Kicking Daddy

I had felt little flutters here and there… nothing very active.

I was really looking forward to two things- being able to feel the baby and clearly identify that the baby was moving, instead of unsure “what ifs.” And for Steve to be able to feel the baby… I was really looking forward to sharing it with him.

On Tuesday this week it just started- little bursts of movement that would play out from one side of my stomach to the other. Tap. Tap. Tap. Flick. All over. When I would gently press down nothing would happen but as I eased up I would feel an answering tap tap… it was amazing and felt a bit like we were communicating. I loved it!

From Tuesday on nearly every evening, after dinner, when I laid down to rest or watch tv I could feel Baby moving about.

I read that it wouldn’t be too long before Steve could feel baby too but I worried since I was still small he wouldn’t be able to for longer.

Friday night I was reading and I could feel Baby dancing about in there… from the corner of my eye I thought I saw my belly move. I rested my hands there and it seemed that I could feel the baby from the outside. I called Steve and he came in… as soon as I put his hand on my belly his eyes lit up. “I feel that!” He was kicked a few times really good and when he pressed down he could feel the baby kick back in response.

Last night as I lay on the couch Steve cuddled up behind me and put his hand on my belly. When baby started the show he could feel light taps against his hand. Very exciting!

Today we were cuddling and I lay between Steve’s legs with my chest against his belly. He got all excited saying that he could feel the baby. I thought it was odd because I couldn’t. I asked him where he was feeling the baby and he said his chest. I laughed and sat up, showing him where I lay… “That was my heart!” He was disappointed and laughed. I said, “Sorry to disappoint you with my beating heart!”

I’m sure he’ll be kicked a lot more in the near future!

Furry Family

Every since I started the second trimester Cera and Baxter have been extra clingy. Usually Baxter is a Daddy’s Boy and Cera is a Momma’s Girl. But they are both glued to me lately to the extreme. I cannot go to the bathroom by myself without each of them checking on me. They usually like to be in the same room that I’m in but before I could leave the room to get a drink or something… but now even if I leave the room for a moment they are up and behind me.

When I was out gardening they each lay on either side of me as if each was guarding a particular side.  Usually if Steve gets up in the middle of the night to check on something Baxter is his faithful companion but now he stays with me and is extra alert, ears perked and ready to spring to my defense.

If you ask them “Do you want a baby?” Cera will tilt her head and give you her undivided attention, just as she does if you ask if she wants a treat or a walk. They love to lay in the babies room and they insist on smelling everything that goes in there. I know they understand what is going on and are excited. It’s adorable!

As Steve worked in our bedroom laying laminate down I came in to keep him company, true to form Cera had to join me and be as close as possible! This is not normal Cera behavior, sure she likes to be nearby but cuddling is just not generally her “thing.”

Later on that same day when I took a nap in the guest room the dogs had taken up position at my head and at my feet. Baxter NEVER gets up in bed with us or stays very long but this is how Steve found us….

Even Weezer has discovered a new favorite room… he loves sleeping in the sunlight in the baby’s room!

Hello Baby! (20 weeks)

We were very excited to head down to our 5 month sonogram, couldn’t wait to see that little face again!

Daddy took the day off so that he could come see the baby too. It was torture for me to go to work, all I could do all day was count down to 2:30 and our appointment.

We stopped at a store and got a video tape so we could take the whole “show.”

On the way down I was snacking on grapes but I did take two bites of Steve’s snickers.

Steve had his whole camera set up prepared so that we could also  record it on the computer for sharing with everyone.

We took pictures of my belly at 20 weeks and Steve sitting in the Labor of Love center. Mom came to see the sonogram recording but unfortunately Debbie couldn’t make it.

Baby was right there on the screen perfect but was quickly bouncing around. Either we just caught Baby in a really active period or it was the Snickers sugar kicking in. The Baby was literally holding on to the cord and using it to launch him/herself from one side to the other. I still wasn’t feeling it, but it was amazing to see. The sonogram tech was joking that the baby was pulling on the cord demanding more sugar or chocolate… then she joked that maybe the baby was pulling on the cord saying “I want internet in here! I want cable!” That would certainly be taking after Daddy! Already a little techie.

When she first put the screen on she showed us two babies and joked that it was twins! I said, “That’s impossible!” She laughed and I told her about my April Fools joke to people on Facebook so she printed us out the picture on the left in case we wanted to mess with anyone.

Watching the video was a bit like name that body part… as baby flipped and twisted around it was “There’s an arm!” “There’s a leg!” “There’s an elbow!” One right after another all over.

She stopped the tape at one point to check the gender so she could write it down for us, but not tell us.

