Party Hardy

Last night, at 38wks pregnant, I was a very good sport to my dear husband and "partied" until 3am! Friends of ours host a yearly September Birthdays Party which includes Adam, and we were there for hours and hours last night getting our fun in while we still can! While I didn't get to enjoy the famous Varnell cosmos and margaritas, which looked so tasty, there was plenty of sinfully delicious food and belly-aching laughter.

See 001, your Mommy is a lot of fun, and a pretty good sport. We've had our fun, our lists are checked off. You can come now!

37wk Appointments

This week between the perinatalogist and midwives we know:

001 is DEFINATELY an O'Connell babe, she's measuring 7lbs 4oz which is a full pound more than most babies at this point, and a pound more than Adam at 40wks.

She is projected at 40wks to be between 9 and 10 pounds and about 23in! While it may come as a surprise to others, no one in my family is even blinking. My brother and I were well over 9lbs, my Dad was a 10lb baby, and my frousin's girls were 9 and 10lbs. We grow 'em big an Irish over here!

My perinatalogist this week jokingly asked "Is this your first baby? Are you trying to set some kind of record?!" He also mentioned, "I mean, if you've ever considered taking up smoking now might be the time...." :)

001 has continued to drop, and her heart rate has settled on a low 130. Other than that there are no signs of any impending labor.

I am at a 1, but I was last week too and there has otherwise been no progress. Today the midwives stripped my membranes "a little" with no expectation of my body being ready for labor, but with the hopes that "since this baby would clearly be just fine if she was born now" that maybe I'd have some great progress over the week. That was at 8:45am, and I have had some contractions today but they've been too inconsistent and short to get excited about. In fact, typing this I realize the last one was hours ago. No signs of baby :(

This was the first week in my entire pregnancy that I have gained no weight! Sounds silly? At 85lbs weight gain (gee, thanks thyroid) I will take what I can get!

I know being at almost 38wks (Saturday) doesn't mean much, and it could still be several weeks, but gosh I would like to be done and on the other side of this! Adam's birthday is Monday and he keeps asking 001 to come then, the ultimate birthday present! If she does in fact come closer to her due date, October 2nd, she'll be an early gift to us for our third anniversary, which would be pretty neat.

3D Ultrasound 36.5wks

Today I was surprised by a few minutes of 3D ultrasound, and the tech secretly gave me two pictures before Dr.Howard came in!

My family has joked about it from the flat, regular ultrasounds, but I really think 001 may have my nose! She still has her hand up by her face, and I lost some quality scanning it in, but still!!!

Oh Body

My poor, twisted body. I don't think I have ever felt so many sensations at once.

I've got this weird, painless pressure that kind of ebbs and flows. Has she dropped? I see the perinatologist today and the midwives tomorrow, maybe someone can tell me since I have no idea what's going on. I'm hoping that's the case, it's exciting to think it might be.

The itchiness that consumed my body last week is slowly retreating. Thankfully Adam called the midwives Saturday morning when I lost another night of sleep and they called in some blissful drugs to take away the itch and let me get some rest. We re-washed all known 'poisened' fabrics, and have been washing anything we use/wear once just to be safe. So far, so good.

I made my way to the chiropractor yesterday for my pubic bone. Eight weeks of hoping didn't send the pain away, so at friends and midwives urging I gave it a shot. The woman I saw happened to have the same problem in her pregnancy and explained there were two ways to try and fix it. A 'gentle' way, that usually worked and a 'rough' way that always worked but was probably going to make me cry. I opted for gentle, and if we don't see results, coming back next week. Keep your fingers crossed! Maybe soon I can put on underwear without wincing!

Last night, in hopes of tackling more on the list, we headed out to the car to get it baby ready. There I took a lovely fall over a manhole that scared both of us more then it did anything. Thankfully I managed to twist and fall on my leg and arms instead of my stomach or head, but I now have a nice softball size bruise and cuts on my left calf to show for it. :) Nothing like being clumsy and pregnant, right? Ah well. As Adam said while he doctored me, "All of this gives me a great chance to get used to taking care of someone else." Glad I can help.

The Amended List

Since my initial list post, Adam and I have been trying to knock it out one by one with more determination! Thank goodness there's someone else here to help me stay on top of everything, especially considering every time I look at the list I feel overwhelmed. (Even though some of it is a little silly.) Today we tried to get as much done as possible, including touring the Labor & Delivery section of the hospital and talking to the nurses, which was actually really exciting and made everything seem that much more real. Thanks to ever reliable youtube, we watched a video on cloth diapering and plan to practice on one of 001's teddy bears this week. (I realize how sad and silly that seems) And last but not least we made a trip to Central Market for L&D goodies and yummy gelato to enjoy while formulating the rest of the weeks plan.

