Wisdom Gained (28 weeks)

Weather important or not....here are a few bits of wisdom gained by me through the past few weeks of this pregnancy

1. The value of toilet paper roll size.....

I never understood why some people make a big fuss over the size of a roll of toilet paper. I would just get annoyed when someone would buy the HUGE rolls that dont fit on the holder in the bathroom, but other than that I never thought twice.

Now with as much as Annaka decides to kick my bladder or just the fact that there is not room for my bladder to get very big without hurting, has driven me to the bathroom more often. This has led me to the realization that we were changing the roll of toilet paper a lot! Now I see the value of getting a larger roll!

2. Belly Button Rings.

Why in the world did I find it so important/cool to get my belly button pierced in college? I guess I enjoyed having it at the time, but now it is a stretchy mess. Many have told me that it will be back to normal afterwards but I am in doubt right now.

3. Opinionated little Annaka....

She loves to listen to music...especially Bethany Dillon. I turn on a mix of music from I-tunes and put one earphone in my ear and the other against by belly. I have noticed that she loves it and even begins dancing around in there whenever Bethany Dillon comes on. I thought it was just that she liked music at first, but then noticed a pattern of her dancing whenever that specific song comes on. :)

She so graciously lets me know when she is hungry by kicking and squirming. I hope this is not a pre-stage of a temper tantrum.

She likes to sit on the right side of my belly at night. I dont know if it is to be closer to her daddy's voice as he reads to her each night or if she just likes the right side of the womb better.

3. How much I love food.

I love food. Everything tastes so much better now. Guacamole and Hummus on carrot sticks are my new favorite snack! Its not a jumbled mess of tastes in my mouth...I promise! I can taste each of the three and they taste wonderful!


4. On a serious note, Gestational Diabetes

I have learned last Friday that I have gestational diabetes. What does this mean? That was the million dollar question over the weekend as I sat in tears, hungry, not knowing what I could eat. I am only at 28 weeks and the Midwives said I am measuring at 31 weeks.

Going to a Perinatalogist on Monday helped answer questions, calm me down, and give us a chance to see our little Annaka on a 4D sonogram! I go back to get the finger pricker machine and to learn how to test blood sugar.

Its amazing how the Lord can really turn fear into confidence that He is in control. Just another step in this process of Him forming little Annaka and preparing her for her arrival. I just have to be careful now. Eating a brownie or a bowl of cereal is not worth the risks that are involved for her. (I have to keep reminding myself of that as well)

Im sure there is more, but I will stop for now. I feel I am constantly learning new things every day....so this list could go on and on and on.

(Yes both of these pictures were taken the same day as the one at the begining....)

Spring Treasures (27 weeks)

Annaka Zayn is at 27 weeks now! She is moving, flipping, and kicking like a gold metal gymnast. Yesterday was another first. I was laying on my back and looking at my belly, we saw her move. We could see her move from side to side and then as we stared a bit longer, we saw a definite kick. (Or jab...we could not differentiate if it was a foot kicking or a fist jabbing) Amazing to know, and now literally see more evidence of this little life growing inside. This really is the cool part of pregnancy!

In honor of the first day of Spring we are wearing a shirt that looks like a tablecloth:)

You have heard the phrase "One man's trash is another man's treasure"... well, here it is! I was at the office and happened to sit in this ragged blue chair while waiting for the bathroom to open up. I sat with my arms on the arm rests and began rocking back and forth. Man this chair is comfortable I thought. My head rests perfectly on the back, and then it hit me....this chair rocks AND swivels! We had been dreaming about a glider and ottoman but this chair was wonderful. When I asked about the chair I was told to please take it off their hands. They were looking to get rid of it because they already had another chair to replace it! Now all the little beauty needs is a slipcover and we are set! I have even been taking the basket of kids books (you will see in the photo beside the chair) putting a spare pillow on it and using it as a footrest/ottoman.

The best part is that it was free!

