December 2009 is for the Movers and Shakers!

The baby began to move this month. I could feel some very distinct movements and kicks during the second week of December. I can tell that he is getting bigger because I am able to feel more and to feel it all more often. Dennis was actually able to feel the baby more for the first time on December 17th, which was right before he left for a 10-day trip to Denmark. I was glad that he was able to feel what I had been feeling for a while. I think it made things more real for him. I can understand how hard it is to believe that we are going to have a baby because all I can see is my big belly. When we go to the doctors it is almost too surreal for me to actually believe that what I see is a baby, and that he is ours. Maybe it is because this is our first child, but I can imagine how hard it is for Dennis to wrap his mind around the idea of a baby when he can't feel him move all the time. I think this made the whole experience much more exciting for him, as it did for me.

Dennis and I had a very nice dinner at a very fancy Italian restaurant on the 18th, because he was leaving on the 19th for Denmark. I wouldn't be able to see him until the 30th, when he would hopefully get his passport renewed and be able to return. In the meantime, I was on vacation from school, so I used this time to get some reading done. I also spent three days at my parents house when the weather really got bad. It was just better to be around other people for the holidays, so I didn't have to drive in the bad weather, nor did I have to eat or spend time alone. I read two books from the Twilight series, did some scrapbooking, and slept. It was a nice relaxing time, but it would have been nice to spend more time with Dennis. This year, Denmark got lots of snow for the winter, which is very uncommon. It would have been fun to see it, but I wasn't allowed to travel this far along in my pregnancy. It may have also been too tiring for me to make the trip, since Dennis mentioned that he was stuck in the Amsterdam airport for 13 hours due to delays. It is funny how the Dutch and the Danes are not very used to snow, that it could cause so many problems. I guess we are more used to it here in the Midwest, but it doesn't make things slow and problematic at times.

I had quite a few doctor's appointments this month just to make sure that the baby wasn't about to fall out, but these were minor appointments where I didn't really learn anything new, nor was I able to see the baby on ultrasounds. I did; however, have two appointments this month that were more interesting. One was on the 14th at the hospital, which Dennis was able to go to. I was glad for that, because during this visit, they checked the baby's heart. He is a pretty healthy little guy, which was great news. The tech let us look him over again. He looks different from the pictures that were taken in November. He seems to be getting more fat on his face, and it is easy to see that he is growing all over. Though we weren't expecting it, the tech printed us some new pictures of the baby, which were very cute. He was active for a time, but then he seemed to take a nap. There is a really funny picture of him sleeping with his mouth open. :) Dennis and I agreed that he resembled his brother Kenneth, which was kind of funny, too. My brother's oldest daughter looks very much like me, so I think it woulnd't be odd to have my first son look like my husband's brother. :) We'll have to see how much he changes when he is born.

My other appointment was at my regular doctor's office. Dennis was in Denmark by this time, and so he wasn't able to see the baby. The ultrasound pictures that they take here are not as detailed as the ones at the hospital, but I will take whatever pictures they want to give me. The baby seemed to be looking directly at the camera when the tech took the picture. His face is so sweet, and he almost looked as if he were smiling. I took a picture of the ultrasound screen with my phone and sent it to Dennis. It was the closest thing he could have to going to the appointment with me. Everything seemed in order and normal for this check-up.

This week marked the end of my second trimester. It is so hard to believe that I made it through two trimesters, and things have been relatively good with the pregnancy. I feel very lucky. I just wished that I could have been more active. I would have loved to cross country ski at this point or even to exercise, but those things will have to wait for now. Being calm and relaxed is my new mindset, and to be honest, it is actually kind of nice to think about myself for a change.