Big Brother, the Belly and You: Week 24

Little one,

It has been a busy couple of weeks in the bumpdom. You've been going on some kicking and tossing and turning sprees nightly, much to my and your Mom's enjoyment. We can definitely feel you manuevering in your ever-shrinking home.

It's hard to believe you're already 24 weeks along.

But, knowing that you're the size of a cantaloupe now, it's not hard to see where that cantaloupe is hiding.



Week 24



Just look at that bump! As exciting as it is to see you growing from the outside, inside your mom's belly is where the really exciting business is going down. You're totally jamming out now to the sounds of the outside world, and probably really loving the sounds of your mom's heartbeat.

Your skin is growing more and more opaque, and more pink...meaning you're really starting to look like a baby now!

But, out here, all we can do is monitor the bump and wonder about your secret inside life. I wonder if you can feel our hands when we are trying to feel you moving...it would only stand to reason that you could, right?

Well, I may not know the answer to that, but I know that if you could feel us, you'd have noticed a much smaller hand than mine or your mother's recently resting on your little growing head.

Your brother found the bump to be quite a convenient arm rest the other day...but there seemed to be something more deep going on with the way he gently opened his hand to feel the bump...and maybe the baby within.

And there his hand stayed for a good 20 minutes. Sure, sure, maybe he was just transfixed by watching "Follow that Bird" (for the first time).

But, I'd like to think that- while that's partially true- perhaps he even felt you kick, and is starting to grasp that you (a baby!) are going to one day emerge from your little bump and come out here and make him into a brother...and come into the world. Perhaps he, like the rest of us, knows that you're there...and that you'll soon be here!

Nom nom nom...

So, here we are in Week 18, and your Mom is still pretty tiny! Considering you're the size of a sweet potato, one would think that she would be a bit bigger; but she has a naturally small frame, so we're not expecting her to get too huge.

But, it seems like ever since our appointment yesterday, your Mom has been on an eating tear. Check out her menu from yesterday:

Breakfast: Count Chocula
Lunch #1 (around 10:30): Lean Cuisine Pepperoni Pizza
apple sauce
orange

Lunch #2 (around 1:00): Wendy's Chicken nuggets and fries

Lunch #3 (around 4): Peanut Butter and Jelly

Dinner (at 7): Lasagna Bake
Dessert (at 8): Moolenium Crunch Ice Cream

Latenight Snack (at 10): Frosted Mini Wheats


She had more lunches than a Hobbit! Now, I pride myself on eating A LOT, but I couldn't keep up with her yesterday! So, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw some major belly growth in the next coming weeks!

But, from what I can tell, it doesn't seem that you two are starving for nutrients. According to the Bump, the average weight for an 18 week old fetus is 6.7 ounces...and as of Monday, they calculated that you weigh 9 ounces!

So both Mommy and Baby Boy have been chowing down! Nom nom nom!

Stepping Out With My Baby

On Wednesday night, you officially attended your second concert! But this one was at the Meyerson Symphony Center Downtown. Classy! Don't worry: your folks are classy ones. We'll be taking you (as a bump) to listen to symphonies and operas and all that culture. We won't force you (too much) to attend these type of events once you come out though. But who knows, you might like them!

But, the musical experience at the Meyerson on Wednesday was not of a Classical nature. We took you to see one of our favorite current artists play with the Dallas Symphony: Ben Folds!

