Just a little pregnancy update one day early, for those of you who want to know how things are progressing with Abby Jo. 

From Babycenter.com:

The network of nerves in your baby’s ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner’s as you chat with each other. He’s inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he’s born and takes that first gulp of air. And he’s continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches  from head to heel. 

I am feeling generally well these days. The nausea has almost disappeared, so I don’t have to take Zofran on a daily basis anymore. My main complaint is that I am ginormous, and that makes me not able to fit into my clothes or expect to always be able to get up or stand up straight on my own. My back and hips kill me. It’s hard for someone of my size to suddenly have to support such enormous girth right in the front of them. So, yes, that is my main complaint.

It’s hard to get these little people into the world. Totally worth it, though. However, if it lasted much longer than 40 weeks, I might have to think a little harder about my role in populating the earth.  ;)

Twenty-one weeks! We are on the downhill side now. I’m so glad. Abigail is growing and healthy, and is about 10 1/2 inches long now. She moves around and kicks me a lot…mostly in the bladder, as of late. I’m getting quite large, but I’m still resisting succumbing to maternity clothes for the most part. A rubber band extends my regular jeans a little bit so I don’t have to button them, and they work just fine. About half of my shirts are still big enough to cover up my belly. I know it’s a futile struggle, but I am not going to wear maternity clothes until I have to. Plus, I sold or gave away a ton of my maternity clothes after Owen, because I didn’t think I’d be having any more babies. The longer I can go without wearing them, the less of them I have to buy.

School is almost over for me. I have, I think, three more statistics classes and two more Lit classes. My Lit class is on Thursday, so I get out of one class on account of Thanksgiving. I had a big statistics exam last night, which I passed, thank God! Statistics is hard. I don’t like it, and I’m happy as can be to get a B. I have no grand ideas of getting an A in this class. I hope for a B, but I wouldn’t even cry over a C. I’ve never got a C in a class before. I think I’ve only gotten two B’s. Statistics has quickly lowered my academic standards, though.

After this semester is over, I will have a very long break from school for a while. I will take this Spring semester off, because Abby will be born before it’s over. I’ve had a couple of girls in my class tell me that they tried to take classes the semester their babies were born, and it was a big mistake. I just have no desire to deal with homework instead of being able to relax and enjoy my new baby. I won’t take summer classes, because that would just be crazy. Chris is planning on going to Fort Jackson this summer for the second half of CHBOLC, and there’s no way I will be doing a new baby, three other kids, no husband, AND homework. That’s just insane. I’m going to take the Fall semester off, as well, because I will be starting kindergarten with Elijah. It’s a lot more labor intensive than the first grade work Kyra is doing this year. While she works mostly on her own, I’ll have to be teaching Elijah how to read, etc. Lots of work for me. So, I will be foregoing the fall semester as well. As far as the 2010 spring semester, I don’t know. I’ll see when it gets here.

Chris is on the downhill side of his seminary experience. He’s almost through with what the Army requires. He should fulfill those requirements at the end of the upcoming Spring semester. He should also have a much lighter class load next semester, since he took five classes this semester. After that, he will be going ahead with becoming a Chaplain, and just take one class at a time while he finishes his M-Div. The remaining classes will mostly be Greek and Hebrew classes.

All that said, I’m really looking forward to less homework around the Harmon household. One benefit of not going to school this spring is I will have a few months to sort through stuff and get things in better shape around here before Abby Jo makes her arrival. Lots of things have gone neglected while I’ve been preoccupied with school. I have boxes and boxes of clothes the kids have outgrown that need to be dealt with, closets that beg to be sorted through, etc. I’d like to take care of that before I’m so huge just getting off the couch is too much work.

Anyway, this post is incredibly boring, and so I will end it. Maybe my blog will be more fun again in a few weeks. There’s always hope, right?

I’m so very excited. My big ultrasound was yesterday. Chris and Amy accompanied me to my appointment, and I was overjoyed to find out we’re having our second daughter…Abigail Joanna.

Abby looked perfect. A healthy little girl.

Amy took a photo of Chris and I before the u/s started.

Amy Jo and I in the waiting room. We forgot to get a picture of her and I together in the u/s room, because she was videoing the whole experience for me. It was so great to have my best friend with me for such an important day.

The kids were all very excited when we came home and told them it was a girl. Everyone wanted a girl this time around, so there were lots of happy faces. Kyra is very excited to be having a baby sister. Amy videoed their reaction the the news, and I will try to post that sometime soon. I still have to upload it to my computer.

Click HERE to go see some of my Facebook photos.

How your baby’s growing: (from babycenter.com)
Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She’s busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she’s likely to move away from the beam. There’s not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby’s a boy or a girl!

Everything is going well with my pregnancy. I’ve been a little nauseous the past couple of days, but nothing like before I got on the medicine I’m on. I’ve been extremely tired. Going to bed early, sleeping late, and still needing naps whenever I can fit them in. My extremely busy schedule makes the fatigue much worse, but things will slow down when the semester ends.

I had my second doctor’s appointment on Monday. It went well. I got to hear the baby’s heartbeat. It was 155 bpm. It’s always so good to hear the heartbeat. My ultrasound is scheduled for Nov 10th. Hopefully, I’ll find out the gender then.

From babycenter.com:

How your baby’s growing:

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby’s fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won’t be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby’s brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

I’m feeling so much better with the nausea. The medicine they have me on has helped tremendously. I’m finding that I stay tired, and I really crash after class on the two nights I have school. After Choices and class on Wed and class on Thursday, I’m completely drained on Friday morning. Unfortunately for me, today was the beginning of the kids going to school at our church’s homeschool co-op all day on Friday. I had to be up at seven. It nearly killed me. I came home and went to bed. I slept for three hours, and I still feel totally drained.

I talked to a nurse on the phone yesterday, and she said I need to try to eat more and gain a little weight. I am majorly showing already, but I am still down five pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight, due to how sick I was. The medication I’m on seems to take away my appetitite. I’m trying to eat more. Like I said, I’m already showing. To prove it, I’m going to post a belly pic. Apparently, I’m like that this time around.