Week 39...This is it!

Julia, it's week 39 and you're the size of a...well..it doesn't really matter what size fruit you are. You're the size of a human baby! 

(for the record: it's watermelon!)

You'll be here in 3 days! And we're all so excited to meet you!

Aidan can't wait to meet you (and kiss you) in person:

He also helped me pick out a gift for you this weekend. He was a bit impartial between the two choices that I had selected (He kept saying 'either'). But in the end, we got you the purple blanket with the owls on it. It's nice and soft and the same brand as Aidan's beloved 'blankies,' so it's brother-tested and brother -approved. But, then again, your brother has also been putting snails in his mouth lately, so I verified that the blanket is soft and warm. And very cute!

Your Mommy is eagerly awaiting your arrival, and crocheting all sorts of hats and headbands that will look super cute on your cute little head.

 Your Mommy is probably also relatively sick of me taking her photograph...but, what can you do? After all, how many times is a gal gonna be pregnant?

You're rocking and rolling, and clearly getting ready to make a big move:

Me? Well, I'm just hanging on for dear life, bracing for the impact of what is sure to be...AWESOME! I'm excited, honestly I am. I painted a wall last night. For no obvious reason. I meant to mow the lawn in anticipation of your arrival, but I honestly don't think you'll care if the grass is a little long when you arrive at home. I'm a lot less nervous than I was when we were anticipating Aidan; perhaps that's because I know what to expect. Or perhaps, and much more likely, because I've forgotten all the things that I should expect.

But, either way. We're ready: we're all SO ready to meet you, and hold you, and kiss you and hug you.

I'm excited to see you. What will you look like? Will you have dark hair? Or any hair at all?
Will your little fingers and toes be perfect or double perfect? Who will you look like- Mommy? Daddy? Aidan? What will you sound like and smell like (screaming and diapers aside)? What will I see when I look in your eyes?

In short, who will Julia Sekina be?

This family is ecstatic to find out...and after a marathon 39 weeks that took us from this...

...to this...

...the Weinstein Family is ready for one more! We're ready for you, Julia!

One question though, are you ready for us?

Week 36: Honeydew House

Julia, you're now 36 weeks along on this magical journey they call the road to life, or pregnancy, or whatever. Whatever it is, you've only got about 3 weeks left of it!

You've been doing your job quite well: You're growing, rolling around, kicking and squirming.

Your Mom is as beautiful as always:

It's so interesting to compare the Julia with the Aidan belly at the same week in pregnancy. Here's your Mom about 3 years ago, very pregnant with Aidan:

I think you may be a bigger belly, Miss Julia...but just by a hair! But, there's no real sense in comparing apples to oranges, when you're really the size of a honeydew melon.

News from the womb indicates that your heaing is fully developped, that your liver and kidneys are in working order, that your circulation and immune systems are pretty much good to go and that you're finalizing those steps to be able to breathe on your own. Also, we know that your Mom's cervical lining (that glue which basically keeps the first steps of labor from starting to happen) is all-but gone. It was thinned to 80% two weeks ago, and this week the doctor didn't even bother to check.

Now since you're coming via C-section anyway, we don't really need to worry about dilation and all that, like we did last time. BUT if you decide you're ready to come earlier than October 11, 2012, then we'd better be ready.

Which makes the honeydew even more important. See, we've been scrambling to get everything ready for your arrival. Feels like we've been prepping hard since the beginning of summer, but we really kicked it into high gear recently. We made our "honey-do" lists (you know, like "honey, do this", "honey, do that", we checked them twice, and we started crossing them off our list. Everything's falling into place...

Your Yaya finshed work on your dresser, and we got that put in place of the old changing table.
I painted different walls in different rooms.
We went to Ikea to finish setting up your Mom's new office (so we could move the office stuff from the playroom, so we could get the playroom all set up).
We sold old stuff, and bought new stuff: new swing, new stroller, new bouncy chair.
I cleaned out and organized the shed (yes, that had to be done before you came!)
I scooted over Aidan's seat and installed yours.

Looks Good right? I keep asking Aidan if he knows who's going to be sitting next to him soon. His answer thus far has been, "huh?"

We're prepping Aidan for our stay at the hospital by doing a test run of spending the night at Yaya's house tonight.
We're working extra hard with Aidan on being gentle with the items you will soon frequent.
We got out all the old baby toys and put them away. Aidan keeps taking them out.