It really was a beauty in her hay day....check out the buttons on the bottom and the green accents. I will be sure to put a picture up when we get a slipcover:)

One last note...Go KU...we won the first round...only a few more until we have another championship title:)

Plethora of Pictures, Food and 26 weeks

This is my new favorite food. Or maybe I should say Annaka's new favorite food! I have enjoyed it so much, it makes the top of the blog today:) Chicken salad made with plane yogurt, honey, grapes and apples. mmmm. I honestly thought I would NEVER eat chicken again seeing as it was the first thing that made me sick and I could not eat it, smell it or even think of it until the past three weeks.

(Today...at 26 weeks)

These past four or five weeks or so have been the best weeks of the pregnancy! I have not felt sick at all, have been able to eat what I want...which now includes chicken as well...and people are recognizing that I am pregnant and not simply gaining weight or liking to rub my belly.


Our appointment Tuesday with the midwives was an interesting one as well. We found out that I have gained about as much weight in the past four weeks as I have the entire first half of the pregnancy! Whoa....not expecting news like that. It definitely stopped me in my tracks! Midwife Kathy told us that the baby is measuring bigger than expected as well. So, either we are having a HUGE kid...or we will be getting to meet little Annaka early. (I'll let you guess which one I am hoping for)


So I guess the moral of this weeks story is.......

When you almost double your weight gain in four weeks....

You must change eating habits to this--->


Which is not quite as much fun as ice cream and mini powdered sugar donuts. (Yes, im a carb queen)

We also met with our friend and Doula, Heather afterward. She is great and talking with her has made Clint and I even more excited! Heather had her little Avy at the Birth Center last year and has assisted several births there and at
local hospitals. Hopefully we will have a normal birth at the Birth Center, but if anything were to go wrong and we would have to go to a hospital, I am glad Heather has the experience dealing with both locations.

(Check out DONA.org if you dont know what a doula is....I didnt at first either)

(I am embarrased to put this picture up seeing as the second it was snapped, the shower curtain fell, but its the only one I have for 25 weeks)

















Sorry, I have not posted pictures in a while....This last one is a picture of 24 weeks. It was my last week in the office as well. (Praise the Lord!) I am now working at home for two months, and will quit working in May. That will give me a month or so to get ready for being a mom.

We think we have it!!!!

Welp, we think we've got it! After months of collaboration and thought....and not agreeing on any names, its settled. We came across this name a while back, but for some reason did not realized we were actually agreeing! When we came across it again last week we both looked at each other and it clicked!

Annaka is a Hebrew name meaning "Grace of God"
Zayn is Arabic for "beautiful"

so Annaka Zayn Bauman it is:)

Thank you for your suggestions!

Name Suggestions....

We need your help. I thought finding a name we both agreed on would be one of the most difficult things we encountered in our marriage. We tend to like the opposite or different variations of a name. For example...Clint loves the name Elle and I love the name Ella. We both are not willing to budge to the other form of the same name though!

Tonight as we were randomly looking at baby names online, we found one we agree on. It is actually a name we had discussed earlier on, but for some reason never went back to it. It begins with A and is three syllables. (No, its not Addison though I am holding out that someday he will agree on that one for one of our children) Paired with our last name, we really need a one syllable middle name. Of course Clint points out the fact that Elle and Scout (two of his favorite names) are one syllable:)

Do you have any suggestions? We are compiling a list so please suggest away!

24 Weeks and Counting:)

I have been searching online to find when the third trimester begins. Some say as early as 24 weeks, and one said as late as 30 weeks. Any way you look at it, our little girl is growing like crazy.

I feel like I have doubled in size the past two weeks, have trouble getting comfortable to sleep, and have still not quite figured out this eating thing. For so long I could not eat anything...then on to random foods....then the hunger struck a few weeks ago...and now, I eat half a side salad and feel like I have eaten a thanksgiving feast! There is just no room for food to go in. Our little girl is taking up all the room:)

The thing that has been so amazing recently is how she moves! I feel like she does barrel rolls and flips mostly, but when she settles into one position, she kicks. Now her kicks can be felt pretty good from the outside so Clint gets to enjoy it as well. He jokes that we should name her Mia after Mia Hamm the soccer player.

