Halfway point

Yesterday officially marked 20 weeks. Can't believe we are halfway through this pregnancy now!  Here's the latest happenings:

- I started to feel movement at 18 weeks.  I think I may have been feeling it before then, but by 18 weeks I was positive that all those little flutters and pops were the real deal.  I sometimes can't keep from myself from giggling when I feel him move, because it is so amazing.

- We had the "20 week ultrasound" this past Thursday (less than 20 weeks, I  know).  They had  already received my results from the 1st & 2nd trimester prenatal screenings;  all negative.  Everything was measuring just as it should.  And no "surprise" gender change: it's definitely still a boy. However, baby was being extremely stubborn and wouldn't move for them to be able to see all the views of the heart that they wanted.  They couldn't even get any good looks at his face because he was keeping his head tucked down at his chest.  So we had to schedule another u/s for the 29th.  No complaints here! The more we can look at baby boy the better! :)

- There is definitely no denying I have a baby bump now.  More people at work have started asking, and saying they had been noticing for a while but hesitant to ask.  It's pretty exciting!  The funny thing is I still haven't told my students, and they haven't noticed.  One of my co-workers said that maybe they have noticed, but are too scared to say anything.  Nope, not these kids.  With deficits in social skills, they would definitely blurt it out if they had any suspicions of my bump.  However, the student who would be most likely to go "OMG YOU HAVE A BABY IN YOUR BELLY!" has not said that, but twice had told me that I really needed to "get a child" so that I won't be lonely when my husband goes to work....And then proceeded to try to get the rest of the class to vote on whether or not I should have a child.  Of course, I turned that into a teachable moment on why it is not appropriate to ask other people about having kids, or to tell people that they should have kids (or especially to take a vote on it). Still had me and my assistant cracking up though.

- After having so people notice I'm pregnant, and being nearly at the halfway point, on Friday evening I decided that it was time to come out of the closet on Facebook.  DH was really against it at first, saying that I always got mad when other people announced on FB.  I explained that I did not get angry at pregnancy announcements themselves, even though there have been times I couldn't help but feel a little bitter, especially if it was announced in such a way/so early that made it obvious that it was quite easy for them to conceive or that they take it for granted.  What makes me angry is when people announce/update with complaints (especially of weight gain) or give any other sense of ungratefulness.  So what we wanted to do was share our joy, yet at the same time acknowledge those who may still be struggling and share hope that they will be blessed someday, someway, somehow.  I am not joking when I tell you that we deliberated for hours on what to post (oh, how we put so much thought into social networking these days),  and finally decided to say:
"It is such a miracle to feel a human being moving and kicking inside of me.  I wish everybody was able to experience this, and my heart breaks for those who never can.  But God has a wealth of miracles in store for everyone, even when we don't know what his exact plan will be.  I can't wait for [DH] and I to meet our son in just 20 weeks and see what other wonders God will work in our lives."
We got an enormous amount of responses.  I just hope I still did not unintentionally cause any bitterness, because it was not that long ago for me; I have not forgotten.