Half Way There: Week 20...and kicking

Little One,

You are 20 weeks old...and kicking.

That's right! Your mother feels you kicking many times every day...mostly at night.

She says it feels "like little bones kicking"...which isn't as poetic as I would have hoped. Despite the 'day of the dead' mood that conjures, I am extremely jealous! I still haven't been able to feel your little kicks. Every time your Mom announces that she feels a kick, I put my hand on the belly and wait patiently...and the kicks never come.

Last night, your Mom woke me up and said "give me your hand." I was confused since I had just come out of a slumber, but I was compliant enough and gave her my hand. She placed it on her belly, since you were being very active.

Alas, I still couldn't feel the kicks. I guess they're still only feel-able from the inside. But when they're feel-able  from the outside, you know I'll be first in line.

Even though I couldn't feel you kick, I was content with my hand hovering somewhere near your little foot, and I dozed off holding your Mom's belly.

And even though you're not yet big enough for me to feel from the outside, you're certainly getting bigger. And this week I have proof! Your Mom begrudgingly agreed to take her week 19 and week 20 photos!

Week 19

Week 20

Week 11..WOW!

See, you're waaaay bigger than you were back on week 11!

In fact, now that you're at week 20 and you're half-way here, you're the size of a banana!

Good work! Keep on growing and hopefully soon you'll be doing the banana splits...and I can feel you kick!

Little Girl: Week 13 & 14

Week 13

Week 14

What you might notice from these images is that the touch up paint I used to paint over some scuffs on that wall doesn't quite match the surrounding paint. What you really should be noticing is the growing bump around your Mom's mid-section. It's hard to believe we're officially out of the first trimester, but looking at that bump makes it a little easier to believe. It also makes it a lot easier to take because you're Mom is now out of those first trimester doldrums: no more queasiness, no more extreme weakness, no more sleeping 20 hours a day, and no more exaggerations from your Dad. That makes leaving the first trimester behind a very sweet deal. Your mother's pregnancy with you is simultaneously going by so quickly but not quickly enough. Some moments I'm ready for you to be here already; other moments, like when your brother is having a 'two-year-old moment', I'm glad you're safe and sound (and self-contained) in that beautiful, burgeoning bump. We didn't get to see you, but your Mom went to your 14 week checkup and heard your lively heart beat. Dr. Bertrand said that everything was progressing normally and wonderfully. We couldn't be more pleased, little one. You're growing, your mom keeps showing and both of us are crowing. As you can see below, we had a LOT of family in town last week and we showed your pictures, showed off your video and told everyone we could find that you're 98% a girl (official confirmation comes in a few weeks). Boy or Girl didn't matter too much, we just wanted you to be a happy, healthy baby. But...it's super sweet knowing you'll be the sugar & spice and everything nice side to this operation; though your brother's pretty sweet, nice and a bit spicy too.

You are 14 weeks along and you are the size of a lemon; which sounds like a sour note, but we already think you're as sweet as can be.

How you got here!

Well, buddy, you are 11 weeks old now, and it's high time you saw the whole truth about how you got here. Well maybe not that whole truth...but I mean the nine month journey of how you grew from a few cells big to our big baby boy!

During our pregnancy with you your Mom and I took a picture of her belly from week 8 all the way to week 39... the last picture we took was on the Friday night that your Mom was having contractions with you! We were running around trying to get everything ready to roll to go to the hospital, and we had the peace of mind to grab one final belly shot before you made your debut!

I finally finished putting this animation together. Here's the bare bones version:


And Here's the cinematic piece de resistance!

So, sit back and relax and watch how you grew from a belly to a baby, condensed down into 16 seconds! (The video's a bit too big to fit here on our tiny blog, so I recommend double clicking on it again and viewing it in its big time full size glory on you tube!)




It's hard to believe that you were even ever inside your Mommy. 11 weeks later and pregnancy seems like a distant memory for your Mom and Me. She misses being pregnant, she says, but having you here with is by far the much cooler, more exciting and incredible adventure!

So, no matter where you go in life, you can look at this video and see how grew! You'll know that for 9 months it was just the two of you, your Mommy and you! But now that you're out here for good, we are a family! I can't wait for the times when the "Two of us" can do all those fun things the Beatles sings about, but I also love every minute of it being the three of us, or the five of us, if you count the mutts.

(And..don't forget...one day you'll hopefully have a sibling or two too!)

We love you and we can't imagine our home or our lives without you. It's hard to remember a time when "the two of us" was just your Mom and Me. And though those times were fun, we wouldn't trade you for the world, young man!

What did the Papa Tomato Say to The Baby Tomato when he was lagging behind?

Ketchup!

As you get to know me, you'll find that I have tons of awesome jokes like that.