It really is a feeling that is so alien it makes me laugh! We were in staff meeting at work when I was sitting with my hands clasped, resting them on top of my growing belly. She must not have liked it so much, or thought it would be funny to claim her space and began kicking my hands so hard I jumped! I began laughing out loud! Its a good thing a director with a great sense of humor was speaking about his fields in Europe and Africa. He tells fun stories and everyone just thought I was laughing at something he said:)

A friend from church had her baby Monday. We went to visit them yesterday. She looks amazing, sitting up and beautiful after a c-section and he is an amazingly handsome little fella. I love how he is so tiny (well, to me a 6 lb baby is tiny) and yet each feature is so clearly defined and perfect. Incredible.

I cannot wait to see our little girl, but for now I am really enjoying this pregnancy thing and am happy just feeling her flip and move.

Outflow of Her Heart

Our time with the ultrasound technician last week got me thinking. She was very patient and caring with us, showing us everything she could possibly find. She took the time to show us the kidneys, the diaphragm, brain, and every thing you could possibly imagine about our little girls heart. She pointed out the four chambers, arteries or direction or something I don't really remember. One thing she pointed out several times was the a picture that showed the 'outflow of the heat'. She told us it was a great picture showing that our little girl has a strong, great, outflow of the heart. She went on to explain how this is when the blood goes from the heart to the lungs and will be essential to our little girls livelihood.

As I was driving into work today, I was praying for our little girl. Praying that the Lord would not only protect her and keep her strong as she is developing and preparing for this world. But that He would be molding and developing her heart and personality to glorify Him. Then I began connecting the two thoughts. I pray our little girl will come to know the Joy of the Lord early in life and that the 'outflow of her heart' will be pure Joy. Joy that shows the Lord to everyone she meets. That she will truly glorify Him.


I am very thankful for ultrasounds:) This week has been a great week of bonding with our baby now that know she is a little girl and can start talking about details and such. I think that we even came close to picking out her name.....but that will have to come in another post.


For now, 22 weeks has been great:)

21 weeks part two...

She's A Girl!!!!!!

We had our first (and only) ultrasound yesterday and found out our little baby Bauman is a girl! I was the only one who guessed girl. Clint, my mother, Karen, a lady who came to buy some of our furniture, everyone was strongly saying they were thinking we were having a boy. I guess we can just leave that to a mothers intuition :0) (or simply the fact I was terrified of the possibility of having a little boy and not knowing what to do!)

Our ultrasound technician was amazing. She used to work in a hospital that specialized in high risk pregnancy and had a great NICU, therefore she spent almost an hour showing us EVERYTHING. (Many of which we did not really even understand but take her word on). Her conclusion was that everything looks great, healthy and strong. Our little girl was kicking me like crazy the whole time! You can see in her debut picture below that her legs are extended kicking. What an action shot.

This second picture confirms her BIG feet. (Just like her parents) I have big feet for a girl, and Clint has big feet for a guy....therefore she had no chance of anything otherwise.
There are so many things flooding my mind now. What will she look like? Will she have red, curly 'Annie' hair like I did or will she be a toe head blond like Clint was? Will she have freckles?

Tuesday we went to a friends house for dinner. They have a little girl who just turned two. She had blond ringlet curls and had quite the cute personality. From stories my mother has told me, she seemed a lot like me when I was younger. Half way through the night, she was tapping Clint's knee and asking him to pick her up. He was going through alphabet magnets with her, and then swinging her in circles. Seeing this melted my heart and really made me want to have a little girl! Clint is going to be one amazing Daddy:)

I could go on and on but should probably stop for now. We are thankful to the Lord that our little girl is healthy and strong.

(This last picture did not work so well....but here it is anyway!)

P.S. Now I dont have to worry about changing the color of my blog page!

21 Weeks Part One

Part one is basically just the pictures of us (baby and I) at 21 weeks. Part two will come tomorrow... :o)

This week signified another big milestone....I am now no longer just bearing each day nausious, but have some more relief! I am feeling a bit better and am now really enjoying this! It is quite an alien feeling to have someone moving inside you...feeling kicks and jabs...enjoying having a shared space with the baby. From what I hear, it may not be so enjoyable in a few months when the baby begins using my "bladder as a trampoline and my rib cage as a punching bag" (Thanks Karen for the quote). I also broke down and really got some maternity clothes. There is no chance of hiding now.


