All I want for Christmas

is my two front teeth!

Well, I had no idea Baxter was teething, but I guess he was. Yesterday he got his first tooth. Then today he was super cranky, so I wondered if he was still teething, since teeth come in pairs. He got his second tooth today.

How is he growing up so fast! Teeth at 4 months, 1.5 weeks. Yikes!

He can do What?!?

So it's been a while since I posted, so I figure I should do something about that! Thanksgiving was good, but Baxter doesn't do well when away from home too long. So we're most likely going to go to Seattle twice for Christmas, and go home for a few days in the middle so Jason and I can recover!

He had his 4 month (can you believe he's that old!!!) appointment today, and he's 18 pounds even. Huge, I swear. I've bought him a few new things to wear, and he's in 6-9 month in everything. He's almost outgrown his 6 month sleepers already! He has a few 3 month shirts that I can still put on him, but they're starting to show his belly button off. So for christmas he's getting a few 12-18 month t-shirts from us. I put one on him today, and it's a little baggy but overall it just looks long. Good. He can wear it for a while then. I'm hoping until at least short sleeve season, but I might be setting my hopes too high. Hopefully his growth will plateau and he won't gain as fast anymore. I'm thinking that will happen at 22lbs. Random guess, but we'll see! So if you're buying him clothes for Christmas, lets hope they fit!

He's working really hard at rolling over still. He CAN do it, but sometimes he's too tired and I'm not entirely sure he always remembers how. Today he rolled from his back to his belly twice, which is a new record for him. I kind of want him to get the hang of it soon, but at the same time it's so easy with him not being mobile yet. I'm NOT ready for him to start crawling yet! I would in fact be happy with a late crawler, so I can be more done with school! If he waited until 6-7 months, I'd be fine with that. He'll be 7.5 months when I graduate. Crazy!

On another front, he's starting to sit pretty well. He still tripods most of the time, but he's starting to self correct too! When you put him down you have to settle him into a sitting position, but then he can hold it pretty decently. I timed him the other day, and he was sitting for 2.5 minutes before he fell over. Again, some of that was using his hands in front of him to balance, but that's still pretty good!

Jason is done teaching on the 19th, and he's ready for a break. I finished up on Monday, and have been running errands, and making Christmas presents. I thought I would go cheap and make a bunch of presents this year, but it's super time consuming! I also have a lot of cleaning and sewing to do, but I've been delaying those... although I did get some laundry done. I'm not sure how much I'll get done tomorrow either, because Bax had his 4 month shots today, so tomorrow he'll be cranky and cuddly. I have a friend coming over in the afternoon for a little bit, and then I need to go back to Kohls. I went today, and found out the sales are better tomorrow... :D There's nice things about still knowing a lot of the people who work there! And they coo over Bax every time. I went today thinking he might nap in the stroller, but instead he was happy, and GIGGLED the whole time! At nothing! I didn't have to make crazy noises or faces, he just laughed at the people around me!

Ok, I'm off to go work on more Christmas presents. I'm hoping to get the last of them finished off tonight so I can start wrapping soon. I need to take pictures of Baxter under the tree, but I want there to be other presents there too..

He's a Boy...

And he knows it. He "helps" during diaper changes now, and raises his legs when the diaper comes off. The then usually grabs himself. Then once his had has been disengaged and the diaper around him, he pumps his legs up and down, thinking this will help to fasten the diaper...


I've also started calling him "Goomba" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goomba#Goomba because how how chubby his cheeks are. First Jason thought it was stupid, but he likes it now :D


We're excited for the holiday! We'll be in Seattle all weekend, so Grandpas and Grandmas and Aunts and Uncles can get their Baxter fix!

Independence?

For the last two days Baxter has not let me nurse him to sleep. Instead he wants to be nursed, then walked and rocked for about 5 minutes, then laid down with the pacifier (still awake) where he will then put himself to sleep. While this is a welcome development, it's sad to think that one of my favorite portions of the day has come to an end. I'm hoping he still lets me nurse him to sleep sometime. There's nothing like having a sleeping baby on your lap, even if his foot now creeps up to rest on your chin...

Peek-a-Boo!

Baxter now understands peek-a-boo and giggles or smiles. It's great. And sometimes he's ticklish under his arms! He's smiling soooo much more. He's finally sleeping through the night (mostly) again. He keeps getting sick (thanks public school system!) so we keep having him sleep in his chair in his crib. He's almost outgrown the co-sleeper! I have no idea what we'll do when that happens. I don't do super well when he co-sleeps, because I barely sleep or wake up with sore hips. So we might put the bed on the floor with our toddler mattress next to us. But that means buying toddler sheets and a bed-rail so he doesn't roll off. Not that he would anyway, because the boy still sleeps swaddled! We've tried to wean him off of it, but it results in more of a headache for us because he constantly wakes himself up. I try to do unswaddled naps during the day, but the longest he goes is 40 minutes. His swaddled naps are 1.25 to 2.5 hours long... He's also started putting himself to sleep better. We changed pacifiers, and he the new ones put him to sleep. He doesn't like them unless he's sleepy though, which is nice.


School is... stressful. The quarter is almost over, and there's only one more from here. Jason is sick yet again, but his classes are going well. I can't think of what else to post. I'm putting more pictures up on flickr, and a video of peek-a-boo up on youtube.

Ungrateful

I realized how ungrateful I had been when Baxter was sleeping though the night. If he starts again (which I know he will eventually, but I want it to happen now) I will be ever so thankful. I was so used to it, and now I'm sleep deprived! He's gotten a little better, but still not great. He was up 3 times last night, but one of them was for over an hour and a half. Last Thursday he woke up at 2am, and we tried for an hour to get him back down, but Jason ended up holding him and watching a movie until 5am because he would not sleep. He had to be held, not just cuddled in bed. But since then we got the teething necklace, and at night I wrap it around his ankle under his PJ's. It did reduce the number of wake-ups from 5 down to 3. And he's not nearly as fussy during the day and naps are a snap to put him down. Except for today, because I had meetings on campus that conflicted with his naps, and he was NOT happy. He's currently napping on Jason, even though bed time is less than an hour away.

I better go check on the boys, Jason lost the remote so he's probably irritated with what he's watching and unable to change it and unable to yell for me to go change it, hehe.

reaching...

I forgot to add yesterday that he's been starting to reach for toys. He's pretty good at getting them into his mouth to chew on too. But mostly he prefers my finger... He'll gnaw for ages on my knuckle. Last night he woke up 5 times. Not necessarily to nurse, but because his mouth hurt. He only nursed once out of all of that. He just wanted to know I was there, and to gnaw on my finger for a few minutes before falling back asleep. Did not make for a good exam this morning. It wasn't terrible, but it could have gone a lot better.

Tonight Jason has parent teacher conferences, and won't be home until about 9pm. So I have to put Baxter to bed by myself. I'm hoping to get my prep done for tomorrow, and just go to bed with him. Tomorrow night I'm volunteering at the Mother Baby Center auction (www.motherbabycenter.org). I highly recommend supporting them, they were a great support to me, and they're a fantastic addition to the Whatcom County community. But Jason gets to return the favor, and he gets to put Baxter to bed by himself tomorrow. We'll see how that goes, Baxter has never done that before, he's always had me to nurse him, then Daddy walks with him. It's a two part, two parent process. I'm glad he wants both of us though!

growing!

Baxter has such a steady growth rate, I'm ready for it to plateau. I'm breaking out the holiday themed clothes I got for him on clearance last year, in 6-9 month sizes! I wasn't quite ready to have him in clothes covered in snowflakes and snowmen, but it's snowing somewhere, right? He had a WIC appointment today, and I updated his growth chart, but here are the percentiles according to them:

Weight: 15 pounds 12 ounces (90-95th percentile)
Height: 24 3/8 inches (50-75th percentile)
Head circumference: 16 3/4 (50-75th percentile)

In other words, he's stayed the same length, but his head has gotten bigger, and his weight has gone up. Does that mean he has a fat head? Well, he's a pretty proportionate little guy, except for his HUGE THIGHS!

Happy Halloween!

Baxter was a gnome for Halloween this year. Which mostly meant he was subjected to a photo session while wearing a beard/hat combo that he wasn't particularly thrilled about. But it was still super cute. Next year we'll take him trick or treating. We only had ONE knock tonight! Two little girls in witch's outfits, and really bad face makeup. We have a ton of leftover candy. I guess "the thing" to do now is take the kids downtown. I hear Fairhaven is the place to go.

Baxter is just the cutest baby ever. I'm sure every mom thinks that, but he really is great. We need to get back down to Seattle so family can see how great he's getting. I'm not sure that's going to happen before Thanksgiving though. Travel is expensive, and we have a lot going on with school and work.

He's getting soooo much more social. Grandpa Gary was visiting from New York last week, and Baxter was great with talking and smiling. We went and spent the day with Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Spears on Monday, and he could not get enough of them. He was telling them all sorts of stories and grinning up a storm. I know they're already in love with him, but he could have charmed a complete stranger that day! He's really developing a personality. We're trying to not let him watch TV, but it happens (in moderation). But Baxter, who was so huge at birth that we called him "Daddy's little linebacker," has decided he LOVES football. And sometimes baseball. Seriously, if football is on TV, he's glued to it. If you turn him around, he'll twist back to it. If you change the channel he'll whimper until you turn it back. It's actually pretty cute.

And he has the most adorable sad face! I know, I try not to let him get too sad, but he sticks his lower lip wayyyy out and gives a tiny whimper. If he hears another baby crying he'll do this in sympathy. To cute! And he continues to be amazing in all things physical. He holds a rattle pretty well now, and sometimes sucks on it. And he rolled over. He's been rolling over from front to back since mid-September, but he doesn't do it often. He likes his tummy time too much. But on Wednesday (at 12.5 weeks) he rolled over from back to belly! On the bed too, where it's supposed to be more difficult! He's taken to laying on his side when playing with toys though, it's so funny.