Now...to start coaxing this little girl to show up a little early. As soon as I'm done with this list. ;)

The L&D nurse we spoke with did say there's a full moon on the 12th and "we always seem to fill up alongside the moon..." Hmmm...

1.Washing all Baby Clothes and Linens---why does this seem overwhelming?

2. Having Adam replace her light with a ceiling fan

3.Finding a screen for her room

4. We have NO BABY TOWELS! Worse, I can't commit myself to any because they all seem thin or itchy. I nearly lost it in Target the other night...

5. Clean out, deep clean and wash the car.

6. Clean car needs to be rid of the two spots of bumper sticker residue. (Yes, I know this doesn't affect baby...I can't help it, it's driving me mad)

7. Send out shower thank yous which are now almost two weeks old. Where did I put all my friends addresses?!?

8.Write our birth plan. By Saturday. We are supposed to take this to Bradley class Saturday morning, and to our appointment with the midwives Tuesday. I'm glad to envision and put together an idea of what we'd like, but embarrassed to actually do it and have other people read it. Sad?

9. Finish my scrapbook of our life before baby. I've been stuck completing Christmas for the past 3 months.

10. Catch up her scrapbook and create some pages for once she's here.

11. Make a drop off at Goodwill.

12. Before she's here I NEED the house decorated for the fall/Halloween, or it won't happen and I love holiday decorations! (I know this shouldn't matter...)

13. Why can't I keep our room clean?!

14. I really need to make and execute a shopping list for my "obscure" labor & delivery goods. Things we've had recommended like; honey straws, lolly pops, pads or depends (HA), etc.

15. Pack.our.go.bag.

16. Make some kind of plan for our dogs. What do we do with them when we go into the hospital? Must make a plan.

17. Buy replacement tubing for pump.

18. Sanitize the pump.

19. Order our pre-fold diapers, snappis and wetbag.

20. Call the property manager about that broken closet light...

21. Put the cling sunshades up in the car for the baby.

22. Pre-register for the hospital.

23. Put away all the random things piling up around our house.

24. Exchange Kitri's muzzle for one that fits for night time, or I will kill her when she wakes up the baby.

25. Measure space for blowup mattress and replace our broken one for Mom and Dad.

26. Chiropractor

27. Are we officially set with the pediatrician?

28.Tour the hospital.

29. Buy celebration champagne and cigars

30.Organize her clothes better by size so I can see at a glance what is what

31. Find her at least one more heavy blanket since she only has the one.

32.How the heck do you swaddle a baby? Must learn.

33. Never mind swaddling, how are we supposed to use cloth diapers?! Oh God. Must learn that too....

Frousins Big and Small

This Labor Day weekend Adam and I were gifted a brief visit from my dear frousin Shannon and her sweetest chunk 'o monk addition Alice Virginia. Although it was a brief visit we were able to enjoy conversations about 001's eventual arrival, admire and enjoy sweet Alice, practice swaddling on that patient girl, and talk and talk and talk. You won't find the following pictures on facebook as I am shocked by seeing on film just how big I really am, but I wanted to share with my readers and friends who I trust won't give me too hard a time. :) It's hard to believe the next time we see the VanHeests we'll have a little girl in our arms to show off!!

For Megan :) Here we are at a gloriously huge 36wks. Come on 001, I'm ready to be done!!

Dutchess says "Who isss this?"

Adam keeping Alice Virginia company at lunch.

A refresher, here's the last belly picture of the two of us in April. Kaitlin and 001 at 14wks, Shannon and Alice Virginia at 30wks.

Here we are, Kaitlin 36wks and Shannon with Miss Alice Virginia, 2.5mo old!

Listen to Mom

You know those pieces of advice you hear so often growing up from your mother's lips that they become almost cliche, something you know but forget? For me, the piece of advice I probably heard the most often was "Don't experiment with things like laundry detergent and dryer sheets. You never know what you'll be allergic to."

By golly, my mother was right.

To wash 001's clothes and blankets I purchased a large container of All Free and Clear. Nevermind never having used All...nevermind having grown up on Tide....nevermind having a history of allergies and sensitive skin....nevermind that my mother had told me not to do this very thing my whole life. I didn't remember her advice that day in the laundry aisle, I just saw the sale sign, and could compare the price of All (read:cheap) to Tide (read: not so cheap).

