A few updates...

I had my 32 week prenatal check-up yesterday morning, and it seems as though all is progressing well. I am measuring 31 centimeters and Ivory’s heart rate was jumping around in the low 150s. I weighed about 158 pounds, so my weight gain has been about 28 pounds so far (over 20% of my previous weight!). I’ll be going in again at 34 weeks, on 6/12, to have my next check-up and our final ultrasound to measure Ivory and see her sweet cheeks once again. Appointments have switched to every 2 weeks and will be weekly after week 36.

Today was officially my last day of work for Touchpoint Contact Centers, where I've been employed since May of 2012. I started in a sales position, which lasted about two months but felt like a lifetime, then that department went under and I was fortunate enough to be offered a job working with Insurance Auto Auctions in the same office. Last spring, in May, I believe, I was offered a position as a team lead, which gave me my first experience working on a managerial team. In July, though, I had decided to return to school full time and requested to work from home part time. My boss was very flexible in working around my class schedule and making that possible, so I left the office for good and started making calls from my couch instead. In early November, I decided that working nearly full time and taking a huge load of credit hours wasn't going to work out for me as I adjusted to life as a wife as well. After talking to Felipe about our options, I put in my 2 weeks notice and finally declared my college major as English. Just days later, we found out we were expecting our baby, and I made a very awkward phone call to my boss requesting to revoke my 2 weeks notice and resume full time work at the end of the semester. She accepted happily, and I dropped the classes I had registered for the coming year. Despite the great excitement I had felt about my new major and the fact that we hadn't intended to start raising a family so quickly after getting married, I never felt the least bit sad about making necessary decisions to prepare for our baby. I remember the terror I felt when I had the scare of a subchorionic hematoma followed by the endless hours of tearful prayers that the baby inside me - just the size of a seed at that point - would make it through. I learned that love sprouts in a mother's heart instantly upon news that she's carrying a child, in a way I never could have imagined. The next several months were filled with discussion of how we would care for our baby and whether I would go back to work after he or she was born. We decided that we were both willing for the sacrifices that would be needed in order for me to stay at home with him or her for as long as that was made possible for us. One of the hardest challenges we faced in that decision was a few months back, when I received a phone call from my boss with the offer of a salaried position as a supervisor with a very significant pay raise. I hardly knew what to tell her, so I said I would discuss it with Felipe over the weekend and let her know the following Monday. As I hung up the phone, I knew in my heart that this didn't actually change things, that the time we'd spent deliberating and praying to make the decision that was right for our family hadn't been wasted, but I was still struggling with the idea of being able to provide more for our baby in the long run. So of course I called my mama, as I always do, but this time I was in tears. I poured out my feelings and concerns and babbled on to her while she, in her wise, calm way, listened and mmhmm'd until I'd run out of things to say. She never gave me actual advice, only said that she thought I already knew the answer before I'd called her. And when Felipe got home from work that night, I waited awhile before I asked for his opinion. In his wonderfully kind way, he congratulated me on the opportunity, and then he reiterated my own thoughts, that nothing had really changed. Afraid I wouldn't be able to hold it together in a phone call with my raging pregnancy hormones, I sent an email to my boss on Monday morning explaining why I wouldn't be able to accept her offer. She responded that she completely understood, and somehow, I knew that she really did. At the beginning of this month, I called her again to tell her I'd be able to work through May and would then be officially resigning, and she again responded with understanding. I am so grateful to have worked for someone who treated me so well over the last couple of years.

We are going to look at a few houses for sale in Ashland tomorrow, as we are considering the option of purchasing before we have to sign our lease again this summer. Neither of us have any experience in this area, so we're trying to be extra careful and not fall for getting emotionally attached to anything before we make an offer and it's accepted, and the home has been inspected. Whether we find something or not, we're still looking forward to getting some information. If you have any tips to share, feel free to comment! We'd be happy to hear them.