Foodie

Wilson's new favorite food? Plain bread! Needless to say, this is extremely convenient and cost-effective for his mother and father.

14 Weeks (and 2nd Trimester!)

We successfully made it past the most risky portion of fetal development. Which is to say, I can finally drink coffee again, praise the Good Lord. How happy the nearby Starbucks will be to see me back and spending my husband's hard-earned dollars on ooey-gooey eggnog lattes!

I feel the little beastie move around sometimes. It's still just light flutters. I can't wait for the good stuff, when the baby beats me and I can beat it back! (BEAT THE BABY!) I am officially in maternity wear and out of not maternity wear. Depressed as that makes me, it is really fun that my belly-button gets places before I do, and have I mentioned yet this pregnancy how much I love having boobs? Boobs are wonderful. All the trials of pregnancy are worth the 9 months of fantastic rackness. (I shall not yet speak of the sadness that awaits me in my post-nursing days.)

Wee Pea's current status:

• Lanugo, the downy hair keeping it warm until just before birth, starts appearing this week
• Baby practices facial expressions and gestures
• Wee Pea sucks his/her thumb (we saw it on the US!)
• The liver begins producing bile
• Our baby officially has a neck. Sweet.
  

My New Previa.

No, it's not the minivan. (Sadly.) I forgot to mention earlier that the radiologist determined that we have placenta previa, or a low-lying placenta. What does that mean? Well, it means that the baby's placenta is laying across the cervix. How much, we don't know yet. This is troublesome because the cervix is how babies get out! Hmmmm...

The good news is that most of the time, as the uterus grows, the placenta moves away from the cervix and higher up into the uterus. So it may not ever be an issue for us. But there's a 10% or so chance it could be an issue, and worst-case scenario, we have an early-delivery by c-section.

Those of you who've read along with us these past couple years know that a c-section isn't my idea of a dream delivery. However, I'm resolved to not worry about this until much later when it's apparent whether or not it is a serious problem. And if having a c-section is the best way for me to have a healthy baby, then okay. I guess I should be grateful that I have months to get used to the idea. :D

Don't you worry about it either. We'll keep you posted on this issue as we go along!

Bouncing Baby! (13 Weeks)

We had our first ultrasound on Monday morning (day 2 of Week 13). It was so fun! To start, NO, WE DO NOT KNOW THE BABY'S SEX. Sorry, that comes at week 18. BUT...we did see our little person bounce and jump like s/he was trampolining. It was so cute!

The tech did say that it looked like an already "cute" baby. I'm sure she says that to all the parents, but I like to think it means Wee Pea is proportional and healthy. And I'm serious when I said s/he bounced. The tech called it "galloping", but the baby pretty much jumped up and down and up and down. And up and down. The whole time. It was so fun to watch! Wilson was there, so he got to see his little sibling for the first time too.

So, 18 weeks is the week of Christmas. We hope to find out the sex that week, but holidays being what they are, we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, we feel good about our bouncing baby!

Holy Cow!

Parenthood is wonderful because you can dress your kid in embarrassing costumes and totally get away with it. (Next year Wilson may catch on...sad.) As you can see, Wilson was a Holstein for Halloween. He only "trick-or-treat"ed on our one street, which mostly consisted of saying hi ("moo") to the neighbors while being tucked inside of Daddy's warm coat. Mommy, sadly, missed the occasion to study statistics and sprain her ankle. It was a memorable night for all.

He may be the cutest cow we've ever seen!

A complete Cow Album can be seen here.

Cheese!

Today I really felt like a parent.

Why? Because I had to get Wilson ready for his first school picture day. Nicole and I got to pick a lettered package of 8x10s and 3x5s and silly wallet pictures and the even sillier (and new, at least to people who are my age but not Nicole's) "Exchange" size, which is 1 inch by 1 1/2 inches or roughly the size of a postage stamp.

I dressed Little Man in his nicest clothes, or a least the nicest ones I could find in the dark in his room, which turned out to be the same type of shirt that everybody's early 70s school pictures--except for the turtleneck one, anyway--are in: Lots of thick fall-color horizontal stripes. I don't know if bebe couture has reached back to 1973 lately or if dressing little boys in horizontal stripes is one of life's constants but he looked nice and I don't think the other 1-year olds will make fun of him. He did have a collar on the shirt, which would've marked his as a baby square in '73 but which seem OK today.