Monday I did our towels and all my maternity wears.

Tuesday I developed a strange bumpy rash.

Wednesday it was on my arms as well.

Thursday it was much more pronounced and more itchy then the chicken pox.

Friday I am a zombie because I woke every hour through the night scratching and re-applying lotion.

At my appointment today I asked the doctor, could this be PUPP? (pregnancy rash) He seemed to think it looked a lot more like an allergic reaction and to re-examine any new substances I had introduced in the last week. I, ofcourse, could think of none but Adam quickly reminded me of the foreign detergent that had washed all I had worn in the last week.

OH.

That would explain the intense rash all over my stomach, chest, forearms, thighs, upper back and bottom.

YAY.

A Capital Time at the Capitol

Our time here in Austin has been split with Adam working during the day while I relax at the hotel and evenings out exploring and eating. Sam's Seafood, Roaring River Steakhouse, and tonight the top all, the Le Cordon Bleu's French Restaurant, Technique.

YUM!

A three course dinner by dimmed lights at Technique felt sweet and exciting, could this be one of our last intimate dates before meeting 001? Though we've been pretty good about "dating" through our pregnancy, and especially these last few weeks in DFW there is something about a date in a different city that always feels more luxurious and focused to me.

After dinner we decided to explore the Capitol and enjoy downtown Austin. We ended up "enjoying" it at a pretty hurried pace. But here's our photo proof that in one of Texas's hottest summers, I am doing my darndest to enjoy myself with Adam. (Is it time for winter yet?)

Adam posed in front of the West Entrance of the Capitol.

In front of the North Entrance to the Capitol.

Half a Century Later

I'm sure you were all in celebration with me Monday as one of the years best holidays found us once again. I'm talking, of course, about my birthday. :)

I was a little excited and a little weirded out at the prospect of turning 25, but so far it feels good. Plus, when I'm feeling old it helps that Adam's got a year on me, that old, old man. I spent the day relaxing, much like I am most days now, and at the perinatoligst. You will all be happy to know, I'm sure, that 001 is still looking lovely and that her baseline heartbeat has dropped considerably, which is apparently another sign she's getting herself ready to meet us. They didn't give us measurements this week, though they did tell us she has big feet for being so small, haha. Not much surprise since I'm a size 10.5/11 and Adam is a size 11....she's got little hope for growing up to buy cute little size 6 shoes.

We celebrated in the evening with the yummiest sushi at this great local place not far from our house that even served complimentary saki. Obviously, only Adam got to appreciate this perk, but still. Top it off with some yummy cheesecake and you have a wonderful day. Plus, Tuesday has found me on a mini-babymoon, otherwise known as accompanying my husband on his business trip to Austin. :) Food=Yum!

Bonus! I also got to see a good friend from high school, who was also one of my bridesmaids and she gave me these beautiful birthday flowers:

001 Update

Yesterday was my weekly perinatology appointment. For most babes, at 33wks and some days, weight is somewhere around 4lbs and they're just over 17in. It seems our girl is all about being above average. The doctor didn't give us length in numbers, though she did use the term "all legs"...She did say 001 is measuring at 5lbs 4oz with a nice big belly. :) Six weeks left and our girl is already just under her daddy's birth weight. Oh my!

Baby Face

On days like today I find myself dreaming during an afternoon nap of what our sweet girl will look like. I was born with nearly jet black hair, Adam platinum blonde, and most of our family is somewhere in between. She's already measuring about a week ahead; will she be a 9lb baby like her mama or even a 10lb baby like her Grandad and cousin Allie V? We know she's ahead in growth for now, but will she be a tall girl like me, or a petite thing like her grandmothers? Will her skin be fair and creamy like mine, or will she be able to tan like the Fishers and many Owens?

At the moment I have no pictures of Adam and I in our first weeks, but I do have the following pictures at several months from the wedding slide show that never was. :) My mind can go on forever trying to mesh the two images into a new person and I can never seem to really envision her. Can you imagine that from the beginning of her life God knew exactly what she would look like and she's already the perfect combination of us. Amazing to consider...

Baby Adam: Daddy

Baby Kaitlin: Mama

Reflections of Motherhood

NPR had this interesting video posted on their site, done by Nummies. The topic? What would women go back in time to tell their pregnant selves before their first child.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taDqKWWPDAY

Bigger & Better-aka 8 Months

Today marks week 32 in the 40wk pregnancy adventure! Month 8! We've made it!