Lets see, I think he's starting to teeth. I just bought him an amber teething necklace to see if it helps with his fussiness at all. Although I shouldn't complain, he really is an easy baby. But he just doesn't want to be put down at all when he's fussy, which means I don't get things like laundry or homework done. And he doesn't nap well, so I don't have that time either. If you're curious about teething necklaces, more information on them can be found here: http://hyenacart.com/inspiredbyfinn/index.php?c=64&p=14913. I actually got two for Baxter, and one for Jason and I too. I had a discount code :D

As far as not quite so Baxter related, I'm still doing OK in school. I have an exam next Thursday, and I have 180 terms to work through, as well as 250 pages of reading that I haven't been able to do with Baxter around. The plan is to skim it this weekend, and hopefully get most of that done. Of course we're taking pictures tomorrow, and have errands to run, but I have high hopes! I tend to get more done when Jason is home. Weekends are their time together. That and bathtime. Baxter loves baththime.

Laundry is one of the hardest things to keep up with now. I always wash diapers and Baxter's clothes first priority, and those are generally fine. But the adult clothes and the towels get postponed, so this weekend was a major laundry day. Things are much better on that front now.

I'm still really enjoying making diapers. I don't have nearly enough time to do it right now though. I'm working on developing my own pattern. I've run into a fit issue with some of our diapers, and I'm debating selling them. Of course, I could only get less than $10/diaper for them, and the ones I want to replace them with are $35 each... I've found a new diapering love. I really like fitted diapers, and for me I'd need two sets for each child. Newborn (birth to 12 lbs) and then Onesize (usually 10lbs +). We recently tried Goodmama onesize diapers, and they're so great. None of the fit issues I was having with my other diapers. Containing the poo is worth it, right?

I also started thinking about Christmas. Even though Jason is working full time, I am not working, and we have another member in the house. So presents are mostly going to be homemade this year. Lots of knitting.... So I've started working on many of those projects. I think I'm going to make a gift registry/wish list for Baxter though, with maybe a few ideas for Jason and I on there. He doesn't need a whole lot, and he's growing so fast. He's almost completely in 6 month clothing now, with a few 3 month shirts that still fit. Clothing is hard, because he changes so quick! But I'd love him to have some wooden blocks, a wooden train set, wood cars, lots of books, and some balls to play with. Toys for him don't have to be "organic" we're just trying to stay away from plastic or overstimulating (noisy) toys. He already has a ton of stuffed animals too. But one of the goodmama diapers wouldn't go amiss either... :D But that's a project for another day.

This ended up being another long post, didn't it? Ok, it's way past my bedtime, and the dryer just finished. So I can fold this last load, put the diapers in the dryer (we put them in and get the dryer started once before bed, so in the morning we can do one more dryer cycle and they're ready to go for the day) then go to bed!

I think I broke it

I think I broke my toe... but now that that's out of the way, I'll update you on the important things. Mostly Baxter. But I'll start with some funny Jason stories (I know, I know, but if I write about Baxter first you won't read about the parents!).

Jason is having a great time teaching. One of his students asked him about his contract with the school. When Jason told her that he had a "continuing" contract, and that unless he was dismissed during his probation period (which he won't be) he'll be there until he chooses to leave. She told him that he had to stay for a few more years so that he could be her teacher for the rest of her education, because she'd never had a better math teacher. The kids seem to like him and respond well! And he had a review with the principal, who only had good things to say. He also went to a math conference and got to know some of the other math teachers better. All good things there!

While at the conference he heard a funny story. At Sedro Woolley kids are allowed to choose teachers for subjects. The first week several kids transfered out of his classes. He heard that one girl transfered out because he was "a creepy coin collector". Jason was pondering this, and the only thing he had told the kids was that he went to the Penny Arcade Expo, a video game conference. She must not have been paying much attention, but funny nonetheless!

We went to Sedro Woolley's homecoming football game last night. We had to leave at halftime, because Baxter was not enjoying himself, and we felt bad for him. It's a totally different culture down there. They had a parade, and the stands were full. They played Ferndale, and the Ferndale stands were packed too. I guess Ferndale is pretty good. I don't know the final score, but I'm pretty sure Ferndale won...

Ok, now to Baxter. He's so great. He smiles more and more and more. He's the most adorable baby in the world. He's getting better at rolling over. He's enjoying playing on his floor mat too. I bought him a mat that has two soft bars that curve up and hold toys. I put him on it wonky, so his feet can touch one of the bars. He quickly learned that if he kicks his feet, his toys move. He'll happily kick away for up to 45 minutes! I'm getting better at keeping the kitchen clean as long as he feels like playing.

I'm doing fine at school, and when I get home on Tuesdays and Thursday's Baxter is a Mama's boy. He wants to be held the rest of the afternoon. I guess he misses me! Breast-feed babies usually eat about an ounce an hour. For the first few weeks Bax was a chow hound, and was taking 14-16 ounces in six hours! But now he's slowed down and for the last week he went on a bottle strike and only took 2-4 ounces in six hours. And then attached him self to me for the rest of the night. I'm sure it will even out eventually. I just don't want him to starve while I'm gone.

I also decided it was time to buy a stroller. I have to take him with me to meetings on campus sometimes. Last monday I walked across campus with Bax in the sling while I carried my backpack and the diaperbag. On the way back it was raining and much colder. So I had him wrapped in a blanket under the sling, which makes it less secure so I had to keep a hand on him. And I tried to put the blanket over his head because he didn't like the rain, but then he screamed. So I stopped at the bookstore and bought an umbrella. So I had two bags, Bax and the umbrella, and had to walk all the way across campus to the car in the rain. It was about 3/4 mile, and I don't want to do that again. So the stroller will be here on Wednesday. Too bad I have to do it again on Monday, but now with a broken toe. I think I'm going to pay for parking and hope for a quick meeting. $2.00/hour is pretty steep, but I don't think I can make that trek again.

I've been reading a book called the "no-cry sleep solution" and it's great! Bax has been sleeping through the night for a while now, but he doesn't nap well. There are some great solutions in there, and tonight we started doing a bedtime routine. He doesn't need it now, but he will later, and if we establish it now it will be even easier. So he went to bed at 7pm, and now after 10 we haven't heard a peep. And I didn't even need to nurse him down! He's such an easy baby (we truly are blessed) but it's nice to make it even easier. I don't think I can find one thing to complain about with Bax. I think the only thing Jason would say is the smell of his poop makes him gag, but I manage just fine :D

Wow, that was a really long update! I've been so busy with school I don't write as much as I mean to. My dad (Grandpa Gary) is coming to visit from New York next week, so that will be fun. I'm sure I'll have more to write about soon. Bax is growing up so fast! He's already outgrown all his newborn clothes, and the length of his 3 month clothes. So he has t-shirts from cut off onesies. And I had to buy more PJ's in 6 months so his shoulders don't pop out the top. Ok, it's really hard to stop writing... I'll close the floodgates now!

Pain and Peeing

Yesterday Baxter was doing some naked tummy time and started to get fussy. When I picked him up he had his finger stuck in his mouth and it hurt him so he started crying. I laid him down naked on the bed and was about to put a diaper on screaming baby and he started to pee all over me. He hasn't peed outside of a diaper for at least 5 weeks, so I wasn't expecting he. He thought it was hilarious. As soon as he peed on me he was all smiles and giggles. Stinker.

And after a week of terrible evening naps, he slept from 5:30 to 9:15 last night. He woke up happy, so we changed him, fed him, and he was back to sleep by 10:00. He then slept from 10pm to 6am. It was amazing! And he didn't cry when he woke up this morning either. I picked him up and it was grins for mommy. His smile is such a heartbreaker, it makes all the little things worth while.

Big and Tall... with a small head

Baxter did great at his two month appointment yesterday. He cried when he had his immunizations (and was cranky last night) but he didn't pee on anyone! He's actually pretty good now and doesn't pee into the air anymore. He's grown a ton though! He's now 24.5 inches long (up 3 inches since birth) and 13 lbs 9 oz. That means he's in the 95% for both height and weight. But his head circumference is only 15.25 inches, which is in the 25th percentile. So he's really tall and weighs a lot for his age, but he has a tiny head. The funny thing is it makes him look more normal, because most babies look like they have oversized heads.

We also had pictures taken at Sears again yesterday. They were really impressed with how well he handled his head (maybe because it's so small?) and that he could actually lift it up so well. We got some great photos.

And on Sunday night he rolled over FOUR times in a row! The fourth one I got on video, but he's naked so I'm not going to post it on youtube. Every time he rolled over he had the most surprised look on his face like he couldn't figure out what just happened. It was hilarious!

Ok, enough doting mother, class is starting now :D

I love my husband

He's so incredibly supportive. He appreciates that I breastfeed, and understands how important it is. He feels bad for babies who don't get held as much as ours does. He thinks that cloth diapering was the right decision, that it's better for Baxter, the environment, and our bank account. What did I do to deserve him?

He took a bath with Baxter tonight. We have discovered that Bax LOVES to take baths with a parent. Having freedom in the water, and being able to play, and be warm and wet, he grins almost the whole time. It calmed both him and his dad down. Jason is grading tests tonight, which is not always fun.

I started classes again this week, and I have no idea how I will finish all my school work. Luckily I have one professor twice, and he's super supportive. He's been a supporter of the mother baby center for a long time and he told me that if I ever needed to bring Baxter to class I was more than welcome to! That's one stress gone, but that doesn't help me get the required reading done...

there's a first time for everything

Baxter poops made Jason gag tonight. I couldn't stop laughing. But at least we all made it though my first day of classes! I just hope Baxter likes it when I read, because there's going to be a lot of that this quarter.

They don't tell you...

That leaving your child for the first time is harder than labor itself....

I had to leave Baxter with Miranda (our babysitter) this morning. I cried, and didn't stop until I got to school. I can't wait to go pick him up, and classes haven't even started yet.

Eep!

Baxter rolled over! He did it on friday, but I thought it was a fluke, but he definitely did it today! He's so strong!

Big Boy!

This boy just keeps getting bigger and bigger! Baxter is now up to 12lbs 9oz. He looks a lot bigger too.

My mom got married last weekend, and Baxter was great. He slept through the whole ceremony, and was quite the attraction at the reception. The wedding was beautiful too.

But now he's going through a phase where his digestive system is maturing and he's pretty fussy. So I get to hold him. A lot. And my snap press came in so I've been wanting to finish diapers, but that's not in the cards at the moment!