All this honey-do-ing can sure make a guy tired...

But, we're getting there baby, and there are only a few more honey-do's to do. But you know what? You have a loving brother waiting for you (occasionally he waits behind trees):

You've got a loving, beautiful Mom who is QUITE ready for you to arrive.

And you've got a devoted Dad who is so excited to meet you and finally get to hold you.

Plus two doggies who you're just going to love, 4 awesome grandparents, aunts and uncles and friends.

So, if you come tomorrow, you'll be all set. It doesn't matter if that picture doesn't get framed and hung, or the ceiling paint touched-up. Those honey-do's can all wait once our perfect honeydew arrives.

22 weeks: Now Hear This

Little one,

You have now completed your 22nd week of growing into a fully formed baby Weinstein!

And your Mom continues to grow more and more beautiful.

 So, here we are: you are the size of a papaya. Pretty crazy to think that just 22 weeks ago you were smaller than a poppy seed.

Even crazier to think that about 2 and half years ago, your Mom was 22 weeks pregnant with your brother.

Week 22 with Aidan, October 2009

I'm not rushing things at all, but wait til you see how awesome things are here on the outside world. Your brother was pissed at us for just a few moments for taking him out of your Mom's belly, and you will be too...but so much can change in 2 years. Life happens, and it's beautiful. You're going to love it. But, you've still got 4.5 months or so to go, so, for now, keep on rocking life in the belly and keep on hitting those developmental milestones.

And now that you're 22 weeks old, your beautiful face is fully formed and you're able to hear noises from outside the womb. The blurb says you'll find your Mother's voice most soothing, but you also have been getting quite an earful from me and your brother lately. As you saw, he's talking up a storm, and I'm rarely quiet. So, you should be sonically adjusted to all three of us pretty soon.

I held my phone up to your Mom's belly the other day and played you a song, the Paul Simon one about how there'd "never be a father loved his daughter more than I love you." I sang along with the chorus.

Tonight I'll play you another song:

And Aidan will probably shower you with kisses and say "baby!" and your name too! And "Beatles" (he just learned to say that the other day...I'm very proud). Or maybe you'll be treated to a lovely two-year-old fit (they DO happen). Or maybe you'll hear all the hammers and nails banging around outside as we expand our home to make extra room for our growing family.

No matter what you hear, little one, don't be alarmed. You're doing wonderfully. You're sleeping about 12-14 hours a day; you're growing all the time; and you can hear us whispering about how crazy excited we are to meet you.

Weeks 15 and 16- Growing and Learning to be a Big Brother

Weeks 15 and 16 have flown by. Now that your Mom is over the first tri-mester nasties and has gone back to her regular work hours, it's life back to normal. Except for the whole prepping-for-another-child-while-raising-an-awesome-2-year-old-and-constantly-feeding-a-pregnant-wife thing. But, it's so crazy. It seems just like yesterday you were our little secret, and now the whole world knows. You're growing quickly, and supposedly you can even hear us now, since your ear drums are forming. And no, you can't get your ears pierced just yet. You'll have to wait. Sorry. You as a bump are growing too, and becoming quite popular around the house. I, of course, try to hug you and sing or talk to you whenever I get a chance. The dogs try to take up residence on you as often as they can. And your Mom and you get up to go the restroom like every two hours!

Week 15, with a special guest

But, you are also becoming more popular with your Big Brother! We've been reminding him almost daily that Mommy has a baby in her belly, or that Aidan's sister is in Mommy's belly. He had been mostly confused, but is nice enough to not treat us like we're crazy. But, lately he seems to be getting the hang of it. We ask him if he wants to kiss his sister, or tickle the baby, or kiss the new baby, and he goes right over to the growing bump and complies. Although sometimes he accidentally hits the arm or a boob, but he seems to be getting the general idea.

He's even starting to say 'baby' when we ask him what's in Mommy's belly!

So, you're in good hands, little girl. You've got a big brother in training.

Look at this special moment we completely set up and had to bribe Aidan with chocolate to get a picture of:

Week 16, with another special guest
 

So...we had to give him a little chocolate chip to get him in the picture, but it sure came out great! Hey, when you're playing in your room, you  don't always want to be bothered with photo-ops, but, for his little sister (and chocolate), Aidan will always be there!

