Roll Over, Beethoven

Last night your Mom told me that she was pretty sure she felt you turn all the way around in her stomach moving from one side to another. Unfortunately, I was a little late to rush to her side, and missed the whole procedure! Maybe you'll be doing more acrobatics as you get more and more mobile!

But the more mobile you get, the less mobile your Mom is feeling. Her belly's getting so big that she can't really find a comfortable spot and, while you seem to be doing it effortlessly, she can hardly roll over herself!

In fact, your Mom sometimes gets so uncomfortable (and feels trapped in the sheets) that she just starts flailing like a fish out of water. But with more legs kicking everywhere. As you can tell, this is not a pleasant feeling to be kicked by one of these flailing legs. But, I guess, that's how this works: you kick your Mom, she kicks me.

It's not that she's in pain or that your kicks or movements hurt her; although once this week I'm pretty sure you took her by surprise with a quick move. We were driving, and she gasped, put her hands to her belly and I looked her in the eyes: they were wide open as if she was shocked or if she was trying to win a staring contest. It was a big movement that really caught her off guard! Just being so big, and heavy where she never has been before, is causing some light discomfort. And she's not afraid to let me know.

I've encouraged her to "use her words," but flailing, writhing and kicking seems to suit her better.

So maybe I'll wear shin guards to bed.

Besides the slight discomfort and bruised shins, though, as we are about to officially embark on the third trimester, we're both feeling really good. The classes made us feel a little more secure and knowledgable, the nursery's in good shape, the shower invitations are out (we're having a party for you before you're even born!), my lullabye singing voice is drastically improving (from an A to an A+, I'd say), and your Mom's belly is getting bigger and bigger!

We have a sonogram on Monday, and we can't wait to see you again!

So, officially (for us anyway, thanks fuzzy preggo math) we'll be seeing you in the Third Trimester. I can't wait to see how you and your Mother continue to grow. We're in the home stretch now and I'll be there for all of it and see you at the finish line (even if I have to hobble there...due to the bruised shins and all).

I wanna hold your...foot? hand? unknown appendage?

Last night while cuddling on the couch, your Mom and I both had a hand on the belly (yes, it's certainly big enough to accomodate that now). You were doing your sommersaults and kicks and rollings, like usual, but then you did something new, and very cool:

You pushed, and kept pushing, your foot (or hand?) out to us, for at least 10 seconds at a time. Your Mom and I both held your hand (or foot?) and it was truly remarkable. I could feel bone, detect the shape of the appendage and feel you pressing against me.

Remember this picture from before? Well, what you were doing felt like it should've looked like this. But, don't be freaked out, it didn't look like that at all.

Sure, we've felt jabs and even 2-second holds before, but this was as if you were just stretched out in the belly, making yourself as comfortable as possible, kicking your feet all the way out to the edge. And, as a result, you kept your foot out there long enough for us to hold it in the palms of our hands...and smile.

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!

Spotlight On You

Yesterday Holly's boss generously gave us some tickets to see a Shakespeare play at the new theater downtown. Taking full advantage of not needing a babysitter and doing things on the whim, as we've been doing lately, we decided to go check it out and take you to your first work by the bard: A Mid Summer Night's Dream. You've really gotten a lot of culture recently!

And considering that, now at Week 22, you pretty much hear everything we hear, you've gotten quite an earful of iambic pentamter, opera and music as of late.

While the spotlight wasn't shining on us, you were kicking and squirming. The play was a lot of fun and well-done, but yours and your Mother's favorite part, by far, was probably during the intermission when she got to tear into that King Size Snickers that was burning a hole in her purse. I had to beg to even get a tiny bite! But, it's probably better that way, I had way too much candy over the weekend with Halloween and all (don't worry, I'll show you our awesome costumes later this week).

Later that night we had to put the spotlight on you to test something we'd read in one of the baby books. Apparently at week 22, although your eyes are fused shut and it's incredibly dark in the womb, you can still see some light-- and will react to it as well!

So, I warmed up the end of the Maglight, clicked it on and placed it on your Mom's belly.

Once we found you with the light, it almost felt like you were trying to punch it out! After a few kicks, though, you WHOOSHED to the other side of the belly. Your Mom giggled when you moved to the other side...it must have tickled.

I turned the flashlight off and was about to put it away, but then Holly took it from me. She wanted to feel you kick and move some more! So, the light went back on and you kicked and punched a few more times.

Eventually, though, we think you either found a good hiding spot or just decided to fall asleep in the light beam.