My son is amazing

Baxter is almost completely bald now, but he's still super super cute! He's had a bit of a cold this week, so he's gotten lots of cuddles, and he's pulling through it just fine. His smiles are becoming more and more social. The other day I was nursing him, and Jason walked over, and Baxter GRINNED at him, spilling milk all over his face and me, but it was just toooooo cute! And he loves the chair Grandpa and Grandma Dilley bought him. He'll sit in it for quite a while, just happy. Then if I walk over and get close to his face so he can see me he breaks out in smiles.

I love baby smiles.

I've taken more pictures, but I've slowed down some. I need to get them uploaded, but with Baxter being sick and clingy, I'm behind this week. And I'm working really hard on getting more diapers made before my snap press comes in, because since he's outgrown his newborn diapers we're running a bit low.

Also we have discovered that Baxter hates tummy time. But he loves being naked. Our solution? Naked tummy time. This has been great, and he enjoys it the whole time. The purpose of tummy time is to get them to exercise their head and neck, and pushing up with their arms. His neck is already pretty strong, but he loves exercising his legs when we're playing with him. He pushes up and stands with us supporting him.

Last night I put Baxter down for some naked tummy time, and briefly left the room to wet down a wipe. When I came back Baxter had MOVED! He sits there and gets a grip with his lower legs and torpedos himself forward. He starts with his hands under his chin, pushes off, drags his head, and ends up with his hands around his belly, and hasn't figured out much more then that. And he's gotten very close to rolling himself over too. That boy has some strong legs!

One more cute story - Last night Jason was playing with Baxter and had him leaning up against his knees while reclining in bed. He was holding Bax's hands and raising them above his head and telling him to roar. And Baxter did! I couldn't get the camera in time, but it was so amazingly adorable.

I think that was a good enough update for now, right? Mom (Grandma Deanna) is getting married this weekend, so I'm going to be busy the rest of the week. I'll try to update next week. Can you believe he's almost 6 weeks old?!?

Mama makes whole milk!

I took Baxter into WIC today to get him registered (yay government cheese!) and all that fun stuff. They also weighed him and measured him. The man child is huge!!! Baxter now weighs 11lbs 10oz, and is 22.5 inches long.

His weight is in the 90th percentile, and his height is in the 75th. Proportionately he's perfect though, so that's nice!

I did get a free breast-pump from them, but it's a super irritating one. They will give me a good one when I hit 8 weeks. They don't give out the good ones early because the good ones are single user, so if I stopped BFing, they wasted money on giving me a pump. This one can have multiple users, so they just pay for a kit of parts that are single user. Makes sense, but it also means that I will have a hard time pumping my first week of classes because he won't be 8 weeks until the end of it. But once he hits 8 weeks I can go trade out pumps, so that's a plus!

So anyway, that's about all I have to say for now. I just write snippets when I have a moment now. Oh, I guess there is one more thing, I uploaded a super cute video of Baxter to YouTube. So check it out :D

Baby Pattern Baldness

Baxter is losing his hair. At least some of it. He has a receding hairline. He kind of looks like uncle Brent. Right before we're scheduled to be taking family photos, and Mom's wedding... I hope it still grows back red. I love the red :D

Acne and Smiles

Well, baby acne set in shortly after my last post. But the smiles began! Baxter has even giggled in his sleep a few times. He's the bestest. We went to Seattle this weekend to visit family and had a great time. But now his schedule is a little off, so we're experiencing some fussiness. Sigh. Jason's week went great last week, but tomorrow he starts with kids, wish him luck! Ok, Baxter is crying, must go, but I"ll update more later!

Last Day...

Today is our last day before Jason starts work. The babymoon is ending! Tomorrow I have to take care of Baxter all by myself. It's a little scary, but I think I can do it. What I'm concerned most about is feeding myself. He knows every time I want to eat, so it makes making myself food nearly impossible. I've tried.

Baxter is already three weeks old! Time has flown by. He's doing really well with his neck now. I wouldn't call it stable, but it's certainly a lot stronger. And he has such great facial expressions. And his smile is fantastic! Still have yet to capture it in a picture, but believe me that it's a heartstopper.

Jason is up changing a diaper, so I only get a few more moments before I'm needed again. We had a BBQ yesterday for some of our friends to meet Baxter, and it was a lot of fun! We got a chance to reconnect with some old friends, so that was really special. We're going to Seattle this weekend to visit family and Baxter gets to meet the Dilley Clan. So it will be an interesting week!

So Big!

I can't believe that Baxter is over 2 weeks old already. He's grown up so much! If you haven't been watching, I've been posting a LOT of photos on flickr (www.flickr.com/photos/liarsandfrogs) and rarely a day goes by that I don't take a few more. His hair is turning redder and redder, even his doctor noticed at his 2 week check up. Baxter looks so much like Jason when they're asleep. It's really the sweetest thing.

So far he really enjoys tummy time on Daddy's chest. He's getting really good at holding his head up, but his neck is still pretty unstable. He also regained his birthweight by yesterday, which is incredible. On wednesday he was 9lbs 7oz, and babies usually gain between 1/2 and ounce and an ounce a day, so I didn't expect him to gain 4 ounces in 2 days. But he did! No wonder he wouldn't leave me alone the last few days, the boy is growing like a weed!

Life is going well, we're adjusting to having him around. It really helps that neither of us is working right now. There's random things that come up that we never thought about before and we can take care of them right away since we don't have other things going on.

We went down to SedroWooley the other day and got to check out Jason's classroom for next year. That was a lot of fun. Although I'm not sure Baxter really enjoyed the afternoon out. He doesn't like being warm, and it was rather warm there. Overall it went well though.

Cloth diapering is going well. No leaks (besides one minor poo blowout) so far! he's such a heavy wetter that I'm sure we would be having more problems with disposables. And the cloth is just so cute! Jason's getting really good at changing diapers. And we're both getting better at catching pee before it goes everywhere.... So far the worst it's gotten us is a tiny bit on my pants and a rather large patch on Jason's shirt. Our bedding gets washed a lot more frequently now too.

And Baxter makes the cutest noises ever. He squeeks and grunts all the time. And he GRINS in his sleep! They are oh so elusive though, and I have yet to get a picture, but man, when this kid is able to smile in response to people he's going to be a heartbreaker.

Ok, enough typing today. Jason's changing a diaper now which means I'll be needed after it's done. That and it's lunchtime soon, and Baxter has this crazy sixth sense that means he wakes up as soon as I want to eat, even if he just went down for a nap. I'm getting good at eating one handed!

A Jason Story

Last night I was up for a feeding (or an attempted feeding) and Jason partially woke up and grabbed the pillow that he had between his knees. He then clearly stated "This is not a valuable object, it is just a pillow" then put it back and laid back down. I asked him what he was talking about, and he said he was dreaming that he had a valuable object between his knees. Ok....

Red?

Baxter is turning into a redhead. I'll try to get good pictures soon, but it's going red. Who knows if it will stay or not. My great-grandma Eva (his great-great-grandma) was a natural redhead. When Jason grows his beard there's a lot of red in it. So it would be possible.

And man, this boy can POOP! He's now pooped three times today. I guess I shouldn't pray for that much poop. Maybe I should pray for normal newborn poops instead of these blowouts he's been having. He's also gaining weight, but not quite enough. So my job this week is to feed this boy as much as possible. Which I would be doing if I could wake him up! He's such a heavy sleeper. It's amazing. I wish I could sleep like that.

He's been sleeping really well at night too. He'll go for 3.5-4 hour stretches. Nice for mommy. Sometimes he falls asleep in the middle of a feeding, so we have to change his diapers to wake him back up so he finishes nursing. So far diaper changes are the only thing that will wake him up, but those don't always wake him up either! He sleeps like Jason.

I don't think I told you all this story, but the day he was born they were moving us to the recovery room. The recovery room had nicer beds (that didn't convert for labor) and less extraneous medical equipment. Anyway, they rolled me there in a wheelchair. By that time I'd spent close to 7 hours sitting in a bed and my tailbone and back were hurting, and the wheelchair felt really nice to sit in. So I asked the nurse if I could stay in it for a little while and I would call when I wanted to get into the bed. She said sure, and showed me where the call button was (on the other side of the room). After she left Jason asked if he could lay down for a while, and I said sure. I was having a nice time holding Baxter and resting my rear. Well, Jason fell asleep. Hard asleep. I was shouting (as loud as I dared) to wake him up, and he wouldn't even flinch. I tried for an hour to wake him up. Since I was holding Baxter, and was attached to an IV, and my right hand was useless to try to wheel myself (from the IV line) and the brakes were on the wheelchair, I was completely stranded. For an hour and a half. Until a nurse wandered in to check to see if I wanted to move yet. Honestly, after labor and everything, that was the closest I was to wanting to cry the whole day! And then that night I couldn't wake him up to help me to the bathroom, or to get Baxter when he cried. I had to call in the nurse instead.

But it's fun to tease him, he's actually been more than wonderful. I feel sooooo blessed with how well he has been treating me, and how much he loves his son. He will (usually) change diapers in the middle of the night without complaining. Bring me icepacks and water, make all the food, and he's even talked about baking cookies.

I love my family :D

Grumbler, Squeeker, or Growler?

Baxter makes the cutest noises. Sometimes he grumbles, sometimes he squeeks, and sometimes he makes growling noises. So he'll end up with a nickname, I'm sure, but I'm just not sure which one yet!

Oh, and HE POOPED! After a day of super fussing, he's now feeling much better and napping peacefully. He's also a master nurser now. After a visit from the mother baby center yesterday I learned some new tips and tricks. He's also a supersoaker. It's amazing how much you can learn in one week.

ONE WEEK! He's a week old already! I can't believe it. I'm falling more and more in love with him each day. The chub in his cheeks is starting to come back. He lost weight to just about 8lbs 14oz. Perfectly normal, and now he's back to 9lbs 1oz. He's just great.

His umbilical cord stump is just about to fall off. I can't wait for it to be gone. It kind of looks like a dirty raisin with a corn flake attached to the top. Yuck. Hopefully it will be gone soon.

Praying for Poop?

