We are so excited to be pregnant and yet are so far away from most of our friends and family. We wanted to find a way to be able to share our pregnancy with those of you who WANT to know about what’s going on. So, I got this idea of “Bumpdates” from my friend Catherine’s blog. She did them weekly and, even though I saw her nearly that often, I still enjoyed reading them and it made me feel closer to her to do so. It is also a great way for me to remember the details of my pregnancy. So, I realize that these “Bump” posts may not be for everyone- if it’s not your cup of tea, don’t worry, I won’t be offended. But for those of you who really want to know about our pregnancy, hopefully they will be fun updates to read! Here goes the first one!

Weeks 4-8

Week 4:
We just found out we are pregnant and are mostly still in shock! We are so excited but we feel like we know nothing about pregnancy (even though I’ve had countless pregnant friends). Somehow when it happens to you, even if you’ve been trying and praying for it, it still comes as a surprise! Our baby this week is only the size of a poppyseed and really is nothing more than a cluster of cells that God has ordained for a masterpiece. The only pregnancy symptoms I felt this week were tender breasts and weird circulation in my middle left toe… it kept going numb. It was very strange.
This week we told our immediate family… I know many people keep their lips sealed until they are past the most critical development period and some even into their second trimester, but we were far too excited to keep it a secret! We told our parents together- Trent’s parents were on Skype and I had mine on WeChat. I’m sure they knew something was up, but it was so cool for us to be able to tell both sets at the same time. I e-mailed my grandparents and got to tell my sisters at Christie’s birthday dinner. My brother Derek needed a separate video chat session so that we could let him know that he was going to be upgraded to “Uncle Sessibo.” We also got to Skype with Trent’s sister Katey and her husband Nathan. It was a whirlwind to find out on Friday night and then tell our families on Saturday and Sunday. I’m not sure it had even sank in for us yet, but it sure was fun to spread the news!
We also told our church family here in China. They really are the closest thing we have to family and again, we were SO excited, I don’t think we could have kept it a secret if we had tried. We also decided that the more people we could have praying for little Trangie, the better. We wanted this pregnancy to be covered in prayer, even from the get-go.
Here’s basically my starting point- week 4:

Week 5:
This week we began taking weekly photos of the “bump,” which presently is non-existent, but we are excited to watch it grow! My friend Catherine also offered up the suggestion to take a photo each week of the fruit/vegetable/seed that our baby is the size of. This week it is a sesame seed, so we had our first photo shoot. Thankfully, she is a GIFTED photographer and takes lovely photos. She opted to take some for us after church on Sunday. Here are some of the photos below.

This week was particularly stressful at school. Trent and I are in charge of our school’s talent show, so we have been doing a million things, on top of the million things that are already required of us. This week we also had our third Key Assignment, which is a cumulative presentation for the parents/admin/other students to come watch and evaluate. It is always a very stressful time of the year… then throw in report cards, etc. and you’ve got a perfect storm brewing. But, amidst all of the madness, I really felt God’s grace and it was particularly evident this week. Ironically (or not), the number 5 in Hebrew symbolizes grace, so how appropriate that in my fifth week of pregnancy, grace abounded!

Symptoms: This week my boobs were very sore and I was much more constipated than usual. I also had more shortness of breath while walking or climbing stairs.

Here is me at week 5. Sorry about the poor picture quality, we took these ones late in the afternoon, so the lighting wasn’t so good.

Week 6:
This week was exciting for us, it was the first time we went to the doctor! I know that most people in the states don’t have their first appointment until week 10 or so, but here in China, if you want to go, you just go. We decided to go for an ultrasound just to make sure we could hear baby’s heartbeat. Now, going to the doctor here is enough for a whole separate blog post, so I won’t write too much about that now. We went that Saturday with an entire cheering squad- Justin and Catherine and baby Eli were all there, as well as Catherine’s mom Charmaine. Maybe that many people would bother some people, but we were so happy to have people who have been through this before to accompany us! Honestly we were nervous when we left. We had had several people close to us miscarry lately and therefore were anxious to know if this pregnancy would be viable or not. Usually if a heartbeat can be detected, it is the first hurdle to get past.

At the doctor we had a blood test and an ultrasound. We even got to hear baby Trangie’s heartbeat for a few short seconds. It made it all seem much more real! We got our printout of our tiny baby (you can barely even see anything on the picture) and we were thrilled!

This week baby is the size of an apple seed. Catherine took some more photos of us after church and we had a lot of fun with them. Trent is such a goofball- I love this guy and he is going to make an incredible father! At night before we go to bed, he always says goodnight to baby Trangie, and he likes to look through the “peephole” (my belly button) to see if he can see the baby. It makes me giggle everytime because his beard tickles my belly!

The only pregnancy symptoms I had this week were sore breasts (still!) and now I have to pee all the time! Here are our week 6 photos.

Week 7:
Baby is growing fast! This week he/she is the size of a blueberry, my favorite fruit! My uterus has now doubled in size since the beginning of my pregnancy (it is still tiny though). This week baby is developing arms and legs and its eyelids are beginning to grow.

We told our Instructional Assistants and our class at school today that we are pregnant. We thought it would be wise to tell the kids so I don’t get spear-hugged at a hundred miles an hour or something (which can happen). They were all very excited and have been very good about being “gentle” with me and the baby. They have been debating amongst themselves whether it is a girl or a boy- and also giving me a plethora of name suggestions. They also ask all sorts of questions and sometimes ask to talk to the baby. Evie one day cupped her hands to my belly and said to baby, “ARE YOU OKAY IN THERE?” Hilarious.

Symptoms this week: Unfortunately, my face has broken out like I am back in high school, my boobs are still sore and my nipples are always on point (which is not as flattering as it may sound). I have been SO hungry this week- I feel like my husband… “You never feed me,” “I am STARVING (dramatically).” I guess now I know how he feels. 😉

Here are our week 7 photos!

Week 8:
This week baby Trangie is the size of a kidney bean! Baby might still be little, but he/she sure is growing! This week baby’s little fingers and toes are developing- I can’t wait to kiss all over them! There is also a lot of development going on in baby’s brain- neurons are connecting and forming nerve endings.

We doubled up on photos this week. We took some with Catherine, and since the cherry blossoms were out, and since an unopened blossom is about the size of a kidney bean, we decided to include both.

I know with most first pregnancies, you don’t start to show until week 12 at least, but I think I’m already starting to notice a little bump protruding from my belly. It could be the way my uterus is positioned or who knows… maybe we have a few Trangie’s in there. It’s not big enough for others to notice yet, but I can see a small change and it is pretty exciting!

This week was a lot of fun because it was our High School Prom. Trent and I got to go to prom again and it was a lot of fun- we laughed a lot! You can read about what prom is like in China by reading that post at https://logsdonsbigadventures.wordpress.com/2015/05/02/will-you-go-to-prom-with-me

We are excited to be 2 months pregnant!