Planning & Preparation...and Our Mischievous Little Fetus

For the first few months of being pregnant, I really didn't do a whole lot of planning, shopping, etc.  This may not sound weird to any of you, but I've probably been looking at baby stuff off and on for the past 4 years.  Looking for cool things, neat nursery ideas, baby necessities, etc.  I always figured when I was pregnant someday, I would be obsessed with preparing for the little one the second the pregnancy test turned positive.  Not so.  The first trimester left me with a lack of will power to do much of anything at all.  Then the beginning of the second trimester felt too early.  

Now, however, I am starting to dive in.  I'm online all the time looking at baby stuff.  It's my latest craze.  What will we need?  What colors do we want in the nursery?  What brand of diapers is best?  Should I do disposable diapers or some other alternative?  Should I get plastic bottles or opt for glass to avoid all the plastic chemical issues we're hearing about?  What car seat is safest?  Will our car be big enough for baby and everything that comes with it?  Will it be safe enough?  And this goes on and on in my head, a big scrolling list of questions and decisions to be made!

Alright, enough of that...now for the story of the day.  I've been feeling the baby move more and more, and definitely every day now.  Well today, I hadn't felt the baby move at all yet so I called the Dr.'s office.  They have a nice little nurse hotline for people like me who could probably think up a question a minute for them if I really wanted to.  I asked the nurse, "Is it normal to not feel the baby for a whole day at 22 weeks of pregnancy?"  I mean, I just wanted to make sure...right?  Well, she talked to the Dr. and they decided to have me come in so we could listen for the heartbeat.  

At this point, I feel like I'm making a big deal out of nothing, but hey, I didn't ASK to come in, I just asked if this was normal.  So I go in and sure enough, the Dr. barely gets the doppler on my stomach and that little heartbeat is just pounding away in there.  And THEN wouldn't you know it, the baby KICKS.  Right there, in the office, with me and the table, and with the doctor holding the doppler on my stomach.  What a little STINKER!  I mean, no movement ALL DAY LONG.  Then, the second I'm in the Dr.'s office at 3:30 in the afternoon, the kid finally starts kicking around!  I got home and had a good talk with my belly, "Is that how it's gonna be?  You are going to be a real stinker, aren't you!?"  I'm just thinking "Oh boy...here we go," right?  There ain't noooo turning back now!