The Mongolian Covenant

Let's review the rules of "going Mongolian."

1. You are free to talk to anyone EXCEPT me.
2. If you tell someone, you must update them with bad news.
3. I will keep you updated via this blog.

If you don't recognize the phrase "going Mongolian," you can check out this post to explain it.

If you remember the phrase "going Mongolian," you've probably guessed I'm pregnant. Now that you know, you are bound by the rules of Mongolianism. I don't want your congratulations or questions. I assume that you're happy and praying for me. I appreciate it and don't want to hear about it. I really, really don't want to talk about being pregnant. You may tell other people (it's not a secret anymore), but they will also be bound by the rules of Mongolianism, and you are responsible for telling them if something goes wrong and we don't get a happy ending. I don't want congratulatory messages from distant relatives in June if I don't have a live baby. "Going Mongolian" worked really well last time. It saved me a lot of emotional wear and tear, and I'm hoping it will do the same thing this time.

Now to uphold my end of this Mongolian covenant. Here's what we know.

• I'm expecting a baby girl in May. The due date is June 1, but a c-section is planned for at least a week before that. 
• We're calling this baby Emmie until she's born. Matt and I have had multiple girls' names picked out for years. However, previous experience has made us reluctant to give unborn children names that we want our children to carry all their lives. So we are not giving our daughter a name until she's born. Until then, we are calling her Emmie. Let me repeat, HER NAME IS NOT EMMIE. That's just what we're calling her until she gets her permanent name. (Yeah, I just updated that paragraph from last time. I don't have a better way to say it.) We did this last time with Elsie/Lucy, and it worked really well. It took me a few days to make the switch after she was born, but it gave us a name to use during the pregnancy, which made her feel more real than if she had just been "baby."
• We've had two ultrasounds recently, and all of the baby's measurements were right on track. She seems to have all her parts. During one ultrasound, she was sleeping with her hands by her face, and her ankles were crossed. At the other she was uncooperative. She kept covering her body with her hands so that the ultrasound tech couldn't see anything. If the tech was trying to look at her heart, she put her hands on her chest. If she wanted to scan the face, Emmie put her hands on her face. She also used her legs to keep the tech  from being able to see. Some of the time he feet were over her head like Lucy used to do in ultrasounds. We may have to start a circus with our acrobatic daughters. However, Emmie didn't keep her feet over her head. When the tech tried to look at her genitals, she tucked her legs under her and crossed her ankles. She was pretty determined, but eventually we saw all we needed to. She is healthy, well formed, and a normal size.
• So far I am healthy. My blood pressure has not been a problem. I'm supposed to watch my sugar intake and my weight. Neither has been a problem yet, but family history and my starting weight make them possible concerns. I've gained more weight than I'd like, but I find that inevitable in winter. It's easy to lose or maintain weight in the summer with gardening for exercise and plenty of fresh produce just outside my door. However, the swimming pool opens again next week, and I'm making more of an effort to eat vegetables and fruit. Despite the weight gain, I just switched to my "fat pants," the next size up from normal, in the last few weeks. I hate maternity pants, so I'll try to get by without them as long as possible.
• We are also seeing a fetal medicine specialist in Louisville. I'll give an update about that in a separate post. 
• We've got a lot of appointments in the next few months: two in February and two in March already. About the time we get past those, we'll be having weekly appointments for BPPs.
• Lucy is unaware that she is getting a little sister. I asked her a couple of months ago if she would like a baby to live at our house, and she said yes. Of course, she didn't know what she was agreeing to, but at least she was agreeable. She has been present for one of the ultrasounds, and we've mentioned her sister to her. She doesn't care. We'll figure out eventually how to get her on board with this big sister/little sister thing.
• I've felt Emmie move a little. She wiggled nonstop during one of the ultrasounds. She didn't flail or kick, but she wiggled and shifted her hands and feet in the way. She's a busy girl. I look forward to getting to know her.