35 weeks

35 weeks pregnant....means that we have only 35 DAYS left!! Can you believe we're down to counting in days? Craziness. Santa brought the baby's carseat, so we're one step closer to being ready, although I think we'll wait until around week 37 to install it in the car. I spotted a graco stroller frame through the window of a kids consignment store, so we may go check that out in the next day or so to see if it works with the carseat. **Update: The basket of the frame was a little dirty and the store kind of smelled like cat pee, so we decided to hold off.

Christmas was wonderful, although it wore me out! I'm already getting spoiled by this time off from work and it's going to be really hard to get up the energy to go back after the Christmas holiday. Stewart's mom finally got to feel the baby move, after several frustrating attempts over the last couple weeks. We skyped with my family up north, and got Stewart's parents all set up so they can skype with us as well.

I'm making this a short post since we're still enjoying lots of family time, plus I don't much new to report. I hope everyone had a wonderful, love-filled Christmas!

Thoughts on Christmas

I've never been one to take fortune cookies seriously, but there's one fortune that I've saved for a loooooong time (maybe since I lived in Nashville). I've moved several times and still managed to hold onto this little strip of paper, now yellowed and brittle. Its current home is on our refrigerator, and now every time look at it I smile a little smile of agreement. It reads "Your dearest wish will come true."

All I've always wanted is to be a wife and a mom. I know that's not always a popular ambition in these times when women can be whatever they want, and there have been plenty of moments when I have worried that people would think less of me because I don't have this driving need to have a successful career. I like having the skills that allow me to support myself, and I'm certainly glad that I have my master's degree, but ultimately my job has just felt like a stepping stone to what I feel is my ultimate purpose, and that is motherhood. When Stewart and I got married, we knew it would be several years before we would start a family, and I was ok with that. In fact, I was glad that we would have a few years to be married before bringing kids into our family. Well, that feeling lasted about a year. We hit our one year anniversary, and all of the sudden the desire to have a baby hit me like a ton of bricks. And it didn't go away. The next two years were really hard...I honestly let this desire consume me. I would think about it all day, every day. I would cry on my way to work (and many other times) because it seemed like so long to wait until we'd be able to have a baby. Of course the unknown of how long it would take to actually get pregnant once we started trying made it even harder. Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who understood and never made me feel bad about what I was going through. But those last couple Christmases were always tough for some reason. All I could think about was how long it would be before we would be celebrating Christmas with our children. I remember last year that I hoped and prayed that I would be pregnant by this Christmas. I imagined how different I would feel, how my sadness would be replaced with anticipation. I imagined being surrounded with family and talking about what the following Christmas would be like, once we had a new member of the family. And the whole time I was thinking and hoping for these things, I pictured myself being maybe three or four months pregnant. I had no idea that we would be only weeks away from meeting our son.

My dearest wish is about to come true.

Merry Christmas!

Baby Boom!

It looks like 2010 is going to be the year of babies in our family! We just found out that another one of Stewart's cousins is expecting, which brings the total up to four babies due next year. Stewart's dad is one of four boys, and all four brothers will be getting a new grandchild in 2010! I'm due first, and the other due dates are May, June, and July. So far we know that the first two are boys, and apparently Granda (Stewart's grandmother) has predicted that all four are going to be boys. I'm excited that there are going to be so many little ones around the same age in the family!

There's one more baby that I'm SOOO excited about! If you've ever taken a peek at the sidebar on my blog, you've noticed the little button in support of my friend Adrienne, who has been waiting for the day when she can bring her little girl Lily to her new home in the US. Well that day is finally here!! Adrienne and Lily are arriving from South Korea today to join the rest of their family in Nashville just in time for Christmas! What a blessing! You can read more of their story and see pictures of beautiful Lily at http://www.our-journey-to-parenthood.blogspot.com/. Welcome home, Lily!

34 weeks

I'm officially on Christmas break! I have never needed the time off from school so badly! We're going to be around for a few days to do some Christmas shopping and work on making room for the baby. As I type this, Stewart is putting together a dresser so we can start putting away all the baby clothes. After Thanksgiving we brought up my cradle (the one my grandparents had made for me when I was a baby), and the glider should arrive sometime soon after Christmas. I know once I start back to school in January the time is going to fly, so I really want to get as much done as we can before then.

For a couple weeks I've been wondering about the position of the baby, since I haven't been able to tell. I asked at my doctor's appointment this week, and the doctor did a quick ultrasound to check. Sorry, no ultrasound pictures to share, but the good news is that his head is down! (Way down, according to the doctor.) He also said that he thought it was very unlikely that he would turn, so obviously I'm quite relieved. The other interesting thing the doctor told me is that I may not be feeling hiccups, but rather little rhythmic breath-like movements. He said that it was a very good sign, because it indicates that he's getting lots of oxygen.

This past week I feel like I've expanded quite a bit. The heartburn was back with a vengeance, until I gave in and started taking (pregnancy approved) Zantac. It has helped a lot. I now officially cannot see the underside of my belly, nor can I lean over to tie my sneakers and breathe at the same time. Getting up off the couch is becoming more and more difficult as well...there is usually some grunting involved. I think the solution is just to stay on the couch. :-)

Well, I think Stewart is almost done with the dresser, so I should probably go get ready for what is (hopefully) our last Christmas shopping marathon. Enjoy the picture (I've been loving this purplish color this season!)

Childhood optimism

Student quote of the week (from a 9-year-old)

L: "Mrs. G, when are you going to have your baby?"
Me: "The end of January"
L: "Well, I wish you a pain-free labor"

I swear, that's exactly how he said it.

33 weeks

33 weeks and baby has finally graduated to a new fruit size....the honeydew! My belly is definitely growing by the day, but it still doesn't seem like something so big is actually in there! He should be around four pounds, but still seems to have plenty of room to continue his crazy movements. The last couple days it's also seemed like he's had the hiccups nonstop. Friday he had them at least four different times. Even though I've read that hiccups don't bother a baby, I can't help but feel bad for the little guy. Plus it can get a little annoying for me too!

The second day of our childbirth class was, well, long. We got there at 9am, and at 10am a worker came in to inform us that the electricity was about to be shut off in the entire building. You should have seen our jaws drop. First the carpet cleaning fiasco, then this?? Thankfully there were emergency lights so we could still see (and use the bathroom, thank goodness), because the electricity stayed out from 10am until around 3pm. It was a dreary, rainy day so we didn't have much sunlight. The combination of the dim light, being in the same room all day long, and general pregnancy tiredness made for some difficult moments. I'm sure my chin hit my chest a couple times, and Stewart didn't fare much better. I'm still glad we took the class...it was a good overview of a bunch of different topics relating to late pregnancy and delivery.

