Holy Shit

We're having a baby. Yeah, yeah, we've known that for awhile, but nothing so far has made it seem more real than this:


(carseat is from Charles and Belinda and the crib was found on craigslist)

Wahoo!!

Tonight when we were walking the dog, we saw our friend Heather with her dog Django. Heather walks him in the evening, and I usually see Matt out with him in the mornings. Heather said she had something to show me. She dug through her notebook and pulled out an ultrasound picture!! She's due in late October, 6 weeks after me. I'm so very excited to have a friend who will be pregnant at the same time. We can suffer through the heat of summer together. I'm really happy for them - they are a great couple who I know will be good parents. Yay!

Seven songs

I got my first meme tag from my sister to list the seven songs I would choose if I only got seven songs for the rest of my life. Yikes. I realized that the list I make is totally dependant on my mood. And last night I thought of a song that should DEFINITELY be on the list, and of course today I have no idea what it was.

So, today's list, in no particular order:
1. Nightswimming by REM. I love this song, and have since I first heard it when 'Automatic for the People' came out in '92.
2. The longest time by Billy Joel. One of the best songs ever for singing LOUDLY in the car with a friend. Great harmonies.
3. Closer to fine by The Indigo Girls. Same reason as in #2.
4. Passing Afternoon by Iron & Wine. Such a sad sounding song. It's lovely.
5. I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor. See #2 (except for the harmonies part).
6. Faith by George Michael. I have loved this song since high school. It came on the radio the other day as I was getting close to home, and I sat in the car in the driveway until it was done, singing the whole way through.
7. I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You by Colin Hay. Sweet, sad song from the Garden State soundtrack. I love it.

15.5 weeks

I've been remiss at posting fetal development updates. I've readjusted the countdown at the bottom of the page to the original due date. It was when the date seemed to have changed that I stopped the updates, but it's time to start them again. I think we only missed week 14, so we'll play catch up today. And a bonus belly shot. By the evenings, I'm definitely showing, although not enough that anyone would dare ask me in the grocery store when I'm due. It's a dangerous question to ask a woman who looks like me. Maybe I'm just fat.

I am officially in the 2nd trimester, regardless of which (of three) ways you count trimesters.
Last week (week 14):
- Thyroid gland has matured and the fetus begins producing hormones.
- In boys, the prostate gland develops.
- In girls, the ovaries move from the abdomen to the pelvis.
- The fetus's bones are getting harder and stronger.
- The skin is very transparent still.
- Lanugo (very fine hair) covers the body and will continue to grow until 26 weeks gestational age - Generally this will be shed prior to birth. Its purpose is to help protect baby's skin while in the amniotic fluid.

This week (week 15):
- May begin to feel some fluttering movements as baby kicks, flails, twists and turns. Fetus can also grasp, squint, frown, grimace and maybe suck it's thumb.
- The legs have grown longer than the arms and the body is now longer than the head.
- The three tiny bones in his middle ear have begun to harden.
- Fingernails and toenails are growing.
- Eyebrows are beginning to grow and even the hair his head is sprouting.
- The fetus is 3.98 inches (10.1cm) long and may weigh 2.47 ounces (70gm).
(from pregnancy.org)

Good Things

My friend Rebecca came to visit us this weekend. She lives in Boston, but had to come to Dallas for a conference this week. She arranged to come a few days early. She arrived Saturday evening and left this afternoon. It was great to see her - neither of us could remember when we last saw each other. But since we talk nearly every day on Instant Messenger, it doesn't seem like that long.

On Sunday we played frisbee golf and then went to Maria's Taco Express for a late breakfast/early lunch. Later in the afternoon we went to watch the kayak polo game under the MoPac bridge. She has played for a number of years and knows some people here who play, including Stephanie, a friend of hers who recently moved here from Boston. After hanging out there for awhile, we tried to go to the wildflower centre, but we were only 15 minutes before closing. Stephanie and her boyfriend came over for dinner, and Graeme grilled an awesome piece of salmon. Yum.

