Baby Names and Other Fun Times!

The past week or so has been pretty exciting and fun! I went to work last Tuesday (Week 11, Day 4) and felt like I was going to die. At that point I was used to feeling like that at work for the most part. Then, last Wednesday (Week 11, Day 5), something amazing happened! I wasn't sick! And I had energy! I made it through the entire 9 hour shift without feeling miserable once! Ever since then, I've been able to keep down anything I've eaten, and I've been pretty hungry compared to the weeks before. It's great to be feeling somewhat back to normal again! I still get worn out pretty easily, and I've had some nasty headaches, but I am so incredibly thankful to be able to eat again!

I have been having baby dreams just about every night. Some of them scare me to death, and others make me wish February would hurry up and get here already! A lot of my dreams have something to do with the baby being born completely able to run and jump and all sorts of dangerous things that make me panic. I can only imagine how it will be when my baby can actually do these things. I hope I'm not a nervous wreck.

At 12 weeks and 5 days, I'm now into my second trimester- SO exciting! I'm still pretty thin, not at all showing yet, but hopefully I'll start putting weight back on soon. A positive benefit to having lost weight during the first trimester: I can already feel our little baby kicking! The first time was on Sunday night, after dinner. I was being a bum watching Army Wives on the couch, and like usual, I had my hand resting on my belly where the baby is. All of a sudden, tap! I sort of froze, and a few seconds later, another tap! And then another! It was unlike anything I had felt before! I know it's still early, and most people wouldn't be able to feel anything just yet, but after doing a bunch of research, I've found that it is possible for a very thin person to feel the baby as early as even 10 or 11 weeks! The next night, the same thing happened, and then again the following morning. The little taps are always in the same spot, on the lower right side of my tummy. It's the most amazing feeling, like our baby is saying "Hey Mom! I'm really in here!" Can you believe she's already 3 inches long?? It's amazing how fast she's growing!

The baby got her first presents on Saturday! Our good friends, the Brazzles, had a little get-together and went completely overboard giving us gifts for the baby! We now have a new play mat, an awesome sling to carry the baby with, a little lullaby soother that goes in the crib and lights up with fishies and plays music, some baby essentials like lotions and creams, and so on. They are leaving the island soon, and we are going to miss them so much! They really are an amazing family!

Matt and I have had a lot of fun over the past week or so picking out baby names! We have a great baby name book, and we've gone through all the names and made a list of girl names and boy names (just in case we are having a boy, even though we're really having a girl). Both lists have been cut down to 6 names each. We've decided to share our lists with our friends and family, and please feel free to leave comments or suggestions. We just ask that you keep in mind that the final decision will be only ours, so no hurt feelings if we don't pick the one you like! And so, here are the names:

GIRLS

Audrey
Claire
Chloe
Isabelle
Lorelei
Penelope

BOYS

Emerson
Finn
Jackson
Parker
Trevor
Tucker

It was really interesting to us when we started compiling these lists, because we had always liked the idea of using modern, unique names for our kids. As we went through the names, we started to realize that all of the names we chose were much more classic, particularly the girls' names. We had a lot of fun staying up late at night calling out names that came to us, and laughing at some of the crazier ones.

Our appointment with the midwife is right around the corner, on Tuesday, and I will finally get to hear the baby's heartbeat! I can't wait! We're hoping to have an ultrasound done at 16 weeks, to confirm the sex, I can't believe that's only 3 weeks away!!! Time is really going by so quickly. I feel like I might blink and when I open my eyes, I'll be holding our baby in my arms!

We love you and miss you all! And if anyone wants to come visit sometime soon, we'd love to have guests again!