23 Weeks!

23 weeks and counting…

Still in awe. Still hasn’t fully sunk in. And I have decided I do not want it to ever fully sink in – when it sinks in, that means I wish for time to just pass. I do not want a minute of this all to pass by without taking time to think and be thankful for the journey God has us on, to create a little Sterk family.

Each week marks one week closer than we have ever been. Each week marks a week stepped in faith, that this child, has been given as a gift, and we have the privilege of caring for her.

My body: Each move she makes, I try to quickly put my hand on my stomach, as these movements were something I only ever dreamed of feeling. Every move is a reminder of God’s grace. Every move stops my mind and turns it towards what is happening inside. Every move, I just cherish! I still feel incredible, which I do not take for granted! And of course, as she continues to grow, so does my stomach, and it’s a beautiful thing!

Exercise: I still try to exercise as often as I can! With winter officially here a month early, I have detoured my routine to inside on the elliptical. Dan and I still take walks at night when we can, but exercising for 30ish minutes 4-5 times a week is still ideal for me (per doctor’s orders as well). I do have to take a few more breaks, but I think our little girl loves it when I do exercise because afterwards she is just a moving like crazy!

Food: Maybe I am not a typical pregnant person, but I do not CRAVE foods like most pregnant people do. Yes, I still really enjoy eating cereal, macaroni and cheese, and really anything with cheese, but I can go a day without them if I have to. This farmer’s daughter isn’t a diehard for meats right now (which is REALLY strange), though I got chicken wings at a restaurant recently and they were not too bad! That is the first chicken I have had in a LONG time (I think since July). Really though, I will eat anything, but do not feel I need to eat 10 pounds of it!

Planning: We have registered! We decided to just register at Target since we do not have many store options close to us, and we found most of what we needed from there anyways! It was rather fun (felt like a little kid as Dan would pick up an item and say “here, scan this…”)! Who knew there were so many options out there when it comes to baby items, but who knew having a child would require so much? At first maybe we were a tad overwhelmed, but now we are just PUMPED! Excited to live life with this baby girl in our life! She has no idea how excited we are and how much love is built up for her, but hopefully she is figuring that out already :).

Baby: At probably a foot long now, I am sure she is well over a pound now, seeing how almost 2 weeks ago she weighed 1 lb. 2 oz.! She is a mover in the morning when I eat breakfast, also at about 10pm she gets a 2nd, 3rd or 5th wind in her and just has a party in there! Often when I lay down to go to sleep, she likes to remind her mommy that she is alive and well and I LOVE. EVERY. MINUTE. OF. IT. As I lay there falling asleep, Dan has a chance then too, to feel her healthy body just a kicking and we can just lay there and dream about our life with our little girl. We were told by our doctor that she is like a contortionist because at one point, she had her foot WAY up by her head, so I am not surprised to feel her moving often :).

Little does she know, how much joy she has already brought to our life! Little does she know how much our thoughts revolve around her. Little does she know how much hope God has given us through her. Little does she know that her life was planned out from the beginning of time! Little does she know that our arms are wide open and ready for her (though hopefully she stays in the oven until March!)

If you could say a little prayer for her this Friday… I have to have a fetal ECHO done on her in another city. Everything is okay, but the doctors just want to make sure that she does not have any congenital heart disease issues that are noticeable at this point. If so, they will have me deliver in Minneapolis. Of course we pray her little heart is as healthy as can be, but we know this is just one more step towards God bringing her into this world, in the way He chooses. Not nervous, but it is an hour long test (or more) so just praying that her little heart is still just fluttering away!