I also felt like I had to find a comb (I don't keep one handy) for this special occasion. The problem is that it is somewhat difficult to control hair that has, to my knowledge, never been combed but the daycare ladies said they'd take a crack at it. And, happily, daycare girlfriend Madelyn had the same hairstyle. Kids these days. I blame Ashton Kutcher.

Now all that is left is for the annoying picture guy, no doubt ruing his decision to get into professional photography, calling kids funny-but-not-offensive names like "banana face" in an attempt to get them to smile. Then, allowing 4 to 6 weeks for handling, and we'll have our school pictures. Which will be the 12,006th picture of him, but still special in a way.

We'll post 'em when we get 'em.

12 Weeks Update.

Today I visited Dr. Chris, and got the 12-week check-up. All cylinders firing, baby growing, heartbeat strong (and fast!) We enjoyed witty banter about egg nog (which the Doc refers to as "mucus" and "slime" -- blasphemy!!), and finished the visit with a blood draw and urine deposit. Yeehaw.

Our 13-week ultrasound is next Monday. They'll measure the "nuchal translucency", a fancy phrase for predicting chromosomal abnormality (such as downs). We doubt they'll be able to tell us much more than that, since we'll head back for a second ultrasound around week 18. Sorry. No boy/girl news until then, most likely.

Surprising news: I lost three (3!) pounds since my last OB visit. I'm telling you, egg nog is superfood.

Wilson's Baptism.

On his first birthday, Wilson spent the morning at church cleansing his soul. How much cleansing does a one-year-old soul require? Well, not much. It was a happy affair, and we were very pleased to be joined for the occasion by three of Wilson's four sets of grandparents (notably Gigi and Grandude from Montana, shown here) and by his aunt Beth, cousin Alexis, and aunties Nellie and Katie (who drove all the way out from Pullman in a borrowed car to participate! WOW!) All together, we took up two pews.

I'm not really sure how baptisms work in other congregations (and I was just recently baptised myself, so it's all relatively new), but at Magnolia UCC the pastor drizzles water over the head. There was a lot of reading before and after that part, and some singing. Cathy (our pastor) even had the congregation, led by the choir, sing Wilson "Happy Birthday". I sobbed almost the entire time, which was painful for me, but some people told me afterward that it made the experience more meaningful for them. One woman said there wasn't a mom in the pews whose heart wasn't aching along with mine. That's cool, if my tears could enrich their Sunday experience, I'm glad for it.

We were reminded just how blessed we are by Wilson's sweet temperament during the affair. Like a very good baby, he was charming and sweet during the entire thing, even when Cathy took him from us and out into the congregation to interact with his "new family in Christ". He smiled and waved at everybody, and didn't seem to notice that Daddy and I were still stuck on the stage (poor Mommy in hiccups by then). Of course, after the baptism was over, he thought it would be fun to sing like the grown-ups, except he started singing during the sermon. So he had to leave, which was too bad because he was personally mentioned a few times in the message. (The speaking pastor, Tom, said he'd try his best not to make Wilson a "visual aid". Apparently he didn't try very hard.)

After church we visited with people and got to introduce our family around a little, which was nice. We're lucky that our church is small, so we know a lot of people, and everybody knows Wilson. We also received a gorgeous quilt as a gift from the church. We feel very loved and spoiled by those people. They are just so nice!

Combined with his birthday party in the afternoon, Sunday October 21, 2007 was a sparkling day for our family. Wilson's baptism really was the meaningful experience we hoped it would be, and we were so glad that so many of his family could be there to share in it and his birthday party.

Coming soon: Wilson's trick-or-treat!

12 Weeks.

O. My. God.

Where has the time gone? We're nearly done with the first trimester, and guess what peeps, I haven't even begun to think about thinking about what our life will become with a second little person in it. I am so behind in this thinking that I still regularly forget that I am pregnant. It's often someone asking me, "how are you feeling?" and me scrambling to recall if I was supposed to be sick or something that jogs my memory. And then I remember how none of my clothes fit anymore, and my throat is constantly on fire from the heartburn. And how I felt ill constantly for like two straight months. I must just be exhausted, because with all that's going on inside a'here, forgetting I'm pregnant should NOT happen.

Anyway, things seem to be going fine. My milk makers are nice and sore, and occasionally when I wake up in the mornings I'll feel rolling movement a la uterus. My pooch is very obvious now, although at this point I still look more fat than pregnant. I really look forward to, oh, the 20th week. Then all the proportions are what they should be.

Check out Wee Pea!

• S/he is about 2.5 inches long (plum?)
  