That's right. Baxter is backed up. The poor little guy hasn't gone in two days, which is pretty long for a new guy. So that's probably why he's so fussy while eating, because he doesn't have that much room in there.

On the positive side, I'm producing plenty of milk, and I'm healing just fine. I'm still sore, and if I over-do it I get swollen. And I'm below my pre-pregnancy weight! Just for a kick I tried on my old jeans, and the fit too! So overall things are going well over at the Dilley House. As long as there is explosive (which I'm told at this point it will be) poop in Baxter's near future.

A whole new life!

We came home from the hospital on Saturday afternoon. Great Grandpa and Grandma Spears came to visit us at the hospital before we left, and it was so neat! After we got home, Jason's parents and his younger sister came to visit. I was a long day, but so neat to see everyone.

Life is definitely different now that Baxter is home with us. He's such a blessing. He's really strong for a newborn, and the nurse that came to visit says he's about as active and social as a 6 week old! He takes really long naps, and he's nursing really well. He had his days and nights mixed up a little bit, but last night he slept from 2:30am to almost 8am! It was soooo nice.

Since he's a big baby he needs to suck a lot, even though he's not hungry the whole time. We haven't used a pacifier yet because I really want to make sure that breast-feeding is established so we don't confuse him. In the mean time my fingers almost look like permanent prunes!

Jason is doing a bit of tutoring this morning, so I've been cuddling and taking LOTS of pictures of Baxter this morning. They're not there yet, but expect Flickr to be filling up with photos... :D

Official Story!

On July 31st, I started having contractions at about 8pm. They were pretty strong, but not at all regular. They were happening often enough that I couldn't sleep, and about midnight Jason went to bed and I realized I should be timing them. By 1am, I woke up Jason because the contractions were 3.5 minutes apart and 1.5 minutes long. By 2 we were at the hospital. Overall it wasn't too bad. By the time we got there I was just about 5cm.

Mostly I was excited because I didn't have to be induced. My nurse was great, and Jason was fantastic. I had wanted to go as natural as possible, and so I made it by thinking "if I can hold out a little longer it will be too late for drugs" over and over. And it worked! My water broke naturally at about 3:30, and I got to 8cm by about 6am, and then stayed there in Transition for about an hour and a half. That was the worst. At that point in time they were having a hard time finding his heart beat on the monitor and were starting to get concerned.

Now is when they called in the OB thinking I would need to have a c-section. They put in an IV but didn't have a chance to really start it, because I started pushing. I had just barely gotten to 10cm, and they wanted to prep me for surgery, so I surprised them all (and myself) by pushing him out in 27 minutes! At that point they did start the IV with pitocin because I was bleeding pretty badly. I had some pretty severe tearing that had to be fixed, but Baxter came out perfect.

He scored a 7.5 on his first APGAR because he was a little distressed by labor, but scored a 9 on the next one. He's huge! 21.5 inches long, and 9lbs 11 oz. But he's so sweet and perfect. He sleeps great, and eats great too. We're still in the hospital, but I think we'll try to make it home today. I really don't mind being here, but I miss it there too.

I posted a few photos on here, but there are a TON on Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/liarsandfrogs/
Enjoy!

Baby Update 8/1/08

Let me try this again...my last update was baleted.

Jason updating right now as that our mother is currently a little busy. Merrilee was having strong contractions all night and around midnight she started measuring them closer. At around 1am she woke me up and we arrived at the hospital at 2am.

So we're just waiting now. Doctors and nurses have said she is doing well and our lab results from the blood all came back normal. Looks like he is on his way and will hopefully be arriving later today.

::edit::

It's official! The Dilley's are parents! At 8:10am pst, Baxter Bennett Dilley was born at 9lb 11oz. He is healthy, happy, and a has a strong set of lungs.

I will update with pictures later tonight.

Thank you everyone for your prayers and support :-).

We'll keep everyone updated!

Jason

Blech

Another day of just general crampyness. I've had some pretty strong contractions, but nothing regular. So unless something happens tonight, it looks like induction tomorrow morning. I was really hoping not to be induced, so think easy labor vibes, and going into labor before the hospital calls tomorrow.... :D

Oops

Well, I had pretty strong contractions until about 3am, but then they tapered off. I didn't sleep super well, so I'm taking it easy today. My mom is here, so she will go with us to the Ultrasound. Then maybe we'll walk for a while before my doctor's appointment. So I'm still in early labor, but now the contractions are stronger but farther apart. Getting closer!

Update:
Well, the ultrasound went well. It was so neat to see him so much clearer than before! If I get around to it I'll upload some of the photos, but they're not nearly as good as seeing them on the screen. Even though measurements weren't ordered, the tech did them anyway for us :D But now I'm a little scared. They're not perfect, they are generally plus or minus a pound, but she said he was measuring at about 9lbs, 15 oz!!!

After the ultrasound we went to Fairhaven and walked around for a bit, and then went to the doctor's appointment. The early labor last night did some good, I'm now 3 cm and 80% effaced. Yay! She went ahead and stripped my membranes (we decided it was less invasive than being induced with Pitocin) and scheduled an induction for Friday. The thought being that since he is measuring so large the longer he goes the more likely the chance of c-section. I would much rather be induced than have a c-section. In the mean time I'm still doing all I can to make him go into labor on his own before friday so I don't have to be induced at all.

Maybe...

Well, I'm in early labor. I'm having contractions every 2.5-3.5 minutes, but they're not strong enough to be painful yet. My doctor's office said to call back when they're painful enough to take my full concentration. Mom's on her way, since it's easier to come now versus in the middle of the night. My doula stopped by as well, and said to keep doing what I'm doing, which is hang out and wait for them to get stronger. She also gave me a Cohoshes tincture to help encourage the contractions to get stronger. Hopefully it works, because it tastes terrible.

The castor oil just gave me gas ::blush:: but I guess I am in early labor now, so it's nothing to sneeze at!

So to sum up: contractions, no hospital yet, nothing more to report, will do so when I have something more to tell you :D

Still waiting

Well, I had an NST this morning. Evidently I'm having contractions every 8-9 minutes that I can't feel, and harder ones every 15-45 minutes that still aren't painful but at least I recognize them. He's responding well though. Right now, I love my doctor, and if I don't induce on Friday she won't be here for the delivery, and I would still need to be induced a few days past that. I don't feel comfortable going too far past my due date because of the possible dangers, but I really don't want to be induced either. Therefore I'm doing everything in my power to start labor before then...

Yes Christine, we'll post from the hospital :D There's free wi-fi there, and I can't guarantee how MUCH we'll post, but we will post. I also have a mass email list that once he's born I'll email with the basic statistics, and a link back here where the full story will be (once I get it written).

I decided to try taking Castor Oil tomorrow morning. My doula is out of town on Thursday (eep!) but she has a more experienced partner doula who would take care of me if she can't be there. So with that in mind I'll try the castor oil tomorrow. If it doesn't work I'll try it again on Thursday night. I know I have an ultrasound on Wednesday, but I would much rather have a BABY on wednesday than more blurry black and white photos of a little alien head. Hehe! So that's where we are now.

Fun Stuff!

Not Yet...

We walked around the farmers market today, and took a two hour walk around Whatcom Falls Park. Both were lovely, and today there were at least a few more contractions involved. But still no real progress. Guess it's off to the hospital tomorrow for the NST! Unless something happens tonight.

All the bags are packed and I'm out of things to do besides knit. This kid is going to have a lot of pants.

Not yet

Well, not much progress has been made. I'm still about 1cm dilated, and slightly more effaced. My doctor scheduled me for an NST (non-stress test) on monday morning, then an ultrasound on wednesday morning to check fluid levels, followed by an appointment with her on wednesday afternoon.

Evidently in Whatcom county they really don't like you going 41.5 weeks, so she'll let me go to August 1st (next friday) before inducing. So we're eating Chinese food for dinner, and tomorrow may be a walking day.

Today we went and saw The Dark Knight (the new batman movie) and it was really good. I got another project done, and now I'm almost out of stuff to do. I just thought I would update, but now I'm off to go sit on the exercise ball and roll around, it's supposed to possibly help labor along too.

Pray for labor vibes!

Just Because....

I know when my friends are about to have a baby I compulsively check their babysites for updates....

Nothing happening yet. I've been having contractions, but nothing regular or even remotely painful, just uncomfortable. I had a doctor's appointment today but it got rescheduled to tomorrow since my doctor was at the hospital delivering someone else's baby...

We plan on taking a long walk tomorrow to see if that starts anything. I think the cats are telling me it will be soon, they're both SUPER cuddly. Maybe I'm producing oxytocin and they can smell it? Seriously, they follow me around everywhere....

I'll update when we know more!

It's here!

My due date.... not the baby. He's still marinating. I figure the longer we wait, the better he'll be, right?

So much for a European Pi Approximation day baby!

Yesterday I spent the day dying diapers with my friend Miranda. They turned out awesome. Maybe I'll post pictures later, but I think I'm going to spend the afternoon sewing, and then watch Project Runway. Then I go see the doctor tomorrow! Wheee! Maybe Jason and I will take a long walk tomorrow. We'll see :D

Nope

He dropped some, but not completely. We had our 39 week check up yesterday. I'm 1cm dilated, 40% effaced and at +3 station. Still have a while to go. I'm still just puttering around the house. Mom and Richard are coming for the weekend, so hopefully having so much going on will wake him up some and make him want to meet them. My doctor wants me to have him next week, since she's the on-call doctor so she would be sure to deliver him. We might take a lot of walks.... Not much else to report on!

This week:
Congratulations - your baby is now fully formed and ready to be born. If your due date passes, your doctor will check to see if the baby has enough amniotic fluid. If he's fine, you and your doctor may still want to discuss induction.

(we don't want to induce, we believe that when he's ready he'll be here. Plus induction increases the chances of C-section, which we want to avoid. So he'll be here when he gets here! I have nothing against encouraging him naturally though :D )

Did it happen?

I think he may have dropped last night. I'm not 100% sure. I got up last night and as I was sitting down I felt him "click" into place. I don't know how else to explain it. But next time he moved he was much lower down. When I got back in bed he seemed to be higher up again, but today I think he's lower. I'll have to take pictures and compare. Still feels like progress!