Changes in the last few weeks:

• 001 has begun kicking and punching simultaneously on opposite sides of my body, making me feel as though my stomach is going to pop from being to small for her energetic body
• Occasional 'jumps' from our wee one can be noted from the outside as my whole stomach heaves with her
• While I initially celebrated my low-lying girl and felt sympathy for friends who long ago had feet in the ribs, we have recently joined the club. My right ribcage seems to be the resting place for our girl's foot, particularly felt in the evenings and sometimes making it a little harder to breathe.
• I feel full. Full of baby, full of food, but I'm hungrier now then I have been most of the pregnancy. Ironically, my weight gain has slowed down.
• We're keeping on keeping on with our Bradley Method exercises, which sometimes feel like fat-lady torture. ;)
• Remember the maternity bra I bought about two months ago? Yea, it hardly fits. It was the largest size they had in the sports bra style at Target.
• 001's peachy nursery stands ready to receive her. There are little piles of clothes on the changing table to be washed and a clock to be fixed, but it feels so cozy to walk by.

Tuesday marks our next appointment with the midwives, and our next ultrasound with the perinatologist is the following Wednesday. Hopefully I'll have more baby pictures to share!

Dr.Masingill-The Man Who Decides

Today was our appointment with Dr. Masingill, the doctor who collaberates with the midwives should one of their patient's need a c-section or be deemed too high-risk (cough-cough) to continue on with the midwives.

I.was.nervous.

Apparently, there was no need to be. The midwives had assured me he very rarely "took one of their mothers" but that they needed him to sign off with my colorful medical chart that I could continue with the midwives and limited monitoring during labor & delivery. While we waited silently for him to come to the room I was thinking of all the reasons I could give him to leave me alone and hoped he wouldn't argue it was too risky, and why did I have to swell so much today of all days?

Instead the man who walked in was a jovial, pudgy caricature. Excitedly announcing the baby's heartbeat after listening (128), reviewing my health history and discussing how my pregnancy has progressed and my luck. After answering a few questions I had he announced there was no reason, unless some complication arose, that I couldn't stay with the midwives and have the birth I desired.

There are a few things we'll have to sacrifice.

I won't be able to hold her immediately after, because of the blood-risk she'll have to be bathed immediately instead of placed on my chest. This may seem small, and maybe it really is, but it's something that saddens me to think about. In the great scheme of things, it's a small price to pay for the birth experience I want, but it does make me feel a little robbed. In the meantime, I'll choose not to think about it and instead rejoice in the fact that despite the fact that we've got three different diseases working against us, we've been really lucky so far and it seems we'll be given a gift with our birth.

Sausage Fingers

Has anyone else had to take their wedding ring off during pregnancy? Foolishly, though I had talked about the need to make sure it didn't get stuck, I think mine is just that. Stuck on. I am desperate to avoid having to get it cut off later on, and last night declared it was the night to try and get it off. In hindsight, maybe the night I already was suffering from sausage fingers was not the night, but sausage fingers was exactly what was causing me to panic.

We tried e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. Soap, lotion, WD-40...Adam could get it just to my knuckle (after a LOT of work) and then it was hopeless. We eventually gave up due to how red and swollen my finger got at all the tugging and twisting. I even slept with an ice pack in the hopes of getting the swelling down this morning...but without much luck. Oye.

Attractive, isn't it? ;)

Pregnancy at 31wks

I am feeling crazy and lazy. All in all, I really am doing great and the countdown says it all. Should our girl be better about schedules and timing then her mama, she should be here in 8wks and 6 days! My sciatica and pelvic pain are increasing, but I have plans to see the chiropractor (based on my midwife's recommendation) so hopefully that will help.

Exercising has almost stopped. It is hot. 107* and you want me to exercise? No. Wait, I mean, no thank you. I really am trying, but about 10min into our evening walk I feel swollen, sore and sticky. Not pleasant, but I know it's important to try and up-keep exercise for the sake of labor. I have also lost my mind. Nothing is coming out of my mouth the way I mean it. :) I occasionally make words up, or when I do something seemingly odd my explanations make no sense.

Example: Yesterday while laying in bed I heaved off by pushing into Adam's stomach. Needless to say, he didn't appreciate it. My response? "I'm sorry, I thought you were the mattress." The sad part is, I really did. I thought I had my hand on the bed, not my poor husband's tummy.