Today, after a lazy morning, we headed out to do some shopping. I actually purchased maternity clothes - a pair of pants and a cute shirt that should last me through much of the summer. We tried to go for sushi for lunch, but the restaurant is closed on Mondays, so we had Vietnamese instead, which suited the wet day. We were also foiled by the wildflowers again - both by the rain and by another Monday closure. Even so, it was a good day. It was a great visit with Rebecca, and I'm glad she managed to fit a few extra days into her travels.

Maybe if I suck it in

I have two pairs of pants that fit that are ok for work, and then I have one other pair that fit that are too nice for work. They fit because they are low rise and had a bit of room to spare in the butt (although, not so much anymore). I'm sitting at the computer at work right now ordering parts, and I realized I was very uncomfortable. Now, after pushing the front waistband down very very low, I'm feeling more comfortable. Sigh. I'm afraid my days of regular pant wearing are numbered.

What's cooking Wednesday

We were out of fresh stuff - fruits, veggies and meat. We also had a coupon for $10 off steak. Yay! Beef. It's what's for dinner.

We also had a beautiful salad from the Soup Peddler. They called it Apricashew salad. It came with an amazing yogurt/herb vinegrette. Yum.

Up for grabs

My mom made this vest quite a few years ago, and now that we live in a warm place, I never wear it. Since she made it, I don't want to just throw it into the Goodwill pile. It's fleece, and has cool silver clasps. As you can see, it fits me quite big, so I often wore it over a sweat shirt or another fleece.

If you can give it a good home, let me know and I'll mail it to you.

Belly shot

Finally, a belly pic. Let's call this 15 weeks, since we're not changing my due date. I had a midwife appointment today and everything is going great. My blood work from last month came back all normal, and I tested negative for protein and glucose in my urine (I have a pee on a stick). My blood pressure was great. The midwife was very happy. They were all surprised at how little I'm showing for 15 weeks. My uterus is still measuring a week beyond my dates (16 weeks) but we're not changing the dates. It gives me more flexibility to go late if the kid decides it's too cozy to come out.

I've been having a lot of ligament stretching pain the last few weeks, but I don't know if that correlates with showing. I keep expecting to wake up suddenly one morning and I'll look pregnant.

Slacker

I know, I'm behind on belly shots (and there is some change these days) and I haven't done the weekly development post. I spent the weekend in a Landmark Seminar, so I'm still catching up. I'll get a photo and a real post in the next day or two.

8 years

My dearest Graeme,
8 years already. It seems amazing that we've been married so long, but I also don't remember life before. I'm thankful every day that I get to share life with you. I'm looking forward to our next adventure of becoming parents together and many more great years.

Happy anniversary. I love you.

-b

What's cooking Wednesday

Nothing! I just had a bowl of cereal for dinner. Graeme is having frozen chicken strips. I've been hungry a lot, but nothing is sounding at all appetizing. Certainly not appetizing enough to cook anything.

Blech

I feel blech today. I've been super tired, have a headache and although I feel a bit hungry, nothing sounds at all appetizing. I came home from work early and had a cup of hot chocolate (we're having a rainy day, so it seemed appropriate) and reading a bit. It's also the third day in a row without exercise, which always makes me feel gross, even when not pregnant. Sigh.

My new symptoms for the past week or so has been ligament stretching. It's sort of a cramp/pulling feeling that lasts about a second. I have them on and off for hours at a time. If I didn't know what it was it would be worrisome, but I know it's nothing to worry about.

I hope I sleep well tonight. I've been getting up to pee a lot. What is going to be like in August if I feel crappy already??

Test Results

We got back the results from the early screening genetic testing today. It included blood work and an U/S to determine the risk of Down's syndrome and trisomy 18 and 21 which are severe chromosomal disorders. The results come back as a probability, one for Down's and one combined for the trisomies. I don't know what my risk was for the trisomies before testing, but my risk for Down's (based on my age) was 1 in 420. It is now 1 in 7851. Our risk for trisomies, after testing, is 1 in 14800.

These tests only give probabilities, so if the numbers were high they would be followed up with amniocentesis or CVS. Since we seem to have cooked up a good one, we don't have to do any further testing. Woot!