Last week you were the size of an orange...this week you are the size of an avocado!

You're growing hair, ear bones and taste buds too! We're growing more and more fond of you day by day...and your Mom is growing more and more hungry too...and you'd better believe you're going to be growing accustomed to our voices...I'm scheduling a belly-singing session for tonight.

With your Big Brother, Two dogs and Father by your side whenever we get a chance (and your Mother 100% by your side because you're kind of conjoined at the moment), you're going to be getting all the love you can get to help you grow strong, healthy and happy.

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.

Week 12 Belly Shot & Video Close-up

Daughter,

Through the wonders of modern technology, I can show you this incredible video footage of you! You're only 3 inches from top of head to tip of toe, but you're already a handful, jumping and headbutting all over the place.



We loved seeing you on the big screen: your darling little face, cute feet and active nature. It's only made us more excited to see you in a few short months!

After seeing you from the sonogram, it's clear what we're looking at when we see you bumpin' up your Mom's belly on the outside.
You're growing, and your Mom's showing.

We're so excited to see our growing daughter, who is so beautiful already!

11 Week Picture

Here's your Mom at 11 weeks with Aidan:

And now with you!
We started shooting at 8 weeks with Aidan, but this pregnancy's been a bit rougher on your Mom than Aidan's. Which is another reason why I'm predicting you're a girl! So, Little one, I finally got your Mom to take a her first belly picture with you!

Actually, you helped too! Your Mom is finally starting to feel a little better, and was up for being photographed. In fact, today, she said she was upstairs painting for the first time in 6 weeks...the first tri-mester had previously made painting into a potential puking; but now she's up and at 'em!

So here you are, a little belly bump goes a long way toward showing how far we've all come in these 11 weeks!

Oh, that little ragamuffin by your Mommy's feet in both pictures is Toby. He'll be one of your dogs...and he'll always be by your side.

The Honeydew Period

Feel like you've been squashed for far too long? No, I'm not talking about the rapidly dwindling amount of space you have in your Mom's tummy-- though, I bet that's really squashed quarters. I'm talking about your fruit/veg comparison continuum. After spending 4 weeks on the scales as a "squash," you've now officially been upgraded:

You're now the size of a Honeydew Melon (you know, cantaloupe's amazing, green cousin)! (remind me to tell you a HILARIOUS joke when you come out about why the honeydew told the watermelon they couldn't run away to get married).

What's even more amazing, is that after a honeydew holding pattern for a few weeks, you've only got one more fruit on the list: Watermelon. Clearly these last few weeks are all melon, but that doesn't make us melancholy in any way. Granted, your Mom is struggling a bit in her landings and takeoffs from couches, beds and the floor, and her back pain is getting especially ripe, but she's just ecstatic to have a little honeydew-sized honey growing in her belly! And, in my opinion, she looks absolutely beautiful carrying you, despite the presence of 2/3 of a fruit salad in her tummy.

When we got married, someone told me that I would forever be subject to "honeydew lists;" clearly, this refers to you in this 8th month of pregnancy in some Nostradamus way. Actually, no it doesn't, but it's quite poetic, no? The honeydew list in question is, in fact, a reference to some stereotypical nagging wife forcing her bedraggled husband to do multiple chores: "Honey, Do this!" "Honey, do that!" Well, your Mother's and my relationship doesn't really work like that, as you'll soon know. Sure, we have to-do lists that we both freely populate and depopulate, but there's hardly any nagging. Unless the item on the list is something that I don't really want to do at all, in which case, some nagging or pouting may be necessary to get my butt in gear.

But, at any rate, this weekend - to celebrate your arrival as a honeydew- your Mom and I crossed another item off of our pregnancy honeydew lists. And this was one item that we've both been looking forward to, as it stretched our creative muscles!

A lot of people get professional pictures taken when they're pregnant (these are called maternity pictures). Your Mom thought that I could do a good enough job taking these pictures and -that way- we could have a really cool, personal experience taking them and save a little extra cash to get professional studio pictures taken when you are born!

So, we hung up some sheets, cleaned ourselves up and turned your nursery into a photography studio! I don't consider myself an awesome photographer at all. But, I have an awesome camera (thanks to Cousin Steve and Ruthy!), and your Mom is awesome at Photoshop, and that seemed to do the trick!

