devotion

In my personal Bible study this morning, I learned that the Hebrew word for devoted is nathan. So my mind thought, Hey what a cool name for a boy! We've already got a name picked out if the baby's a boy, and it's not Nathan, but I thought about it. Then she (Beth Moore...who else?) went on to ask to whom am I devoted? Or as another definition of nathan says, To whom is my heart fastened? I really had to think about that. I mean, on most days, I do believe it is God. But I know James, my family, my friends, and now, this baby can top the list as well. Especially when I'm worrying about whether the baby will have two heads or be 12 pounds. Job says, "...I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily food." (Job 23:12) Now that's devotion! I especially can recognize that level of devotion now that my appetite has increased.

The morning we found out I was pregnant, James and I prayed, and gave the baby to the Lord, come what may. It's a scary feeling to have no control, but...."I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able..." kinda taken out of context, but it's still true. To whom am I devoted? The only One worth my devotion, the only One who is faithful and controls everything.

Preliminary Signs

We just found out last Thursday that we are expecting a little bundle of joy!! According to Dr. Kapur, the due date is December 4th, and I am 5 weeks pregnant. I will be having the first ultrasound next Monday, which is really exciting. One of my friends warned me that 6 weeks is pretty early for an ultrasound, so they may not be able to see anything, but that doesn't mean something's wrong. Indians are pretty cautious when it comes to pregnancy, and they begin ultrasounds pretty early. I've heard this is good and bad; it's good that they catch problems early that can prevent a complication or worse, but the bad part is that sometimes those problems correct themselves eventually anyway, and will just cause me unnecessary worry. But, I'd rather be safe than sorry. Which is why, against my better wishes, I'll be toning down my workouts for the first trimester to only 20 minutes on the treadmill 5 times a week. Boo.

I know every woman has different signs that tell her through her body that she is pregnant before a test does. I had a few of these signs as well, but I chose to ignore them until I knew for sure because I didn't want to get my hopes up.

• The first sign was soreness/tenderness and swelling.
• My heart rate was quite higher than normal.
• At the time where PMS should have kicked in, I was showing no emotions whatsoever.
• For a few mornings, I was having a coffee aversion.
  
• My skin, already acne-prone, was breaking out even more than usual. So much for that glowing pregnant complexion.

I've heard of other early signs as well, but I caught my pregnancy pretty much as soon as you can, on what should have been Day 2 of my next cycle. Like a wise woman said before me, "My body has always been faster than Western medicine." :)