The main question it raised for me is whether or not to get an epidural. Up until now I've been absolutely planning to get one, but now I'm not as sure. We were shown so many different positions and strategies for getting through labor, but the majority of them won't even be possible if the lower half of my body is numb. I'm not a big fan of feeling numb (I've been known to get a cavity filled without Novocaine because I'd rather take a little pain over hours of a numb mouth.) And I like the idea of being able to move around for as long as I feel that I can, instead of being confined to the bed because my legs can't support me. On the other hand, I also like the idea of relief from excruciating pain. So I don't really know what to do now. I may try to go as long as I can without the epidural, just keep my options open, but absolutely will still get one if I want it. I'm just surprised that I'm even considering going without, because I honestly had thought I'd be walking in the hospital ready to call for the anesthesiologist right away. And that still may happen....I guess I just won't know until I'm in the situation.

So I have one more week of work before Christmas break, and then two glorious weeks off! After the break there are four weeks left of school before my due date. I'm meeting with my supervisors tomorrow morning about how they're planning to handle my absence. From what I understand, there haven't been any applicants to fill in for me while I'm gone, so I'm a bit nervous about what tomorrow's meeting is going to bring. Honestly, the work issue is one that I'm not really ready to go into right now. It really needs its own entire post. Suffice it to say, the question of returning to work is by far the biggest stress of this pregnancy (and one that left me trying to choke down my salad in tears at Chili's tonight.) I'd just ask for your prayers as we make some big decisions about how to handle the next six months or so.

So....I guess that's about it for now. Here's the belly picture. Sorry about my appearance, I was exhausted and not in the mood for make-up or a flat-iron.


PS I know you're wondering about our pregnant anchorwoman from the childbirth class. Well, she sat next to me on Day 2, and we're BFF's now. I'm fulling expecting a shout-out on the morning news tomorrow. :-)

Childbirth Class- day 1

Well it was interesting, folks. First of all, we have a local celebrity in our midst....our morning news anchorwoman is in the class! She got married about a year ago, and I've been wondering for a couple of months whether she is pregnant (hard to tell since they hide the belly behind the news desk.) A few weeks ago I decided that yes, she definitely is pregnant, and now obviously it has been confirmed. It was funny to see her in her yoga pants, sequined-emblazoned "diva" shirt, hair & make-up a mess, etc. Since I watch her every morning, I kept feeling like she should recognize me too! Obviously she does not. Although she did offer me a chair when I looked like I was about to pass out....

Wondering why I was about to pass out? Yeah, I figured.

So the class didn't quite go as planned. It was supposed to be in the waiting room of our OB/GYN's office. We arrived a couple minutes early to find three big carpet cleaning vans out front, and a panicked-looking instructor standing out in the freezing cold. Apparently someone didn't check the calendar when they scheduled the carpet cleaning. The instructor decided that we would go ahead and do the tour of the labor and delivery wing at the hospital, which normally we would have done on day 2. So we drove over to that section of the hospital, and had to wait about 30 minutes until she was able to get everyone over there to the new location. (It was amusing to watch every single pregnant woman- starting with me- walk in the waiting room and immediately go to the bathroom. I lost count after a while, but I'm pretty sure we were at least 7 for 7 in terms of immediate bathroom visits.) Once we started the tour she took us to a labor and delivery room, which I really thought was pretty nice (bonus points for the jacuzzi tub!) Unfortunately there were about 5 chairs, and 10 pregnant women. Since most of the other women looked quite a bit more pregnant than me, I decided I could handle standing. Bad idea. After about an hour and a half of standing crammed with 20 other people in this little room, I was regretting my decision. One other girl had already given up and plopped herself onto the floor, but I just didn't feel quite right about sitting on the hospital floor (yuck.) I don't really know why I started feeling so bad, but I was starting to sweat, feel queasy and lightheaded, and basically just fighting back tears because I wanted to sit down so bad. Eventually my anchorwoman (who had been sitting but stood up to get a better view of something the instructor was showing) saw me shake my head at Stewart with a look of mild-panic in my eyes, and offered me the chair. Once I sat down I was fine. I felt like a bit wuss, because I swear some of these other women are mere days from popping out their babies, and they seemed to do much better than me. Oh well. Stewart has since advised me not to be a martyr anymore and just take a chair when I see one.

Anyway, in terms of the class itself, I'm glad we got to have the tour, and I'm expecting we'll get more in terms of actual information/education on day 2. I'd better go wake up my sleeping husband and get ready for more childbirth fun!

Hmmmm.....

We have our childbirth class this weekend. We're doing the "marathon" class, which basically means that we're there all of Friday evening and all day Saturday. (The other option was to spread it out over several weeks, and Stewart said he preferred to do it this way.) I just got a voicemail (on my new snazzy cell phone) from the teacher of the class, saying that we should bring a sack lunch on Saturday because we're "going to watch some videos while we eat lunch to so we can maximize all the time we have." Um....is this concerning to anybody else, or just me? This is a childbirth class, remember?? Are there really any videos we could possibly be watching that would be appropriate for eating lunch? This could be an interesting weekend.

32 Weeks

8 weeks to go! Can't come soon enough. I'm still feeling good but just getting impatient. It's hard to keep my heart in my job; all I want to do is come home and be a human incubator for this baby. But when I am home, there's so much to do to get ready for both Christmas and the little one's arrival. I finally got my Christmas cards ordered, and now I've got to get to work on my continuing education courses that need to be completed before the end of the year. I have a feeling that all the pre-holiday, end-of-the-year tasks are going to take up the next several weeks, and then in January we're going to be nuts trying to get everything ready for the baby!

I had my bi-monthly check-up last week; everything was fine. I wanted to know whether the doctor could tell what position the baby is in (since I can't tell), but he said that he couldn't really say at that point and would check the position at my 36 week appointment. I'm continuing to feel the rolling, pushing type of movement almost all day long. Sometimes it feels like he's got something (a foot?) wedged up in my ribs, and other times it feels like he's kicking directly at my cervix. I will say that the movements are starting to be a little less cute and a little more uncomfortable. I'm now getting up usually twice each night (sometimes three times) to pee. I am thankful that my rings still fit and my feet and ankles haven't started swelling at all. Oh, and my belly button is still an innie and looks to stay that way for a while! I must finally look pregnant to those who don't know me, because I finally got my first comment from a stranger, asking me if I'm having a boy or a girl!

Here's the weekly growth of the belly.

