Quick note about comments

Hi, everyone. So, I'm a dork and didn't realize I had the "moderate comments" option turned on. So, all of the nice comments from Nov. 21 and on were getting filed on the blog and remained unpublished until just now because I just didn't know they were there. My bad. It's fixed. :-) Comment moderation is turned off! Thanks for visiting and sharing your thoughts.

Let the countdown begin!

There are only 73 days left until the due date, March 11. In "Rent" speak, that's roughly 105,120 minutes. *Sings* "How do you measure a, measure a ..." um, nevermind. Any way you measure the time left in this pregnancy, it is ticking away quickly and the realization that there will be a baby here soon, God willing, is exciting, yet unsettling.

Getting to this point has been quite the journey -- 2005 has been quite a journey. I can't reflect on this year without thinking about how great it would be to have my Lola here imparting all of her wisdom from her days as a nurse in Labor & Delivery. I can almost feel her warm smile and she pats my belly and beams with pride. I wish I remembered more of what she did when my brother and sister came home from the hospital. I do remember her singing a melody that went sort of like this, "ding, da-ding, da-ding, da-ding," while she gently rocked them, but that's about it. I was only 5 and 7 ... I guess it would be a stretch to try to recall every detail. I didn't think much about parenthood before she died in March, so I didn't really get to ask her all of the questions I have now. Although I didn't really experience morning sickness (Thank God!), I treasure this little piece of photocopied paper that my mom sent me this summer. It is a typewritten brochure titled "When You Have Morning Sickness or Nausea" from the hospital where my grandmother worked that looks like it must be from the 70s or early 80s. Apparently it had been taped to the inside of her kitchen cabinet for years, and it was just overlooked until my mom found it this summer. I have no clue why she had hung on to it for so many years. I hope I can come across a lot more little tokens from time as a nurse and a mother.

As we count down to 2006, I also think a lot about my dear friend, Britt. Often I imagine her laugh and her voice repeating over and over "I can't believe you're having a baby," similar to how she was in disbelief for three years (during almost every phone conversation!) that I was actually married. Growing up, you reluctantly accept the fact that there are going to be milestones that your elderly grandparents -- and eventually, your parents -- might miss. But you never imagine that the people you grow up -- siblings, cousins, friends -- with won't live long enough to experience them with you. Britt always promised to be the fun "aunt" who loaded the kids up with candy, and probably much more, and I always joked that the kids' unsupervised time with her would be very limited! I did look forward to the days when my children would spend time with their declared "best friends" and they could see first-hand that those experiences could last through adulthood and old age. I hope that my stories and pictures will be enough to teach them that.

It has been quite a year for us -- a new job for J and a new job status for me (unemployed. lol), an interstate move, losses in the family, a new car, a baby on the way, and Miss A's move here. As the new year approaches, it's exciting to think of what the year could bring -- what it will be like to have a real, live baby around, how s/he will affect our family, and all of the things we can't even imagine!

As you celebrate the new start with your loved ones, we wish you Peace and Health in 2006 and for many years to come!

Week 29 Developments

• Age of Fetus: 27 weeks
• Baby's Size (head to rump) this week: 10.5 inches
• 16.75 inches (head to toes)
• Weight: 2.75 lbs

Baby's brain is developing well and can now direct the rhythmic breathing necessary for oxygen and body temperature. The baby is also building up more fat under the layer of skin causing its appearance to be less wrinkled. The baby becomes more capable of surviving outside the womb every day now. The baby is more sensitive now to light, sound, taste and smell. The baby's eyes can now move in their sockets. Right now the baby's size is about the length of a football, which, by the way, is on my list of banned sports for baby!

Letter to Baby

Dear Tater,

You and I visited Dr. Cousins today, and everything seems to be well with us. Your heartbeat was a perfect 143 beats per minute. We're measuring a little bigger than expected, so my hunch that you're coming early may turn out to be true! We'll have to see what she says at our next appointment. Even though your arrival would only be about two weeks earlier, I'm not quite sure I'm ready for you just yet. I haven't even started nesting yet and I think I have a few more maternal instincts to pick up before you get here. I know we'll never be 100% ready, but there is still some work to be done. We don't even have a place for you to sleep! Take your time; enjoy your stay.

On the other hand, I think it'd be better for you to be early than to be too big. Your Mommy is not a big person and I don't think it'd be too much fun for either of us if you are oversized. That said, I'll do my best to keep our diet in check.

You're turning out to be a pretty funny little baby. It seems that you like to play games. Sometimes when your Daddy squeezes your little home, you kick or punch back. In addition to the flips you seem to enjoy, it sometimes feels like you are spinning as if you were on a swivel chair. Your Lola says that is because your Mommy used to be a hyper little girl who did cartwheels in grocery store aisles. I pray that you have more sense than that! You also really respond to noise and temperature. Sometimes if you're feeling really playful, you move around a lot when my tummy is covered with a warm sweater and you come to a complete stop when it is exposed. You and I can carry on like this -- open, close, open, close -- for quite some time. I'm really sorry if it bothers you; it is just so much fun! You also really enjoy food; after we eat something yummy, you do a little "food dance" that feels as if it looks like the one your big sister does when she eats something she likes.

