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!

Week 19- Mango a go-go and Name-o-rama

Little one, you are 19 weeks old and the size of a mango. It's no surprise that your really that big now. Your Mom is show-show-showing (so much so that she doesn't want to take our weekly pictures any more...I'm going to have to get creative).

But, the magic of this second trimester is that even though she's show-show-showing, she's all go-go-going. She doesn't have boundless energy, that's for sure, but she certainly has a LOT more energy than she did in the first trimester.

She's teaching her full course load, working on a bunch of illustrations, chasing Aidan around all day and even volunteering us to watch 3 (?) of our neighbor's children too.

But, of course, all this crazy second trimester energy takes its toll. By the end of the day, her feet are swollen and sore...and it's just starting to get to be that famous Texas summer heat outside.

Luckily, I've got two hands with nothing better to do than rub said feet, and I try to keep the snarky comments to a minimum.

Your brother's learning your name quite nicely too. Oh, didn't I mention that we have decided upon your name? Okay...we're 98% decided, but with only the one name on the list, we've been calling you by that beautiful name. And your brother's learning it. Curious? Okay, I'll give you a hint: It's Beatles-related!

And it follows our family pattern: five letters, minimum of two vowels.

At any rate, I digress, we're not playing the name game right now, and if you're reading this, you already know your name! I'm just not quite ready to announce it yet.

The point is, Aidan is learning to be your big brother. He knows you and knows where to find you...mostly. We'll say, "kiss your sister, Aidan," and most of the time he gives a quick smooch on the belly. Sometimes he hits what your self-conscious mother calls "another fat part" of her body and announces that there's a baby. An arm...a boob, you know.

One day last week, he even ran up to your Mom and kissed her BUTT and then said "BABY!"

Not quite...but close enough.

From outside the belly, we sing to you, read to you and kiss you goodnight. We're getting excited to watch you and your mother continue to grow from Mango to beyond, and soon enough we'll be able to read to you, sing to you, hold you and kiss you in person. Until then, we'll work on Aidan's aim.

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!