The start...

of the due month. Anytime in the next 4 weeks, but most likely not for another two. Let the countdown begin! It's getting uncomfortable enough that I'm really hoping for the 22nd....

36 weeks!

So I have 2-6 weeks left.... goodness there's still a lot to do! I uploaded pictures from the baby shower, and I still need to take a recent one, but we've been a little busy.

OH!!! I don't plan on putting many baby pictures on this website. I'm going to be putting them on Flickr, so you can download them better. But I don't want just ANYONE downloading them, so it's going to be required that you be on my Flickr friend's list. This is free, and you just have to have a yahoo.com log in that's registered to Flickr. Once you register to Flickr, you can become my friend. If you have any problems with this, or want help setting it up, please contact me (link on the left) and I'll help you through it.

But here's what's happening this week anyway:
Your baby has likely hit the six-pound mark by now, and his length is approximately twenty-one inches. The weight on your abdomen probably feels like twice that. Your baby is practicing his breathing, but he has increasingly less space to practice stretching and kicking. Your baby' intestines are also building up meconium, a greenish-black substance made of baby by-products such as dead cells, shed lanugo, and amniotic fluid. It'll become your little darling's first bowel movement, hopefully after he is out of the womb. His body fat has increased to about eight percent. By birth, it'll be about fifteen percent. If your baby is a boy, his testes will have descended into his scrotum. While your baby could be born at any time, the longer he stays in, the more time he has to develop the connections in his brain in the pleasant peace and quiet of your womb. At this point, he can do all the things a newborn can, with the exception of breathing air and pooping in a diaper. Just as you're feeling stretched, your baby is being squeezed on all sides. Some of your antibodies are crossing the placenta, giving your baby's immune system some support for his first days in the world. If you breastfeed, you'll later be giving him immunities in your milk.

Slowly...

I'm slowly getting caught up. We finished moving into our new place, and now we just have to finish unpacking. The whole house smells like East Indian food, so Jason has to wash the walls with TSP to hopefully take care of it. Overall I really like the way it's coming together! It's not the nicest place in the world, but it could be worse.

Jason starts looking for a part time job this week to hopefully help us until the Baby is born. I hope he finds something with decent hours and pay, and that he won't mind leaving once I'm in labor!

We had our baby shower on Saturday at the Cook's house. It was amazing, I had so much fun and got such great gifts! I'll post pictures later. We're still at my Mom's house until this afternoon. It's her birthday so we're doing lunch with her then heading home. We still don't have internet at the new place yet, but hopefully in the next few days that will change.

Anyway, I'm really tired so I don't have a whole lot to say. I'll update more later! Oh, but I suppose I should tell you what's going on right now. I'm at 35 weeks and 5 days, 8 days until I'm FULL TERM!!!

With one month to go, your baby weighs about six pounds and is fattening. His full length from crown to feet is about 20 1/2 inches. Has your baby's movement slowed down? If so, you shouldn't worry. Five to ten percent of all mothers report that babies start to slow down as they grow larger and get more cramped for space. Still, you should be able to feel your baby move more than ten times a day. If you're concerned, try drinking a sweet beverage, such as orange juice, and then lying on your side for a while. Most babies will wake up and start to move. If you're still concerned, contact your healthcare provider.

Happy Father's Day!

Jason is going to be such a wonderful father.

I see it in the way he treats me, and the way he interacts with the baby, and the amount of attention he pays in birth class, and the way he loves our cats. I'm so proud of him and so blessed to have him in my life. I can't wait to see him interacting with our son.

Jason has been amazing the last few weeks. He's been keeping my anxiety down and getting a ton done around the house. We're only a few days away from moving now, and we're getting close to being ready. Today he hasn't felt the greatest but he's been a trooper and stuck with it. He's out getting us dinner right now, because we decided to eat all our pantry and fridge food... and we succeeded.

I just want you all to know how great he is. I love him with all my heart and I'm so happy to be sharing my life with him. I can't wait (well, I can) to give him a son.

I love you Jason!

Almost done....

With school. Just a short presentation tomorrow morning, and I'm done for a while at least. I spent all of Wednesday afternoon and most of today being totally unproductive. I'm completely exhausted, so even though I have a ton to do, all I can do is nap!

The little man has been super active recently. He likes playing "kick Dad's hand!" but generally refuses to move when anyone else tries to feel him. Whenever my Mom is around, he won't even hiccup! I'm hoping she has that calming presence on him when he's actually here.

We still have a ton of packing and cleaning to do, but we're slowly making progress. I think I might have more energy today but I haven't eaten enough. We need groceries, but I hate buying food before a move. So I ate a can of corn for lunch. What I really wanted was corn bread (no idea why) but I wasn't about to put on real pants and shoes to go buy it. We're down to beans, chicken broth and pineapple in the pantry. I might need to make a grocery run for frozen lasagna's or something like that. I still feel like I'm not eating enough. I've gained all of 8 lbs so far! But you can see exactly where it all is, so I'm feeling pretty good about it.

Ok, so talking about food made me hungry. Maybe I will think about getting dressed. Or I may think about the oreos in the pantry. I forgot I had those....

Pictures!

I finally put up a few more pictures.... I grew a lot since I last posted. Someone told me they met someone who is due next week and she's half my size. I guess he's just all out front! I can't believe there's still 7 weeks or so, crazy!

I finished an exam and a presentation, so now I just have a paper, project, presentation, and exam left!

OHHH! And Jason is awesome and got us tickets to go see Ryan Stiles and Greg Proops. We've been trying for ages to go see Ryan Stiles, and the fact that we got tickets to see two great performers is even better! For those of you who don't know, Ryan Stiles was on the Drew Carey Show and Who's Line is it Anyway, and he lives in Bellingham and owns the Up Front Theater here. He does shows about twice a year, and he's a fantastic improv comic. It will make it a better weekend for me, that's for sure!

Has it been 2 weeks?

Tomorrow I'm 33 weeks pregnant. I took pictures last week and never posted them.... I'll try to get on top of that. It's just been incredibly busy. This week I have a project due today, a presentation and an exam on Thursday, the last 8 hours of my internship on Wednesday and Friday, a physical therapist and doctors appointment on Friday, then I work 11-4 on Saturday and 7-1 on Sunday, and have to finish another project by Tuesday, then an exam the following Wednesday, and another presentation on Friday. So in 10 days I'll be done with this quarter. Then we have about 5 days to finish packing before we move, then go to Seattle for the weekend for our baby shower and Mom's birthday, and then come home and unpack.

And I was summoned for Jury Duty June 30-July 11th. I'm hoping they let me out of it....

Oh, I posted links to our registries now. I'm slowly getting caught up on some things, but not on everything.

Last weekend my Mom, Richard, and April came over. It was so nice to see them! I think we get somewhat isolated with how busy we have been. Our birth classes have been nice to be able to go out and see people. But we haven't read any of the book that we're supposed to, nor done the hospital tour. But we have a carseat now (we got a free one with our insurance, and it's actually a pretty good one). Mostly I'm looking forward to being done with school and moving so I can settle in and nest.

Ok, so here's what happened last week:
Your baby's crown-to-rump length is about 11 1/2 inches. He weighs about 4 1/2 pounds and gains about eight ounces every week. Your baby has probably moved to the head-down position and may descend into your pelvis at any time in the next six weeks and begin to press into your cervix. This position not only prepares him for birth but allows blood to flow to his developing brain. The dark quiet of your womb is perfect for this activity. Right now, your baby is also in the process of receiving your antibodies. If he were born right now, his immune system would be immature, and extra care would need to be taken to keep him in a sterile environment.

And here's what's happening next week:
Your baby weighs five pounds or more, about the size of a bag of sugar. He will continue to gain about two or more pounds in the next six weeks. Now that your baby's brain has formed billions of neurons, it must accomplish the even more complex feat of hooking the neurons and synapses together. Your baby's brain is forming trillions of connections, making it possible for him to learn in the womb. All of this brain development may be the reason that your baby sleeps frequently at this stage. He may even be dreaming—his eyes dart around rapidly just as an adult's might in REM sleep. Your child's development is in no way complete at birth. In the first year after birth, a baby's brain triples in size and becomes three-quarters of its adult size.

Oh, and I've gained 7 lbs now. Not too bad!

Single Digits?!?

So I am now 31 weeks and 1 day pregnant. That means I have 9 weeks left. Give or take. I can't believe how fast time is going! I know I need to take another picture, maybe tomorrow. I'm just sooooo busy!

Jason interviewed at Sedro-Woolley today. He thinks it went well, so that's exciting! I got one of my projects turned in, I have another one that's doing well, one I pretty much need to start, and one that I have a few more things to do. And two presentations and three exams. And I still need to start packing... Oh, and I have to go to a play tonight and then write a review. so I hope you all understand why there isn't much here!

We started birth classes, which so far have been good. I like the other couples there, and it's nice to meet other pregnant women in the area. One couple even lives in Mt. Vernon, but both work at the school district Jason applied to. If he were to get that job, Kevin (the husband) might be teaching with him some! He's one of the special ed teachers at the high school. That would be neat for them.

Ok, must do something productive with my time, like working on that management project. So here's what's happening this week:
Your baby weighs about 4 pounds and is about fifteen to seventeen inches tall. Photographs of babies in utero at this stage show their skin becoming less translucent and pinker, as layers of fat are deposited under the skin. His skeleton is rapidly ossifying (turning from cartilage into solid bone), which means that kicks will become visible through your shirt as the trimester progresses. Well-placed kicks under your ribs can take your breath away!

First Mother's Day

Hello All!

So what's happening, the short version: We found someone to rent our apartment, and found a townhouse in North Bellingham. Jason is still looking for a job, and he just applied to Seedro-Woolley. I'm doing a billion things for school, work and my internship. So we're keeping busy. We have boxes to start packing, but haven't done any yet...

Mom and Richard came up for Mother's Day. It was really nice. We went out to lunch at the Keg, and we drove around Bellingham a bit. It was really nice to be able to spend time with them.

Congratulations to Kit and Christine, and their new son Joel, and Kimmie and her son Joe! You make me jealous, this little man keeps kicking me in the lungs.