How many people get to say they shared the spotlight with Shakespeare?

I've got a feeling & a Stroller Coaster

Baby W, you are now 19 weeks old! We're getting closer and closer to that official half way point!

You keep growing, and so does your Mom's belly! This week you're the size of a Mango!

Seeing as how you're really climbing up the produce food chain, and that you're moving like crazy in your Mom's belly, it's no wonder that she's been feeling you kick and turn and move for just about a full week.

But, what was a wonder to me, was that I felt you move too! We were on the couch watching a movie (oddly enough, a movie about an expectant couple called "Away We Go"). During the movie, I had my hand on your Mother's belly and...POP!...I swear I felt you move below and to the right of her belly button.

Was that you in there?

Holly said that she "wasn't paying attention" to know if what I felt was, indeed, you moving...but I'm pretty convinced that was you! It felt almost like being gently flicked, but very quick and abrupt. Was that your foot? Your hand? Did you hit your head?

No matter what it was, it made my night! No, it made my whole week! Maybe you could hit your head against her belly again tonight?

Speaking of moving, you'll be happy to know that your Mother and have moved forward in a particularly difficult arena: registering.

As you'll recall, we were both incredibly overwhelmed by Babies R Us and hightailed it out of there with our tails between our legs. I was happy with never going back to that store again, and figured you'd do just fine in hand-me-downs and old cardboard boxes taped together to create a crib. Little did I know, though, that your Mom found her comfort zone for registering and basically went through every category of everything you'll ever need by registering online. It was way easier!

But, when I got filled back in on the loop, there were still two items that were vexing your mother: your crib and your stroller. So, I figured we should take it up a notch. Biting the bullet, we headed to another baby superstore: Buy Buy Baby.

They even let me park right up front!

This store was A LOT better: each employee is an expert on baby things, and the store is laid out to not induce hyperventilation and vertigo. So that's a plus. On our first trip there, we learned a heck of a lot and saw about 15 million strollers and cribs.

Stroller Over-Load! We felt like this couple, except that I still have my lucious head of hair! (as of this writing)

We definitely still felt overwhelmed...but not as badly as before. I guess going to these baby stores and registering is like being bludgened: the more you experience it, the less pain you feel! But we ironed out a lot of ideas and brainstormed and discussed and talked and thought and thought some more and sought advice and turned inward and...we made a decision on both fronts!

So yesterday, we decided that we needed to go back to Buy Buy Baby to see if our idea would even work! In order to make ourselves feel better about being bright-eyed and deer-in-the-headlights at these baby stores, we decided to bring some folks who would make us feel like old pros: enter the Nodelands! So, with BJ and Kari in tow, and confidence artifically heightened, we went back to Buy Buy Baby to register for more amazing junk for you and test our stroller idea.

Registering can stink. Is that a fake burger patty in your hands or are we in a PetSmart?

After a hands-on demonstration from three different associates, encountering an even-more bewildered couple than us, and test driving (and test lifting) about 10 carrier and stroller combinations, you might have thought we'd high-tailed it out of there again. But no! Consider your stroller and infant carrier registered-for! You're gonna be so comfortable (and safe (and stylish))).

I've got a good feeling about this!

Your new ride! We don't look too scared, do we? Plus, check out your Mom's 19 week bump!

Kicking, no Screaming

According to the Bump at week 18 a fetus is moving like crazy, doing things like:

• yawning



• hiccuping



• rolling



• twisting



• kicking



• punching



• sucking your fingers



• swallowing

Now, where I come from, yawning and swallowing aren't big on the list of physical activities; in fact, I think those events were removed from the Winter Olympics for being not competitive enough. But for a baby, that's a lot of activity!

And we on the outside world have taken notice. Or, more specifically, your Mom has taken notice.

In the past few days, she has begun to feel you moving around inside her tummy! At first, she wasn't sure if that sensation was gas bubbles or something else, but ever since Monday afternoon she's become more and more aware of your movements!

This totally makes sense: now that you're 18 weeks, you're big enough to be felt. And, since your mother's belly seems to be growing by leaps and bounds over the past week, she's big enough to feel you!

In fact, she just called me and told me that she felt you kicking her just now!

Please refrain from kicking like this...or sweeping the leg.

Being the jealous and curious type that I am, I asked her to describe it to me.

Basically, she said, it feels like a series of quick little bumps. It seems to happen pretty close to meal times, although she did feel you yesterday while she was driving her car.

I haven't been able to feel you move from my vantage point yet, but I keep my hand on the belly, poised to feel your kicks!