• Nerve cells are multiplying rapidly this week
• If I prod, s/he moves around (although I can't always feel it)
  

Babies are Gross, Part 14

Today I had to scrape mashed carrots off of my windowsill.

One

Wilson had his first birthday and party on October 21st. Here's the report:

The event took place after we returned home from his baptism (more on that later). Little Man had a house full of people here to see him and although he had recently had a bout of stomach flu--so no cake this year--he was cheerful and sociable.

His Montana grandparents came out for his party and they were joined by most of the Washington family and many of our friends. Aunt Katrina even drove all the way out from Pullman just to be with him on his big day. Wilson had a special surprise when his daycare teacher, Amy, and his daycare girlfriend, Madelyn, showed up. Ex-girlfriend Shay was very gracious and a scene was fortunately avoided.

Wilson enjoyed his dinosaur party and had a bunch of fun playing with all of his cousins and other friends that came to see him. The house was pretty crowded but everyone found a spot and a good time was had by all.

Here are some pictures of the big day.

11 weeks.

Sunday was the first day of week 11. (We're getting caught up in weeks now, sorry about having 10 and 11 so close together, it'll be smoother in the future.) Mommy is feeling virtually nausea-free, which is lovely! We visited with a very pregnant friend of ours who is due to pop anytime, and it made us really excited for the coming months. Having already been pregnant before, this time we're all about getting to the baby part of things. :D

Some details for Week 11:

• By the end of this week, Wee Pea will be the size of a fig
• Fingers and toes have lost their webbing
• Baby's kicking and somersaulting, but Mommy doesn't feel it yet
  
• Baby's sense of smell begins to develop

Poll: do you like the pictures of fetuses in utero, or do they creep you out? Let us know.

10 Weeks.

So we began week 10 on Sunday October 29th. Here's a picture of what a 10-week old fetus looks like. The nausea is slowly slowing, which is a welcome relief, although I didn't have it nearly as rough as many pregnant women do, so I really shouldn't complain. (Oh, but it's fun!)

According to the literature, Wee Pea has grown his/her finger- and toenails and his/her eye color is being determined this week. All of its major body organs are present, now they just have to grow and develop. Apparently Wee Pea is able to "breathe" the amniotic fluid now, his or her eyelids are fusing closed for the next several weeks, and the ears are completely developed! Yay!

So he or she is about the size of a cherry. Is that bigger than a grape? Guess it depends on the cherry. Anyway, things seem to be going well, which we're thankful for, especially after my stairway tumble. It could have been so much worse; it sure makes you grateful (and a little more careful!!)

Don't Pregnant While Multitasking.

Ever seen a pregnant woman fall down a flight of stairs?

Me either, but I'm pretty sure that someone else has, and if it looked at all like it felt, that person got the laugh of a lifetime. (I should preface by saying that I am okay, baby's okay.)

Here's how it happened. I was leaving my Statistics class (which I'm passing, hooray for me!) by way of one of NSCC's big sweeping concrete staircases. I was on the cel phone with Josh asking how trick-or-treating and the cow costume played out, and just as I hung up I began soaring through space.

The hem of my skirt soared up past my right eye. My cel phone, blinking pinkness, whizzed past too. The green of my purse and the blue strap of my schoolbag flashed and bobbed and may have smacked me in the face. I eventually landed, on the edge of my left foot, and promptly on my ass. My cel phone, which I had apparently thrown straight into the air, came down and bounced neatly off the top of my head. The world stood still that one silent moment as I sat on my ass on my foot on the cold concrete staircase wondering "what in the name of God's Holy Trousers...?"

The bad news was my foot and ankle took all the impact. I missed a stair, which is why I fell. The good news was I had chosen to wear my practical Keen sandals, which are stout and formed of durable plastic and nylon. I would have done myself some pretty serious damage had I still been wearing my 2.5" wedges.

I managed to pull my skirt off my face and stagger upright. I didn't start crying until I called Josh to rescue me. I blubbered something about "stairs...ankle...flying". He graciously packed our exhausted cow-son into the car, deputized Uncle Mike for the mission and saved clumsy mommy from the big mean staircase. Because Josh is a saint, he didn't even laugh at me.

I'm pretty sure it's just a sprain. I can't walk except with the help of a cane (it's awesome, it has four feet!) and I can't drive at all, but I'm pretty sure nothing's broken.

The moral of the story, kids, is not to play with your cel phone while walking down stairs. At least not concrete ones. Better yet, don't do anything distracting while doing anything else. You never know when it will send you ass-over-teakettle, especially when you're suffering from Baby Brain.