01 02 03 Down In My Heart Joy!: Thirty One Weeks 04 05 15 16 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 31 32 33

Thirty One Weeks

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Dear Beta,

The weeks keep rolling by.  Documenting it seems to have made it go faster.  We still have a lot to do to prepare for your arrival, so we are happy for you to stay put!

Speaking of staying put, you are gradually moving a bit less over the last few weeks, or perhaps I should say, the movement has changed.  When you were smaller (one or two pounds), your movements felt like constant flutters and jabs.  I would say over and over again, “This baby is SO STRONG!”  As you grow more, filling the space that surrounds you, your movements feel more like pushes and slides.  There is less “flippy floppy” movements of your entire body, and less of the aggressive kicks which required space and momentum.  I still feel you almost as frequently as before, but the movement seems more controlled.  Some of the pushes from your feet are just as strong as the sharp kicks were before; it just feels different.

You have been mostly head-down for as long as I’ve been able to tell how you are positioned.  A few times you’ve flipped transverse or posterior.  It’s pretty funny when you turn posterior, because suddenly the middle and center of my belly is full of bony arms, elbows, knees, and feet moving all over the place like you’re playing drums on the inside of my belly.  My skin rolls and moves over your appendages, and it looks like you’re trying to make a way out through my belly button!

For the most part however, I’ve felt you in perfect birthing position – head down, torso to my left, feet kicking to my upper right.  If I cross my legs and lean forward, or sit in any other position that squishes the lower part of my uterus against my thighs, you are quick to protest!  Your head and hands get all bumpy and pushy down low, letting me know you need a bit more space!  You like to hang out in the lower half or two thirds of your house.  Frequently when I feel my belly to find you, the upper section of your house is empty.  Eventually, you will be big enough to fill all of it!  Then you will run out of space and decide it’s time to find a new house.  Don’t worry, there’s one waiting for you that’s plenty big enough.

I know I talk a lot about your movement, but that’s all I have of you right now, other than your heartbeat that I listen to a couple times a week on the stethoscope.  I can’t wait until I can see your sweet face, hear your chirping sounds, smell your hair, touch your silky soft skin….  

I know that means I will also hear your shrill cries and smell your stinky diapers, but that is part of being a parent.  Part of being married.  Part of being alive really.  The joy with the pain, the good times and the bad.  It’s why they have you say “for better or worse” in your wedding vows.  Because it’s not ALL going to be “Better.”  But if we endure through the “Worse,” and come out still holding hands, that is the beauty of life together on this earth.  Only in heaven do we get the Joy and the Better without anything to mar it.


Thirty One 31 Weeks Pregnant



Thirty One 31 Weeks Pregnant


Some of the recent things your Daddy has been saying to you in the evenings….”It’s Beta, Beta, Beta!  It’s Beta-time!!!”  Sometimes he will tell you “good morning” and “wake up!” in an effort to get you to wake up and play with him.  Other times he will tell you “good night” and start snoring, also in an effort to get you to wake up, since at times it seems he talks to you and pokes around at you for ten minutes or so with no response, only to have you wake and start kicking the moment we start to fall asleep!

Daddy talking to Baby Beta

One evening this week he prayed that you would make an impact in the kingdom of God.  Every night this week he prays for you to grow strong and healthy.  Lately he has started praying for you and I both to have a good delivery.  Beta, I don’t think you could ask for a better Daddy.  You aren’t even here completely yet, and he is already crazy about you.

This weekend we finally got started on your nursery!  We cleared everything out of the room, and your Daddy worked really hard on the first stage – removing the wallpaper border, and painting white primer over the previously pink walls and ceiling.  Surprisingly, the border came off easily using our clothes steamer!  Then we used a bit of vinegar on the remaining little scraps until they easily rubbed off.  We were excited to avoid strong wallpaper stripping chemicals, and had all the border down in less than an hour!




When your Daddy primed over the paint, he discovered primer is pretty stinky stuff!  Your Grandmama took this photo of him wearing a respirator mask to keep out the fumes.  When I help paint later this week, I’ll be wearing the mask to protect you from the fumes.  Your Daddy actually helped paint this room pink many years ago when my family first moved into this house.  Now, he is painting it yet again.

