"Baby Out!"

It is normal to educate the first child on the upcoming addition of the new one...so we have started this with Greyson. He knows there is a baby in Mommy's belly. Cute things he has said since this education began are:

• Upon going with me to a monthly appointment and me telling him he will "hear" the baby (i.e. heartbeat):

"I hear baby cry"

• This weekend he insisted he had a baby in his belly too. He talks to Mommy's belly and tries to tickle the baby thru my belly button:

"Hi, baby."

• Last night, after kissing Mommy's belly and feeding, swaddling, and putting the baby doll to "night night":

"Baby out!" Are you ready for baby to come? "Yeah"

So Greyson's education on becoming a big brother continues....

Pumpkin....you better know how much mommy loves you

Monday, normally a crappy day, but today, there is light at the end of the tunnel of darkness (that does not make my congested head throb) to this illness. I have been suffering, and I do mean suffering, with a nasty virus since Tuesday of last week. The suffering is more severe when pregnant, not jsut because it is normal to feel lousy anyway, but also because you cannot take anything that might make you feel better as it may hurt the baby.

So my newest pregnancy craving...nyquil! Yes, something I want desperately, but like a good mommy, DID NOT take. Yep, that is love pumpkin!

Week 18 Update

www.baby2see.com says:


Week Eighteen: Baby begins to hear

You are 18 weeks pregnant. (fetal age 16 weeks)

• The fetus is now 6 inches long and weighs 7 ounces.
• The fetus measures about 15cm and weighs almost 200 grams.
• They can hear sounds and may be startled by loud noises.
• Recognizable active and rest periods.

The skin is building a protective wax layer (vernix).Vernix (a white cheese like protective material) forms on baby's skin with the lanugo, a soft lightly pigmented hair covering the body and limbs, both help to protect your baby's skin during the months in water. Your baby may hear your heart beating, your stomach rumbling or blood moving through the umbilical cord. He or she may even be startled by loud noises.

Tiny air sacs called alveoli begin to form in lungs and the vocal chords are formed. Baby goes through the motions of crying but without air doesn't make a sound; yet.

Your baby may have the same awake and sleep patterns of a newborn. Baby will have a favorite position for sleep and recognizable active and rest periods.

Your baby measures about 6 inches (15cm) crown to rump and weighs about 7 ounces (200gm).

Appointment Update

Ok, so Dr. J really named Peanut for us. Today, she called the baby "pumpkin"....I like it. I know that I said we may try out sweet potato, but it is kinda a mouthful...So it may very well be pumpkin the rest of the pregnancy.

Let's try it....

So I had my third appointment today and everything looks great.

• I only gained 2 pounds, which is exactly what I am supposed to gain, which I celebrated by eating a delicious tuna sub from Jimmy Johns!!
• My blood pressure is perfect, 122/66.
• I am measuring just right for where I am in the pregnancy...baby is growing just right.
• Pumpkin's heartbeat was good and strong at 150 bpm

So the next time I go, I will be seeing pumpkin, not just hearing him/her. How exciting!

I have pics to post, I just need to find my usb hookup cable...so you can decide looking pregnant or not!

"Don't look Pregnant"

So funny, I have been told several times within the last two days, "you don't even look pregnant" I also had a student guess me at 2 1/2 months, when I am almost five. I think it is because in forethought I decided to camoflauge the pregnancy by gaining extra weight everywhere, thus effectively hiding it... :)

Five months? Can you believe that? Crazy! That is 1/2 way done....we are trying out the affectionate term of "sweet potato" to see if it sticks...

In hindsight....

It WAS the stomach flu, not morning sickness. Yep, Brian and I were blessed with that junk for 2 days....all the while, thank goodness Greyson remained healthy...but very energetic.

So what was the first thing after 2 days of nothing but chicken noodle soup and crackers that prego ate? Chinese. I figure if I am going down, it might as well taste good. Oh, and it did.

I choose some sort of sweet and spicy chicken (General Tso's) that the baby just adored. I had class late that night, so all the while I am lecturing on infancy and childhood, I am experiencing the beauty of prenatal development. Yep, getting tickled and taunted by little one inside. It was a great night, espeically because the chinese stayed down.

Valentine's Day...

We don't traditionally celebrate Valentine's Day....it's a hallmark holiday. Instead we try to show love every day and not go crazy on the one day that other's who know nothing about your life say to.

But, I am feeling quite lovey this day, and I am up making my boys a Valentine's breakfast. If you are familiar with the Battle Creek area, it's like Homespun (yum, prego wants an omlette!) in my kitchen, complete with sausage, fried taters, and eggs. I still want an omlette... It is a little more special than the normal Saturday or Sunday breakfast because as we were peeling potatoes, Greyson noticed two of them were shaped like hearts...and they really were. I would feel silly taking a pic of potatoes, but I considered it.