Students tell it like it is

I used to be intimidated by working with kids in 4th and 5th grade, but I've come to appreciate and enjoy them. Today my 5th grade boys absolutely cracked me up. We've been talking about different parts of speech, and today we were focusing on adjectives. After reviewing the fact that an adjective is a word that describes a noun, I told them to choose any noun and we would think of adjectives to describe it. Well, the noun they chose was me. So we spent the next several minutes thinking of words that describe Mrs. G. I got "nice", "funny", "helpful", etc. Both boys know I'm having a baby and they talk about it pretty frequently, so I prompted them to think of an adjective to describe me right now (while indicating my obvious belly.) One caught on and started to say "pregnant", while the other one gleefully declared the best adjective to describe Mrs. G at the moment......."BIG"!!
I literally doubled over in laughter, and then explained to this dear child that he should never, ever tell a woman that she looks 'big'.

Later in the session, one boy told me now that I'm having a baby, I need a minivan. The other insisted that only old people drive minivans.

See why I like 5th graders now?

31 weeks

I feel like a terrible Gator fan for updating my blog during Tebow's last game in The Swamp, but I know I'm not going to want to do it when we get back into town tomorrow. We've had a great time hanging out with my mom this week, although I really wish that my brother would have been able to come down from New York. "Grams" was able to feel some hiccups and one big kick. The little one was particularly active on Thanksgiving morning, and gave his daddy a swift kick in the belly while I was giving him a hug. We laughed about it the rest of the day!

This was a big week for major baby purchases. After an exhaustive search, we ordered a glider, a generous gift from my mom. Here is our chair, which we ordered in "oatmeal". (I love the stripes and polka dots in this nursery too.)


I also made my biggest baby purchase, for which I have been saving for months and months. Some people may not consider a camera to be necessary in order to prepare for a baby, but I have long planned to upgrade to a DSLR and definitely wanted to do it before the little one gets here. I researched and obsessed over it until I about drove myself (and my husband) crazy, but finally took the plunge with a big Black Friday deal. I've had fun trying out different settings and learning about aperture, shutter speed, etc. I love being able to take indoor pictures without a flash! Here's my new baby for the next 9 weeks, until the real baby gets here!


And just because it's so darn cute, look at the coat that my mom got on clearance at BabyGap!


I've so enjoyed this little break from work and really wish I could have a couple more days before heading back. But I keep reminding myself that there are only seven more weeks of school (9 weeks total) before my due date. We have a LOT to do before the end of January, especially when it comes to making our bonus room ready for the baby. We had borrowed a crib from my friend and Stewart put it together the night we got it. Three days later came the big Storkcraft recall, and of course the one we borrowed was included in the recall. I had some reservations about using a drop-side crib anyway, so this just kind of confirmed it. So now we're back to our original plan of starting the baby in a cradle in our room, and then using a Pack-and-Play when he's ready to move into the other room. When we move sometime in late spring/early summer, then we'll get some actual nursery furniture.

OK, I'm going to go watch the end of this football game....enjoy the belly picture!

Turning 30

I'm turning 30 today....30 weeks pregnant, that is! (I still have a few more months until I actually turn 30 years old.) Only ten weeks left...unbelievable. I'm so excited for the holidays to be here, and can't wait to head down to my mom's for Thanksgiving in just a few days. I know the rest of November and December are going to fly by, although I doubt I'll be able to say the same for January. I hear those last few weeks seem to take forever!

I had a shower at school this past Wednesday, and it was really sweet. The baby got tons of cute outfits, a Boppy, and quite a few gift cards. I work in a pretty rural area, and so the secretary decided that I needed a camouflage onesie and booties in order to make this an "official" baby of the county. Jennifer (who threw me the shower at her house last weekend) gave the baby a piggy bank. Everyone passed it around the room and put change in it as they gave me advice. Here is some of the advice that I could remember by the time I got home:

• When in doubt, call your mother.
• Be a good parent by being a good wife to your husband.
• Sleep when the baby sleeps (I heard this one several times)
• Listen to the doctor, read the baby books, but always trust your instincts.
• Ask the hospital for the nose sucker thing.
• When he gets to be an adult, he WILL realize and remember how much you love him, no matter what bumps there may be along the way, so don't get discouraged.

Here's a picture of me with my principal and assistant principal at the shower.


As for actual physical updates, this has been the week of the heartburn. Ugh. It comes pretty much daily, and it's BAD. I've never really had heartburn before being pregnant, so this makes me have sympathy for chronic sufferers. There have been times during therapy when I have to stop in the middle of a sentence and just shut my eyes until the pain passes. My poor students just kind of stare at me. There's not really any rhyme or reason as to what makes it start....often I'll just have a small snack in the afternoon (like a half a granola bar) and I'll be in pain for several hours. It makes me not want to eat, but of course I'm hungry! My sleep is also continuing to slowly forsake me. I'm getting up more often to go to the bathroom, and it's not uncommon for me to lay there for an hour trying to get back to sleep. I'm not overly uncomfortable or anything, just can't fall back asleep. Overall though, I still feel pretty darn good, for being three quarters of the way through this pregnancy. I feel very lucky!

We're getting very close to choosing the name for baby. Actually, Stewart is ready to make the final decision, I'm just scared to commit and announce it to everyone (even though if people ask, I'll usually tell them what we're thinking.) We have started calling him one name consistently (instead of rotating through three or so names), so I think the final decision won't be too far off. I'l give you a hint....if we stick with what we're thinking, his initials will be the same as his mommy's!

Picture time! (Susan, are you enjoying seeing all your hand-me downs?)


Have a fantastic Thanksgiving this week, everyone. I guess it's no secret what I'm thankful for...

Baby's first shower!

Saturday my sweet friend Jennifer threw me a shower at her house. Jennifer is the ESE teacher at my school and we work very closely together. She's also my classroom neighbor, and I'm in and out of her room about twenty times per day. She had already offered to throw me a shower at her house when she somehow got put in charge of my "work" shower as well, so she's been doing double shower duty. This shower was a lot of fun, and it gave me a chance to invite my close girlfriends from outside of work. Two ladies even drove two hours to be able to come!! We played a couple games, and the baby got so many cute things! Of course I can't post pictures of everything, but I do want to show off my one-of-a-kind diaper bag that my friend Kristin made for me! I absolutely love it, and want to start carrying it now! She and I had looked at some fabrics together, but I ultimately left the fabric choice up to her and I love how it turned out.

You can check out some of the other great things Kristin has made on her etsy site, Sewn Sunday.

Me with Jennifer, the wonderful hostess :-)

Welcome home, Auntie Amber!

