forgiving in the belly area. I am also hoping that this stage doesn't last for very long....because I really would like to actually LOOK pregnant.

- S

Fatherhood, And Why I Should Have Been a Boyscout

I should have joined the boyscouts when I had the chance. Is there an age limit on joining? It seems that the boyscout would have taught me a lot of things about being prepared for the unknown. As a boy, you dream that the boyscouts would be able to teach you how to survive in the wilderness for a week with nothing more than some dental floss and nail clippers. If nothing else, I would have learned how to tie some awesome knots, which, by the way, is something I'm horrible at.

In the weeks that followed the initial doctor's appointment that told Stef and I that I indeed had the capability of producing offspring, my lack of knowledge about being prepared for fatherhood has crept up on me. When you are a first-time father and you ask other parents for advice on how to prepare for the day when you first see your slimy, screaming baby, not many provide you with any tangable advice. They treat it like it's a learn-on-the-go type of situation. Let me tell you, this is not such a situation. Of the people who will give you advice (mostly women), almost all repeat over and over how important it is for me to make sure Stef is happy while she's carrying our child. Geeze, thanks a lot. I'm sure Stef will appreciate that.

Most notable events in my life creep up on me: major holidays, graduation, my wedding. It's only when something somewhat major happens do I notice just how quickly that next event is approaching. Today was such an occasion. For a little while, Stef and I have enjoyed not being the only couple in our group of friends that were pregnant. One of Stef's close friends was also pregnant - until today. This morning at 11:00am, Erik and Amanda became proud parents of their first son, Asher. Also happening today, Stefanie and I became the next couple in our circle of friends who will have a child. And in a few weeks, when we have our doctor's appointment to find the gender of our child, March 2nd and all it entails becomes more of a reality.

And all I have to go on for this occasion is to make sure Stef gets the food she needs. I guess I better hit the library. More to follow...

- J

Hearing The Heartbeat

Before I go into our heartbeat appointment, I want to give a quick update on how I've been feeling since that seems like a popular question. I have actually been pretty lucky and haven't been too sick. There are a few days here and there where I feel a little nauseous and there was one week in my first trimester that I felt sick almost every day, but for the most part I have been feeling pretty good. My main "symptom" has been exhaustion. But now that I am in my 2nd trimester, that has been getting better, so I hope to get my full energy back soon. Today, I am currently 15 weeks and 3 days along.

Now, for the heartbeat: We had our appointment on September 2nd and as soon as the doctor placed the doppler on my stomach, we could hear the heart beating. It was really amazing. It's really hard to describe what it feels like to have another heart beating inside of me, so I don't think I will try. Every couple of seconds there was a screeching sound coming from the doppler and the doctor explained to us that the sound occurs every time the baby moves. Our baby was quite active that day (and the day of our ultrasound), so I think we are going to have our hands full when this little one arrives! However, our parents like to remind us that it will be payback for how crazy both Jon and I were as kids.

That's all I have for today. We will find out whether we are having a boy or a girl on October 11th so we are very excited about that appointment! We will try to update our blog at least a few times a week with more of our thoughts and feelings on this whole experience.

- S

Welcome

As many of you arrive at our online home, we welcome you! In light of recent news about the addition to our family, Stef and I have decided to start a blog. We hope that this online home will be a great place for family, friends and the occasional guest to keep up to date on our lives as we transition from a fairly simple life together and add a new member.

As this is our first child, we hope that many people will be able to share in the joys and frustrations of our new experiences. We will try our best to keep this site up to date and hope that you will provide us with feedback in the form of comments and any insights you might have.

Bookmark our site in your internet browser and stop back soon!

- J