an update or two

So the baby is moving even more than ever. I swear he's doing the back stroke or something. We had Elijah sleepover this week and he said "I'm so glad you guys are having a baby." He really liked seeing the baby room even though the furniture is not set up yet.

So in other news... In an interesting turn of events, our baby has been bumped up on the baby roster on my mom's side of the family and this will be great grand child #12, not #11. I'm not going to go into details of why on this blog but you know me, I always have a story! Needless to say babies #10 (due in January) and #11 (due in February) are boys. So it's up to my cousin Jane now (she's growing baby #13). There should really be a study on my family!

All moved in

We moved into our new apartment and have been here for a little over a week. It was quite a move. I had convinced myself that we didn't have much to pack because we were throwing a lot of stuff away and replacing it with all of our new wedding stuff. However, Eric and I quickly discovered that packing the morning your supposed to move never really works out. It was pretty chaotic and we decided not to rent a UHaul truck this time which made for what felt like several hundred trips back and forth on Rt. 9. Once we got here Eric insisted on being completely settled and have everything put away which was not easy for me because I have been so tired when I get home from work. However, Eric did an awesome job putting the place together and it looks great.

We also got the new baby furniture thanks to Eric's cousin Mike and his wife Jess. The furniture is gorgeous and looks brand new. We don't have it set up yet because we found out we can paint the walls here so we've got to tackle that first. Mike and Jess are giving us a list of stuff for the baby so once we find out what the colors are on all of that stuff we will resume painting.

On an upsetting note I decided it would be a good idea to laminate the baby pictures so that they wouldn't get ruined. Thank goodness I saved them on the computer because apparently the heat from the laminator and the ultrasound pictures didn't mix and all the pictures went black. The only picture I don't have on the computer is the very first ultrasound picture we had when they were trying to figure out my due date. I'm not too upset because it really just looked like a piece of rice. So to everyone out there for future reference: heat+ultrasound pictures= a really bad idea!!!

We received some exciting news yesterday via Gramma McNeil. Hopefully I'm not spilling the beans too early but we just found out that my cousin Jane (see the picture of the 4 of us girls) is pregnant. So another chance at a baby girl in the family. This is great grandchild #12. She's due in June so we'll have to wait for a little bit to find out what she's having but if anyone should have the girl in our family it should be one of us girls!!!

And finally, after hearing the news from many people I made a revelation. Apparently the rule/law is that if a child does not have the same exact name as the parent then they cannot be a junior. So our baby boy will just be Eric Charles Hamelin. We will not be torturing our child by naming him Eric Matthew Wagner Hamelin Jr. He will never learn his name!!!

And the results are....

So before I begin to discuss what is growing inside of me (besides the obvious that it's a baby), I'd like to give a little background history. On my mom's side of the family there are 18 of us grandchildren, 4 of us are girls. Here we are. Mary Bridget on the left being the oldest, then Jane to the right of me, then my sister and then me.

Now we've all started getting married and starting families of our own and great grandchildren have been produced. Our child will be great grandchild #11. Up until this point my family has not produced a girl. So the pressure was on for me. My cousin's wife is pregnant and when she found out she was having a boy the girl factor landed on my shoulders. So I have to say as much as it is important to me that we have a healthy baby, I wanted a girl just as much as everyone else wanted me to have one. I don't know how to play with boys (even though I mainly work with boys all day!). I know girls scouts and hickory hill and softball. I don't know cars, I don't like getting dirty, and I'm not rough and tumble.

So yesterday we went in for our visit and here's the result:

In case it's tough to read and you can't see the blatant arrow pointing to the results, we are having a boy. I selfishly cried. I wanted so badly to give my gramma a girl. However, in being up all night (thanks Pokey) I've done a lot of thinking. So I have to give up my pretty girl name for now and return those girl clothes I bought, the fact of the matter is that this is my child. I've always wanted to be a mom and I always questioned whether I would be able to have children (just a feared I've always had) and I've been blessed to be a mom. So Eric gets his boy to name Eric Jr. and work on cars with him and do boy stuff with. However, We all know that a boy's love for his mother is like nothing else :). I hope our son is a combination of both of our best qualities.

It's interesting the questions that come up that you don't think about when you have children. First of all, the first question the doctor asked us was about circumscision. That did not cross my mind at all! Then Eric and I talked about getting the baby baptized and if we did who would be the god parents? We talked about religion and extra curricular activities and what being a parent means. We will have a lot of decisions along the way!

So even though I didn't get my girl this time, it doesn't mean I can't take over Hickory Hill again! And it doesn't mean that I will love this baby any less. And most importantly, it doesn't mean that I can't at least pick our child's middle name and stand my ground on this one! So (and Eric doesn't know this yet), the baby's full name will be Eric Charles Hamelin Jr. Charles is my pepe's name. Besides my dad and Eric he was the greatest guy I have ever met. He was so kind and gentle and caring and always made me laugh. So in 20 more weeks or so we will be welcoming our little man into this world and I can't wait for all the adventures that lie ahead!