I am also super emotional. Today I cried because Adam asked if I'd like to get frozen yogurt. (Yes, you read that right.) Two days ago I cried because I feel like I'm always crying. (This had to do with my pelvic and back pain that night)

I am eating everything. I made a huge batch of cookies last week and Adam ate four.

......in related news this around the time of the first appointment I've had where I had ONLY gained 5lbs in three weeks instead of my usual 15lbs. God's sense of humor doesn't necessarily match my own.

Today I went ahead and bought a maternity swimsuit top. I had been jimmy-rigging an old "big Kaitlin" tankini I had kept, but obviously it didn't fit quite right and subsequently I'm embarrassed when wearing it. As far as maternity suits go, this one is actually pretty cute. I'm hoping to get some laps in the pool this week. No real excuse since it's free and right outside my front door.

This week a well-meaning new friend at church, about three years my junior, commented "WOW, you've gotten even bigger in just a week! How much longer before you pop?"

*sigh* Thank you? I couldn't really be upset, she's quite sweet and if she thought she was going to make me self-conscious (she did) she would never have said it.

How much longer do we have left? I feel like this post is one big whine, I really am enjoying most of pregnancy, and I know I'm lucky to have Adam here and most things going smoothly. Still, I can't help but want it to be October 2nd....

Makin' Room

Adam and I re-arranged our room yesterday to make things a little more comfortable since we now have the behemoth pack-n-play setup, rather then continuing to store it these last few months. It does make our room feel much cozier.

...But maybe that's because it takes up so much space!

30/31wk Appt

Today was our "30wks and 4 days" appointment. Not surprising, since we had a hospital visit last week, all is well with our baby girl. I'm still measuring on target, and am pleased to announce that in the last three weeks I managed to gain only three pounds. YAY! (This should clue you in to just how much and how often I've been gaining...) Our girl's heartbeat was around 142, and she politely kicked the Doppler microphone while our midwife was trying to get readings.

More blood work to be done tomorrow, and I have the delightful task of completing a 24hr urine for them as well. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of doing one of these before, basically you carry an orange jug around for 24hrs to use when you go to the bathroom. It's delightful. All this is to monitor my kidney function and tomorrow's blood work is for my liver enzymes as well as to do a followup on my thyroid. (They've upped my medication, again.) Because of my colorful medical chart I am at greater risk for pre-eclampsia, so they want to make sure they have a baseline for me in case I begin to show signs of pre-eclampsia they'll know what's normal for me, and what lab results are something to worry about.

It's exciting knowing we've entered the "every two weeks" phase of our midwife appointments, and my next appointment with the perinatologist is on the 16th, but following that appointment I'll be going every week. While those appointments are to monitor baby's health (and mine), who wouldn't want to see their precious babe every week?!

Bradley Method Class--Wk1/2

As I write this, a certain little girl is kicking me just below my right rib cage, practicing her dégages. Our strong girl may make a beautiful ballerina someday, especially with all this in-utero practice.

(Let's just hope she got her daddy's arches)

Today was our first time to attend our Bradley Method class. Really, the class started last week but I've been struggling with insomnia and hadn't gotten to sleep until almost 6am that morning. Getting up at 8:30am was just not happening. This morning though, we had no excuse. I was incredibly nervous and almost asked not to go. For some reason new groups tend to make me anxious and I wondered "will we even want to be there?!" The answer, we both discovered, was "YES!!" I can tell I'm going to get a lot out of the class to help prepare me for the natural birth I'm hoping to achieve, and Adam was remarking how he felt like it really gave him a specific role and a way to participate. The class will take place over the next few weeks until---October 1st. :) Yes, a day before our "guess date". Though, if I'm anything like the women in my family, or the rest of the un-induced ladies out there, I'll be an extra 1-2wks.

Today we covered the exercises we'll continue and increase over the next few months. Exercises like squats, the butterfly, tailor sitting, and kegels.

Tailor Sitting

• Sit on the floor with feet crossed near hips. Keep the back tall and lean gently forward.
• Use as a replacement for chair-sitting whenever possible.
  

Squatting

• Place feet hip-width apart, keep knees over the toes and gently lower to a deep flat-footed squat. Hold on to a counter top or a partner for balance if necessary. Return to standing by coming up "tail first" and roll the spine up.
• Use squatting in place of bending over.