Stewart's sister just got back from a two-week medical mission trip to Cambodia and Thailand. She's a physical therapist, but spend most of her time working in the eye clinic and pharmacy. On one of their days off they went to see an elephant show, and she brought back this adorable silk elephant for the baby. His first international gift! Thanks Auntie A, we love you and are proud of your continued dedication to sharing the love of God with people across the world!

29 weeks

As you can see, he has grown to the size of a squash. (Anyone know what kind of squash this is??) My baby shower was today, and it was so much fun! I'll write about it and post some pictures soon. Earlier in the week, I wasn't feeling as many movements from the baby and it was starting to worry me a little bit. But yesterday and today he's been back to his old active self. It's amazing how relieved I feel after just a few big kicks or turns.

I have to give my husband some props this week for helping me with my wardrobe dilemma. I spent all day Wednesday at the mall looking for something cute to wear to my shower, and basically came home empty handed. I was far more upset than I should have been, and tried giving myself a stern talking-to in order to turn my attitude around. I mean really, does it matter what I wear?? I've had a smooth pregnancy, the baby is healthy, and someone cares enough to be throwing me a shower. I was clearly blowing this outfit thing out of proportion. But as soon as I stepped back in my closet, the frustration would set in again. So on Friday night I bribed Stewart with a cheeseburger dinner and then dragged him to the mall to help me find an outfit. And thanks to his suggestions, I came away with something that made me feel somewhat cute and will be wearable after the baby comes. Thanks for enduring my wardrobe-induced moodiness and the evening of shopping, honey!

What, you thought I was going to show you this outfit? Nope, you'll just have to wait for the shower pictures! But here's a belly picture to tide you over...

28 Weeks

12 weeks left, and the baby is enjoying his last week as the size of an eggplant. He's most likely over two pounds now, and I can believe it! His movements have seemed much bigger and more jarring in the last few days. The other day I woke up to two of the biggest kicks yet...I was laying on my side and I swear his foot made contact with the bed. I'm also starting to be able to feel more stretching and pushing, instead of just kicks. Guess he's starting to feel a little cramped in there. Sorry buddy, you've still got a while, so get cozy!

I had another routine checkup this past week, nothing new or exciting to report. Much to my surprise, they asked if I wanted to get the H1N1 shot while I was there (even though several months ago they had said that they weren't planning to get any.) I did get the shot, and I'm comfortable with the decision, even though I know that not everyone likes the idea of the vaccine. I know my mom at least is happy. :-) My arm was a little bit sore for about a day, but nothing to write home about. Other than that, no ill effects. My appointments now go from once a month to once every two weeks. Yet another milestone that makes the little one's arrival seem so soon!

This should be an exciting week....tomorrow we're going to go check out the brand new BabiesRUs that is opening in town. I have Wednesday off for Veteran's Day and am going to get my free facial that I won at the OB last month. Most exciting is my first baby shower, which my friend from work is throwing for me next Saturday. I can't wait!

27 week picture

When I started this blog I decided that I wouldn't be posting bare belly pictures, mainly out of deference to my BFF, who is kind of uncomfortable with seeing that kind of thing. But since we were at the beach, and my big white belly was already out there for the world to see, I figured I'd make an exception this once (sorry Robin!)


Obviously this belly has not seen the light of day in quite a while....

27 Weeks

Well, I believe this is the start of the third trimester! (According to TheBump it started at 26 weeks and 6 days, but I just rounded to the nearest week.) We're two-thirds of the way there, which is pretty unbelievable. I don't have a belly shot right now, because we were at the beach with my college buddies this weekend and I was more focused on them than my belly. My friend did take a picture of me on Saturday (in my bikini....eek!), so when she sends that to me I'll post it, unless I decide that I look too hideous. In that case you'll just have to go without a picture for the week.

According to BabyCenter, the babe is sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and possibly sucking his thumb. I've started being able to feel when he gets the hiccups, which is pretty weird! My energy has picked back up a bit, and I've been trying to get in some more activity. Mainly walking after school, although I did do some frolicking in the waves this weekend too. I know eventually my energy is going to drop off again, so I'd better take advantage of it while I can.

Since I don't have a picture to post, I'll give you a little glimpse of what a baby looks like at 27 weeks gestation. This is a really cool website that shows the development of a baby inside the womb...you click and drag the bar under the pictures (the one on the left is through week 8, and on the right is week 8 through week 40.) It is an illustration of a woman's internal anatomy, so if you're squeamish about those kind of things, then skip this link. I just think it's a really cool visual (drag it slowly, and then try it fast!) The thing that's amazing to me is to see how all the other organs are already all squished up at week 27! No wonder I have heartburn, everything is all out of place. Here's the link: 9 Month Miracle (hint: sometimes I have to fiddle with the website a bit, move the pictures up and down on the screen until they show up.)

I came across another cool website today: 1001 rules for my unborn son. I had planned to spend some time looking through it and tell you some of my favorites, but I've spent too much time online so I'll leave you with Stewart's favorites instead:
322: Sympathy is a crutch. Never fake a limp.
395: Be mindful of what comes between you and the earth. Buy good tires, good sheets, and good shoes.
393: Never eat lunch at your desk. (Wish I could follow this rule...)
360: Never under any circumstances as a woman if she is pregnant.
"Hold doors, pull out chairs, easy on the swears." -Fresh Prince

26 weeks

Well, the second trimester is winding down, and I'm starting to find myself slowing down as well. This week I have been sooooo tired. I think part of it is that I've started waking up a lot more at night. I usually can just roll over and fall right back asleep, but it's long enough to disrupt my rest. Plus, activities that normally wouldn't have fazed me in the past are now leaving me totally drained. I guess this just comes with the territory. I still can't bring myself to nap, which is probably what I should be doing. I'm just not a good napper. Hopefully the babe will be better than I am in that area...

So I'm in full-on countdown mode now. I literally manufacture ways to count down days, weeks, milestones, etc. This is not new to the pregnancy; I've always been really aware of approaching events and slightly obsessed with marking the passage of time until those events arrive. Here are some of my latest countdown observations related to this pregnancy.

• We have less than 100 days until my due date. Going from triple digits to double digits seems like a big deal.
• I have fewer weeks of work from now until my due date (11 weeks, when adjusted for Thanksgiving and Christmas break and other days off) than I have already worked so far this school year (12 weeks, including teacher planning)
• Stewart only has 3 more rotations until my due date (and these rotations go by so fast!)
• Last week I bought a new bottle of pre-natal vitamins, and realized that I have exactly enough vitamins to last me until January 31st. So now my vitamin bottle gets to be my visual countdown reminder!
• Only 11 more weeks until I'm considered "full term". Obviously I'd like to make it to the end of January (although I might be singing a different tune around week 38 and 39), but I was three weeks early and look how well I turned out!
• 3 months and one week until my due date!

