I visited one of my best friends, Tenley, in Virginia this past weekend. We toured the national museums and monuments in D.C. on Saturday, and we had a delicious dinner at the Inner Harbor that evening. We went to her AWESOME church, Grace Community Church, on Sunday, and then we had indulgent pedicures that afternoon. Later that day, we went to a pool party with her oldest brother and sister who are both married and have children. I was inundated with much appreciated baby information from her sister and sister-in-law! I even came home with my suitcase packed full of baby clothes from her sister, Erica! They were such gracious hosts to me, and I really enjoyed spending time with all of them. This was my first chance to visit Tenley since she moved from Nashville last year. I am so happy that I got to visit her before the baby arrives in December. We had such a great weekend together!
While I was with her this past weekend, something very exciting happened! On Sunday, July 27th, I awakened early in the morning (6am) to use the bathroom (as usual), and then went straight back to bed. I was just settling back in to fall asleep when I felt the strange sensation of a little foot or fist poking me from the inside. I felt Baby G kick for the first time! It was definitely a new and unique feeling, and I drifted back to sleep with a grin on my face. The doctor had told me that I may not feel her move much at all until weeks 23 or 24, but I definitely felt her sooner than that! Since that morning, I've been able to recognize her movements; therefore, I am feeling her more often. What a cool and crazy experience!
This is a picture of Tenley and me at the Inner Harbor where
we ate a fabulous dinner on Saturday night.
Today, our wonderful friends, John & Kathy Polumbo, welcomed their first baby into the world. Jackson Robert was born at 3:39 a.m. I was so excited to get their news when I awoke this morning! Kathy and I have enjoyed being pregnant alongside one another these past few months, and I secretly wanted to BE THERE every moment during her labor and delivery. I was SO thrilled when she called me this afternoon and told me ALL about it! Then we went to meet Mr. Jackson this evening at Stonecrest Medical Center in Smyrna, TN.
He is SO precious! He is just perfect-literally! 7lbs 9 oz. and 21 inches long. I was so overcome with emotion as I walked in and saw her holding him all wrapped up like a papoose! He was wide-eyed and seemed perfectly content laying in his momma's arms. Just seeing her and John with their precious miracle right in front of me sent my emotions all out of whack!! I'm so happy for them, I just can't stand it.
When I held him and talked to him, I quickly realized that this would be ME one day very soon...holding my newborn in the hospital. What an amazing, overwhelming, yet inspiring and exciting feeling! I feel so blessed to have friends like John & Kathy who have now "gone before me" in the world of pregnancy and birth; and I feel so grateful that they have allowed us to be apart of the whole experience.
I pray many blessings of happiness, love, joy, and fulfillment for John and Kathy with their new son, Jackson. I thank God for His grace and mercy poured into their lives not only because He gave them this precious child, but also because I know that He has sustained their faith and trust in Him through the entire process. I praise God for this new life in their lives AND in my life!
Jackson Robert Polumbo
I've been thinking about creating this blog ever since my friend, Miranda, told me about it. It's taken me awhile to get around to it but here I am! My husband, Michael, and I are expecting our first baby due December 5, 2008. We are currently 19 weeks along, and our ultrasound is scheduled for this coming Friday! We are going to find out the gender of Baby G. I have a feeling that it is a boy but what truly matters to us is that our baby is healthy. Michael says that he'd like to have a boy and KNOW that he gets at least one...but again, he really doesn't have a preference.
My pregnancy experience thus far has been a good one (for the most part). I had constant nausea during the first trimester and then, magically, it disappeared by week 13. It was like flipping a switch! The heartburn/indigestion has hit this week, unfortunately, but hopefully good ol' Prilosec will do the trick for awhile.
We went to Italy for two weeks, June 23-July 4, 2008. It was such a fabulous opportunity to see all the world renowed monuments, artifacts, paintings, and sculptures. That trip fulfilled a life-long dream of mine, so I am very content with our experience (this picture is of us in front of St. Peter's Basilica). I will say that we realized just how spoiled Americans are...we sure do have life easy over here! Hopefully, our next trip will be relaxing some place on a beach...I'd love to do that before Baby G arrives in December.
Well, that's it for now. I will post the exciting news we receive on Friday! :-)
