gnarly horse

Cloud mobile in baby's room. 

I scared the crap out of Chris last night when I bolted upright in bed at 4am, crying in pain with the worst full leg charlie horse ever. He grabbed my belly thinking it something much more serious. It was excruciating and I'm limping a little today as a result. Note to self: eat more bananas. 

Today's my last day working in the office! Excited but super busy...

free to be you and me, brahs

My dad and a friend, late 40's

Since we've learned that baby is (most likely) a boy, I've been surprised by some casual, lukewarm summations of raising babies of the male persuasion. Mostly tired cliches about girls being all sweetness, goodness and light while boys are trucks, destruction and kinda mean. It's pretty sexist and I'm bummed that it's come from women who appear to have great men in their lives. Girls rule, boys drool. Boys suck. I know that it's partly a tongue-in-cheek response to sexism women have dealt with, but since when does countering intolerance with intolerance seem like a good idea? The upside of all this is that I've been thinking a lot about how we can raise a child who has pride, love and confidence in themselves and others, regardless of gender.


I think Harry and Marlo said it best. Play us out, guys...

10 weeks (or less) to go!

Top image is Chris reading to my cousin's sweet little guy, Jesse.

In the homestretch now. We've been getting things done every weekend like nursery painting, car seat, cloth diaper service research, but there's still a lot to do. The late night pre-baby jitters have cropped up here and there, but it's all part of the journey, right? 

Start working from home at the end of the month, which will help with the really bad back pain from sitting and typing in a chair for over 8 hours every day. Definitely in the uncomfortable stage now---turning over in bed feels like an epic endeavor. Feeling healthy and strong, though. 

Dr. Rosengarten says Bumper is doing great and predicts an easy labor and delivery. He said a similar patient (same body type and easy pregnancy) delivered in 20 minutes! (Don't worry--I'm not going to count on that). We can't wait for prenatal classes to start so we're a little more prepped for little man's arrival. 

boy oh boys

My friend Nugget brought over her CUTE x 2 twin boys, William and Gabriel, for a photo shoot yesterday and these are a few of the outtakes. 

I realized that photographing babies is tricky, but photographing twins is twice as tricky. It was so much fun, though. 

cozy times indeed

We got a package in the mail recently from my Aunt Mary Lou, with three gorgeous, cozy and soft baby blankets that she lovingly knit. We love them and baby will too! Thanks so much, Auntie M.L.

In other news, baby has a name now but we're keeping it a surprise!

heading into month 7

Spent about an hour raking & weeding in the yard yesterday and my body is officially on strike today. Ow. 

Favourite new thing: feeling baby hiccupping. *cute*

Some weeks are harder...

...but that's a given. Week 26 has brought sciatica, one swollen leg, more fitful sleeps, an extra busy work load, and just feeling out of sorts. Things have gone so beautifully so far that I'm due for some of this. Heading into the third trimester. I've heard there'll be a little more of this. I'm ready.
We love you, baby xox

mini versions

Mom gave me some baby albums this past weekend to make some scans. The first pic is my mom and me; the second my cousin Jessica, my sister Megan, my mom and me.

I think junior will definitely be blonde to begin with but not sure if he'll get the mad scientist hair gene that I have. We'll see...

I like this series of photographs by Ryan Marshall. He takes photos of his pregnant wife's belly each week with little messages to their unborn baby. See more here

25 weeks

Prepping, reading, learning, planning as the weeks pass. Just 15 more to go! We've been getting little things together like booking prenatal classes (at the awesome Pomegranate: http://www.pomegranate-midwives.com), deciding on cloth diapers, prepping for my one-year mat leave, Baby Bjorn vs BabyHawk carriers, trying to figure out if those 'little necessities' are really necessities. We've also been thinking about bigger picture stuff like what kind of parents we want to be and realizing how much we have to learn.

Talking to Junior each night as he rolls and kicks and dances. You can literally see him somersault around in there. Chris read "Where the Wild Things Are" to him the other night. 

We're just so excited to meet him in a few months.

vintage pregs

heh

whoa belly

it just keeps growing

almost 6 months

Thanks to Chris' mom and dad, I have an awesome supply of mini-Chris pictures. Steve took this shot in the lovely New Hampshire woods, some time in the early 70's.