I probably have more to say, but it's lost out of my head right now. So here's what's happening this week:
You baby weighs between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 pounds. He continues to gain weight at a faster pace than he lengthens, which will give him those cute chubby cheeks. He's about fourteen to sixteen inches tall, although individual growth rates vary. Your baby begins to run out of room as he puts on weight. You should feel about ten kicks an hour. Some care providers suggest keeping a "kick chart" by writing down how many kicks you feel in an hour, so that you are aware if there's a decrease in activity. Other care providers may advise that as long as it feels like the baby's active, there's no need to keep notes. If you do sense a decrease in activity, try drinking a large glass of juice. If that doesn't make the baby energized, or makes him less energized than he usually would be, call your care provider.

I know I'm behind....

Life has just been so busy! We're frantically trying to find renters to take over our lease in June, and trying to find a new place for us to move into. We spent the weekend cleaning the house in preparation to be able to show it. Now we need to start finding moving boxes so we can start packing! I'm finishing up mid-terms on Thursday, but then comes the rounds of projects. Sorry if I'm spotty about posting, and I promise to update pictures soon. I have them (well, I need to take this week's) but I need to upload them off the camera.

My nesting is taking on weird forms. Today I really wanted to buy new bathroom towels. Nice soft fluffy ones that the dye isn't washing out of in ugly orange blotches.... We have a ton of towels, but they're all cheap/old/gross. But we don't need more! I think I just need extra time each week to do what I want to do. I can't wait until we move and I have a little more time, even I'm less mobile. Bending over is getting hard now. I guess I should expect that, I'm 28 weeks and 4 days! The little man moves like crazy, and sometimes he tries to moon the other people around me. At least that's what it feels like he's doing when he pushes his little bum straight out into my belly button.

Ok, update for the week:
Your baby is about two and a half pounds and would be between fifteen and seventeen inches tall if she could stand. Your baby's adrenal glands are producing a chemical which will be made into estriol (a form of estrogen) by the placenta. This estriol is thought to stimulate the production of prolactin by your body, and the prolactin makes you produce milk. So even if your baby comes early, you'll still be able to breastfeed. Each passing week improves the likelihood that your baby will be born strong and healthy. His brain can detect rhythmic breathing and control body temperature, so he's less likely to need breathing assistance should he be born early. He's growing eyelashes, adding fat, and developing his brain. Because of brain wave activity, researchers have speculated that babies can even dream at this time!

Rats! Foiled again!

So I was going to post pictures today. I've been taking them, just haven't posted them. But the photos on the site are down, so maybe later this week I'll get them up.

I've been SUPER busy, and probably have a lot to say, but I can't remember now. Anyway, here's what's happening for week 27:

Your baby has doubled his weight in the past month and is the size of a bag of flour. He now weighs almost 2 1/2 pounds. His total length is nearly fifteen inches. Your baby's lungs are now capable of breathing air! This is big news. It means if the baby is born from now on, he'll be able to survive with less medical intervention. Your baby's main job right now is to put the finishing touches on major organ systems, such as his brain, lungs, and liver. As you can probably tell, he's also working on gaining layers of fat. His body fat is about 2 to 3 percent. Your baby's eyes, which were covered by her eyelid folds at the sixth week of development, are capable of opening this week. His sucking and swallowing skills are improving.

I should be doing something else...

I should be working on one of the 8 million things I need to do for school. Well, maybe not 8 million, (checks my list) really it's just 6 different projects. I'll have to try to space them out over tonight, tomorrow, and this weekend. My dad tried to have a "who's busier" contest, and I won. He didn't think I could do it, but I showed him.

I don't really have much to update about. I'm now 26 weeks, which is exciting. I keep getting one of two comments - You don't look big enough to be that far along! or Wow, you must be due any day! But according to my doctor I'm right on track. Wearing good shoes and having the belly cradle and taking my iron pills have given me a little more energy, but usually by the time I'm home I'm basically on bed rest because even if my back doesn't hurt too bad then I need to rest it for the next day.

Jason's been great though. He's been doing the grocery shopping and a lot of the cooking. He's basically amazing. Now I think I'm getting sick though (which I CANNOT do!) and it's his fault. We were cuddling in bed last night, and he starts coughing, then casually mentions he's had a sore throat the last few days. I would have stayed away from him if I had known that!

And the little man is starting to pay attention to noises. He'll be still until either Jason or I say something in the morning. The minute one of us talks, he starts kicking. I think he responds to the alarm clock too. It's hard to tell, because some morning's Jason's alarm clock goes off and he does nothing about it until I yell at him or shake him, depending on what side I'm laying on. But by then the little man is awake, and therefore sleeping in has become impossible.

Ok, so here's what's happening this week:
Your baby weighs about two pounds and is about 12 to 15 inches long, about the size of a small pot roast. If your baby were born now, he would have an excellent chance (85 percent) of surviving. He still isn't fully formed and would probably not be able to breath by himself. He would need to stay in an incubator to keep his body temperature regulated, and he would have a weak liver and immune system. (Fact: Babies have more taste buds at birth than they will have later in life. Newborns can sniff out and tell the difference between their mother's milk and someone else's.)

Another week goes by

I suppose I should take a picture this week, huh? I'm so tired that it almost feels like a chore! But I know I want to look at them later, so I should do it. Maybe tomorrow morning when I have better hair. But then again, I'll be so close to 26 weeks, I'll delay those photos, and so on and so on... I'll try to do it later tonight. That means take, not post!

I've just been keeping myself super busy with school this week. And I've been knitting a ton. I'm really good at knitting while reading. It helps me read better, since I'm doing something with my hands I'm less likely to fall asleep, which I'm prone to doing.

I feel like this little man has about doubled his weight in the past week. His movements are so much stronger. Last night I even felt him do a roll, and I could feel his back turn over! It was pretty fun. Jason's been enjoying it too. People are really noticing that I'm pregnant now. I haven't had problems with strangers coming up and touching my belly, which is nice. And most people I know ask before touching, which is thoughtful.

We're registered at Target and and Baby's R Us now. I'm having a hard time with registries though. They want you to register for all sorts of useless stuff! We're pretty simple people, and since we're cloth diapering, breastfeeding, and he's sharing a room with us, that eliminates a lot of what we're told we need. So mostly we're registering for the expensive things like bouncers, high chairs, strollers, and a bathtub. And I have duplicates from between the two stores, since I don't know who's shopping where. So if you look at both, and wonder, that's why! I figure if we do get duplicates we'll return one and get something else we need. And we didn't register for any toys or clothes, because I'll let people choose on their own instead of having me dictate it. But gift receipts are still a must! Most stores won't return anything without a receipt anymore. Or if they do you only get a fraction of what they're worth. Not that I'm planning on returning many things, but you never know. Sorry, I guess that was a mini gift registry rant.

Ok, well I'll leave you with week 25's update, and then try to get the energy to go take pictures.

Your baby weighs about 1 1/2 pounds and has undergone a growth spurt in the past few weeks. From weeks twenty to twenty-eight, he almost doubles in height and now would be about a foot tall if he could stand. This week marks a major milestone in your baby's hearing and sight. Your baby's hearing system (cochlea and peripheral sensory end organs), which began fine development during week eighteen, is now completely formed, and over the next few weeks, he'll become increasingly sensitive to sound. In about a month, you'll feel her jump if she hears a sudden loud noise. Sound passes easily into your uterus, which helps her ears develop. Her eyes are almost fully formed. Did you know that all babies have blue eyes in the womb, no matter what their genetic inheritance is? A baby's eyes don't get their final color until a few months after they are born. The air sacs of the lungs, called alveoli, will be developed by the end of this week and will begin to secrete a substance called surfactant that keeps the lung tissue from sticking together.

Just a quick note!

I passed my one hour glucose test (yay!) so I don't have gestational diabetes. According to the doctors office I've gained 8 lbs, but I had already lost 6 when they first saw me, so I'm only really up 2. And that was all in the last month! The goal was .5 a pound a month for a while, so that's great. They think my weight gain is perfect :D And it helps to know that I had a friend come over who hadn't seen me in 3 months and she thought I had lost weight (except in the belly) so I'm feeling pretty good for a pregnant woman.

But I've been really tired, and now I know why. I'm anemic! So now I get to start taking even more pills every day. Blech. I'm having a hard time will pills, so think about me!

So Busy

Well, life got even more hectic. I didn't really think it was possible, but it has! Classes started again this week, as well as my internship. Lets just say it will be a very difficult next 10 weeks.

But I'll share fun stuff today! The other day I was in the shower and the little man was kicking away. I started singing, and he stopped kicking! As soon as I stopped singing he started kicking ferociously. Then he stopped again when I started singing. I guess he likes it when mommy sings :D I took some video after I stopped singing, it's about a minute long, but you can really see my belly bounce all over the place, hehe! If you want to see it, email me. I don't really want to post it on YouTube.

I have a nurse appointment tomorrow, and a doctor visit on Monday. On monday I have to do my one hour glucose test to see if I have Gestational Diabetes. I don't think I do, but the test does not sound fun anyway.

I had a lot more to share, but I'm just too tired right now. I started knitting a baby blanket, and I finished a few other things. I have more yarn coming in next week or so that I'm excited about. I found that knitting in class helps me pay attention. When my hands are doing something, I'm less likely to fall asleep!

Ok, I'll write more later, but I can't promise my updates will be very regular anymore. We'll see though, hopefully I still get pictures done regularly.

Here's what's happening this week:
Your baby weighs 1 1/4 pounds and is a little more than 11 inches long, about the size of a small bag of sugar. In the last third of pregnancy, he'll double and triple his weight. Your dexterous baby can touch and hold his feet and make a fist. Your partner may be able to hear his heartbeat by pressing his ear against your belly. Your baby has a regular sleep schedule now and active and inactive periods. You may or may not be able to discern what those periods are. His nostrils, which have been plugged, open up.

I know, I'm late

I've been busy! It's my spring break, and I've been using it to get a lot of stuff done. I made a bunch of diapers at my mom's house last week, and I've been LOVING my new sewing machine. I've also been knitting, and been attempting to catch up on some old photo stuff. I've been crafty!

