Here are the first set of “Bumpdates” from the beginning of our second trimester: weeks 14-18

Week 14:
Little Logsdon was the size of a peach this week- one of my favorite fruits (I have quite a few). The muscles in baby’s face have gotten much stronger and he/she is now able to squint, frown, grimace and smile; baby can suck its little thumb too! Its little body is finally starting to catch up with the size of its head, which for a long time has been much larger in proportion. “Trangie” can even pee this week (exciting, I know…).

Trent and I would have gone back to the doctor this week, since it’s been 4 weeks since our last visit, but we wanted to see if we could hold off until next week so that maybe, just maybe, we could find out if baby “Trangie” was a boy or a girl (we’d only be 15 weeks and a few days, so we weren’t getting our hopes up too high). Daddy was sick this week and I had one random night of sympathy sickness (I think). We were both up at about 3 in the morning throwing up… that was a bonding experience.This week we had our QISS art show, which turned out great, and one of our co-workers, Skenny, had a fantastic barbecue. I got my hair cut (finally), so I’m feeling pretty good.

This Friday at school was like the longest day ever!!! Trent was absent and our music teacher was sick too (which was my only special that day), which meant that I had NO breaks except for the 30 minutes of Chinese during the morning. Then that night I had forgotten I had agreed to help chaperone some of the high schoolers who were attending our ACAMIS Cultural Convention- they were having a pizza party, which sounded easy, but they turned out to be more work than my thirteen 3,4, and 5 year olds. When I finally got home, I had been on my feet for nearly 12 hours and I was EXHAUSTED!!! Thankfully, Trent gave me a foot massage and was very sympathetic. What a guy, I love him!

Symptoms this week: I threw up for the second time in my pregnancy (Trent-1, Angie-2). I’ve been particularly tired this week, although most likely because of work and not so much because of this pregnancy. I’ve been craving salads lately, but I always seem to default to salads anyways.

Week 15:
I was REALLY looking forward to this week for two reasons: first, we had our next doctor’s appointment and were hoping to find out the sex of our baby, and second, because I was going to have my first baby shower!!!

We went to a different clinic than we’ve been going to so far- it is one that is much further away, and quite a bit more expensive, but one that would more likely tell us if baby “Trangie” would be “Jedidiah James” or “Abigail Grace.” We were really hoping to find out before the shower so that it could be a “reveal” party as well.

Our experience at this hospital was much better- we were actually able to communicate with the doctors and nurses there, and (even though they aren’t supposed to), they were willing to divulge the sex of our baby if they could tell.  Unfortunately, “Trangie” wasn’t showing the goods yet and it was too early to tell. They did assure us that at our next and final visit in Qingdao (during week 18 of our pregnancy), that they would let us know. It was really exciting to see our baby moving around on the ultrasound, and we were thrilled that both Trent and I could watch this time (at the other hospital, neither one of us could watch)! It was the first time we got to see baby moving around and it made it seem even more real! The doctors said that everything seems to be going well and baby is developing normally, so we are happy campers!

Baby was the size of an apple this week. The apple that we bought was abnormally large (like a bionic apple or something) so the photos may not be entirely accurate to Little Logsdon’s actual size. Baby is actually moving amniotic fluid through his or her nose and respiratory tract in preparation for breathing outside of the womb. Another big development this week is that “Trangie” can sense light now, even though its eyes will remain fused shut for another 11 weeks. Taste buds are forming on “Trangie’s” tiny tongue too!

The most exciting part of the week for me was my baby shower. My friend Catherine had been planning it for weeks and it was obvious how much love and effort she put into it. It was the most beautiful party I’ve ever had. She paid such attention to detail and organized everything so perfectly. It was a “bee” themed shower for “Mommy to BEE.” She and Justin (her hubby) spent lots of nights putting together little honeycombs and pipe-cleaner bees, and printing off cute labels and photos to be framed. When I arrived, she dressed me in a little bee headband and we began greeting our guests. I’ll blog more about this special evening in a separate post. I just wanted to say that it was an absolute highlight and she made my night so very special. I am so lucky to have such great friends!

Symptoms this week: nothing at all. It’s kind of strange, again, trying to remember that I’m pregnant when I don’t really FEEL anything.

Week 16:
Wow, we are 4 months pregnant now! I can’t believe how fast time is going by! This week was our last week of school so we are looking forward to some “R & R” after this final stretch. This has been an emotional week- lots of goodbyes to people we really love and treasure. One of the hardest goodbye’s this week was to McKenzie and the Klug family. These guys have been our family while we’ve been here and they have been really good friends in addition to being the glue that kept our fellowship together. China really won’t be the same without them. On church Sunday, those of us leaving each gave a testimony of what we’ve learned in China- for me it was what family really looks like. In leaving our physical blood-related families, God has blessed us with so many other “families” to be a part of, especially our church family. Leaving China will leave a big, gaping hole in my heart for THIS family.

This week baby is as long as an avocado- about 4 and a half inches long and about 3 and a half ounces. Lots of blood is pumping through its little body. “Trangie’s” head is more erect and his/her eyes and ears are much closer to what will be their final positions. The patterning on baby’s scalp has begun- even though it doesn’t have hair yet. And baby has little toenails!