I've always been a good test taker.

Turns out I passed my glucose tolerance test, with flying colors. So no gestational diabetes for me! The cutoff for the blood glucose level is 139, and mine was in the 70's. I think this means I need to eat more ice cream, but Stewart assures me that this is not the case. Can't imagine why not!

25 Weeks

Is it bad that I left my gestational diabetes screening this morning and went directly to Krispy Kreme? I felt I deserved some sort of reward after getting up so early on a Saturday morning, chugging a nasty glucose drink (tasted like orange Gatorade with three times too much sugar), spending an hour and a half in a packed, uncomfortable waiting room, and then being stuck and drained of two vials of blood. I won't get the results for another three days or so, but I have a feeling that I'm going to be in the clear. And if not, at least I got my doughnuts before being deprived of all things that taste good.

As you can see, this month (weeks 25-28) the baby has moved up to the next fruit size. Did you know that an eggplant is a fruit? I always thought it was a veggie. This week the baby is starting to gain some of that baby fat that will make him so incredibly adorable. Supposedly the vocal folds have developed, and I may be able to start feeling him hiccup soon. Each week I can feel his kicks up a little higher (now a few inches above my belly button), even though my belly still seems to be sitting pretty low. My lower back is starting to give me a little bit more trouble. Friday was a teacher planning day, and I spent ALL day sitting at my desk doing paperwork. Each time I got up, I swear I did that stereotypical pregnant woman walk- one hand on my lower back, waddling just a bit, grimace on my face. I swear, it's too early for me to be doing that walk...

So after fighting this cruddy sickness for a week and a half with no improvement, I finally got on some antibiotics and hopefully will start feeling better ASAP. Sleep is quite elusive because I can't breathe out of my nose and sound like I'm trying to cough up a lung. I'm hoping not to cause the baby hearing loss with my hacking.

The name issue is starting to stress me out. We have it narrowed down to two likely choices, but can't seem to come any closer to a decision. It used to be fun to talk about hypothetical baby names, but to actually have to decide on one for our child is a lot of pressure. Neither Stewart or I are known for being great decision makers ("Whatever you want, honey", tends to be our both of our most common utterances.) So we basically keep going around in circles. I don't see us waiting until the baby is born to decide, because as much as I hate decisions I also hate being in limbo. So....anyone want to volunteer to name our baby? We reserve the right to veto.

This has been a pretty disjointed blog post, so I'll just go ahead and give you what you came for, the belly picture. Notice I'm wearing long sleeves....yay for the first real fall weather of the season!

Follow-up with the specialist

Today I went in for a follow-up ultrasound with the fetal specialist to make sure everything still looked ok. Stewart wasn't able to make it to this appointment, which was fine but strange, since I've gotten used to him being with me at every appointment. In a nutshell, everything looked great. The echogenic focus has gone away, and all the other measurements were good. I got to see some awesome close-up shots of the four chambers of the heart and the brain. Apparently at one point he yawned (the baby, not the doctor), but somehow I missed that. He wasn't in the greatest position to get many good pictures today, although at one point he did have his legs crossed at the ankles, which I just found irresistible. I guess he's just chillin' in there! They attempted to get a 4D shot, but apparently 24 weeks is the earliest they will even try for that, so it didn't come out too clear. He had his arm up blocking his face too, which actually was kind of a relief because I think the faces sometimes can look kind of scary on those 4D images.

Here's the picture of his crossed ankles. (I know you can't really see his toes, but I assure you it's just the angle of the shot...he has nice, long feet with gorgeous toes)


And here's the attempt at the 4D shot with his hand over his face.


According to the doctor, he weighs 1 lb 10oz. Quick, go find something in your house that weighs about a pound and a half (in my pantry it was a bag of new potatoes). Can you believe he's that heavy already??

24 weeks

I'm 24 weeks along today, and not much new to report. I ended up coming down with a cold or upper respiratory infection of some kind this week. Normally I wouldn't have gone to the doctor, but with all this scary flu talk I decided not to take any chances. They tested me for strep and the flu, both were negative. (Well, the strep was negative and they never called me back with the flu results, which I assume means it was negative as well.) When the nurse was getting all my intake info, she asked "And when was the first day of your last period?" When I said "April 25th" she kind of gave me this funny look, so I continued with "which makes me almost 24 weeks pregnant." She acted shocked. "I never would have known," she exclaimed. Sigh. And I was feeling like I actually looked pregnant that day.

I'm still in research mode for baby gear, since I'm trying to get the registries settled. In big ticket items, we're leaning toward the Chicco Keyfit infant carseat with the Maclaren Easy Traveler stroller frame, and then the City Mini stroller when he outgrows the infant seat. This week I've spent lots of time thinking about baby carriers/wraps, so thanks to those of you who have already weighed in on that topic. Anyone else who has opinions or experience, feel free to chime in. The front runners include:
A Moby-style wrap like this one from Etsy seller LoveyDuds


An asian-style baby carrier like this Baby Hawk


and a soft-structured carrier like the Beco Butterfly


All a bit pricey, but I keep hearing that many others (even the Baby Bjorn) can get really uncomfortable on the back and shoulders. I have issues with my shoulders (carry lots of tension there) that tend to lead to migraines, so I know I need something that's going to be supportive and evenly distribute the baby's weight.

So.....since I'm more than halfway through the second trimester and haven't done my little pregnancy survey, I figured I should go ahead and do it. Here ya go!
How far along? 24 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Believe it or not, around 20 lbs. Eeek.
Maternity clothes? Absolutely. Also loving my new yoga pants from Target, whenever I'm hanging around the apartment.
Sleep: Not too bad, actually. I even occasionally make it through the night without getting up to pee.
Best moment this week: Non-baby related, but I think it had to be Jim & Pam getting married! (I know technically this happened last week, but we just watched it last night.) I literally sobbed.....thanks a lot pregnancy hormones- or maybe I'm just a sap. My favorite line was right at the end: "The boat was actually Plan C, the church was Plan B, and Plan A was marrying her a long time ago. Pretty much the day I met her."
Movement: Dance Party USA is going on in my uterus.
Food cravings: Just pumpkin stuff, but I think that's more fall-related than pregnancy-related.
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? Still very much in....maybe it will stay that way.
What I miss: Nothing really!
What I am looking forward to: Looking obviously pregnant, even to people who don't know me.
Weekly Wisdom: I'm currently lacking in the wisdom department.
Milestones: A big increase in viability occurs this week! Meaning if I went into labor this week, the baby would have a 50%-70% chance of surviving (as opposed to the 20%-35% chance if born week 23 or earlier.) Obviously I'm planning on keeping the little one in there for a good 16 more weeks, but it's pretty amazing that his body is developed enough to have a chance for making it.

