Week 26- Belly Interest

Little one, you are now 26 weeks along, and your Mom and I can't believe how quickly time is flying.

You had some visitors: Last week Sam and Yumiko came down from New York on their way to Japan, and made sure to say hello to you too!

Here you are yesterday in your Mommy's belly:

The book says you're the size of a head of lettuce, but I don't think that does you any justice to the density of the bump. Your Mom is in good spirits, but you're certainly more weighty than a head of Romaine. She's now having difficulties sleeping because you're sleeping on some vital organs, and stubbornly won't move off of them. But that's okay, I forgive you...because I can! Your Mom does too. Plus, you give her a reason to eat lots of ice cream lately, and tell me that I smell. But I don't think we can blame either of those things on the pregnancy....really.



So, exciting news in baby land: you've been busy this week.

• Your eyes are forming, and will soon start to open. 
• Your eyelashes are now grown, too.
• You're getting your immune system ready for life on the outside by soaking up your antibodies.
• You're taking breaths, too. They're of amniotic fluid, not air, but it's still good practice.

So with all this busy-bodiness, it's no wonder that you've attracted so much attention from the outside world.

Your Brother grows more and more interested Mommy's belly. Yesterday he kept lifting up her shirt and kissing the belly, and poking the belly button. Did you feel it?
 
The other night I had my hand on the bump and I felt your rump...or was it your head? Either way, it wasn't a fleeting kick or rippling under the surface. I felt you, just sitting there, either with your butt up in the air or trying to poke your head up for some head room. I love feeling the kicks, don't get me wrong, but this was the first time with you that I've felt a definitive body part. I forgot how amazing a sensation it is to have sustained first contact.
 
The moment took me aback, as if I had just found out we were having you again. I turned to Holly and said "a baby girl!!!" Or something equally schmaltzy. But it was worth being sappy and lame to experience that exciting moment.
 
So, that was me saying 'hi' and I love you.
 
Did you feel that? It was probably nicer than Aidan poking you in the head (of lettuce).

 

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: )

Stuffed...

It's now week 26....Under 100 days left until you arrive! And your Mommy and I are continuing to grow more and more excited...and your Mommy is continuing to grow and grow.

We're safely in the middle of the 6th month now, and I just read that the 6th month is the time of greatest growth for your Mommy's belly.

And that couldn't have come at a better time of year. Your Mom and I both LOVE Thanksgiving, not only for the family, but mostly for the food said family makes!



We had the pleasure of having Thanksgiving dinner once with our friends...

...once again with your Mom's side of the family in Sulphur Springs (at your Great Grandma's house)..

... and Twice with the Weinstein side in Houston at your Uncle Taff and Aunt April's house.

Now, I must admit, it's hard to not get stuffed like a turkey on Thanksgiving...and I certainly had my fill.

But, with all the Turkey, cranberry sauce, hot rolls, sweet potato souffle (made from sweet potatoes in our garden!), stuffing, olive salad, deviled eggs, pumpking pie, coconut cream pie and pumpkin rolls (made by your Mom, herself), your Mom and I both agree that Thanksgiving dinner(s) was major fuel for you to grow--

Subsequently, your Momma's belly definitely had a growth spurt this weekend!


I don't think the people who wrote these pregnancy books banked on the 3rd week of the 6th month landing on Thanksgiving. Instead of it being the month of your Mom's biggest belly growth, it may just have been the biggest growth of the pregnancy in one week!

Or maybe we were just both stuffed!