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:

Ow ow ow

Darn these talons - I mean, nails that just keep on growing! And darn my ever-increasing blood volume! I scratched my chin pretty badly with my own nail and the blood just keeps coming. Yet another reason why maternity leave should start in the eighth month. :-)

Mooo

There is nothing better these days than ice-cold milk. Actually, make that ice-cold milk over cereal. Mmmmmm.

32 Weeks = 8 Months

My, my. Here we are at 8 months already. It seems like only yesterday I couldn't believe I was already 7 months pregnant. :-)

This week, Thom John and I got some time off from baby-related appointments/classes and were able to just focus on work, school, going to the gym, and the PepperDog. While we enjoyed our "break," here's what our boy was up to:

-Basically, the only job the Sooy Baby has now is to gain weight. His skin is becoming opaque as he fills out with baby fat. He should be weighing in at around 4 lbs, but since he was almost there last week, I bet he weighs more. He should also be about 17 inches long, making him the size of a large jicama.

-The Sooy Baby is sensitive to cold and heat now, which is why he goes beserk when I rest a bowl of cold, delicious cereal on my belly to enjoy at snack time.

And here we are at 32 weeks, 1 day:

More glamour shots

Here are two more ultrasound pictures of our boy taken last Tuesday (Feb. 24). A big, shiny gold star goes to whoever can tell me what we're looking at here. I think they're profile views of his precious little head? The ultrasound tech said that he's got quite a bit of hair already, which kinda validates the Old Wives' Tale about heartburn.

Note to Baby:

When I get up in the middle of the night for a bathroom break, it does not mean I'm getting up for the day! 3 AM is not exactly the time to start practicing karate moves or dancing the Macarena or whatever the heck it is you're doing in there. I know it's got to be getting a bit boring in there for you, but how exactly does keeping me up provide entertainment for you? I love you kid, but lay off the ribs, mmmkay?

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!

Dear Winter:

Go away! I can only button 2 of the 4 buttons on my largest winter coat, making for a very drafty walk from the train to work. Quit being so stubborn and let Spring get here already!

Time Keeps on Tickin' Tickin' Tickin'

30 weeks! Seeing that "3" in front of the "0" makes me really excited and yet so very nervous. Our Sooy Baby is practically here! Let's see what he's up to this week, shall we?

-Baby Sooy's brain development is on warp speed - his little genius brain is gaining a ton of wrinkles and folds as his brain cell development speeds up.

-His fingernails and toenails are finished developing, and his eyesight continues to develop and he spends most of his awake time checking out his surrounding environment

-He's starting to shed is lanugo - the fine coating of hair coating his body - since he is able to regulate his own body temperature better due to the amount of fat he's putting on.

-He should be about 16 inches long, and weigh about 3 lbs - like a head of cabbage.

And here's what we're looking like from the outside. This photo was taken Friday at 30 weeks 1 day:

Fourth Meal

Apparently nighttime feedings start during pregnancy? Several times in the last few weeks, I've woken up sometime between 2 and 4 a.m. with a growling tummy and a kicking baby. I'm trying to prevent these snack-attacks by eating high protein/high fiber snacks before bed - whole wheat toast with peanut butter or cottage cheese and fruit - but sometimes it just doesn't work. I wake up with a growling tummy and a kicking baby and the only thing that helps is cereal... and late-night movies on TNT.

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:

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope it's cuddly...And delicious.

Get in my belly!

My belly is getting out of control – it has a mind of its own! Besides feeling like there’s a litter of puppies scrambling around in there most of the day and night, this belly is starting to have a major influence over my everyday life. I guess I need to get used to my new "dimensions."

Some examples:

-Last week, I hit a man sitting on the train in the head with my belly when I was trying to squeeze down the aisle to get off at my stop.

-It’s getting harder to maneuver myself between people in the streets and it’s also getting harder to get through crowds, which I learned at the Sixers game last Saturday. I often hit someone either with my belly or my purse.

-I’ve knocked over numerous glasses and bowls off of the kitchen counters – much to the PepperDog’s delight. He’s always underfoot to help clean up.

And the most recent:

-This morning I knocked a bunch of knick knacks off the desk of one of my bosses with my belly. Thank goodness he wasn’t in his office at the time. I think I put everything back where it belongs. Yikes.

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:

Heartburn...

I haz it. And without the fun of Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep. At least the Sooy Baby will have tons of hair, right?

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.