AND finally, it's belly picture time! Here I am, modeling my one purchase from the Seaside garage sale last weekend!


And a front shot. I just loved the print, and figured even if I didn't wear it more than once or twice, maybe I can make something out of the fabric someday.

Random Tuesday thoughts....

I apologize if none of this is of interest to anyone else....

• Is it possible for a baby to be TOO active?? Seriously, the last few days have convinced me that we're going to have a wild man on our hands.
  
• I've pretty much decided to get the H1N1 vaccine, after much consideration. If I didn't work in a school, I might have made a different decision. Now that the media is saying that vaccines should be available to the high-risk populations this week (like pregnant women with asthma), I can't get any information about getting one around here! My primary care physician (and I use the term "my" loosely, since I've only seen him once) said they are not likely to get any. The health department doesn't have any and doesn't know when they are going to get any. I'm wondering if I should go ahead and get my regular flu shot, just in case it takes a while to find an H1N1 vaccine. And in case you were wondering, yes, there have been cases of H1N1 at my school. So far not as widespread as they were anticipating, but it's still early in the season...
• I switched to a new OB/GYN just before I got pregnant, mainly because my former OB doesn't deliver at the local hospital that has a NICU. Well I'm glad I switched when I did because this morning I saw a commercial for a new medical weight loss center, and the physician they have on staff is the doctor I used to go to! So I guess I would have had to switch anyway, since he seems to have had a bit of a career shift.
  

23 weeks

Sorry I'm a couple days late; we were gone most of this weekend and I just now feel caught up enough with laundry, meal planning, and grocery shopping to sit down and type out a post. We're doing great, and baby continues to be a bundle of energy. The evenings are definitely his most active time, and we can now see my belly move when he gives a particularly big kick. It makes me laugh really hard every time it happens. It's such a weird feeling, to watch my own body move without doing it of my own volition!

I had my monthly doctor's appointment last week. It was a quick checkup, with just the basic weigh-in, pee in a cup, and listen to the heartbeat. The doctor said everything sounds good, but he's on the fence about whether or not I'm gaining weight too quickly. Guess I need to start being a little bit more careful about my calorie intake, and get back to some sort of exercise. We went for a nice long walk last week that I know was good for me, but the heat and humidity has kicked back in this week so I've been hesitant to head back out. I have to go for some sort of glucose tolerance test in a few weeks, I think to see if I'm developing gestational diabetes. I believe it's a routine test that the majority of women get at this stage in pregnancy, not just because my doctor thinks I'm a porker.

So after the shattering of my body image, at least something positive did come out of that appointment (besides knowing that the baby is doing well, of course.) At check-out I put my name in a drawing for a free mommy-to-be facial, and the office called me today to tell me that I won! Yay! I never win anything! It's been forever since I've had a facial, so I'm really looking forward to some pampering.

So here's this week's belly shot, on location at Seaside. We went for the semi-annual Seaside garage sale and some outlet shopping in Destin. Thanks for my mom-in-law for the maternity outfit and the for adding to the growing stash of adorable baby clothes!

Night owl

Stewart just admitted that when comes to bed after I've gone to sleep, he feels my belly to see if the baby is kicking (how cute is that??) Apparently last night he was kicking like crazy for daddy! I'm just thankful that it doesn't wake me up....I guess the little guy is letting me get my sleep now while I can...

By the way, isn't that owl adorable? Pattern available here on etsy.

22 Weeks

Hi from week 22! I'm officially 5 months pregnant, no matter how you break down the months/weeks (it really depends on what book I'm looking at.) Only 4 months to go! For the next month the baby is about the size of a papaya (which I've actually never eaten), and several sources say that he's probably weighing about a pound this week. He continues to be very active, kicking much higher than before, and Stewart gets to feel him moving almost daily now. Typically he moves most when I'm sitting quietly at the end of the workday, but sometimes he surprises me. Once this week he started doing some major karate while I was washing my hands at school (which I do a lot these days,) and it was so unexpected that it literally brought tears to my eyes. I love to feel him move!

We attempted to register at Target yesterday, since that's really the only place in town that people could go to buy gifts. We'll probably also register online at BabiesRUs, and I'm trying to figure out a way to set up something through etsy.com. The Target experience was pretty overwhelming, despite all the advice I've gotten, and my trusty Baby Bargains book. Take bottles, for example. I've heard several recommendations for two types of bottles, Avent and Dr. Browns. But how do I know which one the baby will do better with? And how many do I need? So we went ahead and registered for one set of both types, but then the issue becomes that you have to get different nipples for each type. I'm afraid people are going to look at our registry and think I've gone overboard. (By the way, Target is currently having some technical difficulties getting the in-store registries linked to their website, so you can't pull up our registry yet.) Our other issue is that Stewart thinks I'm going to make our baby boring, because I always gravitate towards neutrals, solids, and stripes, and he thinks the baby needs some more bright colors, patterns, etc. It doesn't help that we're not really designing a nursery at this point (we'll do that when we move mid-year next year), so we don't have a color scheme or anything to guide our choices. I don't want a whole lot of extra "stuff", especially in our current small apartment, but I know that comes with the territory of having a baby. I am really excited for my baby showers. I'll have one shower at work, and then another one thrown by a co-worker and friend at her house. I think both of those will be in November, so I have a little bit more time to get the registering under control.

In terms of belly growth, I think I still look about the same as the last few weeks. While we were registering yesterday, a woman shopping in the baby aisles didn't believe that I was the one having a baby. Obviously the T-shirt in this week's photo doesn't really show off my belly, but it was a game day, so I had to represent my Gators!

Sweet kids

Look at the sweet pictures I've recently received.

The first one is from a student at my school. She is not one of my students but she knows me from being in her classroom. (Obviously there's some confusion with "for" and "from").


The next two are from my old roommate Heather's two nieces (age 4 and 2, I think!) Apparently she has been showing them the pictures of my growing belly....how cute is the little drawing of me (blond hair and all!?) Love it. :-)

Baby's first Gator game

Stewart's dad got us some last minute tickets to the UF-TN game on Saturday, and we were thrilled since we had thought we weren't going to get to go to a game at all this season. I was a little bit worried about whether the noise would bother the baby, since I had just read that a noise as loud as a jackhammer can be upsetting to a baby at this point in pregnancy. I'm pretty sure that 90,000 screaming fans in The Swamp is louder than a jackhammer, but I figured since Angie is a pediatrician and went to the FL-GA game while pregnant with Anna, it wouldn't really do any damage.

