Sister's bed!

Since there's less than two months until Sean's little sister arrives(!!!), we thought it was high-time we got a bed for her. Although she'll sleep in Mommy and Daddy's room for the first few weeks, it's good to get her crib up and ready so that Sean gets used to the idea of his new roommate. After Sean's nap yesterday, we headed out to IKEA in South Philly during a massive rain storm to find the Little Miss a bed.

While browsing the crib section, Sean pointed to one and asked, "night-night?" When Daddy put Sean in one of the cribs, Sean promptly asked for his blanket ("nik-nik") and his bear. When we said "Night-night, Sean" he thought it was the funniest thing:

He was a little peeved when it was time to get out to continue with our shopping! We got the crib we wanted, which matches Sean's - we'll post pictures of the new room complete with "Sister's bed" in a couple of weeks, I'm sure.

While Daddy braved a soaking downpour to go get the car, Sean spied the SS United States docked at a pier across the parking lot.

Sean kept saying, "Boat! Have it? (Hab it?) Sean's Boat? Have it, please? (Hab it, meese)?"

Chore Boy

It's about time somebody started pulling his weight around here. :-)

Helping mommy unload groceries:

Helping mommy put the groceries back in the bag:

Yay!

Sorting laundry with mommy (he lacks a little focus here):

Whew.

School's done! We made it through the semester! What a cooperative boy we have! Not a bad job by the parents-to-be, especially by Thom John as he aced his class while working towards getting promoted to a Senior Member of the Engineering Staff!!!

Now it's just time to wait for when this boy decides he'd like to arrive. I'm not in a particular hurry, though. I'd like to sleep in tomorrow and not set my alarm for the first time in months. And I'd like to get the house super-duper clean. And the hospital bag needs to be finalized. Besides, I like carrying this little bugger around with me everywhere and feeling his little (ha!) nudges and rolls. However, I'm sure my tune will change very quickly this weekend - the temperatures are expected to hit 85-90. :-)

Be sure to check out our on-line baby pool!! (Click on this link or the link on the right-hand side of the blog and click on the orange box that says "Enter a Guess" to participate). The winner will get an awesome prize - perhaps an autographed photo of the Sooy Baby?

Still here... again.

We're still here and we're still busy bees. Thom John has a paper due and presentation on Monday and he is done. I have a paper due and a presentation on Monday, too, and then a final next Thursday and then I am done. And then we wait. That's the plan, anyways. For the next seven days I will be avoiding anything that is thought or rumored to induce labor.

Except I already kind of screwed up. I read last night that eggplant is thought to stimulate labor and I've been eating leftover eggplant parm for like, 3 nights. Ooopsie.

Check!

What a big week this was for us! Not only is the Sooy Baby continuing to grow and gain weight (he should be the size of a pineapple now), but Thom John and I checked off some big items on our to-do list!

First, we picked a pediatrician. Well, actually we picked a group of pediatricians. It's a group practice that is close to our house and has flexible hours for well-visits. And of course, someone is available 24-hours a day to answer any questions a nervous new parent may have - not that we'll know anyone like that, right?

Second, we picked a daycare. We put down a deposit at a daycare that is literally two minutes from our house. I think we picked a good place - it's run more like a school than a daycare and even the infant room has a curriculum. The infant room's curricula includes eating, napping, hugging, and playing, of course. But the programs that follow as the Sooy Baby grows seem thorough, enriching, and most importantly, fun. It was hard deciding where our baby is going to spend his days while Thom John and I are at work, so I hope we're happy with this place. Speaking of work, I'm currently developing a strategy to approach my bosses and let them know my final plans as to when I'm leaving, coming back, and the schedule I'd like to work when I do get back.

Meanwhile our Sooy Baby is a busy bee. I haven't even needed to take kick counts the past 4 days because he is constantly rolling and moving and kicking and punching. Normally I feel his 10 movements within 20 minutes, but this week, it's been within 2! Thom John can feel the baby move pretty much anytime he wants to these days and we can see when the babe decides to move his feet, limbs, or tush from my left side to my right. The poor kid has been hiccuping a lot lately, as well, so I guess he really has been practicing for breathing.

And here is how we're looking these days. This was taken this morning at 33 weeks 1 day:

31 Weeks!

This was a busy week for Thom John and me, as well as the Sooy baby. Here's what our boy was up to:

-He can process information from all five senses.
-His lungs are just about the only organs that are not yet fully mature.
-He's packing on the pounds, about 1/2 pound a week, actually. On Tuesday, the doctor estimated his weight to be 3 lbs 11 oz! We're not sure of his length since he's all curled up, but the books say he should be about 17 inches long - about the length from the tip of your middle finger to your elbow!
-Our Sooy Baby is getting cramped in his little environment. I feel him turning and rolling more than I can feel kicks and punches now - although he's still getting some good shots at my ribs every so often.