Most of you already know we moved last weekend. We are house sitting for some friends which has also brought on an added responsibility of dog sitting. This is quite a new thing for me. Clint, Taylor and Jess have all had dogs before and are naturals but it is going to take some work on my end. I have to now be responsible and think about feeding him and letting him out. Its probably good preparation for having a child as well. (amazing how I can turn everything into a lesson on having a kid) Sox and I got off to a rough start when the day our friends left, I found him up on the top floor of the house eating one of the baby's stuffed animals! Needless to say, it took me a few days to warm up to him again...dont worry we are friends again now. Check out the dog's blog site;

http://missingmysox.blogspot.com/



I promise tomorrow's post will be much more exciting. I just wanted to get the pictures up tonight.

Whoa! Here we go!

I know I just posted last night, but another first just happened! Tonight I was sitting on the couch leaning forward to use the computer on the coffee table. I felt a definite kick or jab. A few weeks ago I began feeling specific flutters...knowing it was the baby. This time it was different. As I felt my little baby bump I pressed in the same area the kick came from....and the child kicked again! I called Clint over....and he did the same thing. Each time one of us would press on our baby bump, the baby would kick back! How cool!

18 Weeks

It seems the first thing I do no matter where I am, is look for a bathroom and find out about food. Will there be food there? Should I bring snacks? Who am I kidding, I always bring a purse full of snacks now. :) I question if there will be a bathroom nearby. I know what places have the 'good' bathrooms....and have even accidentally gone into the mens bathroom only to come out of the stall to see a man washing his hands. How embarrassing! When I stopped to think, these things can seem like quite an annoyance. One more thing to think about. But maybe it is all preparation. Those are two of the most important things I will have to think about as a mom....making sure the child eats and goes to the bathroom. Or at least changing the childs diaper. (And the large purse full of food might be great preparation for remembering a diaperbag, only it will not be filled with granola bars and water bottles)

This week has brought a few firsts as well. The first time I have been able to go to a restaurant and not be sick(this kid loves taco salad)...wear perfume and not get sick...stay up till 11:00p while waking up the next day at 5:15a and not throwing up from lack of sleep. I could keep going but they are really only interesting and exciting to me.

The biggest deal right now though is that suddenly (at 18 weeks) I am not nearly as nauseous anymore! What an amazing phenomenon...a feeling I thought I would never feel again. :) Dont get me wrong its still there, constant nauseousness, but I am not afraid I will loose it in front of anyone anymore.

Lastly, I was also very convicted this past week. Learning from Job in chapter two where he was brought near death yet he did not curse the Lord stopped me in my tracks. Yes I have been very sick, but no where near death. I have had a bad attitude and have even made excuses for not spending time with the Lord because I was sick. Reality was, I did not want to. I would rather sit in self pity which did not glorify the Lord one bit. I pray this doe not mean I will get pregnant and sick again so that I can practice glorifying the Lord in difficult physical times, but I am looking forward to the Lord rather than dwelling on how I feel. I dont know if I would have come to the realization of this several weeks ago...but for now, this is something I am learning.

Prayer Needed

Please pray for Nathan, Tricia and their little girl Gwyneth. Today (Jan 8th) Tricia will begin preparations for her c-section. Tricia has cystic fibrosis which brings other obstacles to this process. She will be intubated and ventilated and then given a tracheotomy before they move forward with the c-section. After the birth of their little girl, Tricia will have a long road to get her body well enough to get on the list for a double lung transplant.

They are already an example to those around them at the hospital and to others around the world through their blog site.

Please take a minute to read Nathan's blog cfhusband.blogspot.com
and pray for the three of them.

A Fresh New Perspective

I feel as though the past few days have brought a new perspective. Thursday was the beginning of our 15th week. So far the second trimester (the past week and a half) has proved to give a slight bit of relief. More so the past few days.

This slight relief has given a time to be excited. For the first time, I can honestly say I have been able to think about, dream about, and be excited about having a baby. It’s finally becoming more real. For so long I have been only really thinking about myself and how horrible I feel. All of this self pity was alongside a deep guilt in knowing my selfishness. I cannot do anything about the past and now I have to regroup and learn to deal with the next few months (171ish days but who is counting.) I thank the Lord for this blessing. I am not sure I will ever want to do this again, but I am very grateful for what the Lord is teaching me.