As I was reading my Bible this week, I was really reminded that my baby is fearfully and wonderfully made- I know this full well. I kept coming across the same verse- one I particularly liked- Psalm. 22:10: “From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.” Little Logsdon, you have already been claimed for the Lord!

This week we had our Kindergarten graduation ceremony. It was so much work to get everything organized, but SO worth it. The parents loved it and most of us ended up in tears when our end-of-the-year video finished playing. It was both hard and rewarding to say goodbye to these families that we love so much. Trent and I were also recognized as being the equivalent of “Employees of the month” for both May and June, so it was nice to be formally recognized for all of our hard work lately.

Symptoms of the week: Nothing… in fact, people keep raving about how great my hair and skin look! Pregnancy is doing some good things for me! I had a fleeting craving for chocolate milk, but it’s hard to come by in China, so I stuck it out. Someday, that craving will be fulfilled. 😉

Week 17:
Little Logsdon is the size of a pear this week and weighs about as much as a turnip. Baby’s skeleton is beginning to harden into bone (from the soft cartilage that it was) and the umbilical cord is getting stronger and thicker. “Trangie” is also developing sweat glands.

This week was our last week of school, and with that came a lot of stress and emotions, but we made it through!

I had a bad bout of diarrhea this week (sorry if it’s TMI)… bad enough that I went to see the doctor after 4 days of it. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a bacterial infection. It wasn’t, but the doctors experience was quite a trip. I had to poop in this tiny clear plastic cup with the smallest handle ever and then carry it downstairs without any sort of cover, all the while being stared at unabashedly for being a foreigner. It was so embarrassing! …Only in China… Anyways, it lasted from Saturday night well into the next Friday… nearly a week of it. Thankfully I never pooped myself and managed to stay hydrated enough. One of my students’ moms drove me to the doctor, waited for me to finish and still took me out for lunch afterwards. We are very blessed to have people looking out for us here!

We had a lot of activity this week- not only was it our last week of school but we had all sorts of other engagements to attend, all the while trying to pack up our apartment and sell stuff we weren’t taking. We had a special luncheon after school on Friday before gathering at a local restaurant, Déjà vu, to celebrate the year’s end. At the luncheon, all of our co-workers signed a special bag for us and a little onesie and shirt for little “Trangie.”

We celebrated Shabbat with our friends Jon and Joyce, and went back into school on Saturday for our official “last day of school.” Thankfully, they provided breakfast for us and it was a nice time to say goodbye to our friends and co-workers. We had a nice lunch at a Korean restaurant with Justin, Catherine and Eli. Monday night was half-price ribs at Korona’s, where we got to meet up with friends and eat some delicious ribs! We attended a student’s birthday party on Tuesday, had dinner with one of our basketball girls, and celebrated Elijah’s first birthday! It’s hard to believe that we were there throughout Catherine’s pregnancy and saw Eli only hours after he was born, and already he’s one years old! It was extra special to be able to celebrate with the Esser’s!

Ribs at Korona’s

Birthday party fun!

Eli’s first birthday

Trent’s going to be such a good daddy!  Watching him all year with our students and seeing how he interacts with the other kiddos around us makes me so thankful for him!

The shipping company picked up our boxes on Monday, but our house still felt like a total disaster zone! We’d been going through all of our things in every spare (HA!) moment we had, but somehow, in two years, we accumulated a LOT of “stuff!”

It was very strange to say goodbye to our students on Friday. Even though I know it is the end of our time at QISS, it still doesn’t feel final. It feels just like last year or just like we were saying goodbye for the summer… not forever. We had such a wonderful final year there and were so blessed with our class this year. We had so much fun and we love those kids and their families SO very much. I am very thankful that these kids were my last class for a while (I won’t be going back to work in the fall) and it felt great to end (or at least pause) my teaching career on such a high note.

Symptoms this week: Diarrhea… man, that sucked!  Also, pregnancy brain is really starting to kick in… the struggle is real, people!

Week 18:
This week was a HUGE one for us! We moved countries, found out baby “Trangie” is a boy, and said many “hello’s” and “goodbye’s.” Did I mention that we moved countries!

Jedidiah James is the size of a bell pepper this week! He’s growing so much! Right now he measures about 5 and a half inches long and weighs almost 7 oz. His ears are now in their final position and his genitals were what the doctor called, “obvious.” Anyways, as it turns out, “Trangie” is a boy and Trent is very excited to have Jedi as his side-kick. It was a super exciting morning for us. If you’d like to read that post, please check it out at: https://logsdonsbigadventures.wordpress.com/2015/06/29/baby-trangie-is-a/.

This week was so busy it literally needs its own post (which will come eventually).

Symptoms this week: SWELLING!!! OMG, after the long trip and all the flights, I thought I’d exchanged ankles with an elephant! I didn’t even notice until I showered the next morning, but WOW… I just kept thinking, “Are those really MY ankles?!?!?” I guess many women have that all the time during their pregnancy so I should be grateful that it only happened after 24 hours of flying!
I finally felt baby’s first movements! It was hard to tell at first, because I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, but I’m pretty sure little Jedi was responsible. It may be a few more weeks until I feel him kicking more consistently, but it was pretty exciting!

Well, that about wraps up those 5 weeks of my pregnancy.  I’ll get caught up eventually!