And here's what Thom John and I have been up to this week:

-We had another ultrasound of the Sooy Baby - he's growing like a champ and is head-down, so he seems to be getting ready to go. His heartrate at the appointment was 140.
-We went to visit a pediatricians. This practice has a ton of doctors, weekend hours, is close to our house and is affiliated with our hospital, so it seems like a good fit. We're going to meet another pediatrician pretty close to our house next week, and then we'll pick one and be set with that.
-We attended our last baby class: Breastfeeding Basics. The class was taught by a "lactation consultant" who works at our hospital and was really informative - almost a little too informative, as in there was a lot to remember. I guess we'll just see how it goes when the time comes.

And a couple of things I forgot to mention in previous weeks:

-Thom John and I attended another baby class: Breathing & Relaxation. It was like a Lamaze/Bradley class condensed into a two-hour session. The instructor taught us the basics and it's up to us to practice the techniques at home. This class was great - that night, I had the best night of sleep I've had in months!
-I passed my one-hour glucose screening! Woo hoo!

-The nursery is coming together. We've got a crib, changing table, bookcase, curtains and some wall art. I'll post pictures after we get a couple of other things together.

And here's this week's belly shot - another comparison, since I had my "running outfit" on again:

On the top left, me at 14 weeks pretending I have a baby belly (it was really a lot of pasta and Twix bars). The top right photo is me at 26 weeks 5 days feeling happy for having just run 3.1 miles. And the bottom left photo was taken last Tuesday at 30 weeks 5 days, feeling grateful that I was able to crank out 2 miles!

29 Weeks

I can't adequately express in writing how quickly the weeks seem to be flying by. Everyday seems a million hours long, but before I know it, it's Thursday and that little ticker on top of the blog is telling me we're at a new week. There's so much to do before Baby Sooy's due date - final exams, final papers, taxes, the nursery, pick a name, pick a pediatrician - he'd better get nice and settled in my belly and not plan on making any early exits.

While Thom John and I are working on all these things to get ready for the Sooy Baby's arrival, here's what our boy is up to:

-His brain can now control his breathing and body temperature. And he can cough, now!

-Head to heel, the babe can measure about 16 inches and weighs nearly 3 pounds (like a butternut squash).

-The babe's own set of nutritional demands is increasing - he needs plenty of protein, iron, vitamin C and calcium. I'm doing my best to eat the foods that will help him grow - ice cream has calcium, right? :-)

And here's my belly picture for this week, taken at 29 weeks 1 day:

Week 28

Week 28! 7 months! Third Trimester!

What's the Sooy Baby doing?

-He's still practicing blinking, making breathing movements, coughing, and hiccupping.

-He's begun to have rapid eye movement while sleeping.

-Compared to a couple of weeks ago, the baby is downright chubby. He's weighing in between 2.5 and 3 lbs and he should be about 16 inches long - like a Chinese cabbage.

-His lungs are just about fully mature, but he still has a lot of developing to do in other areas of his body.

-He's working on adding billions and billions of neurons to his little genius brain..

I took the one-hour glucose screening for gestational diabetes on Monday. It wasn't too bad, but I should have planned my snack schedule better that day. I was given a sweet, orange-flavored drink - like a melted freezer pop - and then I hung out for an hour before getting a blood sample drawn. I wasn't feeling too hot at the end of the test, which I think is because I got really, really hungry about 20 minutes into the one hour waiting period. I wasn't allowed to eat or drink during the hour and spent most of the time staring at my book trying to study, but ended up checking my watch every 2 minutes and getting crankier and crankier with each watch-check. Finally the hour was over, I had my blood drawn, and I sprinted to the car and inhaled a large amount of trail mix. I don't have the results yet, but my fingers are crossed that I passed because I don't know how I'd make it through the three-hour test.

The other parts to Monday's doctor's appointment were pretty uneventful - my weight and blood pressure are good and the baby's heart rate was a strong 150. I don't need to go back until March, and then I'll start going every two weeks.

Tuesday night Thom John and I went to the first of a two-part class: Labor Basics, taught by a nurse who works at the hospital we plan to deliver at. She was peppy and kept the class from getting too serious/worrisome. I didn't really learn anything that I didn't know from high school health class, but it was nice to have everything re-presented now that the subject matter is so relevant. :-) She also introduced some of the medical terminology that will be thrown around in the delivery room and showed us what 10 centimeters looks like, and I'm happy to report 10 centimeters is a teeny bit bigger than I thought. The nurse played a video that showed 4 women giving birth naturally - we get to see a c-section video next week. Fun fun.

Alrighty, here's my 28 week 1 day belly shot taken by Thom John:

27 Weeks

These weeks are flying by. On Thursday we hit 27 weeks, which according to some books and websites means I am in the third trimester and according to others, this is the last week of the second trimester. Either way, this kid is growing like a weed - I feel like I gained 5 pounds this week alone. My appetite has been out of control!!!