I feel I have learned how to handle some of the 'quirks' of this pregnancy. My go-go-gadget nose lets me know when anyone in the apartment building is cooking...then my over excited stomach responds by giving me back anything I have eaten in the recent past. How thoughtful. J I have learned to eat constantly…but not too much at a time. This has proved to cause quite a scene with people around us when I must open a granola bar during church. It even ends up making a scene when I try to be discrete. Rather than holding on to a noisy tic tac container during morning prayer at work, I decided to pour several tic tacs in my hand….and when they melted all over turning my hand orange and white it caused a scene with those sitting nearby.

I know, I know...many have asked for pictures. We took some this morning, but they are not very good. We will try again tomorrow.

Its a Baby...Confirmed.

Thursday it was all confirmed. We are really having a baby. The past several weeks have been filled with doubt as I have been really sick, and needing some sort of confirmation that this really does have a purpose. I had a lingering fear that we would go to the appointment and they would tell me I am not really pregnant, but have some terminal illness. I was sitting on the table as the midwife was trying to find the heartbeat and my eyes filled with tears. It was taking a long time and she could not find the heartbeat. One minute...two minutes...three minutes...finally, as my eyes were filled with fearful tears, she found a heartbeat! It is strong and fast! What a wonderful reminder that God is creating someone...even if it does not seem like it from our perspective. It is good to hear the midwife tell us our little girl (or boy) is strong and healthy so far!

What to Say...

Hmmm, what to say is a difficult thing sometimes. Its easy if something wonderful is going on. If someone just had a great accomplishment or a great new haircut you simply praise them...smile and go on. But, when someone is not feeling well and is going through the motions of life when they would much rather be in bed is not the time to whip out unnecessary comments.

In two days at work last week, the first words out of four peoples mouths were "oh, you don't look so good." Now, on one hand, I know these were not malicious comments, but come on. How can that comment do any good? What does that comment accomplish? It makes me want to wear a sign saying "Yes, I look horrible; Yes, I feel Horrible" just so were on the same page from the beginning. It makes me dread going to work even more when I get looks and comments. At least the week ended better than it began.

We are very excited to become parents. It has sent us thinking about what the future will be like. How we will tackle parenting and if we will use cloth diapers or disposable ones? Even thinking of Christmas next year when our little one will be 6 months old! The best thing we can do right now to prepare is simply pray. We pray the Lord will keep our little one healthy and strong, and we pray HE will give us the wisdom we need to raise him or her in a way glorifying the Lord.

Little Red Bucket

My little red bucket has been my second best friend the past month or so. It has gone most everywhere with me:) Everywhere around the apartment at least. I am hoping to soon retire the little red bucket to its previous purpose of holding soapy water when we clean.

I don't necessarily consider myself a highly emotional person, until now. I have found hormones and emotions take over everything sometimes. I have also come to realize that occasionally when I have a time of hormonal/emotional breakdown, I am really learning something.

Uncontrollably crying last week I did not understand what was going on. I felt horrible, I looked horrible, I knew I was grouchy and could not stop throwing up, yet my husband was still telling me how much he loves me and how beautiful he thinks I am. He randomly would get up and ask me if I want something to drink or a fudge pop. Why was he being so nice? How could he think I was beautiful? It has been almost five weeks of this sickness and my husband is still so loving and caring. He portrays a wonderful picture of how marriage and love for each other is unconditional. It still brings me to tears.

For now, I had better get back to my little red bucket:(

In the Beginning....

In the beginning...Why have I waited until almost 12 weeks to begin this blog, some may ask. You cant really write about something until you have experienced something.

We found out the week we returned from a trip to Asia that we are expecting our first child. How exciting at first...until the real pilgrimage began. I had always had this picture of how 'wonderful' it would be to be pregnant. A Princess is what I felt like as Clint would not let me even carry laundry downstairs or groceries upstairs. This went on for about a week or so until this sickness began and I realized "This is a lot tougher that it seems!"

I have been learning a lot, and I am sure what I think I am learning now, will come in a more clear light in a few weeks, months, years. But, for now....the pilgrimage has began.


p.s. I do understand that if we find out we are having a little boy I will have to change the color of this blog....but for now we can have fun with pink:)