I did hit what I consider a pregnancy low once we arrived in Gainesville. We'd been searching for a parking spot forever, and finally managed to snag the last spot in the front yard of some college guys' house. I had to go to the bathroom so bad and didn't think I could make it all the way to the stadium, so I asked the guys if I could use their bathroom. "Sure, go ahead in and just ask anyone where it is," he said. It was such the stereotypical college guy's house, and I felt SO old walking in there. And the bathroom was NASTY! But my bladder could not be ignored. I'm still amused that I actually went in to that house....

So the game was fun, and the baby didn't seem to be bothered by the noise. In fact, I think he was probably even doing a little baby gator chomp in there...


And since we figured it would be several years before he's old enough to take his first real trip to a Gator game, we should document this as his first visit to The Swamp. Stewart and I are sharing responsibility for the poor composition of this photo....me because I plunked my purse down right in front of the gator, and Stewart because he cut off half the gator's head.


And for the record, I don't usually wear dresses to football games (that's just too Georgia sorority girl for me), but my wardrobe options are currently pretty limited at the moment. Don't judge me.

21 weeks

21 weeks, and the baby's about as long as a banana. Measurements are different now...instead of being given from crown to rump, the average measurements are from head to heel. Apparently taste buds are starting to work, and he's doing lots of swallowing. Hopefully he doesn't have any difficulty with that, since his momma blocked out everything she was supposed to learn in grad school about swallowing.

The big excitement this week was that Stewart finally felt the baby kick! I had been pretty convinced that I was feeling movement from the outside all week, but Stewart had spent quite a bit of time hanging out with his hand on my belly to no avail. Finally last night the baby was kicking up a storm, and Stewart was able to feel him twice. They weren't even his biggest kicks, so I definitely know that we'll be feeling much more in the weeks to come.

OK, belly shot time. Is this the "popping" that I keep hearing about? The last two weeks have definitely been the biggest weeks for belly growth. Am I carrying abnormally low, or is this normal for 21 weeks?

20 weeks

20 weeks! We're halfway there, yippee! This week I learned the perils of overdoing it. After babysitting for a friend on Friday night and not getting home until 1:15 am, I spent all day Saturday cleaning and baking. Here's the result...

This is at our friends' house Saturday evening, after enjoying some homemade pizzas and board games. It took me all of 5 minutes once we started watching football to pass out (Stewart must have followed soon after, but he doesn't have the pregnancy excuse like me.) I didn't even know that Brian and Krisita took this picture until I went to upload the belly picture a few minutes ago! Don't we look like a fun pair to have over on a Saturday night?? :-)

So I've been reflecting on the first half of the pregnancy, and what is/isn't what I expected. I definitely think overall the symptoms have been much milder than I was anticipating. The morning sickness wasn't as bad as I thought, I haven't had major cravings or food aversions, I'm not too sensitive to smells, etc. I thought I'd have a bigger belly by now. I'm starting to get aches and pains that I didn't think I would get until much later (lower back pain, sore hips when I sleep, etc.) In terms of things that are what I anticipated, I would say my emotions in general are what I thought they would be. I knew I would probably be a nervous wreck in the beginning, and I was. I knew I'd feel more confident once we got out of the first trimester, and I did. I knew I would start to feel a stronger connection to the baby once I knew the gender and could feel him start to move, and I do. Overall, I would say that I am really enjoying being pregnant, while at the same time wishing I could fast forward the next 20 weeks. I hope the second half of the pregnancy goes as smoothly as the first half!

I know certain readers (hi mom!) are anxious to see the latest belly picture. I can tell a pretty significant difference compared to last week, what do you think?

Dear co-worker,

Dear co-worker,
I appreciate you being excited about my pregnancy, really I do. But let's get a couple things straight. First of all, it is still WAY too early to be patting or rubbing my belly. Maybe when I'm 8 months along and have a hugely obvious pregnant belly, I won't mind. But for right now, let's continue to respect each others' personal space, m'kay? Also, announcing that you are going to pat my belly does not excuse the actual act of patting, because I'm too nice to a) swat your approaching hand away or b) say "Hold it, sister!!" Please, let's just keep our hands to ourselves for a few more months.

Second, I have no objection to you commenting on my growing belly. Comments like "Oh, you look like you're starting to show!" or "Look at your cute belly!" are a-ok. But let's refrain from things like "You're starting to pudge out now, aren't you?" Really, that doesn't make anyone feel good.

Respectfully,
Your moody pregnant speech-therapist

It's all in the clothes....

I just wanted to prove how much more pregnant I look on some days, depending on what I wear. This is my new favorite outfit (thanks Susan!) because it literally is soft enough to be a nightgown. I'm planning on wearing it once a week. This picture was taken today (19weeks4days).

19 week picture

I don't really see much difference from the past few weeks....maybe because I'm wearing a looser (i.e. maternity) tank top. In person I definitely think I look bigger, although it's still all below the belly button. Also, I'd like to state for the record that I'm aware that gray is not my color. But not to worry, because I threw on a bright scarf that helped the outfit significantly. Just in case you were concerned.

We had a great time in Atlanta, and I didn't even have to drag Stewart around to too many baby stores to accomplish my objectives! I think we found a glider/rocker chair that we like, although we still have to decide on a fabric (the hardest part for me.) We managed to try out the Peg Perego Si, which is one of the things I really wanted to see. We liked it, but didn't LOVE it like the City Mini. So as of right now, we've pretty much decided on the City Mini, yay! Now we have to decide on the infant carseat/carrier, and whether or not we'll just get an adapter so it can fit into the stroller or whether we will get a separate stroller frame. Decisions, decisions.

We rounded out the weekend with a Braves game, lots of eating, and plenty of talking about babies and baby names. Nancy & Thomas were great hosts as always, and we're looking forward to seeing them again next month when they come down here.

In other baby news, I'm definitely feeling the baby move. A lot. I'm pretty sure that's what I had been feeling for weeks, but it's just much stronger now. Definite kicks and punches. Every once in a while I think I can feel it from the outside, but Stewart still can't feel it. Hopefully in the next couple weeks. Sometimes when I'm sitting quietly and I feel the baby move, it makes me get really weepy and emotional. I feel like I'm connecting more to the baby, now that I know it's a boy and can feel him move. The whole process is just so amazing and wonderful. I can't believe that next week I'll be halfway through the pregnancy!