Right before we got this next picture I said to Eric, "Now you have a boy to watch all your tv shows with", and this picture came up of the baby crossing his legs all ready to watch tv haha. He's got long legs like his mama.

Here's 5 little piggies :)

The Winner

I think it's important to post on this blog this very important day in history. I was up at 2:30am to see who won the election (not that I didn't expect the outcome!). I was very excited. Barack Obama will be swiping the presidential seat from George W. a few months before our baby is born. This means Barack will be his/her president.

Kicking

I've felt a lot of kicking this week. I can only imagine how tiny the baby's foot is judging by the tiny kicks that I'm getting. I swear yesterday the baby was doing the back stroke through my stomach! So far I'm the only one who can feel these kicks. Although I have a child that I work with who has become very snuggly with me since I've become pregnant. I swear he feels something in my stomach that no one else can because he will sit on my lap for 15 minutes if I let him (he's not typically a snuggly kid!). Eric is a little bummed that he can't just touch my stomach and feel the baby too but he can't get enough of how my stomach is growing. I'm starting to feel more like a mom this week. There's no doubt that I'm pregnant if you look at me and feeling the baby makes it all feel real.

Next week is a big week so this week has been dragging for me. Tuesday is election day which I'm excited for. Wednesday we find out whether this little peanut in my belly is a boy or a girl (that is if the baby cooperates!). Friday I have a job interview for a different job within the company I work for. And of course Saturday is moving day! We have a lot to do for this move. Hopefully we'll get a lot accomplished this weekend.

Happy Halloween!... and Happy Birthday Sydney Rose!

We have a place to live, phew!

Eric and I put a deposit on an apartment today, phew! I really am sick of moving and hate the process of finding an apartment so I'm glad that was over quickly. We are moving back to Westboro into a townhouse apartment. It is really nice and will feel like a home instead of an apartment. I can't wait to get settled there. Then we can finally use all of our wedding gifts and get the baby room set up (that's the funnest part!). You can see pictures of the model apartment if you click on this link: http://www.windsorcommunities.com/Apartment/floorplans.aspx?PropID=25&region=MA&floorPlanID=434

On another note... I threw up for the first time tonight. I really hate throwing up so keep your fingers crossed that that is the first and last time (yes I am aware that other women who threw up throughout their entire pregnancy hate me right for being upset that I threw up once!). I hadn't felt like eating much today but I decided to feed the baby a salad tonight. However, something about the crouton I ate made me gag. Normally when I gag I can talk my body out of throwing up but I knew this time it was inevitable. Eric was fast asleep and so I ran to the bathroom and somehow (if anyone knows how deeply my husband sleeps you will be very impressed with this next part) Eric woke up and came running in and immediately pulled my hair back for me and then when he knew I was ok he got me a water. Granted he climbed right back into bed while I was recovering in the bathroom and fell back asleep but it was nice that he was there during the crucial moment. What a good hubby :) I think I'll keep him ;)

The wedding and the pregnancy

On September 27th, 2008, Eric and I got married at Maxwell Silverman's Toolhouse in Worcester at 6pm. It was pretty stressful leading up to the ceremony but once it was time to walk down the aisle I was sooo excited and I couldn't wait to see Eric. Everything went well that night with a few minor mistakes but none too big to ruin the big day. It was so nice to have all of our friends and family in one room at the same time. I wish that could happen more often. We still look at each other and I can't believe that we are husband and wife. I have officially changed my name to Sarah Elizabeth Hamelin. It is really weird and I still have to think about it when I sign my name. It's kind of an identity crisis... when you go by one name your whole life and then your name changes, I have a slight sense that no one will know who I am anymore. I know it's a silly thought. So on to the next business.... finding a place to live :)

So far things are going well with the pregnancy. As of tomorrow I will be 15 weeks along. I have a little belly but if someone doesn't know I'm pregnant it just looks like I'm getting lazy and gaining weight :). I have another doctors appointment tomorrow. My mom is coming with me to hear the baby's heart beat. On a funny note, one of the grandmother's of a child I work with said to me today "So Sarah when were you planning on telling me that you're pregnant??" I had no idea that she knew this whole time! I wanted to tell her, I just couldn't figure out how to bring it up. One of the weird things about this pregnancy is talking about it and telling people about it. Not necessarily because it was a surprise pregnancy but because I think it is so strange that there is a child growing inside me and I have to give birth to it on or around March 30th. It is so strange to see my body change and to hear a heart beat in my stomach. In a month we find out what we're having... :)