The Baldwin Experience: My Journey Through Life

Wow, almost 25 weeks now!! My 24 week appointment was great – but unexpected… Here’s the deal: I had gained 10lbs by the 20 week mark. But, between 20 and 24 months, I gained EIGHT POUNDS!!! I am not at all “hung up” on weight, but it just surprised me. So, 18lbs so far and growing. I will keep updating! I’ve been feeling great, though had a small touch of a stomach bug again the last couple of days. Teaching Pilates is still wonderful, and it has been fun to progress with my current classes. There are definitely exercises I was able to do a couple months (and even weeks) ago that I am no longer able to do (safely). Bennett is such a big boy. He had his first dentist appointment yesterday! His little mouth is crowded, just like mom’s and dad’s ;-), so they say he’ll need braces early. Otherwise, he’s in perfect health and didn’t even cry! Thanks, Dr. Dana! The Campbell family came to visit last weekend from Pittsburgh. We hadn’t seen Mark and Kelly since our wedding, and ...

Bennett and his cousins :-) Oh, just takin' a snooze in the car ;-) Sledding in 10 degree weather to the Polar Bear Dip!

IT'S A BOY!!! We are going to name him Beau Richard :-). Everything looks perfect! Heart rate was 153 (between 120 & 180 is normal), we saw all of his perfectly healthy organs and bones and he yawned when we were looking at his face! I am still at the 10lb gained mark (lost just a little from the flu I think!) and all is well. Here's a peak for you!

10 weeks 13 weeks 19 weeks

I woke up in the middle of the night two nights ago to a horrible urge - not the typical kind of pregnant urge one might expect, like a snack for ice cream or pickles. Rather, a kind of deep, urgent, violent urge that said, "Get to the bathroom NOW!" I was up all night, not able to keep anything down. Without getting into excessive detail, it was the WORST flu (or gastrointestinal virus, if you want to be more precise) I have ever had. Luckily yesterday was my day off, but all day I could barely move. Everything ached, my head hurt, I was dehydrated, etc. I kept drinking water, forcing crackers, but nothing would stick with me. And even more so than the flu, the worst was being barely available for Bennett - all while being pregnant! Poor Bennett was so confused... he would follow me to the bathroom, stand over me while my head was in the toilet and laugh. I guess I preferred this over him crying; it had to have been a confusing thing for him! I have barely been sick in the l...

Well, the time is here: the holidays! And with the season comes "hustle and bustle" - the same "hustle and bustle" that seems to be daily for us since we've had Bennett! I feel awful that I haven't posted more (in over a year, at that!). I have gotten so wrapped up in being with Bennett, which is amazing, that I haven't taken the time to write about our times. Let me try to re-cap life :-). Bennett is a wonderful child. He is almost 20 months now! He is sensitive and sweet, and has a funny personality. He loves to run around with his arms behind him like he's an airplane and says several words and two-word phrases at this point: what's this, mama, dada, papa, grama, dog, horse, eyes, love you, please, thank you, sorry, bye-bye, hi, no, yes, etc. His receptive language seems superior: he understands so much! He LOVES animals; we recently started getting him the little animals from Tractor Supply. He now has North American, African and farm critt...