pregnancy has taught my husband...

If you missed Part 1: 20 things pregnancy has taught me, check it out here!

As I wrote the Part 1 post, I began wondering what my husband had learned so far from this whole pregnancy thing. I asked him about it and he said he could easily give me 10 things he's learned (instead of the 20 that I did). As he was writing, he did ask if he would get in trouble for anything he wrote. That made me laugh. I (think) that I've had a pretty good sense of humor about all the changes my body is going through so far...crying and all!

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1. Don’t watch sad movies...or tell sad stories...avoid ALL sad situations if possible! We found out early that pregnancy hormones do some crazy things to the female cry factory! I try to sensor the emotional things that Courtney comes across, but sometimes there’s just no avoiding it. 

2. Get ready to go to Kroger! We have definitely noticed an increase in our grocery bill lately. Little Crew is a hungry little fella! The good side of frequent Kroger trips is that I always have a steady supply of Lucky Charms and it gives me an excuse to buy extra junk food for me!

3. Be a helper. Carrying an extra person takes its toll on a body, so men, always be ready to lend a helping hand. Some days Courtney feels great, others she can hardly stay awake. I've learned to just be prepared to help out as much as possible!

4. Be flexible. I’m am weird when it comes to my stuff and the space for my stuff. I have (or had) special little places for all my favorite items from duck calls to baseball hats...but with babies comes change. Since most of my stuff was stored in the room where Crew’s nursery is soon to be, I've learned that the time has come for my stuff to hit the road. Good news is I still have a man cave (garage) with room to spare!

5. Adjust your schedule. Courtney and I are pretty social people, but with lower energy levels and all that good stuff Courtney has found much needed rest by simply spending a lot of nights at home. I've learned that social outings with friends have to take second place to taking care of the Mrs.

6. Take good pictures. There is no greater misdeed than to take a blurry picture of a pregnant lady! For some reason about eighty percent of the pictures I take for her weekly "bumpdates" come out blurry, but I’m getting there! By the end of this nine months I think I’ll have all this photography stuff worked out.

7. Body pillows are AWESOME! As Courtney was introducing me to the body pillow, I was convinced that this was just a silly pregnancy thing that we didn't need. Well, it seems that most nights there is a battle for who ends up sleeping on the body pillow! Those things are incredibly comfortable. If we ever get a king size bed, I just might get one of my own...might even get a dog sized one for Remi!

8. Walk slow. About halfway through the pregnancy Courtney always would say that she couldn't breathe. At first I thought it was a "figmentation of her imagination," but it turns out that being pregnant really does make it hard to breathe. When we take walks in the evenings we end up walking a third of the distance in about three times the time!

9. Be thankful. For some reason, I have always been scared that we would have a hard time having kids. Before we got pregnant, we read so many blogs about people struggling to have kids, and we had so many fears and doubts that pregnancy would come easy to us. We have been so incredibly blessed with this pregnancy and the health of Baby K so far. God is so good and there is not a day that goes by that I don’t think Him for the new life that He has blessed us with. Know that our sympathies and prayers go out to all those who are struggling with pregnancy.

10. Enjoy every moment. There are so many changes and expectations that come with pregnancy, especially your first. I've learned to simply let it all soak in. These moments are so precious and I am so thankful to share this time with my beautiful bride. God has blessed me with an incredible family and I am very, very thankful.