I love that Brian, despite being sick, will still go out of his way to give me some me time today, which means handling little G on his own while I just relax (wait, do I know how to do that?)

I love that Greyson is becoming such a smart little boy...at 2 1/2 he know all his colors, most his shapes and can count to 10...genius I say.

And I love feeling this sweet babe grow and move inside me. Still have not decided on an affectionate name for it...which will remain "baby" not he or she for another 4 months!

First baby dream

So last night I had my first baby dream....

All I can remember is that I was feeding the baby, she (yes, pink clad) looked up at me and had the most beautiful little face and a little dark hair and a perfect complextion...

I had two baby dreams with Greyson, in those, both babies were boys.

Jinxed myself..

So Sunday when I said all was quiet on the baby front....I must have jinxed myself. Because then I had my first irrational hormonal crying spell followed by my first bout of m/s (or possible stomach virus..Brian has one, but I feel better, he is in bed)

Suggestion to Pregos: Do not try to be supernanny when you are pregnant.

Greyson has been thru some big changes this month. He now has a big boy bed and he has been forced to give up the pacifier ("babies"). So Sunday, as I am trying to induldge in my guilty mommy pleasures aforementioned, I get the task of putting him back in bed more times than I can count on my two hands. I didn't have the patience for it and was already choked up by chick flicks and baby blogging, so finally I just laid down with him, both of us crying, he was out and I was done crying in 5 minutes, thanks to mommy comfort and the forbidden "babies" that I resorted to.

This morning was a violent illness that seemed to come and go quickly, spurred by smells and a normal gag that I have while brushing my teeth. So I am thinking it was my first real bout of m/s, well after I thought it was done.

More Sunday Ramblings...

It is a warm and sunny Sunday afternoon and Greyson is winding down for a nap...I can hear his little angelic voice upstairs counting the toys that he smuggled upstairs. A load of laundry which produced a fresh, snuggly clean green blankie for Greyson is already done, the bathroom is freshly cleaned and spotless, and this allows me the privildge of indulging in guilty mommy pleasures...choosing a chick flick to listen to/watch, catch up on email and blog away...



I received an email that made me google the presence of orbs, as babies and children have an energy all of their own that seems to attract everyone and everything. I found this quite interesting and touching.



Melba from about.com has this to say on orbs:


"I have noticed that orbs seem to cluster around them, as if sharing their energy with them in some unknown way. They also seem to stay close to pregnant women. Perhaps they are relatives who have passed over and have returned to communicate with the encapsulated soul."


How beautiful is that? I can think of many special people in our lives that surely are celebrating the new life that will soon be joining us.

Name grumblings

So I was so happy I thought I had made progress on a baby name for a girl. I still have one that I like, but so unsure that it is "the name". I had to eliminate one that I liked becuase it could and most likely would be shortened down to the name of one of Brian's exes. Not that he has that many, but I can really see how he would not want his little girl (should this baby be a girl) being associated with a bad memory. I know dang well there are some boy names I would avoid like the plague for the same reason.

So I am thinking of trying to post a baby name poll for ideas. Now you cannot be hurt or offended if for some reason we should not select the name you suggest, because we are very serious about this naming thing. A name is sooooo important! But I would love to hear suggestions, it may be something that makes us thing of "the name". We also would love the name to have some signifigance, either meaning or family. Who knows...I know we are picky!

Oh the deliciousness

We ordered some fantastic ground beef from a little store in Shipshewana called Yoder's Meat and Cheese which is a really cool little store with amazing quality ground beef (it cooks like sirloin and has amazing flavor) so we had to stop at the Das Essenhaus for lunch....where I worked myself into a food induced drunken stooper.

It was soooo good. Not that this place isn't fantastic if you are not prego, but I find that all of my senses including taste and smell are heightened during pregnancy, so it was even better than I remembered. And literally carbtastic. Although I would have to say the mashed potatoes and gravy mixed with the roast beef were the tops.

The funny thing was, I said to Brian, that I was surprised I hadn't popped out that much, this being baby 2, I expected to show a lot faster, and I really didn't think that I had. (I know, post a pic!!!!) I said you know, I think I could still hide it...He nicely said, "no sweetie, you are pregnant, there is no hiding it now" I had to laugh!

On the good note, if you saw in the weekly update, it mentioned a weight gain range, that I can proudly say I am within, near the top, but within!!! So that must be why I didn't get the "slow it down speech" at my 15 week appointment!

