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!

Miss Informed

Boo-Hoo...

I suppose I was getting spoiled at the Dr.'s office when at the beginning I was getting an ultrasound every time I went in. On Monday, we went in for a routine appointment, and much to my disappointment, they put me in a "regular" room (with no fancy equipment.) When it finally sunk in that they would not be transferring me once another room became available, I asked why I wouldn't be getting an ultrasound. My Dr. said that they only do that from this point on if there is an "issue". I could see Charley staring at me from the corner and he knew what I was thinking. In his eyes, he was trying to tell me "don't even think about making up a problem just to get an ultrasound." Pfff, like I would stoop that low I thought, while also trying desperately to remember any of the names of the conditions you can develop during pregnancy.

Then I tried to bargain with the Dr. She informed me that I wouldn't be getting another ultrasound until 20 weeks. Doing the quick math, I pointed out that if she sees me every 4 weeks, she would see me at 18, could I have it then? No? Ok, well then can I come at 18 and then again at 20? Yes! I finally wore her down! So, no news on the gender front until the end of January.

Here is a recent description of baby Jacob's development:

Your Baby

Rapid growth of your baby continues at this point. The skin is very thin and you can see the blood vessels clearly underneath. The scalp hair pattern is developing while fine hair (called lanugo) covers the baby's body. Your baby is approximately 12-14 cm (3.7 to 4.1 inches) and weighs about 50 grams (1.75 to 2 ounces).

Your baby's taste buds already look like a mature adult's and doctors have learned that the amniotic fluid that surrounds it can smell strongly of curry, cumin, garlic, onion and other essences from a mother's diet. Your baby's bones continue to harden and retain calcium very rapidly. At this point in the pregnancy the placenta will begin to take on the job of hormone production to sustain the pregnancy, which was the job of your ovaries up to this point. Your baby's eyelids are now firmly shut, and will stay closed until the third trimester.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh 2/3 Christmas Tree

What does this story have to do with the baby you ask? Nothing. What does it have to do with this blog? A very good example of pregnancy hormones at work coupled with the ingrained differences between man and woman.

The story goes like this...

Charley's first mistake occurred during the Christmas season of 2006, when he decided to try to be helpful by going to the Christmas tree lot and picking out a tree by himself in order to save me the hassle. What a nice guy you might be thinking. Until I force you to conjure up images of the tree in the Charlie Brown Christmas and you start to get the picture of what this tree looked like. How do you put 642 ornaments on a tree that has 7 branches?

This year, however, he was smart enough to take me to the lot of my choice, allow me to unwrap as many trees as I saw fit, and without much complaint, allowed me to select the 8 foot tree that was accidentally marked 7 feet so I could feel like I got a bargain. Take that tree farm!

Again, what a nice guy you might be thinking. However, his second mistake occurred when he decided to put the tree up while I was working late one night. In his male mind, he clearly could not see how a tree with a 5 foot diameter could fit into the corner I designated. What would I have done you ask? Easy. I would have had him move the 350 pound dining room table into the garage or some other room so as to clearly ensure that the tree stood prominently as the centerpiece of the dining room. Furniture or other "accessories" come second to the splendor of the tree. What did he do? He chose to take the tree outside and lob off all of the branches on one side of the tree so they were not more than a foot long and could be squeezed into a corner. Hence, we now have 2/3 of a tree.

Now is the point of the story where the pregnancy hormones kick in. "You've maimed my tree and ruined Christmas," I yell as I storm up the stairs. To which he quietly replies "What would you have liked me to do?" Why it's not obvious to him I don't quite know, but clearly, the sensible thing at the time would be to hack our dining room table into kindling in order to light the fire that has gone out which is now making me cold, thus leaving ample room for the tree to be displayed in all its glory. Oh, and do we have anything that you could use to make the tree rotate 360 degrees?

Oh, and I also don't appreciate the people who I tell this story to who seem to think that Charley is "on to something" and should market corner trees. Will you please look at the bottom of this tree and tell me it looks normal?

Ok,

My mother read my blog and called immedietly to say that I better be careful about what I put down in writing because she doesn't want me to regard this as a negative experience. Darn! I hate when she is right! All in all, it really hasn't been that bad, it just makes for a more exciting read than "nothing of any significance happened today."

So instead of describing what 2 glasses of milk coming back up looks like at 6 am in the morning, I will focus on the joys of maternity pants. If you don't own a pair, I would highly suggest you all run out and buy a pair, even if you are not expecting. I call them "buffett" pants, because I can clearly tell how gaining weight in these is going to be easy! They come with a 6 inch panel of expandable fabric that would have been great for anyone at the Thanksgiving table.

I am considering giving them as a Christmas gift, and trust me, if you are the recipient, you will thank me later!