Pelvic Rocking

• On hands and knees, forming a box with hands directly under shoulders and knees directly under hips, begin with your back in a neutral, level position. Gently relax the lower back, keeping your upper back still. As you return the spine to neutral, pull in your abdominal muscles, thinking "belly button to backbone."
• This is my hands-down favorite exercise for relieving back discomfort, and a host of other pregnancy-related discomforts. Begin with four sets of ten, spread throughout your day, including a set immediately before bed.

Butterfly Exercise

• Sit on the floor, leaning at about a 45-degree angle against a firm support with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Have a partner assist you by kneeling in front of you and applying mild resistance to the outsides of your knees as you separate your knees and lower them to the floor. Release the resistance and return to starting position.
• This exercise strengthens the abductor muscles, making it easier to maintain a good birthing position for second stage.

Kegels

• Tone the pelvic floor by contracting and releasing the pelvic floor muscles as if you were trying to start and stop the flow of urine.

We also covered relaxation techniques to practice now and use in labor as well as an in-depth discussion on true prenatal nutrition and breastfeeding. The breastfeeding was more of an introduction, and we're expected to go to a La Leche League meeting sometime in the next week to get an idea and take notes to speak about next Saturday. I really appreciated that all parts of the class gave Adam a job to do. "Here is how you help with this exercise...this will help you both when she is....your role in the relaxation is....she needs you because..." A Bradley Method catch phrase is "Pregnancy is an athletic event." Hence calling the husbands coaches. Also, a phrase our teacher used that I liked was, "A real man helps finish what he started." While Adam has always been in the "how can I help and support you" camp, it's important to me that the classes are centered around the husband learning how to help his wife get through this intense and draining event the best way possible, and to be there the way she needs him to be.

The woman teaching our class is a mother of three, two she birthed at a birth center and her 13mo old was born at home. There is only one other couple in our class (the most allowed in one class is six couples) and they were incredibly friendly and exciting to talk to. We left feeling energized, excited and looking forward to next Saturday. We even stopped at the grocery store on our way home with a new found resolve to fill the gaps in our diet right then and there. Part of this weeks assignment, along with our exercise and relaxation, is to record what we're eating and mark off our servings as we consume them through the day. We'll see how I do. It didn't occur to me until we were going over it in class that while I've embraced apples over the last few weeks...I've pretty much stopped eating any leafy greens, citrus, or...you get the idea. *GOAL* I WILL do better this week! I will! :)

29.5wks

Today was a flurry of activity and emotion. 001, who is usually veeery active hadn't budged much in the last 24hrs and I finally called the midwives at 1:30pm. After explaining that I didn't feel her much yesterday, aside from when we blasted Beethoven's "5th Symphony" on my belly and I chugged a sugary drink, and today there had been nothing, they had me go down to the hospital for maternal observation.

In the end, thank God, everything is just fine.

It turns out that my dear girl had turned inward, and because of the added anterior placenta (which moved up and is no longer blocking my cervix-YAY!) it is very hard to feel her right now. They monitored her heart rate for 30min, and it was a pretty consistent 150, and while I could hear the static over her movements on the monitor I only felt her about three times in the whole half hour. (I did feel her more during the ultrasound)

I was a mess, and it took me most of the afternoon to calm down. First I was crying out of fear, then for feeling like a foolish worrier, then for being so grateful she's such a strong little girl. I later recounted my fears and emotions to my mother who told me, "You're being prepared to worry the rest of your life about this little girl." I suppose it's true, and I hadn't much thought about it until now, but I will spend the rest of my life worried she's safe, healthy, happy, confident, street smart, responsible, strong.... My mom also made me feel better about being so overwhelmed with the responsibility of caring for this girl alone in pregnancy. Yes, Adam can do a lot, and my parents give wonderful advice, but ultimately I'm the one keeping this baby safe, providing the nutrients she needs, following the rules to do the best I can for her, and trying to judge when I need help for us, or for her. When my mother was 8mo pregnant with me she ate oysters. Bad oysters. She became so sick that on top of throwing up her stomach was literally convulsing, and all she could think about is "what is this doing to the baby?!" I guess it's a universal rule, motherhood, even as early as pregnancy, is all about worry and wonder.

Our girl was quick to reassure me though. Steady heartbeat, faint wiggles and an ultrasound view full of plenty of fluid and a definite girl. We were also tickled to learn that while the average baby at this stage is 2.5lbs, our girl weighs in at about 3.25lbs and is over the 15in rule. It looks like she may be a tall girl like her mama. The picture from this week wasn't too great, she has continued her signature "not my face" move. Maybe next time there will be a better picture to go with a more relaxed appointment. In the meantime, here's a glimpse of our girl.