Weekly Update: 16 weeks

Week Sixteen: Facial expressions are possible

You are 16 weeks pregnant. (fetal age 14 weeks)

• The fetus measures nearly 5 inches (12cm) from head to buttocks.
  
• The fetus weighs about 3.5 ounces (100 grams).
  
• The fetus is covered with a protective soft down to regulate its temperature.
  
• Fat begins to form underneath skin.
  

Baby hears external voices, sleeps and dreams.Your baby has learned to breathe. This is apparent from the regular movements of his chest, inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid. These actions help the lungs to develop and grow. More developed facial muscles may lead to various expressions, such as squinting and frowning. Your baby nows weighs more than their afterbirth. The baby can grasp with his hands, kick, or even somersault.You are showing more now and have an obvious swelling in your lower abdomen. The rest of your body is still changing. A total of 5 to 10 pound (2.25 to 4.5 kg) weight gain by this point in your pregnancy is normal.The crown to rump length of your baby is 4.4 to 4.8 inches (11 to 12 cm). Fetal weight has doubled in 2 weeks and is about 3.5 ounces (100g).

Chinese Gender Predictor???

So I did this with Greyson, and it was wrong, but I was curious on this one. It said...


Maybe A Baby Girl

So, who knows....

Disclaimer: Rumors have it that this chart is over 90% accurate when used properly. However, according to a survey in 1999, they find the accuracy rate of this prediction is less than 75 percent. Ready to give it a try? If you are a mother, check the month you conceived and your lunar age at the date of conception.
Please remember that this chart is for entertainment purposes only.

BTW...Baby will be an OX...
The Ox (牛) People born under the sign of the Ox are generally calm, dependable, patient and unflagging. The Ox is symbolic of prosperity that is achieved through hard work. Although obstinate they do have logical minds and will not be easily frightened. They appreciate that in order to achieve success things must be done in a certain methodical and correct way. Ox people are seldom deprived and tend to be both reliable and conventional. They are patient, but once angry and incensed it will be difficult to reason with them, they also have a propensity to hold grudges. Ruled more by their heads than hearts they are full of pride and uncompromising and in order to be happier they should nurture their sense of humor. Ox gets along with Snakes (Aunt Sunny) and Roosters but not Sheep.

All this talk about chinese makes me hungry!

All quiet on the baby front

Not much to report. Movement is getting stronger, but still very sporadic...so you have to be awake and still to know it is going on. But I am anxiously awaiting the real deal.

I am dying in classes....I have no breath control, I remember this with Greyson. I sound like I am so out of shape that I can't talk without getting out of breath. Yet, I always take the stairs at work to get a little bit of a work out, and completely runout of breath!

I am well into the 2nd tri and I can feel it now...I feel great. I managed 3 nights of uninterrupted sleep this week. That was amazing...consequently they all occurred on a night after I exercised..hmm, see a connection there? I need to be exercising, which also has halted the weight gain train that I was a permenant passenger on.

Making progress on baby names, not that we will share them, but making progress. Why you ask? Well, we learned quickly that if you like a name and are truly considering it for your child, it you share it and get negative feedback, it ruins the name. However, if you say "this is our baby ____, fill in the blank" everyone is so taken with the baby, the name is secondary.

My excitement for the day includes walking at the mall with Greyson and checking out the deals at Children's Place...the only time it would be beneficial to know if the little one coming in July is a little boy or girl. We may also hit McD's..he loves to play there, although the only thing on the enitre menu he can have is a hamburger and apple dippers (without the dipper part) everything else has milk in it...including frech fries.

Weekend excitement..

Well, I have spent the weekend thinking of names, baby shop surfing and doing all of the domestic borings I normally do.

I, just like last time, can easily think of boy names. I actually think it is more pressure to name a girl. I feel like their name has to be "cute" Why is that? Just reinforcing the societial push of cute is important with girls..ugh. Oh well, whatever it is, I still feel like zero progress has been made in the girl name department.

Due to the mommy intuition that it's a girl, I almost feel slightly panicked. No, not that I can't handle it, but that I won't have what I need, when logically, I know I won't need anything for at least a good few weeks. I have lots of nuetral stuff that is newborn and a July baby will be mostly in cotton sleepers and onsies. Must be some inborn maternal nesting craze thing that makes me feel I must be prepared, and yet, I still have 25 weeks to go....

I will not get into domestic boredom...it is not blog worthy. However, when I let the dogs out this morning, I noticed it was not as cold...maybe a trip to the property for snow stomping is in order, that should take some of the mundaneness out of my Sunday...