Here's what Baby Sooy is doing this week:

-The baby's lungs and immune system are continuing to mature.
-He's weighing in at about 2 lbs now and measures 15 inches from head to toe, like a head of cauliflower.
-The babe should have established a regular sleeping and waking schedule - I can't really tell if this is true because it seems like he's pretty busy moving around all day and most of the night.

-Muscle coordination continues to develop and the Sooy Baby may be able to suck his thumb, which helps him soothe himself and gets his jaw and mouth muscles in shape.

I took a belly shot on Tuesday night since I realized I was wearing the same outfit from a previous belly picture and thought it would be neat to compare photos:

On the left is me at 14 weeks, trying pass off first-trimester-bloat as an actual baby belly and on the right is me last Tuesday (26 weeks 5 days), feeling quite proud of myself because I had just run 3.1 miles - take that, bladder!

In other baby-related news:

-I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, during which I get to take my one-hour glucose screening. Cross your fingers that I pass with flying colors!

-Tuesday night, Thom John and I are going to our first baby class: Labor Basics. It's 2.5 hours, so I'd better remember to bring some snacks.

26 weeks

We're at 26 weeks! Less than 100 days left until our Sooy Baby gets here - yay! and yikes!

Here's what our boy is up to this week:

-His heart and other major organs are continuing to mature and grow. The addition of tiny capillaries in the lungs are contributing to his lung development.

-He should measure about 9.5 inches from crown to rump or 14 inches from head to heel, which is about the size of an English hothouse cucumber (what a random produce selection this week, I know). He's still looking pretty lean even though he's been packing on ounce after ounce of baby fat.

-Up until now, his eyes have been sealed shut, but they should start to open soon. And then the baby can busy himself by practicing blinking and squinting.

And what have Thom John and I been doing to get ready for the Sooy Baby? We've toured a few daycare centers, painted the nursery, put together the crib, and signed up for a slew of baby-related classes offered by the hospital. Next on the list is to find a pediatrician. Also, I can't eat enough grapefruit.

Here's a belly picture taken Friday at 26 weeks 1 day. I know it doesn't really look it, but I feel like the baby's grown about 3 feet this week. He's definitely stretching out and getting comfy in his little apartment.

Tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock

I'm trying to be a good girl and work hard while I'm at work, but who can think about work when there's so much going on in the next couple of weeks? I'm trying to wait patiently for tomorrow night (the big ultrasound!), various upcoming holiday happenings and VACATION!!

Here are some thoughts rolling around in my head:

-The fall semester is done! Yay! It was so nice last weekend to NOT have any homework, reading, or papers to do!


-Round ligament pain is a killer. It feels like there are Doozers hard at work in my belly building up a nice little infrastructure for the baby. I guess the baby, much like a fraggle, finds the Doozers' product tasty and keeps eating the structures, because there is a lot of building going on. Fortunately, I've been able to combat the RLP with yoga and pilates, in which I'm instructed to "hug the baby" with my abs.

-Thom John felt the baby move on Sunday night. Or was it last night? Saturday night? Anywho, he felt a swift punch (delivered with love, I'm sure) from the little bugger!

-Thom John and I are starting to get serious about setting up the nursery! First thing we need to do is clear out the junky guest room with the hideous blue carpeting and then think of ways to distract from said carpeting.

-I'm soooooooo glad that I'm done with nausea. It's so nice to eat fruits and vegetables again. I'm working hard at keeping my eating under control, but sometimes when I eat, I end up hungrier than I was before I started. Basically, I've been sticking to my training diet with a couple of extra quality snacks added in, but I gotta be honest - fun-size Twix bars and I are getting to be pretty good friends.

-I'm really fighting the urge to make another egg, turkey bacon and english muffin sammich for dinner tonight... that would make 4 sandwiches in 3 days which is a bit much, eh? (I had two on Sunday.)

-Running is making a comeback, no thanks to my bladder which only lets me go about 1.5 miles from the house at one time. But, I no longer feel too jiggly or worry that the baby is going to fall out, so that's a plus.

-The PepperDog has become a good little running buddy to me. I used to get a bit impatient with him - he takes potty breaks wherever, whenever and he's is very easily distracted, but now I'm glad for the walk breaks and meandering, especially because I get short of breath pretty easily.

-I'm making my way into my maternity clothes. I started wearing the pants last week (week 19), but so far most of my tops still fit. The maternity tops I do have still look a bit ridiculous 'cause they're so huge.

-Thom John and I saw "Frost/Nixon" on Saturday. Did you know the actor who plays President Nixon in the film was born in Bayonne, NJ? It's true, according to IMDB!

-Maternity pants are great, I love the elastic waists, but I'd really just like to wear my running clothes to work. I wonder if City Sports is hiring?

-Thom John and I have some appointments set up to tour daycares when we get back from vacation. I need to do some research on what types of questions to ask these places and to find out what I should look for.

-I bruise as easily as an overripe peach these days!