Baby Heyman is on the move!!

I meant to make this post a few nights ago (Sunday night, 8/24, to be exact), but I've had so much going on trying to get back in the swing of things with school that it never got done. Why Sunday night? BECAUSE I FELT THE BABY MOVE!! It was the first real time that I've felt the baby, and I haven't really had the sensation much since, but it was incredible. Even though I keep telling myself that maybe it was just my imagination, the more I think about it, and the more I describe it to H, the more certain I am of what I felt. It was Sunday night and I had this horrific headache, so I was lying down trying to relieve some of the pain. I had a pillow propped between my legs, and the very top of it was just barely touching my lower stomach. Nothing was happening, except that I was about to drift off to sleep, and then all of a sudden I felt something which resembled a soft blow from an "internal" rubber mallet, twice in succession, rolling across my abdomen, approximately 3 to 4 inches from my pelvic bone. It didn't hurt or anything, but it was jarring enough that it woke me up and I called H. He was so excited and he kept saying "well what else could it be?!". I guess he's right. It's just that I've heard it described so many ways, and it didn't feel like any of those things, it felt quite different. The books I have describe it as "little bubbles" or "similar to gas", but that is not how I would describe it at all. As you can see, a rubber mallet seems much more appropriate. H thought that was funny, too. He said only I would come up with that type of description. Still, I keep waiting and waiting to feel it again, but I think that being so superconscious of it makes it harder to perceive. That sounds ridiculous, right, but it's not. I think I perceived it because I was lying there empty minded and not "trying" to feel it, and all of my preconceived notions of what it should have felt like weren't floating around in my head. Either way, it happened, and I loved it, and I can't wait to start feeling it again. The other exciting thing--if you want to call it that--is my ever-growing belly, which is now most certainly starting to look pregnant. Again, I should have posted the photo last night, but I was EXHAUSTED from a very full day on campus....this working-while-pregnant thing is really going to start to irritate me, I can see it already. So here's the picture:

I'm sure it's noticeable how tired and worn out I was, because even my face is totally colorless. Still, hearing that baby's thump-thump before bed really made it all worth it, even as tired and achy as I was.

Today was another exhausting day, but not nearly as stressful, since I basically spent the entire day at home and then went shopping with H this afternoon. We visited a few maternity stores, even though I have to admit that I'm not quite ready to give into it yet. The Tummy Sleeve is making it a lot easier to stay in the clothes I have now, but eventually (like probably in the next two weeks), I'm going to have to throw in the towel and just buy some maternity stuff, especially pants...this zipper business is really killing me.

And just one more note: tomorrow I visit the lab at my doctor's office to have a Quad screening test, which is basically a blood test which attempts to determine (not 100%) if the baby has Down syndrome, Cystic Fibrosis, Tay Sachs disease or Spina Bifida. I'm a bit nervous, but not too much, but please keep me in your thoughts and prayers, and I'll report back when the results come in, probably around Friday or Monday of next week. Hopefully, and prayerfully, it will all be fine and healthy. We're believing it will be...