Just over 22 weeks. Heartburn and hip aches these days, but really can't complain. I feel incredibly lucky to feel healthy and strong and to know baby's doing great.

we've taken to calling him junior

guess who?

Ummm, how much do I love this picture and my husband? So very much.

totally a bout de souffle over here

Weird pregnancy symptom of the moment: breathlessness. When I'm walking, talking, laying down, lifting anything. It's totally normal and due to hormones swelling the respiratory tract. Later on, it's from the baby pushing up into the diaphragm toward the lungs. Not a big deal, but suddenly taking a walk in the hood and getting groceries feels like a much more monumental task than normal.

Baby's kicking and somersaulting like crazy every day and it's pretty awesome. Chris got to feel a kick from the outside last week, too. Counting down the minutes to our OB apppointment on Thursday, when we'll get the detailed ultrasound results.

half baked

So now that I'm in the 20th week, we're half way there! Yesterday was our big ultrasound and baby's looking great, as you can see above. The first shot is the profile, second is the spine and head, and the last is my favourite--baby skeletor face. So cool to see him/her, hands and tiny feet moving, little heart thumping!

The u/s technician had to shake, poke and prod (ow) to get baby to change position for a better view of the heart. After a particularly vigorous shake, baby finally cooperated. We'll find out the details on how baby looks at our appointment next week with Dr. Rosengarten. Full report will include baby's sex. Exciiiiited.

babies know

My friend Cookie sent me this and it's funny 'cause it's true

more than a feeling

The big news this week is that I'm definitely feeling the baby move! Tiny little fluttery taps and bubbles. The first time it happened, it made me stop, laugh and immediately tell Chris that baby was tap-tapping on my belly. Couldn't stop smiling. Today at work as I sat at my desk writing, I could feel tons of activity in there. Amazing.

My belly's gone through a speedy growth spurt in the last week, so I'm showing a little more obviously. Big ultrasound in two weeks, when we hope to find out if our little bean is a girl or a boy. We're not excited at all. Nah.

no sleep 'til 2013

Awake every night for at least two hours for the last month. I fall asleep right away then up at 2 or 3, completely alert and unable to get comfy. Good practice for the hardcore sleeplessness to come, but I was hoping I could fit in some high-quality sleep now before it's all a distant memory. And so the hazing begins...

I've got company, apparently. My dad couldn't sleep the other night and sent us this cute poem he wrote while he was up:

BUMP
Brought on by international cooperation
Under the influence of Greek stimulation
Manufactured by North American innovation
Parlayed into June's sensation

Thanks Dad! We love you and the new gonk will, too xo

and perhaps most crucial of all...

music appreciation

I read an article this week about baby's senses in utero, and as early as 18 weeks they can hear voices and music. So we want to start a playlist for baby and let him/her have a little listen every once in a while in utero. Willie, The Beach Boys, Blossom Dearie, Chopin, Les McCann, Jose Feliciano. Hmm. I wonder if they make lullaby versions of Motorhead? 

picturing you

Chris and his beautiful mama, Barbara, in Germany. Wonder if our little one will be blonde-haired & blue-eyed too?

a boy named sue

Ok, so we don't know whether baby's a boy or girl and we definitely won't be naming him or her Sue, but we're starting to think about what's in a name. We have a few favourites in mind, but it's easy to feel overwhelmed by all the possibilities, subtle nuances and potential for horrifying nicknames. I can easily see myself falling into the Nymbler vortex a little farther down the line.

belly watch '09

15 weeks and feeling fine. Starting to show just a little and yet my jeans are nowhere close to fitting any more. Stretchy dresses, leggings and tights 24/7.

Appointment with Dr. Rosengarten in a few days for the triple screen blood test--it measures AFP, hCG and estriol levels in order to assess the probability of genetic disorders like Downs Syndrome and neural tube defects like Spina bifida. False postives are common, apparently, so I have mixed feelings about it. Hopefully there'll be nothing to fret about.

just the two of us...

... soon to be three of us! Baby Hall is due june 27, 2009 and we're thrilled about it!