My Big Fat Belly - 16 Weeks

How far along: 16 weeks, 6 days

Symptoms: I’m a pretty happy girl these days :)  No major symptoms other than the increasing large fatness I see when I look down.

Maternity Clothes: I think I will definitely make it to week 18 but probably not after that.  I had to buy a maternity dress for my high school reunion this weekend, not really because I had to, but more because I wanted to.  I have a lot of pretty dresses that are flowy and fit right now, but I wanted something new for the reunion so I just went ahead and got one from A Pea in a Pod.  Most overpriced store I’ve ever seen by the way.

Weight Gain: Up to 7 1/2 pounds.  Doc said my weight gain was great (we had our 16 week appointment Friday, July 15th), so that made me feel good.  I’m so nervous that I’m gaining too much too fast but she says I’m doing it very gradually and exactly how I should be.  And if you think about it, I’m only a few weeks away from being halfway through the pregnancy and have still gained less than 10 pounds when I’m supposed to gain 25-30.  I hear most of the weight comes on during the 2nd trimester because during the 1st, the baby just isn’t big enough to gain weight and by the 3rd trimester, you’re all baby and there’s not enough room to eat large meals and you get full much quicker.  Hopefully this is the case!

Sleep: I’m estimating that by week 20 I’ll have to buy the maternity sleeping pillow thingy (not real sure what it’s called).  It’s so comfortable to have pillows when I have to sleep on my side and by the time the tummy gets bigger, I’m fairly certain it will be more of a necessity than something I just consider comfortable.

Cravings/Aversions:  I have noticed something this week.  I wouldn’t consider it an “aversion” but it’s very unlike me.  Pre-pregnancy, I LOVED ice cream.  LOVED LOVED LOVED.  However, now, I don’t want it all the time.  I still have it every now and again so that’s why I don’t consider it an “aversion”, but it is seriously very strange that I never really want ice cream anymore.

Baby Size: At the beginning of week 16, Won Ton was the size of an avocado.  Limbs keep growing and now the neck is strong enough for the head to be upright instead of having his/her chin tucked into their chest.  This week starts when some moms begin feeling movements.  In my mind, there are two different types of movement.  One is the undeniable kicks to the side that you never think is anything other than your child kicking you or giving you a massive high five.  The other is little “flutters” that you get when the baby moves from side to side but isn’t really kicking.  I feel the flutters.  And they’re rare.  It usually happens at night when I’m laying in bed and can feel it better because I’m sitting still.  From what I understand, right now the baby’s legs and arms aren’t long enough to touch the outside of the uterine wall and that’s why I can’t feel undeniable kicks yet.  Over the next few weeks as the baby’s legs and arms get longer, I will start to feel them.  Most moms (according to baby websites) feel movement anywhere from 16-21 weeks. 

Gender: Less than two weeks people!!!  Our appointment is Friday, July 29th and our gender reveal party is July 31st.  CANNOT WAIT!

What I’m Looking Forward To: Ummm…see above.

Bump Pic for the Week:

Not my favorite pic at all, but it’ll do.  This was taken at 16 weeks, 5 days.  As much as I love the flowy dresses and shirts, some of them (like the one above) actually make me look bigger than I am and it kind of bugs me.  That’s why when I’m 18 weeks, I’ll probably go on a cute maternity clothes shopping spree :) 

My Crazy Love Challenge

So in our Sunday School class, we are reading the book “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan.  This week we had to read chapter 4 and let me just tell you, chapter 4 hit me hard.  After reading it, I immediately came up with a challenge for myself. 

Chapter 4 is about lukewarm Christians.  Francis gave numerous examples of what a lukewarm Christian does and they way a lukewarm Christian thinks.  If you read all of these examples of the profile of the lukewarm and you honestly think you are not guilty of any of it, you should pray about it and see what God thinks.  Because honestly, I don’t believe that any of us can escape each of these tests with flying colors and never second guess our own intentions.  So my challenge for myself is to work on each of these definitions of a lukewarm Christian to make sure that I am consciously trying to be the person God intended me to be.  Here’s Francis Chan’s definitions of a lukewarm profile (note that these are direct sayings from his book, I have not edited them at all):