We had a really great time at the concert, and he even played the song he wrote for his daughter: "Gracie." Even though you are a boy (we'll find out for sure on Monday!), this song still makes me excited for the feelings of fatherhood and has a lot of sweet lyrics that reflect how I feel already:

You nodded off in my arms watching TV
I won’t move you an inch
Even though my arm’s asleep
One day you’re gonna wanna go
I hope we taught
you everything You need to know

and of course, the opening lines are really sweet too:

You can’t fool me I saw you when you came out
You got your momma’s taste
But you got my mouth
You will always have a part of me
Nobody else is ever gonna see

Take a listen to the song, yourself! Just ignore all the "gracie" and "girl" parts and replace them with your unknown name and "boy!" (and ignore all the images of other people with their children, just like you ignore the pre-existing picture that comes with a picture frame)





Also, I heard a Ben Folds song I'd never heard before at this concert, which also reminded me of you! It's called "Lullabye," and who knows-- we may sing you to sleep with it some night :)






Of course, one of the best parts of the evening was getting to "dress up" the bump and show you off in a beautiful setting. Excuse the picture of the three of us...the usher who took the picture kinda made it blurry. Oh well!

But check out that bump out in public!! Some people call a night on the town "Stepping out with my baby." I was stepping out with my baby and our bump! You clean up pretty good, kid!

First Contact

Pregnancy has, of course, changed your Mother and Me (and most definitely you)! Some of these changes will be "forever" changes (and we can't wait for those), some will be only temporary. Some are complete reversals of Weinstein-family policies and those are the most shocking kind!

As an example, last night your Mom said she wanted Chinese food for dinner.

I suggested, "How 'bout we try that buffet near our house?"

Normally, that is to say "pre-pregnancy," that question would have been answered with a categorical, emphatic "NO WAY. We do not do buffets." (This policy was set in place after years of your dear old Dad gorging and then whining to your Mom about forcing him to eat so much.)

Much to my surprise, without even a hestiation, your Mom said "Sounds great!"

I was so surprised and excited about the prospects of gorging myself that I had to do a double take. But she actually did say "Yes!"

So off we went. And gorge myself, I did. (This restaurant was also a really good weapon in my arsenal to slightly fatten your Mom up!)

But, at the restaurant your Mom and I witnessed another "new change," but this one's only temporary. That's right, we experienced First Contact: the first of what is probably going to be a major (temporary) change due to you growing in her belly! Now, first contact doesn't mean that she finally felt you move in her tummy (but I'm gonna keep trying!), or that I could finally hear your heart beat through her bellybutton, or that aliens landed and decided to go to a Chinese Buffet (though I don't know what that has to do with anything).

The monumental First Contact in this case was a total "Wow, we really are pregnant, aren't we?" moment! That's right, on a very special bite of food's long journey from the plate on the table to your Mom's mouth, a big droplet of Sweet and Sour sauce took a nosedive off the morsel and landed squarely on the your Mom's belly.

This was, officially, the first piece of food that your Mom has spilled on the baby bump.

As you continue to grow, and your Mom has to sit further and further away from the table, I'm sure, though, that it will not be the last. We may have to pre-use your bibs!

Please note: I routinely spill food on my belly, but that is not news in any way at all.

Food Stain? No problem for Oxi clean. And no, that guy doesn't look like me at all.

Evidence of Growth

I've spent a lot of time showing the meticulously staged week-by-week evolution of your Mother's growth during pregnancy. And, don't worry, we're still taking those pictures every week! But, I wanted to show you that your mother and I do exist outside the confines of your future nursery! So, here is your mother- and her growing belly- and her boob of a sidekick (that's me) out in public while pregnant. It's totally embarrassing evidence that your mother is pregnant and growing (and hungry), but it's the truth!

Week 9. Your mother and I, and your cousins Haley, Kathryn and Grayson. Note how your Mom is hardly showing at all!

Week 13. Your Mom and I with Jeremy and Michelle at a baseball game. 4 weeks really shows how much the belly can grow.

Week 16. 7:00 pm. Goodbye Turkey Leg! Please note how delicately she devours her food: the pinky remains up in the air!

Week 16. 8:00 pm. Goodbye Roasted Corn

Week 16. Your Mom with Kari, Jeremy and Michelle. See! Look how big she's getting. And, no, Jeremy doesn't always dress like that.

