Well, I have been a major slacker latetly.. I just haven't been able to find the motivation to get on here and write much of anything, partly because not a whole lot has been going on.

We had our appointment with the midwife two weeks ago (yikes- like I said, slacker) and it went really well! We will meet with all 6 of the midwives at Tripler before the big day rolls around, and at least one of them will be on call at all times for Baby Reif's birth day. We met with Dona Sanders this time, and I really liked her. She sat down with us and answered any questions we had, asked us questions, joked around with us, and overall made me feel very comfortable. We listened to the baby's super fast heartbeat which was amazing. As it turned out, the baby was playing hide and seek with the midwife, and it took her a little while to find the heartbeat (this is the second time something like this has happened to me- talk about nervewracking!!!) but once she did, my worries- and watery eyes (which Matt found a little too entertaining)- went right away! I have our next check up this Thursday, where I'll get to meet another midwife! I'm pretty excited about that, and I can't wait to hear the heartbeat again!

My weekly emails tell me our baby is getting big, fast! 4.5 inches from head to bottom already!!! It's amazing to think that there's a 4.5 inch person growing inside of me! The baby wiggles around a lot now, I love it! Most of the time it feels like she's tapping on my tummy or rolling around, but last night I think she was doing cartwheels in there! She was moving so much it almost tickled!

I'm pretty sure I'm completely past the nauseous phase of the pregnancy, which is really exciting! Now, I'm just waiting on that second trimester burst of energy I've read about. I still feel pretty run down all the time. Also, being pregnant has really lowered my tolerance for heat, which makes living in Hawaii without a/c, in late summer very uncomfortable. I get so lightheaded and completely worn out when it gets hot that I rarely get off the couch, and cooking in front of the stove is just miserable. I've also been having headaches that just make me cranky and not want to do anything. Matt's been great though and massages my back and my feet all the time! He helps out with the cleaning and cooking (especially the parts that would usually have me standing by the stove) and overall, he's just a great husband.

I'm trying to find prenatal yoga classes on the island, but haven't found anything affordable yet. I think it would be a lot of fun to get together with other pregnant women and get some exercise at the same time!

Despite my complaints about feeling so run down, I love being pregnant and I'm so excited about becoming a mom! I daydream all the time about how I want to decorate the nursery, and about snuggling with the baby, and all sorts of fun things! I can't wait until February! The countdown at the right says there are 171 days until my due date. It's strange how one number can seem so big and so small at the same time!


I don't really have much else to add, but I'll be updating again this weekend! Saturday afternoon we have our gender ultrasound!! We'll find out for sure that we're having a girl!! And if we're having twins (since that still hasn't been ruled out). So check back for pictures and the confirmation!