But, today, we're going to play "ketchup" and take a look at how much you've grown over the past 4 weeks!

Week 31

Week 32


Week 33



Week 34

As you can tell, the wardrobe choices are become slimmer and slimmer as your Mother becomes...pregnanter and pregnanter.

You can also see how well your nursery is coming together! We did, in fact, hang up the illustrations I told you about so long ago!

Even though I talk to you every day and write to you almost as often, I still can't wait for you to actually come out so we can talk face to face, and finally have the time to catch up, for real!

Plus, I literally have dozens of amazing jokes to tell you!

Heads and Nails

Week 34 is a big week in your development. It kind of seems like a bunch of grand openings were just announced. Check out all that you're able to do right now, according to the bump and some other sources:

• When light peeks in through your Mom's belly (whose thin is stretched thin), your tiny eyelids and irises can blink and dilate. So maybe I won't shine the flashlight in your eyes!
• You are now smart enough to recognize and react to simple songs… That means you may already recognize your lullabye that I've been singing!
• Your finger and toe nails are growing fast and long...and they're sharp too. Good thing we got the baby finger nail clippers we'd been eyeballin'!

For all this development, though, it still seems like you're miles away from coming out to meet us. Although we only have 38 official days to go, it seems like an eternity. Not that we're anxious, but time is definitely dragging, especially when I read about how much of a working, functioning little person you are in there.

But, you do need more time in the oven until you're ready to come out.

For now, you stay in that oven and we'll just have to wait, and appreciate you from the outside. Yesterday you gave us a great opportunity to do so. While your Mom was sprawled out on the couch she grabbed my hand and placed it to her belly.

"What is that?" I asked.

"I don't know," she said.

"It's too big to be a hand or a foot. Is it a head?"

"Maybe..." she smiled in awe.

(Don't ask me how she can smile in awe, she just can).

But, there I was, with my hand palming something the size of a large orange. It could have been your butt, but I prefer to think it was your head. And that means you must have been sleeping the way I sometimes do on planes: head first.

It was almost as if you were trying to peak your head into our conversation. But, as you can tell from above, the conversation wasn't too intelligent anyway.

But, it was full of awe.

Testing the Waters

It's been almost a week since I've written to you, but, don't worry, I haven't been away from you at all.

In fact, I was by your side pretty much the whole time. But that's only because your Mom was by my side.

I had surgery last Thursday in anticipation of your arrival. Seeing your due date approaching faster and faster, I finally decided to do something I've been wanting to do for a long time: have my broken sniffer repaired.

I had what they call a deviated septum, which means that I couldn't really breathe through my nose properly. I hope you get your mother's nose, if only to avoid the deviation and the surgery.

But there was no avoiding it for me. I wanted to be able to be firing on all cylinders (and all nostrils) for all of our time together, so I decided to get the surgery done.

Your Mother - at 34 weeks pregnant- has been my "patient" for a long time, as I've been "babying" her (with good reason) for a lot of the pregnancy. (It's my pleasure to do so, seriously. ) But, starting on Thursday, I was in no condition to take care of your Mom; and she was awesome enough to take care of me.

Let's just say I was testing your Mom's maternal medical instincts- and she passed with super 'A plusses.'

She did the gross (like cleaning out my nose with Q-tips and changing my bandages and not cringing when I had to spit up blood and crud).

She was patient ( like putting up with me, and even being kind to me, while I was on pain killers that made me loopy).

She was strong for me (like telling me it would all be okay, when I was definitely feeling like it wouldn't).

She lifted my spirits (and made my laugh when I didn't feel like I could, and definitely when my stiff face and nasal stitches told me that I shouldn't-- but, despite the brief pain, laughter was the best medicine).

She took my temperature, administered my medicines, taught me how to clean up my own nose and- heck- she even washed my hair.

And all this while 34 weeks pregnant with a ever-growing, kinda painful honeydew in her belly! I knew she was hurting and tired too, but she helped me get better despite that.

So, all that is to say: when your Mom has to take care of you, I know for sure that you are in good hands. That's not to say that there was any doubt before, since she's taken care of me while I was ill (or just bummed) many times over the past 12 years. But this was just a recent reaffirmation that, really, I couldn't ask for a better wife and you couldn't ask for a better mother.

(And, no, I'm not sucking up to her; I'm just calling it like I sees it!)

Your Beautiful Mother, Trying Hard not to Smile

But, I wasn't the only one testing the waters this weekend. As you passsed your 34th week-iversary, you really started testing your Mother too. With one foot - or maybe two- firmly placed against her ribs on her right hand side, you started pushing, and stretching and stretching some more.

This is your new favorite trick; and you've been doing it sporadically all weekend, especially near bedtime. As last night was my first night back in bed (after being quarantined on the couch, to avoid a thrashing Holly hitting my face during my sleep), I was able to feel your foot pressing against her ribs and then pushing even more.