Spring

Spring is here in Austin. There are some early season bloomers that have burst out this week, and they are my favourites. Texas mountain laurel and red bud. We have a red bud tree, but I didn't get a good picture. There is one down the street that is astounding - I'll get a picture of it when the rain lets up. But we do have a small Mountain Laurel. The blooms smell like grape bubblegum. It can be trained into a tree shape, rather than the bush we have, but it is a slow grower and takes a loooong time to get big.

Spring also means it's time to enact my plans/hopes to grow vegetables. Last weekend I built raised beds. The big one has broccoli, cabbage and onions so far. I also want to add potatoes and maybe beets. The smaller one (which needs leveling) will have tomatoes, but it's still a bit early for those.

I'm going to try some vines too, probably zucchini and melons. They will go in the border garden so they can use the fence to grow, and also won't eat up my limited raised bed space. I hope it goes well, I'm excited about homegrown veggies.

What's cooking Wednesday

Dinner was made from leftovers tonight. All beef Elgin sausage with onions and peppers on a bun. I put mayonnaise and Salt Lick sauce on mine. Graeme adds his sweet hot mustard, while I go for sliced pickles. We had a salad on the side.

I also made a batch of cupcakes for Friday night when we're hosting movie night. Of course, I had to try one to make sure they were ok. They are delicious.

Not just a pretty leg

Look! A whole fetus! You can see the facial bones (nasal, jaw) and the spine. And the leg, again. It was very cooperative today.

New shoes!

I got myself some new shoes yesterday at REI. I had a gift certificate from Dad and Donna from Christmas (thanks!) plus my dividend, plus they had a promotion for members to get 20% off any full priced item. They ended up costing me $18. I had a pair of red shoes when I was little. They were patent leather MaryJanes. Since Keen started making red MaryJanes 4 or 5 years ago, I have been lusting after a pair. And here they are. Love them.

12/13 belly

I have a midwife appointment in two weeks and then I'll clarify which count we're using. Either way, here are this weekend's belly shots. The first is if I'm flexing - not much different than it ever was, except for a bit of extra insulation.


And the relaxed belly. Definitely starting to show.

Twelve (or thirteen) weeks

By the U/S measurements, I'm 13 weeks. By LMP, I'm twelve weeks. I don't know if the midwives will change the due date since the two are only a week apart, so I'm not sure which to use here. Of course, I prefer the 13 week number, but I also know that birth can happen anywhere from 28-42 weeks, so a one week difference doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of 9+ months, but when you're counting week by week, it seems like a lot!

I'll just do both.
Week 12:
- Vocal cords begin to form.
- Eyes begin to move closer together.
- Ears shift to their normal place on the side of the head.
- Intestines move farther into body.
- Liver begins to function.
- The pancreas begins to produce insulin.
- Average size is now 2.13 inches (5.4cm) and weight: 0.49 ounce (14gm)

Week 13:
- Fetus is about 2.91 inches (7.4cm) and weighs around 0.81 ounce (23gm).
- Fetus begins to practice inhaling and exhaling movements.
- Eyes and ears continue to move and develop.
- Neck is getting longer, and the chin no longer is resting on the chest.
- Hands are becoming more functional.
-At this point all nourishment is received from the placenta.

Thank you for your support

I bought the first pregnancy related item(s) today. A bra. Actually, four. I had none at all. Previously, I haven't been able to fill an A cup, so there wasn't much point in wearing one. I would wear tanks with built in shelf bras, or just layer t-shirts and it was totally fine. But the boobs have been growing, and now I can't comfortably run around without crossing my arms over my chest. And it's not looking quite so good in the t-shirts. I went to Petticoat Fair, which every woman in Austin I've ever talked to about bras has recommended. And they know what they are doing. I went in, put my name down for a custom fitting and explained the situation - never really had a real bra, don't know what size I'll be, don't want to spend a lot if they aren't going to fit for long, etc. etc. The woman brought me a few to try, and I found FOUR that were good. They are comfortable! And the most expensive one was $20! I even had to ask how many bras you need - she said three, but since I couldn't decide, I got all four of them. And now I can run without my arms crossed awkwardly. Yay!