17 weeks

this week our island baby apparently weighs as much as a turnip, but we aren't much into turnips so that reference is lost on us.  i'm barely showing, and i only weigh about 140 lbs right now so i'm feeling pretty good about that!  i like to think that despite not kickboxing for the past 8 months i've maintained enough of my core muscle to keep things in as long as possible.  i went to florida to visit my mom and grandma last week and when i came back colby said i was showing significantly more, but i think i just ate too many cookies.  when i sit down i can see a bump, but when i'm standing i just look bloated.  once i start actually showing i'll take some pictures :)

we'll be finding out in the next couple weeks if we're having a boy or girl and it's not even a question if we want to know.  i don't intend to drown our child in either pink or blue, but you better believe there are going to be some super cute gender-specific clothes, especially for christmas, and i'd like to be able to plan as far ahead as possible.  it's going to be a challenge having a shower and getting gifts here since some major retailers such as target do not ship to the VI even though we have a US post office.  we might just have to ask for gift cards which takes all the fun out of it.

having a baby here on st. john is going to be a unique experience, but we're prepared to do what it takes.  i don't currently have a doctor, i've just been seeing a nurse midwife and getting tests done on st. thomas at the hospital.  there is not only no ob/gyn on this island, there is also no hospital, so when the time comes we have to figure out how to get to st. thomas.  one suggestion was to plan an induction, but i have always been against induction.  i'm a pretty firm believer that babies come when they are ready, and i've heard too many horror stories about long drawn out labor that ends in emergency c-section.  if i go into labor naturally, i have limited options for getting to st. thomas.  there is a car barge that runs every 30 minutes until 7pm, a regular passenger ferry that runs every hour until 11pm, or an ambulance boat.  none of those sounds fun or ideal.  there's a woman working at a local deli who is having her baby here a couple months ahead of me, and i plan to talk to her some more and find out what she intends to do and of course find out how it all went after the baby comes.  if she tells me a horror story, i'll be flying to somewhere else to have this kid!

colby has been super supportive and takes such good care of me.  i don't even understand how it's possible to love someone more and more every day, or how i got so lucky to be having a child with the sweetest, most loving boyfriend in the world, but it's real and it's amazing and i can't imagine it any other way.

our favorite names right now are henry, jonah, mary, and catherine.
i'm endlessly thirsty and obsessed with snacking on montmorency cherries. 
i recently acquired a body pillow a few days ago and drastically improved my sleep.
i measured my chest and the internet says my bra size is now 30G. i'm scared!