I gently held on to your foot and tried to encourage you to push it down away from her ribs, kind of like scooting a under-the-blankets tennis ball down a bed from on top of the covers (haven't you ever done that before?). But your foot firmly remained in your mother's ribs, definitely testing the limits of discomfort. So, I tried again, this time talking you through it, and almost massaging your Mom's ribs to encourage you to scoot your foot elsewhere.

To be honest, I don't really remember if I was able to get you to move your foot away, because I fell asleep - all this facial healing takes a lot of energy out of you. But, rest assured, after yours and my combined weekend of testing your Mom's strength and resolve and patience, I'm now ready to resign the efforts back to you: it's your solo gig once again.

Worry not, though- I won't leave your side for too long at all. But it will be because I will be by your Mom's side; hopefully helping her, and making her laugh, and making her dinner as you continue to kick her ribs all the way to the finish line, which is now under 40 days away.

2009: Prelude to a New Odyssey

We're standing on the threshold of a new year! Today is the last day of 2009, and what a year it's been!

Think about all the accomplishments you've had in 2009 alone. Granted, January through late May were kind of blank calendar days for you, but from June onward, you've had some amazing feats:

• You made it to the Egg when all the other spermies didn't
• You grew from an Egg to 3/4 of a baby
• You grew a spine and internal organs
• You made a brain
• You grew eyes and then they unfused and now can blink!
• You grew toes and fingers - and they're not even webbed anymore!
• You grew from being compared to a a poppyseed (in week 3) all the way to a squash now!
• You learned to kick and flail and move around inside your Mom's belly
  
• And you did this to your mother (but don't worry, she's exceedingly happy that you did):

But, now that 2009 is behind us, we have to look forward to 2010, which is going to be an even bigger year!

You've got a lot more room to go, no matter how large your Mom's belly seems to get from week to week:

Week 29

Week 30

And, in 2010, you are going to be born! You will learn to smile and see and breathe and roll over and crawl! You'll learn to blink, and find your fingers and toes and grow hair on your head and teeth in your mouth. You'll get to finally meet your Mom and Me, and all the other people who already love you so much, like Mimi and Pops and Nannah and Baba, your Uncles and Aunts (official and honorary), and, of course, your Dogs.

But, we mustn't get ahead of ourselves. For now, on the brink of 2010 and on my 100th journal entry for you, we are in week 30 of our pregnancy- about 7 and a half months in. And on the verge of the most exciting year of our lives yet. Something tells me that 2010 is going to be a great year.

Your family can't wait to meet you!

Happy New Year, Son!

Kicks aren't for Kids?

One of our pregnancy books said something that made a lot of sense: as we ease into your due date, you're going to keep growing and growing, filling up the uterus more and more. Soon, your cozy home is gonna be pretty cramped. Now, you won't be uncomfortable or anything, but these tight quarters are definitely going to start cramping your style, and your movements.

And that means we may soon be feeling fewer kicks. And that actually makes me sad! Feeling you kick makes me smile no matter what kind of mood I'm in. In fact, I even fell asleep with a smile on my face and a and on your Mom's belly a few nights ago; you were kicking before bed time!

The book says that we will still be able to feel some smooth, rolling movements; but the short kicks and jabs may be out the window.

For now, though, we're still in the clear on feeling kicks: Last night you had some HUGE movements too, squirming and rolling and kicking and stretching the whole night long. And we'll hold on to each one as long as they last!

But, I can't say that I'm too sad about you stopping kicking soon, because I know that I can feel you kick IN PERSON really soon!

Weight, Weight- Don't tell me!

Remember wayyy back when when we were actually a little concerned because your mother had lost some weight between appointments?

Well, those weight worries are definitely over.



At Monday's doctor's appointment, they weighed your mother like they always do. Except this time your Mom did something she's never done before:

She asked the nurse how much she weighed.


Up until this point, it was a "don't ask, don't tell" policy on your Mom's weight-- especially after the revelations that the Wii brought up about a month and a half ago.

Please note, young man, that it's never acceptable to discuss a woman's weight in public, unless she's not within earshot, you don't know her, she's a celebrity or she's pregnant and has given you her permission to do so. Our situation definitely falls in line with the last clause.

It's important to see how much preggos gain, to make sure they're gaining enough (and make sure they're not gaining too much).

According to your Mom's best guess, she was hovering around 118 before you started growing. And - drum roll please - yesterday the Doctor clocked your Mom in at 142 pounds!

Way to grow, Holly!

For confirmation, though, and an even better comparison, we double checked with the Dr. Mario (the Nintendo Wii). According to the Wii in early June your Mom weighed 115 and today she weighs 140.