• Lukewarm people attend church fairly regularly.  It is what is expected of them, what they believe “good Christians” do, so they go.
• Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church…as long as impinge on their standard of living.  If they have a little extra and it’s easy and safe to give, they do so.  After all, God loves a cheerful giver right?
• Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over what is right when they are in conflict.  They desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they care more about what people think of their actions (like church attendance and giving) than what God thinks of their hearts and lives.
• Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin.  They don’t genuinely hate sin and aren’t truly sorry for it; they’re merely sorry because God is going to punish them.  Lukewarm people don’t really believe that this new life Jesus offers is better than the old sinful one.
• Lukewarm people are moved by stories of people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act.  They assume such action is for “extreme” Christians, not average ones.  Lukewarm people call “radical” what Jesus expected of all His followers.
• Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends.  They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion.
• Lukewarm people gauge their morality or “goodness” by comparing themselves to the secular world.  They feel satisfied that while they aren’t as hard-core for Jesus as so-and-so, they are nowhere as horrible as they guy down the street.
• Lukewarm people say they love Jesus, and He is, Indeed a part of their lives.  But only a part.  They give Him a section of their time, their money, and their thoughts, but He isn’t allowed to control their lives.
• Lukewarm people love God, but they do not love Him with all their hearts, soul and strength.  They would be quick to assure you that they try to love God that much, but that sort of total devotion isn’t really possible for the average person; it’s only for the pastors and missionaries and radicals.
• Lukewarm people love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves.  Their love of others is typically focused on those who love them in return, like family, friends,  and other people they know and connect with.  There is little love left over for those who cannot love them back, much less for those who intentionally slight them, whose kids are better athletes than theirs, or with whom conversations are awkward or uncomfortable.  Their love is highly conditional and very selective, and generally comes with strings attached.
• Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money, and energy they are willing to give.
• Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven.  Daily life is mostly focused on today’s to-do list, this week’s schedule, and next month’s vacation.  Rarely, if ever, do they intently consider the life to come.  Regarding this, C.S. Lewis writes, “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next.  It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.”
• Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor.  They are quick to point out, “Jesus never said money is the root of all evil, only that the love of money is.”  Untold numbers of lukewarm people feel “called” to minister to the rich; very few feel “called” to minister to the poor.
• Lukewarm people do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty.  They want to do the bare minimum, to be “good enough” without it requiring too much of them.
• Lukewarm people are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control.  This focus on safe living keeps them from sacrificing and risking for God.
• Lukewarm people feel secure because they attend church, made a profession of faith at age twelve, were baptized, come from a Christian family, vote Republican, or live in America.  Just as the prophets in the Old Testament warned Israel that they were not safe just because they lived in the land of Israel, so we are not safe just because we wear the label “Christian” or because some people persist in calling us a “Christian nation”.
• Lukewarm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to.  They don’t have to trust God if something unexpected happens-they have their savings account.  They don’t need God to help them-they have their retirement plan in place.  They don’t depend on God on a daily basis-their refrigerators are full and, for the most part, they are good in health.  The truth is, their lives wouldn’t look much different i f they suddenly stopped believing in God.
• Lukewarm people probably drink and swear less than the average, but besides that, they really aren’t very different from your typical unbeliever.  They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn’t be more wrong.

Seems like a lot doesn’t it?  Did any of it apply to you?  Chances are, it did.  I challenge you, my incredibly awesome readers, to pick the one that you slack the most on, the one category in which you are truly lukewarm and pray about it.  Fix it.  Talk to God about it.  Pray that He presents you with the opportunity to be more than lukewarm.

Cooper Francis Cowley

Cooper is finally here!!  I guess I shouldn’t say “finally”.  Jen’s due date wasn’t until July 20th.  But she’s been 3cm dilated and 80% effaced for over a week now so we were sure he was going to come early.  When I woke up this morning at 6:30am, I had 7 missed calls and several texts.  As soon as I saw my phone, I knew she’d gone into labor, I didn’t even have to look at who the calls were from.  Apparently everyone in our family goes into labor in the middle of the night. 

As soon as I woke up I called Jeff (by the way, for those of you that don’t know, Jennifer is my sister and Jeff is her husband, they live in Tampa, FL and this is their first child) and he said she was actually taking a break from pushing.  So at 6:30 she was pushing already.  When I hadn’t heard a peep from anyone at 10:30am, I started getting very nervous.  Come to find out, she labored and pushed for FIVE HOURS but Cooper just wasn’t wanting to come out.  His head was crooked in the canal and they couldn’t get him out after five hours of trying so they did a c-section and he arrived at 11:36am EST. 

Can I just say…PROPS to my sister for laboring for five long hours (in which the epidural was not always working) and then having to have a c-section.  She’s my hero.  Cooper was 7 pounds, 15 ounces and 19 inches long when he was born.  As you can see, he was born with a head FULL of black hair too :) 

God has been so awesome to our family guys.  For real.  With Jennifer getting pregnant and having a healthy baby boy and my sister-in-law (also named Jennifer) pregnant with twin girls right now and due in September and my own little Won Ton due in December…the Lord is truly smiling upon our family and we are so grateful for his blessings.  Please keep Jen in your prayers as she recovers from the surgery and also pray that her and Jeff remain patient with Cooper and with each other in this new transition into parenthood.  We all know that newborns can be frustrating when they wake up 12 times a night and you can’t figure out why they’re crying.  So just pray that they remain patient and always know how truly blessed they are. 

I LOVE MY NEPHEW!!!