The little man has been moving more and more. Mom got to feel him, and Emily (Ginie's daughter) too. Jason likes cuddling with his hand on my belly, then when the baby kicks he giggles. Too cute!

It was so nice to see family and have a nice break. The next few months are going to be pretty difficult for us. Jason quit his job today, it's too much for him to keep working and do full time student teaching. And I'm still working (between 10-15 hours a week) and I start a 16 hour a week internship on Monday. On top of that I have 11 credits of classes! Since we're moving in June, we're giving ourselves little projects to do each week to help prepare/pack ahead of time so that unpacking is a lot easier.

I used some of my RME money (if you want to know more, email me!) and got some more diapers, and almost have my diaper stash perfected now. Well, I have wool yarn that's on it's way here that needs to be knitted, but I'm looking forward to that too!

Here's what happened last week:
Weighing in at a pound, and at eight inches long, your baby is starting to really look like a baby! You can compare his size to a box of sugar or a bag of coffee beans. His skin is filling out as the first layers of fat are deposited and his muscles grow. During the next month, his weight may almost double.

And here's what's happening this week:
Your baby weighs a little over a pound and is about 8 1/2 inches long—the size of a banana. Your baby's skin becomes less translucent as pigment is deposited, and it looks wrinkly because his body is making his skin more quickly than it makes the fat to pad underneath it. Your baby's unique hand- and footprints are forming. You may feel jumps as he has bouts of hiccups. In fact, it may seem like the baby is in perpetual motion. Some babies now kick in response to sounds and touch from outside the womb. Encourage your partner to talk to the baby, and see if he kicks in response!

22 Weeks

It's amazing how quick time flies. For those of you wondering about the name, we have told some family, but I'm not sure if we want to tell EVERYONE, since it's not 100% set in stone. Right now we mostly refer to him as "the little man" or "the heir."

I might not get around to pictures this week, I left my tripod at home, and I'm visiting my mom in Seattle for the week. I get to use her sewing room, and start making more diapers! Wheee! And I have a few other things in the area to take care of.

Finals went well, I could have done better, but I could have done worse! And my schedule worked out well for next quarter. I'm going to be interning at the Mother Baby Center, as well as taking two of the classes I needed to get into. They let me in off the waiting list! I guess being pregnant is a good reason as to why I should be allowed to take this class. It might also have helped that I cried to my advisor....

Oh, the little man knows I'm talking about him, he woke up and is kicking like mad. That might also be the lucky charms hitting his blood stream. My two favorite pregnant meals are spaghetti and lucky charms. Not at the same time.... Oh, and I'm back up to my pre-pregnancy weight! So I'm now at 0 weight gain, and no longer in the negative. But my bottom half and my ribs are still smaller than I was before, I'm just more filled out in other areas, so I know exactly where that weight is! And I can attribute at least some of it directly to the little man.

So that's it for now. I might write more later, but I have a lot to do!

Here's what's happening this week:
Weighing in at a pound, and at eight inches long, your baby is starting to really look like a baby! You can compare his size to a box of sugar or a bag of coffee beans. His skin is filling out as the first layers of fat are deposited and his muscles grow. During the next month, his weight may almost double.

The moment you've been waiting for.....

Baby Dilley has a species! Well, it's always been a human, but Great-Grandpa Spears really wanted to know, so yes Grandpa, it's human.

As far as the GENDER goes.....

IT'S A BOY!!!

We're soooo excited. We might even have a name.... Ok, well we have a first name, and now need a middle name that starts with B. Go ahead, give us suggestions :D

It's been a fantastic day. I got a lot of homework done, and Jason had a great day at school. Today is Jason's birthday, but it's also Pi day, a mathematician birthday if I ever saw one. Last night we used sculpey clay to make Pi necklaces for all his students. They loved them. So not only did he have a great day at school, but he also found out that he's going to have a little boy! We then went out to dinner, and ate yummy spicy food at a restaurant we had never tried before. Of course the baby didn't move much (besides yawn which I think was the cutest thing in the world) during the ultrasound, but man did he kick after I ate dinner!

Anyway, we're going to have a nice relaxing evening, since the Sangria Jason had with dinner is making him sleepy.

According to the ultrasound, the baby's heartbeat was 154 beats per minute, and he weights about 1lb 1 oz. I forgot to ask how many weeks he was measuring at, but everything looked good. We saw his heart and kidneys, and his brain (so we can have proof when he's a teenager that he actually has one).

Here's what's happening in the next week:
Your baby is about 7 1/2 inches from crown to rump and weighs between thirteen and sixteen ounces—about the size of a small grapefruit. She is entering her fifth month of existence. Her fingernails are almost fully grown, and her organ systems are becoming more functional and specialized. She has a distinct pair of lips, and her first canines and molars are developing below her gum line. She looks like a miniature newborn. Blood is traveling through the umbilical cord at four miles an hour, fueling her growth with oxygen and nutrients.

150bpm

I know, a mid-week post! I'll be 21 weeks tomorrow, and we saw the doctor yesterday. She's so sweet, I really like her. And she can be the baby's doctor after it's born, because she's family medicine, not just OB! Her nurse is great too. The baby's heartbeat was 150bpm, and everything looked good. She felt around my belly for a bit, and told me that I was right on track. My weight gain so far has been perfect. Not too much, but not too little either.

She gave me the bottle of carbonated sugar water to drink before my next appointment for the gestational diabetes test too. Not looking forward to that, but I don't have to do it until next month!

I've been really tired all weekend, and am now behind on my work for the week, so be thinking about me. Finals are the beginning of next week, and then I get a short break.

Last night Jason finally felt the baby! He felt a few kicks, and the baby was doing summersaults too. Jason looked at me and said "Was that a little flippy-do?" It was so cute! He got the goofiest grin on his face. I can't wait until Friday and the ultrasound. So anyway, Yay!

Baby Games

Well, we've reached the half-way point! I'm now past 20 weeks. Just 20 more to go!

I've been feeling the baby for quite a while now, but it gets shy around Jason. He still hasn't felt it! It's always most active when he isn't around. Well this morning after I got out of the shower I was laying on the bed putting lotion on my belly, and the baby kicked my hand! We played a game for about 15 minutes, that every time I put pressure on my tummy, the baby would kick me! It was so neat. If I smoothed the skin you could see my belly jump when it kicked. I couldn't see any definition of little feet or anything, but it was so fun to watch. It was the first time we had been really interactive.

I wish Jason had been there!

Next week is "dead week" where so much stuff is due its not even funny. Then after that is finals! We find out what this little one is next friday, so I have a busy next couple of weeks. Don't worry, I'll let you know what it is....

I'm still not really gaining weight, but my rear and thighs have slimmed down. So with the growing belly and shrinking bottom half, a lot of my new maternity jeans are too big! I NEVER thought that would happen!

Here's what's happening this week:
By week 21, your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces, and her length from head to rump is seven inches, about the length of a spoon. Ten and one-half ounces is also the size bear cubs are when they are born. Your baby has begun her main project for the rest of your pregnancy: putting on weight. She regularly drinks amniotic fluid for hydration and nutrition, urinates in the fluid and breathes in and out (fortunately, the fluid pool refreshes itself every three hours). Her eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed. Taste buds are forming on her tongue. Her eyelids are still sealed, but her eyes are active.

19 weeks

So a girl, huh? Of course we can't decide on any girls names, so you all just want to make it difficult for us! Well, we've thought of a few, but we won't talk about that just yet. Just over two more weeks before the wait (hopefully) is over!

I had a finance exam this week, and worked really hard, and managed to get the top grade in the class. That made me feel pretty good. Jason had another field trip where he helped walk 90-100 seventh graders to the Mount Baker Theater to watch something on Japanese Tycho drumming. That was all the excitement of our week.

The baby has been more and more active. It kind of tickles. I'm thinking I should enjoy it now before it starts to hurt. Except the baby can tell when I'm stressed or trying to get something done, and it is either trying to cheer me up or distract me!

I took a bunch of pictures of the diapers I've collected so far, and a few other things. I'm posting them on my Flickr page, since I have limited space on here. And its easier to upload to just one place, hehe. That, and the picture quality on Flickr is a lot better. If you don't know where the flickr site is, there is a link under the my links on the left hand side. I'm also going to post a picture of some amazingly cute (but super pricy) pants that I'm thinking of re-creating. I've really gotten into knitting. So far I've done one diaper cover, and I'm starting in on a pair of leg warmers. I also have a bunch of wool sweaters I'm going to make into covers once I get myself a sewing machine. Mom's going to help me shop for one next month!

Mmmm, nothing much else to say. I did order a few more diapers this week, but they're bigger One Size diapers that will last from 8/9 lbs to potty training.

And I think I forgot to post what was happening last week, so I'll play catch up today!
Last week:
Your baby is between five and six inches long and weighs about seven ounces—about the size of an apple. If the baby is a girl, early ovaries contain follicles with forming eggs. Soon, half of the genetic material for your potential future grandchildren will be formed. Pictures of babies at this age show them touching the membrane of the amniotic sac, touching their own faces, reaching for the umbilical cord, pedaling their legs, and sucking their thumbs. If you're carrying twins, they may already be swatting at each other. Your baby may already have a preference for the left or right hand. In the brain, areas of the nerve cells that serve the senses of touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing are becoming specialized and are forming more complex connections. Loud sounds as well as any feelings you may have of stress or alarm may be communicated to the baby. The baby responds to these stresses by becoming more active. Practicing yoga and meditation can be good for your sense of calm and balance.

Note: I just read that!!! That's so funny!!

And this week:
By week 20, your baby begins to produce vernix, a white, creamy substance that protects his skin in his watery environment. Permanent teeth are starting to form behind his baby teeth. He seems able to differentiate between morning, afternoon and evening and starts to become more active at certain times than at others.

Pregnancy has its warts

But soon it won't! Did you know, that when you're pregnant its really easy to get warts? I have one on my finger that my doctor has tried to burn off 3 times, but it's super stubborn. So she gave me a prescription for it. Luckily my insurance covered it, I had no idea you could get prescription wart medicine for $313.99!!!

