month 6?!

Whoa. According to my trusty copy of "What to Expect When You're Expecting" -- I am now in month 6 of my pregnancy. Don't know where the time is going but our baby boy is going to be here before I know it!!!

Now that we know its a boy, everyone is asking us what we're planning to name him. So let me save you the trouble. We don't know. Yup, we literally have a list on our kitchen table, and when we get inspired, we add a name to it. That so far is our method of choosing.

We took a big step last weekend and began our baby registry. I think we spent two hours at Babies R Us. I went armed with a 3 page list, and then the store gave us one of their own. I pointed at stuff and Rick got to use the scanner gun -- at times it was highly entertaining. By the end, I was hot, tired and my hands had swelled up -- but we have a great start. Feel free to start knocking items off that list!! ;)

We are beginning to collect items for the nursery -- we have purchased our Pooh stroller and car seat, along with the matching pack and play. We also got a great deal on our crib from Buy Buy Baby. My parents have already gone on a baby clothes shopping spree -- I now have a reusable bag full of assorted sizes sitting in the baby's room.

My mom's baby shower is officially set for June 25th in Alton. They've booked the secret locale and everything. Invitations should be going out next month. My mother in law is still trying to decide whether she's going to have one -- she actually didn't think it was her place! I told her either way, I've prepared a guest list for her and my mom -- and if I don't have a second one, everyone will just get invited downstate. No big deal to me.

Baby G is now kicking away on a daily basis -- usually at work in the early morning hours, or when I'm sleeping (typical!). People have asked me what it feels like. At first, it was very disconcerting for me. It took me a long time first to recognize what all the ripples in my stomach were, but now I'm used to it and actually miss it when he's not doing somersaults. Other pregnancy symptoms I've picked up over the last few weeks -- minor heartburn and extreme swelling of my feet. Never knew what cankles were until now. And my sweet tooth is suddenly out of control!! If there's a cookie in sight, I cannot ignore it.

The other most popular question -- when am I going on maternity leave? I still don't know. I would really like to work as close to my due date as possible, to maximize my time off -- but I have a feeling my doctor is going to cut me off at some point when I'm getting close, simply because of my 50 minute commute to work. The last thing I want is to be stuck on the Stevenson in labor!!!

The actual L&D experience is something I haven't allowed myself much time to think about. I have an idea of how I'd like it to go in an ideal world, but I have learned -- even the best laid plans frequently get blown out of the water. Blame my job -- but at least its taught me to be very flexible and always have a plan B, C and D.

All in all though -- I am still in extreme awe of this entire experience. That goes for Rick too -- he frequently attends to my stomach now more than me. ;) I worried a lot when we first realized we wanted to expand our family -- I've always been afraid of the unknown. But so far, I've had an incredibly healthy pregnancy and I can't be more grateful for it. We are both still totally overwhelmed by all the emails and calls from our friends and family. I know Shortstop is already blessed and for that, I am also so thankful.