20 weeks!!!

"Baby's digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And, speaking of the diaper situation... baby's genitals are now fully formed!"

Love looks like this:

I'll set up the situation for you: crappy day at work + dentist appointment + tired beyond belief. I open up my email and get this from the Hubs:


I am getting really excited to meet this little person you know so well....if I could, I would carry it for a while like a kangaroo.

I love you sweetie

Hubs

And that, my friends, is why I married him...

In case there was any question...

This baby is *definitely* part Mazz...when s/he gets hungry, it kicks, punches and beats me up from the inside. Getting ornery when hungry is a family trait :)

Ti Amo Per Sempre...

Thought I would share the one and only thing I have purchased for Peanut's room. It is a print that I still have to get framed for the wall:

Italian translation: I love you forever.

Speaking of long term love, I would like to wish my parents a very HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! Here's to the next 34 years! Love you lots!

19 weeks

"Vernix caseosa, a greasy white substance made of lanugo, oil and dead skin cells (yum) now coats baby's skin, shielding it from the amniotic fluid. (Picture yourself after a nine-month bath, and the need for protection makes sense.) You might actually get to see the vernix at birth, especially if baby is premature."

Lots of movement!

A couple of weeks ago, I reported feeling Peanut move. No kicks really, just like s/he was moving positions. But now it's clear. We either have one of these:

or one of these:

Kicking or dancing: whatever it's doing, it's doing with conviction! Most of the time, I think Peanut is sleeping, but I have already started to notice patterns in the movement. S/he has lots of strong kicks/punches/jabs/grand jetes starting around 9:30am (must be a late sleeper like it's daddy) until about 10:30ish. Then I figure it has worn itself out and sleeps all day and most of the evening. After dinner is when Peanut gets another wave of energy and moves some more. It is such a wonderful feeling...I love having little reminders of the little life growing inside.

The Hubs and I have tons of pregnancy books, but one of my favorites is a week by week book that talks about changes in me, changes in the baby and pictures on a week by week basis. Last night were catching up on Week 18 because lately I've been traveling a lot for work. Anyway, there was an amazing picture of how the baby looks inside right now. I couldn't find the exact picture online, but here is another I found that is equally cool:

Everyone together: "awwww...."

A Very Healthy Peanut!

Sorry for the lack of updates...this week was absolutely crazy as I had two work trips and found myself on four different planes in four days. It was a lot for this mama--up by 5:30am, done around 8pm. While most of it was work, the end of the day was followed by drinks and dinner with customers or other work colleagues. I know that should be "fun", but considering my cocktail was water, every day I just wanted to go to my hotel room, order room service and pass out in my king size bed.

By day four, I could tell Peanut wanted to do the same because as I was getting dressed I looked down and....HOLY FEET! What are those?! My feet were insanely swollen, to the extent that I could not zip my boots. I barely squeezed them in and left them unzipped. I had no choice. It was either boots or heels. I spent the day guzzling smartwaters and secretly removing my shoes under the giant table I was seated at in my meeting. Needless to say, I was THRILLED to come home Friday night and I'm proud to report that feet are back to normal.

I also came home to some great news on my voicemail. Peanut's genetic screening has been completed (a combination of the NT ultrasound I had during week 10 , and blood samples given every month) and the results could not be better. Chances of Down's syndrome are less than 1 in 20,000, chances of a neural tube defect are less than 1 in 4,000 and chances of a Trisomy 18 or 13 are less than 1 in 100 (which is the lowest they go!). She said this is the best possible result for each category. Peanut is already a high achiever! :) Hooray!

18 weeks

Your fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that you'll be able to feel those movements soon.
*For those of you like me who are wondering what that is...it's a sweet potato :)

Haven't done this in a while...

How far along? 17 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: +6...I attribute this mostly to the insane amount of peanut brittle eaten since Christmas. Little Peanut only weighs 6 ounces...

Maternity clothes?: Yes, elastic waist pants are glorious.

Stretch marks? Nope

Sleep: Ugh. Sleep, you went from friend to foe. Wednesday night was particularly bad as I felt crampy all night. I think it was because I ate an insane amount of food for dinner and the baby is going through a growth spurt, so there just isn't enough room in there.

Best moment this week: Feeling flutters

Movement: See above.

Food cravings: Just the usual, tacos and refried beans

Gender: At the moment, I'm thinking girl.

Labor Signs: No-Thank God.

Belly Button in or out? Innie.

What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy

What I am looking forward to: The flutters are great, but I'm looking forward to the definitive kicks.

Weekly Wisdom: Don't bother with the non-alcoholic wine. Grapefruit juice with Pellegrino is delish.

Milestones: Movement!

17 weeks

"Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints."

Crib for sale...free spare tire with purchase!

No joke--this is exactly what I found while surfing Craigslist for baby furniture. The ad is listed as "White Crib-$100". Click and I got this:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 2010-01-05, 3:21PM PST
Reply to: sale-uwbku-1539088695@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

White solid crib. Has a few marks on the side from my baby but other than that is in great shape. mattress not included. Cash only. email or call 253-***-****

Whoops! Looks like someone uploaded the wrong picture! And now I've lost my appetite...

Damn you Old Wives!

Just to throw a curve ball in the baby-gender-guessing confusion, Peanut's heartbeat was a whopping 160 beats/min today! According to the old wives (where ever they may be), this indicates a GIRL! The Hubs had me convinced that I was carrying a Y chromosome because all he does is refer to it as "he". The other day when I felt my first flutter while laying on the couch, The Hubs responded, "he's pissed because UW lost to Oregon and all he can do is kick since he doesn't have a hat to throw at the TV like his Dad." (NOTE--4 "he's/his" in that statement).

Peanut's doctor's appointment was perfect (of course!) and we're still right on track for June 18th. Next ultrasound is in 4 weeks, where we could find out the sex (but we're not!) and get see how s/he is cookin!

And I hit another milestone. The "OMG-I've-never-seen-that-number-on-the-scale-before-EVAR!" milestone. Yowza.

Happy New Year!

I was very happy to see 2009 finally come to an end. It was a difficult year for me, except for the last couple months. It was such a relief to know that 2010 had begun, like starting with a clean slate. We spend the holiday at with our friends, D & G and Dan & Ang, with their respective cutie-pies, Claire and Bennett at G's cabin on Anderson Island. It was very low-key and quite relaxing. We spent a chunk of the time chuckling about what a difference a year makes. Last New Years at the cabin, G and I spent the night drinking champagne and white wine on the deck til 3 am and forecasting that we would not be hungover the next day because even though we were drinking different types of wine, they were from the same vineyard...sheesh. New Years Day was then spent hydrating with Vitamin Water and popping Advil like they were Pez, trying to keep last night's dinner down.



This year, we had a 4 week old baby, an 8 month old baby and yours truly, 16 weeks pregnant. G and Ang enjoyed some glorious champagne and I sipped on this:

Yes, that is alcohol free sparkling grape juice champagne. It didn't taste bad, it just didn't taste like champagne, I don't know why I even bothered. Anyway, I wish everyone a very happy and healthy 2010. Oh, and I posted a fun little poll on the right margin of this page...will Peanut be a boy or a girl?

16 weeks...late again!

"Watch what you say... tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean the little one can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming. And, if you're interested, an ultrasound might be able to determine gender."