Enough about disgusting body things. I don't think I've grown much the last week, but I'm starting to feel huge. I can't quite zip my rain jacket anymore :( And I'm starting to get really hungry, really fast, all the time. But I'm still being a picky eater. But I love spaghetti. I've had it 4 times this week. But never as leftovers, leftovers make me feel gross...

My week wasn't too bad. This weekend I need to prepare for an exam next week, write a paper, format a group project, start another paper, and do prep work for another class. And iron Jason's shirts. I wish he could learn how to iron. As much as I love him, I don't want to buy him new shirts though, which I'm sure would be the end result!

I've been doing more diaper research this week. The diapers I want are pretty expensive, but they're OS (one size) and they fit from 10-40 lbs! So they would last forever, and have a good warranty. But they're so popular right now they are nearly impossible to purchase. So I'm biding my time, and starting to think about the remaining newborn things I need to buy. I've got a good start, but I'm not there yet.

I started knitting my first diaper cover, and it's turning out really good! I'm half way done with one leg cuff, and then I have the other one. Maybe once I'm done with that I'll take some pictures of the diapers I've collected so far. I made this cover big so I could felt it down a bit to make it thicker.

I'm also collecting 100% merino or lambswool sweaters. I'm going to cut them up and make baby pants and diaper covers out of them. Great cheap covers! Now I just need to get a sewing machine... I'm counting on mom to help me out :D

Ok, well I should start working on my "cheat sheet" for the exam on Tuesday. We're allowed to take in one page of notes, and I go to town with a fine point pen. I have to space it out so I don't cramp my hand too badly, hehe.

And right now, according to you all, we're having a girl. Three more weeks.....

Ta ta for now!

3/14/08....

I talked to Grandpa the other day, and he confidently told me he saw the last ultrasound, and he thought we were having a boy. He was quite disappointed when I told him the last ultrasound had no boy bits to distinguish, since it was only at 11 weeks! He then called it wishful thinking.

So what do you think? Vote on the poll on the homepage.

I got to schedule the Ultrasound to find out for March 14th. That's Jason's birthday! We'll go have it done, then go out to dinner, so you will all be in suspense until at least Saturday the 15th... Haha!

Only 24 more days and counting... at least it's less than a month.

Owww!

The baby already knows how to wake me up :(

This morning I was trying to sleep through a full bladder, since my alarm was going to go off in 20 minutes. Then I was rudely awoken by 3 swift kicks to my full bladder. It hurt so much I yelped!

Sigh. More to come, right?

I popped!

I didn't think I was showing that much, until I just compared the new pictures with the last set....

I'm wearing a shirt that used to fit fine, and now it barely covers my belly. I experimented, I can still fit into all my old pre-pregnancy jeans, but they just aren't comfortable to wear anymore! But looking at me now, oh my goodness! Especially comparing them to the earliest pictures I took, almost 4 weeks ago. Wow! In most clothes I'm still in that "Is she fat or is she pregnant?" phase. It will be nice in a few weeks when it's even more obvious.

I took another exam today, and Jason played basketball after school. He's liking his student teaching, and I'm feeling better about school.

My rib still is painful, and I'm starting to nest. I ordered some of our first cloth diapers this week! If I start now, and slowly build, it will be a lot easier on our bank accounts.

Oh, and I was really craving coffee, so I got a small, 12 oz decaf mocha. Espresso has less caffeine than drip, so I thought I would be fine. I've been really good about not having caffeine, so this was a huge shock to baby! It's been bouncing around my uterus all day! And when I take exams, I tend to lean over and concentrate really hard. Every time I would lean over the baby would start kicking me, letting me know I was cramping their space! It was very odd, and it was hard to not giggle during an exam. Hehe!

Ok, so here's what's happening for week 16:
Your baby is about as wide as your palm, about six inches tall, and weighs about four ounces—about as much as a bar of soap. She now weighs more than your placenta. Your baby is now covered with a downy layer of lanugo, which swirls in fingerprint-like formation over her whole body. Her skin is still thin. Brown fat, a special type of fat that plays a role in body heat generation, is being deposited. In the next few weeks, your baby's eyes will begin to move beneath their fused lids in a side-to-side sweeping motion.

Another week down!

Well, this week was stressful. I was really sick all day last friday, really really sick. I also had a ton of catching up to do in the school area, so the weekend was packed. I ended up getting it all done though, so that's a relief. I had an exam in Finance today, but I think I did ok. Other than that, there's not a whole lot to report. I'm continuing to have food aversions though, which is a huge pain in the rear. Think happy food thoughts for me! And that my cracked rib from coughing feels better.

I think I've felt the baby move a few times. Just little flutters, but it's still exciting!

Anyway, here's what happening at 15 weeks:
Your baby weighs about 2.8 ounces (79 grams) and is about 4 1/2 inches from crown to rump—roughly the size of a small gerbil. At any time, you will begin to feel fetal movement as your baby's bones harden, and she starts a big growth spurt. Your baby has plenty of room: At this point, she could fit in the palm of your hand. This is a great time to be a fetus. At any given time, she might be playing with the umbilical cord (which she's now able to grasp), putting her thumb in her mouth, or kicking at the amniotic sac.

The Second Trimester!

Depending on who you talk to, the second trimester starts anywhere from 12-14 weeks. Well, I'm officially 14 weeks (and even the ticker trackers vary several days) so I'm officially in the second trimester! This year is a fun year for these things because Leap Year throws them all off. Regardless, I'm due July 23rd. I might change tickers later, because this one can't seem to count.

School has been going, and I feel like I'm forever behind. I have to play some major catch-up this week, since I have my first exam next Thursday. Jason starts his student teaching full time on Monday. He's excited about that. Right now our lives are mostly just attempting to stay caught up on school and housework.

I also talked to our landlord, I think we're going to move in June. I think it would be a lot easier to move pregnant and be able to direct people than to move with a newborn. That and the added stress of having the baby around while trying to move sounds like too much work. So the current plan is to start packing slowly once we hit April. We'll give ourselves 2 months, and just take it slow, so when finals are over in June we can wrangle us some strong guys and a truck, and pretty much go from there. I find unpacking to be a lot easier than packing, especially if the packing is done well to begin with.

One more note, I found out that the website I've been pulling my updates from thinks a week ahead. These things can be so complicated. It's thinking since I'm 14 weeks along, I'm in my 15th week developmentally. So I'm going to play catchup.

Last week, here's what happened:
By weeks 14-17, your baby's bone marrow is producing blood cells; his liver is secreting bile; his pancreas is producing insulin; and he will be covered in a layer of downy hair called lanugo. Around week 16, you may get your first ultrasound, but don't count on learning your baby's sex quite yet.

And this week, this is what's going on in my Uterus:
Your baby is about 4 to 4 1/2 inches and about 1 3/4 of an ounce. If you could see your baby's face, you might be able to see her wince and grimace, because her facial muscles are developing and flexing. All of her tiny organs, nerves, and muscles are starting to function. The intestines have moved farther into the baby's body; her liver begins to secrete bile, which will later aid in the digestion of fats; and her pancreas begins to produce insulin, a hormone which turns sugar into energy.

Photos and Things

I finally took some pictures today to show off my bump! Some days I look more pregnant that others, and some outfits change it too! You can see it the most when I wear a dress, no waistbands to disguise it.

Also, I started a journal for the baby. If you would like to add to it, you can write the baby a letter, and mail it to me. It's mostly a keepsake thing. And if you really want to, it doesn't have to be a one time thing either. Completely optional!

Week 13

Well, I'm over 13 weeks now! It's hard to believe I've been pregnant for three months. It feels like forever, but it also feels like I have so much time left! I'm starting to show a little bit, but it's mostly the baby pushing the fluff out. I've been super busy with school, and I'm going to a "Distinguished Scholars Executive Lunch" today. I guess the College of Business and Economics invites one student from each of the 6 majors to have lunch with local executives each quarter. So that's exciting! Too bad my suit no longer fits, I bought it before I knew I was pregnant.

Jason is in Seattle helping my mom move furniture around while she gets new flooring put in. He left on Wednesday, and he'll be home tonight. I miss him so much! I've been really cuddly lately. Anyway, I should go get ready for that lunch, and try to fit some homework in.

Here's what's happening for week 13:
Your baby is 2 1/2 to 3 inches long, the size of a medium goldfish. She weighs about one ounce. Your baby is shorter than a finger, but her face is already showing individual features and characteristics! Her ears are now developed enough that she may be able to hear when you sing, hum, or talk. And her vocal cords will form this week—soon she'll be able to sing back. Your baby spends her time in your womb flexing her new and developing muscles and joints. Bouts of prenatal hiccups are strengthening your baby's diaphragm, which is preparing her respiratory system for breathing. Less glamorous but highly necessary organ systems for making hormones, absorbing nutrients, and filtering waste are also in place this week. The pancreas, gall bladder, and thyroid have developed, the kidneys can make urine, and her bone marrow is making white blood cells to help fight infection after she's born.

The first week of school....

Well, classes started again this week. Hence the late posting! Pre-pregnancy, sitting through lectures wasn't too bad, but now I feel like falling asleep the entire time! I have to pay really close attention, and take good notes. I'll get through it though. Luckily my grades are high enough that even if I don't get super fantastic grades the next few quarters, my GPA won't be ruined.

Jason started volunteering at the school he's going to be student teaching at. Student teaching doesn't actually start until the beginning of their next semester, which is the end of January. But he decided to get to know the kids early so the student teaching will be easier when he starts.

Last week I worked at the Seattle wedding show, and it was a lot of fun! I love wedding shows. If I could have it my way, life would be all weddings and babies, but without the stress that's involved! Like that will ever happen...

Anyway, I'm getting close to 13 weeks, but here's what's happening this week:

Your baby's crown-to-rump height is 2 1/2 inches, or about as tall as a squash ball. She may weigh as much as half an ounce. This begins the age when the fetus starts to look really cut in those womb pictures. If you had a womb camera, you'd be able to see your baby's proportions changing, with the growth of the head slowing down to let the rest of the body catch up. Arms, legs, and fingers are also growing out and tapering to look more like a newborn's, and your baby's posture becomes less curled and more upright. Isn't it amazing that every person in the world was once the size of your thumb? And for that matter, for every person alive, some woman went through a pregnancy?