But despite the generous belly growth and spouts of carnivorous eating, not every one yet can tell that your Mom is pregnant! Of course, we all can tell; but she's still not getting the public pregnancy treatment. For instance, at the that fair we went to, your mother and a very pregnant lady were standing at the back of the line for the restroom. All the girls ahead of them put their heads together and said that the very pregnant lady could cut ahead of them all. All your Mom wanted to do was stick her belly out even more and say "I'm pregnant too!" (Because a: she really had to go to the bathroom and b: she's super happy to be growing you in her belly and wants everyone to know just by looking at her and c: the line was really long!)

But, don't fret, we're not rushing you. And with the amount of turkey legs and corn (and secretly buttered food) that we have evidence of your Mom consuming, it won't be long before the bump (that's you) will be evident to everyone!

Just look at how much good the turkey and corn did when we went registering at Babies R Us the very next day:

Week 16. By the end of the pregnancy will I be pushing your Mom around in your stroller? Probably not, but the bump (aka "you") is growing!

Sympathy...Wait.

We also learned at our Doctor's appointment on Tuesday that your Mom has actually lost a little bit of weight since the last appointment. Now, don't fear. That's totally normal for the first trimester (with all the yakking (which your mom never actually did) and food aversions). The Doctor said that it was highly unlikely that she'd ever weigh in as less than before for the rest of the pregnancy.

But, no your Mom has a card to play in the cravings game. I try my best to steer us away from bad/fattening/greasy/horrible foods. So, yesterday night, your Mom had a craving for Arby's.

Since my body is my temple, I am proud to say that I've never sullied the grounds with a Big Beef and Cheddar. That is, until last night.

Can they legally claim that?

I was trying to talk her out of it: "I'll make you nachos!" "How about fried rice?" "What about a Chicken Pot Pie?" All of those sounded healthier to me than fast food roast beef.

But your Mom wisely played this card: "Aaron, you've got to fatten me up."

We had a coupon. I caved. Your Mom and I both ate...ewwww... Arby's.

It wasn't half bad! But, of course, that also means that half of it WAS bad. Meaning, it tasted great while we were eating it, but the following approximate 10 hours were not so good. Special Sauce, indeed.

Even though your Mom has lost weight since the 8 weeks sonogram, we still think we can see the evolution of the bump. In fact, these pictures are starting to look a little bit like "The Evolution of Man."

Evolution of Man



Evolution of You. Can you see the bump?
Or maybe you are just seeing the Arby's...

Bumper Art

So, as you can see, because your Mom is so tiny, she's actually starting to show a little bit! Holly can't wait until she's properly showing; at this nebulous "kinda showing" stage she's afraid people will just think that she's been eating too many sweets or partaking in too many brewskies. But soon enough that little belly will be a big baby bump! And since the pants are already not fitting, we think we're in for a big bump! Us Weinsteins are big babies when we're born. Depending on who you ask, they might say that we're big babies when we're adults too. But those people are hardly worth listening to.

Your dog Toby (that's the white one [don't worry, you can learn their names later]) really wanted to be in these pictures too, but I cropped him out, as he didn't really fit in the frame. But here are his cameos:
It'll be really fun to spot him when there are like 50 pictures that he's darting in and out of. Well, maybe your definition of "fun" isn't the same as mine; but you'll understand when you get older that fun has to be had in small doses.

Speaking of your dogs, though, I think it's time we tell them that you're on the way. They might not react too well, they're not to used to sharing your Mom. Me they could probably do without.

On a side note, with each passing day the nausea seems a little less and less severe; we're almost to the point where your mother is enjoying life again! But the cravings continue...whenever I hear a little "crinkle crinkle crinkle" coming from the kitchen late at night, I know that it's your Mom hitting those Rice Krispies one more time before bed.

We may wind up having to name you "Snap," "Crackle" or "Pop." Well, "Pop" is taken already (my dad is your "Pops" (see picture)). But "Crackle" is pretty nice!