I’m sure your Tia Priscilla will be sad to say goodbye to her pink room, but she is also happy to meet you and share a room with you.  Even if you are a girl, I wouldn’t have your room pink, so instead we selected a few different shades of grey and yellow.  This week I plan to paint some swatches on the wall to help us choose the exact shade.

In our Bradley birth classes this week, we discussed nutrition.  Our instructor lectured the poor couple who brought delectable homemade chocolate chip cookies for our shared snack, and insisted future snacks people bring be “nutritious!”  It was humorous this occurred on the week we discussed nutrition.

The research she presented (from Dr. Brewer) emphasized the importance of protein, calories and salt.  His studies found women in their third trimester who consumed seventy five grams of protein daily and 2,600 calories daily had less than 1% chance of developing pre-eclampsia, a condition dangerous to both mother and baby that usually results in pre-term induction or cesarean.

We have a chart to fill out all week long to help me remember to eat enough protein, calcium, green veggies, fats, and more.  Since I’ve been tracking my food intake most of this pregnancy, and trying to feed you nutritious food all along, this is relatively easy for me.  I hope when you arrive, your taste buds will already be acclimated to fruits, vegetables, natural fats, and healthy proteins like fish, chicken, beans, and eggs, since that’s mostly what I’ve been feeding you!

When my mom was pregnant with me, she and my dad were vegetarians temporarily, trying to conceive and grow the healthiest baby possible!  Now that I am an adult, they find it interesting that I prefer fruits and vegetables to meats, and am probably the most health-conscious eater of their children.  I guess you could say it worked!

By now, you weigh about three and a half pounds, and are about seventeen inches long!  You are growing so fast I am quickly running out of fruits and vegetables to use in my photos to represent you.  It is clear you are growing well, because my body keeps growing too.  This week I started having people ask if I was SURE there was only one of you.  Yes, only one, but hopefully a strong, healthy, good sized one!

Your eyes are completely open now when you are awake, and will close when you sleep.  Your irises can respond to light, dilating and contracting as needed.  Last night your Daddy tried shining a flashlight on you, but you barely flinched.  Shortly after he stopped though, you began moving all around, so perhaps he woke you from a doze!

Your major organs are all functioning, and will continue to mature until you are born.  Your lungs and digestive tract have developed quite a bit, and are almost completely mature.  Your immune system has also strengthened, although for your first year of life, most of your immunities will come from breastmilk.

Your hearing is also more refined.  A loud noise could make you jump (I haven’t noticed this happening yet).  You may already have musical preferences, and some people say you could move to the rhythm of music!  I’ve noticed at church when we have a lot of bass and drums in a song, you will move more frequently and with more energy.

Both sides of your family contain singers and musicians, my side especially so.  My paternal grandfather was a professional wedding and event singer.  My maternal grandmother could have been a professional opera singer with the voice she naturally has.  My mother, father, myself, and my sisters have all been singers and worship leaders.  Your Daddy has a pleasant voice that I especially love to hear join in when our family sings Christmas carols.

Scripture has SO much to say about music and singing.  Last year ago I preached a three-week series about worship, so it is hard to think about putting just a handful of verses here in my prayers for you this week.  I certainly hope and pray that you will love music. That you will love to sing and play music for Jesus.  That any musical talent you have, you know comes from Him, and is most deeply fulfilled when using it for Him.

“My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast;
   I will SING and make MUSIC.
Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre!
   I will awaken the dawn.
I will praise You, Lord, among the nations;
   I will SING of You among the peoples.
For great is Your love, reaching to the heavens;
   Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
   let Your glory be over all the earth.”  (Psalm 57:7-11)

“SING for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob!
Begin the MUSIC, strike the timbrel, play the melodious harp and lyre.”
(Psalm 81:1-2)

“Indeed, of Zion [the city of God ] it will be said,
   “This one and that one were born in her, and the Most High Himself will establish her.”
The LORD will write in the register of the peoples:
   “This one was born in Zion.”
As they make MUSIC they will SING, ‘All my fountains are in You.’ “
(Psalm 87:5-7)

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.  Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. SING and make MUSIC from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 
(Ephesians 5:15-20)



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