Kung-Fu Fighting

Although I was not thoroughly convinced that what I was feeling up until this point was the baby moving, there is no mistaking it now. The little bugger likes to kick! (or punch?). Right now she is hanging out really low on my right side and practicing her Kung-Fu moves.

Even better, however, is that Charley felt is too. I was hanging out on the couch watching TV with Charley today, and I could feel her kicking me, so I told him to put his hand on my stomach, and sure enough, after about a minute, she kicked him too. I am not sure if the sensation is quite the same for him, but it is totally an indescribable feeling.

On a side note, we attempted to start our baby registry today at Babies R Us. What an experience. Registering for a wedding was easy because nothing mattered other than whether you liked something or not. 3 varieties of wine glasses in sets of 20 were not exactly essential, not to mention all of the other items you register for in anticipation of the formal dinner parties you will be hosting. (Don't feel bad if you haven't been invited to one yet, because one has still yet to occur).

But with baby stuff, you have to not only seriously consider what you need, but take into account all sorts of other factors such as safety ratings, brands, colors, styles, weight capacities, sizing, etc. After an hour and a half, we barely made it out of the "infant essentials" aisles. Do you need the baby monitor with or without a screen? With chargeable batteries? With cordless capabilities? With more than one receiver? The Sony or the Fisher Price? High definition or not? Do you need one that blocks voices or excess background noise? Is water-resistant necessary? How many channels should it have? Not to mention should it include a movement alarm? Yikes. I think we managed to come up with 30 items so far, but needless to say, this is going to be an ongoing and multiple trip experience. I do have to admit, however, that walking around any store armed with a scanner is pretty awesome!

Save the Date!

Ok, so I know this is a bit early, (and perhaps a bit tacky, I realize, but we had no other way of letting the masses know!), but my sister started talking about a baby shower, and we realized how many weekends in April and May are occupied with holidays and family vacations! So, she just wanted to put it out there now that we will be having a baby shower on Sunday, April 5th. I have not been informed as to the time, place, etc., but she will inevitably get an invitation out when the time comes.

Missing: My Waist ... Reward if found

WOWZAH! Shield your eyes!
Sorry to blind you with these photos, but apparently its the thing to do to document your belly.

I don't necessarily remember when it happened, but somehow I have lost my waist. I don't think I am particularly all that big yet, but yet my waist has completely disappeared. Any information you might have as to where I can retrieve it would be helpful.

I went to the Dr. again on Monday, and again, nothing eventful. Everything seems to be classified as "normal." Cramps=normal, backaches=normal, weird dreams= normal, I have come to assume that perhaps this is the standard answer for anything one might be experiencing in pregnancy. I was considering trying to throw the Dr. off by claiming I have some unexplained urge to eat off the floor using my toes, but I am sure I would be met with the same response, "Oh, that's normal in pregnancy."

We are somewhere between week 18 and 19 now, and the baby is roughly the size of a mango, which in my opinion is much cuter than trying to imagine it last week as an onion. I mean seriously, what variety of onion? We get to go back in three weeks for a serious ultrasound, so that should be fun.

I hear that I may be feeling serious movement in the near future, but I am not exactly sure what it is I am looking to feel, so I figured I would wait until it was obvious before I claim that I have felt her move. Looking forward to that!

More girls...

It's a Girl!

I realize I haven't posted in awhile, but I had good reason. In an attempt to try and outsmart those pesky medical professionals who refuse to let me in on the gender of my child, I did a quick internet search for ultrasound facilities and found out that one of the most reputable locations was a mere 2 miles from my house. So we immediately booked an appointment and invited the family to come out and relax in their 24 foot room on plush couches to enjoy the big screen view of the their future grandchild, great-grandchild, niece or nephew, or whatever other title this baby may hold in the future.

We showed up on Tuesday ready to leave with some new information. However, though the appointments are only supposed to run 10-20 minutes, after 2 separate 20 minute sessions, our "stubborn baby," as the sonographer labeled it, refused to get into a position where they could achieve the desired shot. My instincts immediately told me that this little 5 inch gem was already developing into a very opinionated little girl.

So, we went back yesterday for much of the same experience. 25 minutes into the appointment, and still no luck. The baby refused to uncross it's legs. Just as the owner of the facility was coming in to tell us that there was someone else waiting, the sonographer looked at her and said, "oh, good timing we just got it." What? But, there on the screen was a picture of our baby girl. Ok, really it was just her bits and pieces, but clear enough to determine her gender. The sonographer says they look for either three lines, or a turtle, and this one was definitely three lines. So this glorious picture which I am sure will be used as some kind of blackmail or torture device when she grows up is the "money shot." In case you aren't sure what you are looking at, you are looking right between the legs, and the arrow is there to draw emphasis on where you should focus in. Enjoy!