Busy Busy Busy

It has been forever since I have posted a message because life really got crazy.
Here is the rundown of what's been happening.

I met and surpassed 20 weeks with little to no drama. We had a 20 week anatomy scan and found out we are having a huge baby boy. He was over a pound (in ultrasound estimate land) at 20 weeks. I must say he is the cutest little boy I have ever seen.

Even though I am stoked about our baby boy, I was shocked that I was right about the sex. I wanted a girl so badly but I kept telling my husband it will be a boy just because I want the opposite. So when the tech told us to guess, my jaw dropped. At first sight we knew it was a boy and I was speechless. It took me 10 minutes to actually say something and all I could do is mumble as I cried. I was just amazed by the little person hanging out in my belly.

I waited as we looked for 4 heart chambers, 10 fingers and toes, a well formed brain, eye sockets, ears, lips and a nose. He had a huge belly complete with all of the organs that should have been there. They only spotted one problem which was a slight dilation in the kidney area. We were told he probably needed to urine and we would have to come back for another look in 5 weeks.

As far as I was concerned he was perfect and whatever the dilation meant could be remedied. There was not an ounce of worry or sadness in my heart.

As soon as we left the doctors office, we went to eat because I was too nervous to eat the entire day. I had a celebratory 4 ounces of wine and lots of french fries as we discussed the possibilities. Once we were done with that we hit the stores. The buying frenzy officially started.

Oh yeah by 20 weeks, I finally started to look preggo.

If you think your big now, you just wait until....

I know a lot of women feel this way but in my case, it is really true. I did really well in terms of growth, the first 19 weeks of my pregnancy. That was the first 19 weeks.

At 19 weeks and 2 days I was noticeably bigger. Today makes 19 weeks, 5 days pregnant, I am officially in arguably pregnant. That means if someone looks at me, they can easily tell I am preggers. That means, I can no longer keep it a secret and when I pick up a cup of coffee or a pack of skittles, I get that you shouldn't eat that look from a perfect stranger. I am getting big.

In light of my recent and continuous expansion, I have been commenting to others on just how big I am. Without fail, I always get, If you think your big now you just wait until.....(fill in whatever month). I don't want to think about that now. I have to focus on just how huge I feel now. Or that I can now see my belly button through my shirt. All of this is weird.

What I am most nervous about, is getting so big that people feel the need to touch me. I don't want to think about that right now either. I will just focus on figuring out what to do with my bellybutton for now.

What next?

I must preface this by saying I am in no way an expert.....but I have the being pregnant thing down now. I know what I need to eat, I have the sleeping on my left side deal down. I no longer get anxious when my feet feel like they are going to explode. I have excepted this strange acne situation I have going on. We are all over the nursery and other things.

So I am ready to occupy my mind with other things, like childbirth and beyond. I have 3 specific areas in which I am currently starved for information about.
I don't have a birth plan and I am barely ready to begin building a plan.
I have no idea what type of sleep plan I will try to work in for Baby Turner upon arrival.
I need to figure out how I will conduct myself as a mother and a wife at the same time.

So I am currently looking for books and advice from multiple sources to help me figure out a birth plan, sleep plan and a life plan. LOL

Oh yes. I forgot breastfeeding. Another major thing I want to do for the baby. I want to be careful not to let it take over my life completely. I also want to provide the best nutrition for Baby Turner, so a good breastfeeding diet is key to accomplishing that goal.


With that said, I will have my head burried in the books over the next couple of months. Well actually the next few days. I am heading out to purchase, the following;

The No Cry Sleep Solution
Your Best Birth
Baby Proofing Your Marriage
Eat Well, Lose Weight While Breastfeeding.

Hopefully these books will be enough to keep me occupied until the big day!!!! 4 days more!!!!

19 weeks!!!

Finally. I have finally made it to the week before my 20 week anatomy scan. I know this seems crazy to anyone who is reading this but I can't help it. I have waited for the 20 week scan since I found out I was pregnant over 14 weeks ago. Since waiting has never been easy for me, I have learned to adapt a method which helps me stay sane during a long wait. The method is as follows;

Break the time into equal parts.
Dedicate each part to something, a home improvemnt project, a book, creating a new habit.
Try not to think about the final date, just focus on getting through each part.
Find as many distractions as possible.

Sad right?? I have always had this anxiety surrounding upcoming events in my life. I think seeing my baby on ultrasound for the first time (the first time doesn't count she or he was just a spot it was at 6 weeks 1 day)you know, seeing a little head, maybe thumb sucking and movement, has prompted more excitement and anxiety than any other event in my life. Of course what I really want to know is if the baby is healthy and hopefully a girl. Yes I want to know the sex, I wish I could have found out weeks ago. Now that I am here at the 19th week, I know I can make it one more week. Until then, I will be waiting for the next kick and the kick afetr that and well the, the kick after that.

Side Note: for 19 weeks I don't think I am showing very much but what do I know.

Campaigns and Kicks (Finally)

So I am officially living the life of a political wife. LOL Steve is busily working his way through the many twists and turns that are involved with establishing himself as a candidate. I could not be more proud. Though his decision was met with a bit of uncertainty on my part, I am sure of one thing. This is what God has in His plan for our family. Somehow the concerns that accompany our attempts at such an endeavor are completely calmed because of God's presence at the center of it all.

