It's a bird! ... It's a plane! ... It's a .... GIRL?!?!

Yes! Believe it or not, Baby Anderson is really a little baby girl. I was so absolutely shocked during the ultrasound. I had convinced myself that I was absolutely having a boy, even trending toward boy bedding and nursery decor. But little Baby Anderson is a sweet little trickster. I'm sure this will be one of her many surprises. :) *Note: Pink is a pretty color and all... but I definitely am more attracted to non-pink colors for Baby Girl; blues, greens, yellows, even purples...

The common question after the gender reveal is, "Do you have a name?" Yep. Sure do. And yes, I have no problem sharing! Her name is Mara Louise, a tribute to two of our grandmothers - Marilyn (Mike's maternal) and Regina Louise (my mom's maternal grandma). The first name, Mara, sounds like the letter "R" with an 'mmmmm' and an 'uh' around it. I'm hoping she won't be that kid whose teachers all pronounce her name wrong, causing her to hate it! ;-) Oh well.. I always wanted to be Rebecca for some random reason, so I'm sure she'll want to change her name to Shenandoah at some point down the road.

Mara at 21 weeks!

We were in Chicago when we found out (last appt there - awwww).. However, that ultrasound wasn't my only visit to the hospital. The following day, I graced them with my presence in the ER because I nearly passed out during brunch. You know what? It's incredibly embarrassing to arrive at the Emergency Room not feeling like you have an emergency anymore.. as I walked myself up to the check-in desk, appearing completely unscathed, I checked out the people around me - broken arms, broken legs, and a big ol' gash across some guy's forehead. I began with, "I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be here, but..."

Okay, here's the story..

Out to brunch with Jamie Kay at my FAVORITE brunch spot in Chi-town: Orange. I was on Cloud 9. Had frushi (fruit sushi, a MUST), a few sips of their orange-infused coffee, and half of a delicious egg and veggie chorizo wrap. Drank a glass and a half of water. Had just finished when suddenly, I began to feel nauseous. Realizing this was no little game my body was playing, I told Jamie I had to go outside for some air because I felt sick. Naturally, I shooed away her offer to escort me, saying I just needed a minute.

WELL, when I got out there, I didn't just feel nauseous; I began to get all clammy. And faint. And suddenly, I couldn't really hold myself up against the brick building anymore. So what does a girl do? Get on all fours on Clark Street in a cute green dress, of course. A nice couple had just parked their car and asked if I needed help, but I was still being Stubborn Sally and said I'd be fine....

NOPE. After another minute, I realized it was getting worse and I couldn't really see as well. Luckily, Maria (one half of the parked car party) had waited (she's much smarter than I) and quickly retrieved Jamie Kay. Then, her other half of the parked car party, Julio, came out and shared the job of holding me up to walk to a chair with Jamie Kay. I must have looked like a hot mess. I couldn't hold myself up, I was cold and sweaty, and I couldn't really respond to questions (except for the "Do you want an ambulance?" to which I [vehemently] croaked, "No").

Jamie drove me to the ER, where Mike met us and I was told that I was probably dehydrated. Four hours, one saline bag, three small viles of blood, one urine test, and several ridiculously good-looking doctors later, we left the ER. Mara was totally fine throughout all of this. She was probably rolling her eyes at me, wondering why her mama can't just pick up a glass of water and drink it!

Kickin' it in the ER

Later that evening, we celebrated the happy happy union of our friends Dustin and Phoebe - now Mr. and Mrs. Cahan!! :) Congratulations, you two!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

* First off, let me say thank-you to our friend Rosco, who re-designed the background of the blog! *

Thank-you, Rosco! :)

The Good

At a little over 19 weeks now, I am close to finding out if Baby Anderson is a girl or a boy! (Official find-out date is July 20th...stay tuned for that post!) I am finally starting to really show that I'm pregnant...woohoo! 

On our first morning in Kansas City (Tuesday, July 10th), I groggily woke up to Mike getting ready for work at 6:55am. And wouldn't you know it, so did Baby A! I felt the first movements of our precious little one that morning. It felt like a light, sweet little muscle spasm....an eye-twitch of sorts, but in my belly... so exciting! I can't wait for Mike to feel the baby, too. That day will be incredible. :)

Another 'good' is that we made our first baby nursery purchases! Teeheehee! We bought a crib and a changing table - both should be delivered next week. I cannot wait! I'll absolutely post pictures of the nursery in progress. Discovering the style I want for the nursery has definitely been an adventure. I don't see myself getting into an animal theme or transportation theme (both of which I see a lot of on websites).. don't get me wrong, some of those little elements are SUPER cute! But I want our baby's room to be a reflection of us and our happiness, since that's what the baby is. Pictures of places we've been, happy memories, family, and of course momentos of the pregnancy... a room of love. :)

The Bad

Honestly, I have had a glorious pregnancy thus far... aside from feeling nauseous for the first trimester, I have been so blessed! I feel great. (Partly because I am sleeping around 10-12 hours every night, I'm sure! I'm a lucky girl on many levels.)

But this is supposed to be the 'bad' part... so let me get to that. Though I've been sleeping a lot, it hasn't been uninterrupted! I'm a back sleeper by nature, so sleeping on my side has been a huge adjustment. I constantly wake up on my back again, even though I've tried to make my body stay on its side! Arg! Last night, I slept with a body pillow and new regular pillow (designed specifically for side-sleepers)... it was better, but my shoulders still squish and I woke up once with pain in my hips... maybe once we get our actual furniture delivered from Chicago, things will be better. I don't think pregnant women were meant to sleep on blow-up mattresses. (Not to mention that sleeping on my side facing away from Mike is difficult when the weight of his body makes my body want to roll down toward the middle! I'd sleep all snuggly and facing toward him if I didn't seriously fear that he'd punch me in the face with one of his twitches - it's happened before!) 

And then... The Dreams. Holy smokes, the weird dreams I've had while pregnant! I can't remember them right now, but you know how a CRAZY dream can totally shake you for a while after you wake up? That's what pregnant dreams have been for me. Sometimes frustrating (as in, I'm trying to teach a class of kids but no one listens, no matter what I do), sometimes scary (as in, people trying to kill me, loved ones dying), and usually too real. 

Can I also add that bras are beginning to feel like corsets? Geez-oh-peets!

The Ugly

Ahhh the digestive fun! ;) I won't go too much into detail here, but let's just say I've spent some time standing on my head lately. (Truly a great way to pass gas, and it always makes me giggle when it happens. Not a glamorous or lady-like comment, but I'm just trying to pass along the good word!) But seriously, I've looked twice as pregnant because of all the air bubbles in my belly that seem absolutely opposed to exiting in any way. Not fun. And not pretty, either. Dare I say... ugly?