About your name ... your Daddy seems to think it's fitting. He says it's short for "Potato," and one day you'll be a "Tater Tot." I must admit that I was not really excited about the nickname at first -- in fact, I sort of hated it -- but it seems to have stuck. I hope you're not scarred for life because of it. I promise we will put more thought into your legal name. :-)

There is a lot going on right now with your development. The amount of your brain tissue is increasing and what was a smooth surface of the brain is now more characteristic of the grooves and indentations of a developed brain. Your hair on your head is growing longer and you may even have eyebrows and eyelashes. Your lungs are now capable of breathing air, but let's all pray that they won't need to for a couple more months!!

The books and Web sites all say you are still lean but starting to get chubbier. You're about 15.75" from head to toe and your weight should be about 2.5 lbs.

Well, that's all for now. I know a lot of this is gibberish, but I promise I will talk you through it all when you are older.

Love always,
Mommy

'Baby needs a gender'

Ever heard of the wacky dreams pregnant women have? Sometimes they're blamed on the increased hormones and irregular sleep patterns. I suppose it's just the subconscious freaking out about -- um, I mean getting ready for -- the baby's arrival. My brain has definitely been working overtime while I'm trying get in a few uninterrupted hours of sleep (a difficult task these days), and some of the visions are quite strange.

The other night I was physically INSIDE of this blog (think Dave Chapelle's visit to the World Wide Web, but more innocent) announcing to everyone who would listen, "My baby needs a gender. My baby needs a gender!!!"

"Your baby has a gender," a voice said. "Your baby needs a name!"

Earlier that day I'd been talking to my mom about how we call this baby "It." She was a little annoyed that she was "Its Lola" instead of "His Lola" or "Her Lola." Needless to say, she is dying to know if it's a boy or a girl. I responded, "Well, "I'm Its Mommy." Great comeback, huh?

It was then that I really started to doubt my decision to wait to find out this baby's gender. Am I doing my child an injustice by not identifying it properly? Is s/he going to have some kind of complex as the elementary school years approach? This is me going into paranoid mode! I almost caved on several occasions, begging J to tell me, only to quickly retract my request. He said that if I slept on it and still wanted to know, he'd point me in the direction of the envelope that holds the secret.

It made me wonder why I am so obsessed with staying ignorant. Babies are a big deal regardless of their gender. I'm sure I would be equally excited on the birthday even if I knew if this child is a girl or a boy. And knowing certainly could make a lot of things -- particularly shopping and name selection -- a little easier. But, for some reason, I want that extra element of surprise.

Maybe the best we can do for now is give this baby a nickname. It won't really keep us from calling it "It" or "S/he." But at least s/he would have a more endearing name than "Baby." It's got to be something androgynous and something cute. I know everyone wants in on the big name game, but maybe we can do a practice run with the nickname game. Any suggestions?

Along these lines, J had a brilliant idea. Since everyone wants to know or thinks they know the gender, he said he'd conduct an auction. The highest bidder gets in on the secret. Any takers? Bidding starts at ... OK, just kidding.

Week 27 developments*

Around this time the baby begins opening and closing its eyes which were fused shut for much of the pregnancy.

Other changes that are happening:

• The baby's lungs are growing rapidly.
• The baby's brain wave patterns are similar to a newborn at birth.
• I should feel at least ten kicks within a two hour period (umm, try ten kicks w/in 1 minute! this baby is a nut!).

Baby's Size (head to rump) this week: 9.7 inches
15.25 inches (head to toes)
<>Weight: a little more than 2 lbs

<>*babyfit.com

Slippin'

So, my quest for perfection, as mentioned in the 11/5 post, is not going so well. :-) I haven't posted here in ages! I'm working on it; simple proficiency will just not do. The scary thing is, I only have about 94 days to get it together before the baby is expected to arrive!!

The baby is growing, as is its mommy. I am as big as a house! But, as my own mom points out, I am a house -- I am housing a little baby. I haven't been to the doc since the last post, but it seems as if the baby is doing well. Every little kick, punch and tumble is like a big shout, "Hey Mama! I'm here!!!" It is quite cool. On Sunday, the little one was so active for the entire day. It really seemed as if there was a party goin' on in there. S/he once kicked so hard that Jeremiah asked if it hurt. Thankfully, it doesn't -- unless the baby decides to use my bladder as a moonwalk. *bounce, bounce* That is not cool! After baby's busy day Sunday, s/he must have been pooped, because Monday was a very lazy day.

There are some exciting developments going on right now. Baby's senses are really starting to come into their own. Babyfit.com says that baby's brain wave activity begins for the visual and auditory systems, though it cannot yet comprehend just what it is sensing. Next weeek will be exciting as baby will beging to open his/her eyes! S/he is going to hate me with the flashlight!

Other changes that are happening*:

• With the nostrils now open, the baby will now make breathing movements to prepare for taking in air at birth.
• Your baby's lungs secrete surfactant to keep the lung tissue from sticking together.
• At this point the baby has completed two-thirds of its stay in your womb.

Baby's Size (head to rump) About 9.25 inches
Weight: Approximately 2 lbs

More later!