When she picked up she showed us the heart, the kidneys and the brain… everything is perfect. Heartbeat was still fast…. 148 this time. Baby measured one foot already and a pound in weight. Still plenty of room to grow. We saw fingers and toes. I wanted to see the baby’s profile but he/she kept putting his/her arm up over his/her face as if to say “no more pictures! I’m done!” They even had me roll over to try to get a better shot but baby was definitely saying “Show’s over.”

Extreme close up of baby’s face… hand to nose or eye, still holding cord.

Probably one of my favorite images of the day… littel tiny baby feet.

Another shot of baby holding cord with hand up to face.

The pictures weren’t quite as clear as last time but the video was amazing! We are still trying to get the VHS tape transferred to DVD and digital so I can post it here.

The next day I went to the midwife appointment. Still haven’t gained weight… one pound less than when I started. But baby is showing growth so they aren’t worried. I’m still exceptionally small but they said it was because I was long waisted… so that’s good. Everything looks textbook perfect! 🙂

Get off me Mom!

I definitely felt the baby!!!

I have a dreadful, awful, no good, very bad cold- part 3… and we had Ethics Bowl for the kids. I’m the advisor and I sat there silently cheering them on while creating a gigantic pile of tissues and lozenge wrappers. When I came home I knew I needed rest so I went straight to bed.

Since the belly has not yet made a strong appearance I felt asleep on my stomach, or rolled there (not really sure). After a bit I was awakened to two swift kicks to my belly!
Couldn’t be gas because gas bubbles do not travel downwards and had to be baby… was most definitely a kick!

Steve was so excited when he came home, he kept asking if it felt strong. It definitely felt strong and most certainly like somone was saying “Hey get off me!”

Pink or Blue?

So after some debate we decided to wait and find out the gender of the baby until their birthday…

I’ve always kind of thought it would be neat to be surprised because there are so few surprises left in our world… and so few where either option is a cause for joy! Usually one option is good and the other bad. Plus, I always loved that feeling you get waiting for Christmas morning… and you just don’t get that in quite the same way after a certain age. This is as close as I’ve gotten since then!

I am someone what surprised I’ve held firm… I am quite curious and to be honest this is kinda killing me. I keep thinking “Oh it would be so easy to just find out.” But I think it will be amazing on the big day to hear someone call out “It’s a boy!” or “It’s a girl!” and not already know.

Plus, every time I feel myself caving and being tempted someone tells me a story about how they were told they were having a boy only to find out it was a girl, or vice versa. I think that would be frustrating… I want only happiness that day and while it ultimately doesn’t matter if we have a boy or a girl I’d be so upset if we were all prepared for one and had to start over. Not upset with baby… just frustrated. There are so many cute unisex options and we have time later…

Steve thought for a while he’d want to know… I still think he’d like to know. But for a while he was planning on finding out, but it would be really hard if one of us knew and not the other. Its kind of like all or nothing… he thought it would be neat if he found out and finished the nursery and surprised me. And it would be really sweet but it would drive me nuts to not be able to go in there and to have him know and not me!

To me it’s like if someone comes to you in September and says “You are getting a really amazing present for Christmas”.. I’m going to be excited and have anticipation but I don’t know exactly what I’m getting. If they came and said “You are geting a mint condition 57 chevy, powder blue with white leather interior and a/c” I’d be excited but I could wait easier because I’d know… I kind of like the anticipation.

But that doesn’t mean I’m not curious… we’ve been doing all the old wives tests to find out. Here is what they say…

Chinese Gender Predictor- I’ve heard this one is 80% right… it says girl

Mother’s Intuition- I keep accidentally saying “she” but it could just be my frame of reference

Dreams- I keep dreaming the baby is a girl, usually with dark hair, once with red. I’ve heard this means the baby is a girl and I’ve heard this means the baby is definitely a boy lol

Heartbeat- the baby’s heartbeat has been high, which generally means girl

How I’m carrying- What bump I have seems to be high- which means girl

Extra weight- all weight seems to be in belly which I’ve heard means boy

Cravings- I’m mostly craving sweet things, especially fruit. But every once in a while I want hot, salty french fries or spinach dip or spicy shrimp (Bang Bang!) so if you are going with majority which is sweet then that means girl (although I’ve heard the opposite to).

Red Cabbage Test- you boil red cabbage down to get purple cabbage water, then mix with Mommy urine. If it stays purple it’s girl and if it goes pink it’s boy. The first time was definitely purple, the second time it was purple but the longer we let it sit (way past alloted time) the pinker it got… but I don’t know if that counts

We are planning on doing the Draino test and I want to do some of the other sillier tests just for fun… there will be an update on the guessing game later 🙂