These pictures really just confirm three things for me: 1) your Mom truly makes a beautiful pregnant lady; 3) You're a good looking bump, and have been all the way from the beginning of lime to this, our honeydew period; 3) your Mom takes better photographs than she gives haircuts (note to self- pay for haircuts).

Attempting some Jedi Mind Tricks

Elegant Honeydew!

My Honey and our Honeydew

Take amazing pictures?

Honey done!

Even though you're no longer a squash, and you're definitely getting more and more squashed with each passing day, you make a peach of a honeydew!

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!

Ringing in the Holly-Days

Well, actually your Mom won't be ringing in any holidays, or New Years for that matter.

Pregnancy has a strange effect of making women gain weight in almost every area of their body...including their ring fingers. Every book we've read, and most people we know have suggested to your Mom and her swollen hands that she take off her wedding and engagment ring before her fingers get too big. Because if her fingers get too big, and the rings won't budge, then the doctors will literally SAW them off of her finger when she's admitted to the hospital for your birth.

Her wedding ring wasn't budging for a long while now; growing tighter and tighter. Finally your mother lotioned up her hands, pulled and twisted and was just barely able to get the rings off her finger. It was a close call.

But don't worry, people won't think she's an unwed mother-to-be. Before we went on our Honeymoon, we were paranoid about being held up and our new-found bling being pinched in the process. So, while in Paris, your Mom wore a gaudy decoy ring that she bought at Target for 10 dollars.

The decoy ring - probably due to its gaudiness - has its fans though. Some of your Mom's teenage students, who never commented on her actual ring, complimented your Mom's wedding ring-- as if they'd never seen the real platinum one!

Guess we could have saved a lot of cash by just shopping at Target.

So, even though your Mom may be ringing in the holiday season with a fake ring on, we still will be celebrating because sitting under our tree - actually sitting on the couch near the tree- is the best Christmas/Hannukah present anyone could ask for!

And, because we're super clever, we wrapped that present up in a bow, took a picture of it and sent it off to all our family and friends as an electronic holiday card:

That's right- the best present under our tree is YOU! And everybody in the family wanted to get in on the action of having their pictures taken with you!

Well... maybe "want" isn't the operative word here, but as you can see, they still were IN the pictures with you!

Bye-bye-mester, part II

Today and tomorrow are officially our last days in the second trimester. We're in week 27, and from here on out, it's officially the home stretch! That means we get to meet you in about 3 months!

Now, pregnancy math is just about the fuzziest math I've ever seen, so don't expect specifics here. In fact some of the books we're reading say that we're already in the third trimester, some say we're still in second gear, other say that it is official this Saturday: we're ready for the big time for our last trimester.

What does that mean?

It means you are mostly humanoid.

It means we're going to be taking some maternity pictures (professionally, thank you very much)!

It means that you're going to be fast-approaching the size of a watermelon.

And it also means that your mom is going to continue to get bigger and bigger.

Just take a look at her here on week 27:

But, what's the point of coming to an end of something if we don't get to reminisce about where we've been?

In celebration I've put together a collage of your Mother's growth from Week 8 (when we started taking pictures) all the way to today. Get ready to see some major baby evolution!


Pretty hard to believe, right?

You're Mom and I are both curious to see how much bigger she's going to get in this last trimester!

The Thin Brown Line

They said it would come. And it did. About a month ago I started noticing the fabled "linea nigra" (or black line) appearing vertically on your Mom's belly.

She swore she didn't see it.

Then I definitely knew I was seeing it, and even tried to point it out to her. But she still said she didn't see it!

Finally about a week or so ago, your Mom finally saw the line!

"Guess what? You know that line we're supposed to get on our bellies? I think I have one."

"That's what I've been saying all along!"

The evidence, which is clear to everyone now, is below:

Much to her surprise, though, the line seems to confirm that she's not symmetrical. Or at least that's what she thinks, anyway. The line falls off to the left side of her body...so either the line is out of whack, or your Mom's not symmetrical.

It appears the what causes the line isn't a mystery at all. Basically, the same thing that causes all of pregnancies other fun time happiness- HORMONES- is what causes the line.

But, why the line appears where it does still IS a mystery. They don't know WHY it appears down the center of the belly!

Is it a racing stripe? The 50 yard line? A connect the dots? Who knows.

But what we do know, though, is that this thin brown line is yet another sign that you're going to be coming out to see us soon.

