6 Months!

I'm 6 months along now so that means I'm entering my third trimester. (Scary!)

27 weeks

Scale: has gone up a total of 20 lbs. (6 lbs this month)

Belly growth: Gained 9 inches total (1 inch this month)

Jonesin' for: I don't think I'm having any strong consistent cravings. It's more like whatever sounds good at the moment.

Repulsed by: I'm really not having any unusual repulsions lately.

Symptoms:  My back pain has gotten a lot worse... it makes it hard to get comfortable. I've started to notice a little swelling. It's really not noticeable by looking at my hands or feet but my wedding rings are tight some days to the point where it's pretty tough to get them off.

Clothes: I'm only wearing maternity bottoms or bottoms with elastic waists. And I wear a combo of maternity tops and regular tops that are just longer... but now the regular tops have to be MUCH longer to work.

Bedtime: I can stay up later but I still prefer to be in bed early.

*Hollyn Faith* is: about 9 2/3 inches long head to rump and 15 1/4 inches in total length. She weighs just over 2 lbs.

Fun Fact: This past month Jeff preached his first sermon in the jr high and high school services at our church. While Jeff was rehearsing, we quickly learned that Hollyn loves to hear her daddy preach. Here's a video of Hollyn listening to the recording of his sermon.

Ugh...

It's not something that I really like to admit. I wish I could just walk around confidently in my own skin. But the truth is, I have a horrible self body image. I've always been very self conscious. Of course I could go on and on about experiences in my own life as well as just our society in general which has shaped my unhealthy view of myself, but I won't.

I always knew this was an issue for me but it hit me hard when I started serving as a leader for high school girls in our church and even harder when I found out I was having a daughter. I would never want my high school girls to feel so insecure about themselves and I certainly don't want my daughter to feel this way.

It's something I'm working on. But lets face it, being a hormonal prego, rapidly gaining weight and breaking out in acne is not making this easy.

Yesterday I had a complete breakdown. I had my 26 week doctor's appointment. My blood pressure was good and Hollyn's little heartbeat sounded great. But when the doctor came in, he was very concerned about the amount of sugar in my urine. He asked when and what I had eaten for lunch. (It was 2:00 and I had eaten a PBJ on whole wheat toast (organic PB and J so less sugar), chips and a glass of milk at 12:00). He immediately asked if I could go down stairs and take my blood glucose test right away. Then he mentioned that I had gained a lot of weight. (20lbs at 26 weeks... in range in my pregnancy books). He commented on how I had gained 8 of those pounds in four weeks and inquired if I was eating healthy. Then he told me to stay away from too many carbs and fatty foods. (REALLY??? Just what I needed. My doctor telling me I'm FAT!) And that was that. No time for questions. Just straight to get my test done.

I don't think he realized the damage of his comments. His words left me feeling extremely depressed and scrutinizing every bite I take. I've been trying to convince myself that he's just extra concerned about my weight because of its correlation with gestational diabetes (which I'm at a higher risk for). But I'm not easily convinced.

And to make matters worse, now I'm left waiting for test results which could tell me I have gestational diabetes... ugh.

Please pray for Hollyn's health... and mine.

The Name

So many people have been asking me how Jeff and I came up with the name Hollyn so I thought I would share how we found this sweet name.

I would say Jeff and I are both very picky when it comes to baby names. We both like original names. I can't speak for Jeff (although his name is common) but for me it stems from having such a common name for my generation. (I probably graduated with like 10 Katies!) I wanted my son or daughter to have an original name... but of course not something as wild as Apple! (No offense if your kid's name is Apple :)

Shortly after we found out we were pregnant, we started our baby name list. Of course, our selectiveness combined with difficulty agreeing on things was making it pretty tough to come to a decision. Surprisingly, we were able to agree on a few names that we both liked, mostly girl names. But honestly, there really weren't any sure winners.

We had both liked the name Holly but, for me, it was too short. One thing I've learned while talking with different people about baby names is that people either love or hate nicknames. I personally love nicknames! I find them endearing. (Sure, I'm probably a little biased considering my name is Kathryn and I go by Katie or Kate... and my sister's name is Kristen and she goes by Kristy or Kris). But I like the idea of having a proper "grown up" name (not that I hardly ever go by Kathryn) and nicknames. I guess I like having options. So needless to say, I just wasn't completely sold on Holly.

One day Kelsey told me she had found a name she thought I would like on a blog... Hollyn! I fell in love with it! Original, plus Holly would work as a nickname! The best part was that Jeff loved it too.

The middle name was surprisingly easy. We've always liked Grace for a middle name but I was pretty sure Hollyn's best friend was going to be Harper Grace. So Jeff threw the name Faith out there and we both loved it!

So that was that. Hollyn Faith Norman.