So I'm excited. We all are. We are blessed with a large group of friends, advisors and supporters who believe Steven is what the 58th house district needs. These people have been with us from the beginning and ironically pratically wished this pregnancy on us. So they will have a special place in the story of our baby's little life. Anywho, I love them all and I feel they have been purposely placed in our lives. Together we can accomplish anything.

Here is a picture of Steven getting a first peak at his campaign materials.




On to baby news. I finally have kicks!!!! I actually felt them before I wrote the previous post about kicks but like most first time preggos, I couldn't tell what those sensations were. I never felt the flutters or popcorn popping across my stomach. No butterflies or anything like that. Instead, I felt a small thump. Maybe 3 or 4 thumps at a time in lower region of my abdomen but the thumps would move around in someway or another. I initially thought it was some digestive system quirk but once I reached the 18 week mark, I realized I was well within the range of feeling a real kick. So I started calling them kicks. Besides I have never felt a digestive flinch quite that strong.

So yes world, Baby Turner is in there making all kinds of movements and stealing a little more of my heart with every flinch.

Wishing for Kicks

So a lot has happen since I last posted. We had one of those wonderful doctors visits. The ones I hold my breath for from about 5 minutes after I leave the last one. Crazy right? Well not so much. I had been extremely worried by the natural ups and downs that come with pregnancy. Who knew there would be so many symptoms? I know I didn't.

With every little cramp, pain, or dizzy spell, I worried something was wrong with the baby. I guess I no longer care so much about myself because I care less about anything that won't bother the baby. Anyway, these little worries would eventually compound into a full frenzy. Without an ultrasound or hearing the heartbeat or hearing my doctor say all was well, I was a wreck.

After the last visit with my midwife, I was assured my concerns would be put to rest as soon as I started to feel some kicks. So I have spent the last few weeks praying for kicks. I am not so sure if my prayers have been answered yet, but I thought I felt something. Even the thought of feeling kicks is amazing, I am not sure what I will do, when I experience the real thing. So I will keep praying for kicks and continue to brace myself for that moment. I am pretty sure it will be an experience I will never forget.



Side Note: I am finally growing a little bit. This tiny little bump has also helped put some of my worries to rest.

Fast foward almost a year!!!!

So I must admit, I have not been faithful to this blogging idea. Well actually I don't have to admit anything, the blog tells the story. I am recommitting to the idea and with great reason. July 4, 2008 until today June 18, 2009 has been filled with amazing unforgettable experiences. The only bad thing about having so many wonderful experiences is being too busy to document and share. So let me try to do a quick recap.

July 4th, 2008

Just after my last post, Steven and I joined our friends for a night we would talk about for the next year. Awesome barbecue, smoky burgers, great drinks and crazy conversation. Oh yeah and we sang 90's R&B until the sun came up. We cemented a budding friendship with another married couple, who rounded out our core group of family friends. It was a wonderful time.


July 4th and beyond was dedicated to turning the state of Tennessee blue for Barack Obama. We spent days and nights, canvasing, calling and registering voters. After that we met at local watering holes to listen to the pundits, watch results and provide emotional support.





Steven's non-profit Voting Is Priceless, was recognized as a major player in Nashville's youth vote turnout. A fundraiser concert was held on behalf of his organization in October. Steve was also recognized by the NAACP as one of Nashville's top 45 under 45 for his work with V.I.P.



In November, the country elected Barack Obama as the 44th president and our lives were instantly changed. We gathered with our closest friends in our home to watch the results and cry for the rest of the night. Shortly after Thanksgiving, Steven and I began discussing his political ambitions. I was pretty much notified he had the bug and would run if I allowed it.

This is the picture from the MSNBC article about Steven's election day voter turnout operations.



Thi is later that night as we await the results.



In January, we picked up our tickets to the swearing in and made our way through the record size crowds to witness history. I will never be able to describe how I felt that day or what it meant to me. I did know this was a new beginning for the country and for me personally. I suddenly understood the power of hope and was therefore open to taking some chances. I gave Steven the green light to scratch his political itch.

This is the picture from the Tennessean article about our trip to the inauguration.







By March, we were in full campaign swing. We formed an advisory committee, began talking to spiritual advisers and soliciting familial support. We were poised to just give it all we had and throw ourselves into this run. We celebrated by having a great time at our friend Matia's 30th birthday.



April, we learn we will have to modify our "all or nothing" approach to campaigning because we have bigger fish to fry. As of late April, I was 6 weeks pregnant, moving full steam ahead toward 2 months and we had no idea. Everything after that is a blur.

In May we take a much needed Babymoon/anniversary trip (3 years!!!!), celebrate Steve's 26th with his first fundraiser and attended our first official prenatal visit. We heard the heartbeat for the first time on May 27th. It was breathtaking and surreal.

June finally arrived and we were officially out of the first trimester (thank You Lord). I can rest easy that morning sickness will never show up, since I did not have it and was holding my breath until I cleared trimester 1, and my chance of loss has decreased about 85%. Steven has received quite a few excellent press stories, which has increased the buzz about his run and thrown constituent support in his direction.
Here is the link to the City Paper Article about Steven.







http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/turner-sets-sights-state-house

Those are the highlights.

Now we are awaiting my birthday, the 20 week anatomy scan (which is 6 weeks away) and the Young Democrats of America conference in Chicago. Can you say summertime Chi!!