And maybe, that's what the line is afterall: A Finish line! When you see it, you'll know you've finished the first part of your journey!

The Curious Case of Belly Button

Your Mom's Belly Button just keeps getting more and more curious. She was sure a couple of weeks ago that it was going to pop from ( to ) , and so we started Belly Button Watch 2009. The crowd has been gathering every night with bated breath and front row seats, waiting for it to pop to an outy...but as you can see, the crowd has lost it's interest.

You see, we don't even know what Day of the BBW it is, but I do know that that thing is STILL an Inny. But, it's becoming a very weird inny. You know what the bottom of a balloon looks like when it's tied off? Well, of course, you don't know what it looks like right now. Maybe a little bit like a spleen? I don't know. Here's a picture of one:
So, that little purple tip really is a good example of what your Mom's belly button looks like.

It's shallow, it's textured, it's flat, it's rubbery, it's the top piece of a bulgy, round orb.

Don't believe me? Fine. Take a look at this and tell me it's not the most curious belly button you've ever seen. Now, the belly button is remarkably hard to take a picture of, so you may have to use your imagination a little bit.
But seriously, is it going to pop or just keep getting more and more shallow? Is it going to start talking to us? Is it going to wink? I don't know! But, we'll keep monitoring the situation. Hopefully something more interesting will happen with it (like a POP..OUTY!) so the dogs' efforts wont have been in vain.

So, even though this is supposed to have been the month of your Mom's fastest growth, we still have a shallow inny on our hands, and a curious one at that.

But, we do have an ever-growing belly. In fact, I think the belly even grew from last week to this week. (Thanksgiving food certainly must have helped).

What do you think?

WEEK 25


WEEK 26

And maybe sometime soon, your Mom will have one of these protruding from her shirt: )

If you Can't Stand the Heat...

You know that old saying. Oh wait, you don't? Because people aren't born with knowledge of colloquialisms? Okay. Well, the old saying goes "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."

Well, look who's still in the kitchen:

Look, winter is fast approaching, and I'm starting to get cold. Sometimes I need to turn the heat on in the house or the car, but your Mother protests.

Why does she protest? Because her hormones have thrown her entire body's thermometer out of whack and at any given moment, especially the given moments when I'm freezing cold, she feels like she is on the surface of the sun.

Now, it's not just my word against hers as far as the temperature is concerned. At work, when everyone is freezing, your Mom is, again, burning up.

One could get pretty comfortable calling your Mom the "Human Torch," and attributing this newofound warmth to some sort of pregnancy super power.

But, as luck would have it, when it's actually warm, your Mom is freezing- which just goes to show you that this whole pregnancy hormone thing makes absolutely no sense at all. Her body is a glitching. If it were a PC, I would hit CTRL+ALT+Del and reboot the system.

But no such luck. Instead of that, I get to endure such fun things as:

+ Waking up in the middle of the night burning up because SOMEONE has pushed all of their covers on top of me, so I'm, in effect, sleeping under two sheets and two comforters.

+ Turn off the heat in the house or car when my fingers are blue.

+ Walk around with my nose running because it must be kept at the temperature of a meat locker in our home.

Now, it's not all bad, though. One cold morning, driving to a Doctor's Appointment, I was really cold. So I did my norm, and cranked the heat all the way to the end of the dial.

About 3 minutes later, your Mom exclaimed: "What are you trying to do? Smoke me out?" And she turned the heat back down to a compromise level of tepid warmth.

But my hands were still cold.

So, we used her super powered heat hands and my mere mortal susceptability to the elements to solve our mutual problems. By clasping hands, her warm mits heated my frozen fingers. In return my frigid digits cooled her hot hands.

The only problem was that no one was holding the steering wheel. So maybe that wasn't a good idea.

This trick also works for cold hands giving soothing hot foot rubs and hot hands warming a cold headachy noggin. This trick does no favors in cold hands touching the belly though. I have to wear mittens or rub my hands together to warm them up before I can do that!

As winter comes and Dallas gets colder and colder, though, I know your Mom is going to be a hot commodity, literally. We can keep warm together; and maybe I'll be able to roast a few marshmallows over her head.

So even though your Mom can't stand the heat, and I can't stand the cold, we're both staying in the proverbial kitchen because, well, to continue the cooking metaphor, we've got a bun in the oven!