Gator baby

Tomorrow brings about the start to a a beautiful season...college football, baby! And just in case there was any doubt as to who this child will grow up cheering for, check out what we already have for him....




This doesn't include the Gator pacifier and Gator football Mr. Potato Head that I have stashed away for him. Forget teaching him how to wave "hi" and "bye-bye", we're starting with the Gator chomp....

19 weeks

This week's fruit comparison is dedicated to my best friend Robin. She had objections to the strangely shaped sweet potato of last week, but little did she know that this week the baby is the size of her new favorite fruit, the mango! (Robin inherited a mango tree in the backyard of her previous house, and has eaten more mangoes over the last two years than anyone thought humanly possible.) So is this better, Rob?

I'm writing this post a little early, because tomorrow morning we're headed to Atlanta to hang out with family and do a little baby shopping. Still in search of that perfect (but affordable) glider! I'll post my 19 week picture when we get back.

One quick funny story about a student "outing" me at school. I haven't really told many students that I'm having a baby; they'll figure it out eventually. But this one little kindergarten boy (who I adore) came in to use my bathroom, and then asked why he hadn't been to speech this week. He normally comes on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, so I missed both his sessions this week due to the doctors appointments. I told him I was at the doctor both days, and he got very concerned. "Why are you going to the doctor??" I decided, what the heck, I'll just tell him, he probably won't even remember by they time he gets back to his class. So I simply told him I was going to have a baby. He was like "Oh, ok." Little did I know, he got back to his classroom, flung open the door, and announced, "Mrs. Courtney is having a baby!!" Well, his teacher somehow was the one person in the school that didn't know I was pregnant, so she didn't know what to say. I can only imagine how she responded! She came into my office later and whispered, "Are you pregnant??" She couldn't believe that I was almost 19 weeks along, and that she couldn't even tell I was pregnant. (Like I said, it still depends on the outfit.) Anyway, I guess I shouldn't underestimate my kiddos at school!

So the most exciting baby development to me this week is the hearing. According to the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy:
Your baby's hearing is now well-developed. He is probably hearing lots of different sounds, maybe even your conversations. Mom's voice is by far the most prominent in any conversation. If you sing or talk to your baby, it is reasonable to think he might notice.

I admit that I haven't started singing to the baby yet, but I guess I better get to it! To be honest, every time I think about it, I can't come up with a song to sing. The one that always pops into my head is "Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles. Guess I better learn the words to that one...

Well, we're getting up bright and early to his the road tomorrow, so I better cut this short. Happy Labor Day weekend everyone!

Follow-up appointment

We went this morning for our follow-up ultrasound with the fetal medicine specialist. I came away from the appointment feeling slightly reassured but also somewhat confused and disappointed. What I was really looking for was for the doctor to say "Oh, false alarm! Your baby's perfect!" Here's what we got instead:

• The baby has this spot on his heart, which often means nothing, but can also be a marker for other problems such as Down Syndrome
• All the other detailed measurements they took today, along with my bloodwork, are normal.
• There really is no way to say with 100% certainty at this point whether there is or isn't a problem, with the exception of an amniocentesis, which is not something we are considering (has too high a risk of pregnancy loss.)

The doctor threw around a ton of medical terms, along with some very random metaphors to Dick Cheney, weapons of mass destruction, and the proposed healthcare plan. So after he finished explaining everything and asked if we had questions, the first thing I asked was "What is the take-home message from this appointment?" His response was "Your baby is fine."

Here is some of the information from the handout they gave us on the Echogenic Focus.

• Is seen as a "bright white" area in the fetal heart
• A normal structure, simply more echogenic (brighter) than normal
• Present in 5% of all fetuses
• Not associated with any increased risk for heart defects
• Some increased risk for Down Syndrome (estimated to be 2X the age-related risk)

One nice thing the doctor kept saying was that the Echogenic Focus is more common in "skinny" women, and then proceeded to call me skinny at least two more times. You know that gave him some bonus points and slightly made up for the hard-to-follow metaphors. He did schedule us for another appointment in 6 weeks, but I'm pretty reassured for now.

Consider yourself updated!

Possible names?

So it seems that the pressure to name the baby has been lifted from our shoulders! Grace and Megan have decided that they will take care of that for us. These were their first suggestions:

Eric
Aladdin
Luke
Max
Hermit
Camden
Pinocchio

Thanks girls, we'll keep those in mind!

It's a.....

It took the ultrasound technician about a half of a second to inform us that we're going to have a baby boy!! (She actually admitted that she was glad we wanted to know, because it would have been hard for her to hide it from us!) He was VERY active during the ultrasound...seriously, he barely stopped moving the whole time. The poor technician had her work cut out for her, between the baby's movements and my subsequent laughter. But she did manage to get all the measurements that she needed. Overall measurement is still right on track, estimated weight at 9 oz. It was really cool to see some of the more detailed shots, like the brain, four chambers of the heart, umbilical cord, etc. There is one little spot (called a echogenic foci) on the heart that they were concerned about, so I have to go back on Thursday morning to have a fetal specialist take a look at it. Both the ultrasound tech and my doctor assured me that it's not totally uncommon, but that it's better to have another set of eyes look at it. Sometimes a spot like this can be indicative of other problems, but since my 16 week bloodwork and all other organ measurements have been good, I'm trying not to panic. I'm at least glad that I was able to get in to the specialist on Thursday morning, so I don't have too long to worry about it.

So Stewart (and my brother) are over the moon about the fact that I'm having a little boy. I'm excited, but taking a little bit longer to get used to the idea. All day I've been thinking about why I'm more reserved in my reaction, and I think it's because I'm a little bit more nervous about raising a boy than a girl. I just don't know what to do with a boy! I'm a girly-girl.....I like ruffles and bows and ballet and princesses! So the thought of a boy kind of intimidates me! I'm slowly getting used to the idea though. Now we really need to get serious about names. Eeek! (That makes me nervous too!)

Ready to see some pictures? Like I said, the little guy wasn't at all shy about giving us "the money shot", as they say, but for some reason, I feel kind of weird about posting that one on the internet. I know that's kind of ridiculous, but this is my son's privacy we're talking about! If you really want to see that picture let me know and I'll e-mail it to you.

Here's a cute one of his profile.


And one of his feet, tush, and spine (the face and head are not in this shot)


The ultrasound tech commented several times that she thought he had big feet, and how they were right up against my bladder. I believe her exact words were "Wow, he's nailing your bladder with those feet!" Trust me lady, I know!

Well, I'd better go....Stewart is ready to start reading "The History of the Florida Gators" to our little man now. Starting him early....