So taking the average of the two measurements, it looks like your Mom has gained about 24.5 pounds thus far.

This is completely normal. For mother's with your Mom's pre-baby BMI (fat percentage), they recommend pregnancy weight gain of anywhere from 25 to 35 pounds total, but of course, every body is different and, even though your Mom is on course to fall in that range, the doctor said that she's gaining the appropriate amount of weight!

No wonder your Mom gets tired so easily-- she's carrying around an additional fifth of her body weight that she wasn't carrying before! I'd be tired too.

But, don't expect your Mom to be best friends with the Wii from here on out. She said that when it weighed her today, it said that she was within a few pounds of being officially labeled "obese." Talk about an inappropriate way to discuss a woman's weight!

We know who will be sleeping on the couch tonight, Nintendo Wii.

The Lion, The Wardrobe (no Witch)

December 9. Winter's definitely descended upon Dallas. Normally at this time of year it is still light-jacket weather (50s), but this morning it was mid-20s with a windchill of 11 degrees! This must sound ridiculously cold to you, seeing as how you're used to a cozy 98.7 around-the-clock.


But with winter weather, comes the winter wardrobe. Unfortunately, though, your Mom's winter pea coat, which usually envelops her, and could do so twice over, hardly buttons around her belly. It is dangerously close to what your Pops coined as the forced-casual look.

In fact, over the weekend your Mother postulated that she might have one more week before the jacket simply would not close around her. At that point, though, I will donate my jacket to the cause. By the time she outgrows that, we hope it will be Spring though.

But not to worry, we'll keep the bump (that's you) nice and warm and cozy.

You'll also be warm and cozy in your nursery too. And now that the basics of the nursery are down, we're talking decorations.

Your Mom wants to decorate your nursery (or at least one wall of it ) with illustrations of animals from Classic children's books.


As part of our continuing effort to pre-natally communicate with you daily, we were reading Shel Silverstein's "Lafcadio: The Lion Who Shot Back" out loud to you last night. It was a good book. When you understand English we'll read it to you again.

But, due to this reading, Lafcadio made the list of creatures in your nursery!

After we read, we brainstormed about other characters for your nursery, and here's who else you may be seeing:

George, Curious.Lion, Cowardly.Manic Depressive Donkey

Crocodile, Lyle, Lyle

Caterpillar, Hungry, Hungry

Brown Bear, Brown BearBabarSylvester (of the Magic Pebble Situation)And the Petit Prince's Fox

...but that's just to name a few.

How is this all going to work together in a cohesive design? I have no idea. That's not my department. But I do know that you're going to love your nursery (or at least we will), and that you'll be sound and snug in your new home. In fact, I'm going to go ahead and promise you that you'll be even more snug than your mother's winter jacket!

Rockin' Around (The Christmas Tree)

You've been a busy little boy lately. You are moving regularly and it's not just little kicks, jabs or rolls anymore!

Two days ago, after we put up our Hanukkah and Christmas decorations, you were kicking and rolling all around in your Mom's belly (especially after she ate some cookies).

Last night, you were extending some limb (a foot? a hand? your head?) into your Mom's gut for extended periods of time. These weren't just fleeting movements..I actually had my had around whatever that was for like 5 seconds at a time. Maybe you were reaching out to me as a reaction to my voice or my hand on the belly, or maybe you were just trying to get comfortable and I kept bothering you.


Either way, it was truly amazing to just hold your (foot?)...it felt like a human...just a human wrapped up in a thick comforter pushing against you. So, yeah, I could feel a sturdy little appendage reaching out!

But cookies, my voice or touch aren't the only thing that's making you move now a days. We've told you how you react to music just the way that the pink ectoplasm does in Ghostbusters 2, but your Mom has been telling me that certain music makes you move more than others, letting us think that maybe you can recognize (and like?) certain tunes. You've certainly been exposed to enough Ben Folds and Beatles to know them by now, but your Mom swears that you'll wake up from a sleep and start moving around whenever she puts on Folds or the Beatles.



In fact, today she was sewing you a stuffed Lion and was listening to Abbey Road, and as soon as the tunes started, you started dancing.

This is consistent with our findings a couple of a week ago: When your Mom and I were playing "The End" from Abbey Road on Beatles Rock Band, you started kicking like crazy! So, your Mom made me play the song 5 times in a row to try to get a good video of you kicking and moving. Take a look at yourself moving:

• Specifically, around second 33, look at Toby's ear!
• And look for the big one at 1:09 near Toby's collar.

(also, ignore the gentle rat-a-tap-tap-thump-clods of my ah-may-zing drumming..it's on Expert, so give me a break!)

But, of course, we're gonna test this theory and see if it's JUST Ben Folds and Beatles or if it's just music in general that gets your motor running and starts you rockin' around!