registry fun

mike and i have had fun registering. it's like shopping and setting up wish lists and it saves us money - so far. that way we have lists of what we want for our baby, but we can prioritize what we NEED and what we want. so far i have been good and holding back on buying baby stuff (mainly because i shop at 4 am or mike has the gun at the store). you are supposed to wait as long as you can because once you start - you won't stop. hee hee. i have already had problems with urges of buying stuff for friends' kids - so can't imagine what i'd do once i start for our own :) ha ha.

no way

today some how word got out that i was pregnant at work. and people were coming up to me asking when i was due. i would say end of july and they would respond with no way. i would reply by saying - well yea - that's what the doc says - i'm 20 wks/5 mos pregnant...all these women coming up to me have had kids and they don't believe i'm that far along. they were making fun of me and my belly. i guess they had money on me only being 3 mos and that's why they didn't know til now. the baby is pretty low - so i think that's why my belly isn't huge yet. everyone carries differently. i'm sure i'll get big soon and that will make them happy. :)

i guess i'm not fat enough for their satisfaction - the world wants me to be fat. ha ha - and i have a feeling it's going to be coming. trust me - i haven't been holding back - i eat CONSTANTLY. the girls even went out and bought me a yummy sandwich because they felt bad for standing around poking me and talking about my belly. i am already trying to get used to some extra weight as it is - and for them to say i'm not big - it makes it awkward to say - well i know it's some where because i'm gaining weight. they also filled me on some horror labor stories, morning sickness and then the baby/toddler stories. good thing it's a weekend. i'm sure i'll be hearing more. i guess that's the real reason i've been quiet at work. :) ha ha. oh yea - i also got two child/baby magazines today from some coworkers. they mean well.

5 mos (20 wks)

How your baby's growing: Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom, and about 10 inches from head to heel. (For the first 20 weeks, we use measurements taken from the top of the baby's head to her bottom — known as the "crown to rump" measurement. After that, we use measurements from head to toe. This is because a baby's legs are curled up against her torso during the first half of pregnancy and are very hard to measure.)

Your baby is swallowing more, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky substance that's the result of cell loss, digestive secretion, and swallowed amniotic fluid. This meconium will accumulate in her bowels, and you'll see it in her first messy diaper (although a few babies pass it in utero or during delivery). FUN STUFF.

my calendar says we're half way there. whoohoo!!! it's been great so far. only bad side effect is lack of sleep - and that's really not that bad. it has been great practice for sleepless nights to come :) the site also says i should have gained about 10 lbs. ha ha. that's hilarious. 10 lbs awhile ago maybe. where is the weight going if she is only 10 1/2 ounces? i'll tell you - it's all on me - :) oh well. i actually really don't mind being pregnant. it's a feeling i just can't describe. most of you mommies probably understand.

update

our latest test results came back with good numbers/percentages. yay. we have to get another ultrasound in a month because they didn't get to see all the organs. but what they did see was good. we're excited to see our baby girl after another 5 wks from the first ultrasound. she'll be a little bigger. :)

late post

latest pic of my belly - she's growing! (5 mos pregnant)

How your baby's growing: Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, and she measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the length of a small zucchini. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine, and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. This is a crucial time for sensory development: Your baby's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. If your baby is a girl, she has an astonishing six million eggs in her ovaries. They'll dwindle to fewer than two million by the time she's born.

more pics to come of my stomach as i grow. mike took a few on our vacation.

we got our first girl clothes last week. cute little girly outfits. thanks christina and cipp.

19 wks

we hit 19 wks friday. the baby girl is the size of a zucchini now. i'll write more later when we get back from florida. we have a name narrowed. but we are going to wait and see how we like it in a few months. :)

1st baby pics

can you see her?! she's waving in the second photo. in the first one you can see her profile pretty well. pretty exciting.

it's a girl

we found out today that we are having a healthy baby girl. we are soo excited. i guess my dreams were wrong. :) but we are happy - now we need to come up with some names. we got to watch her wiggle around for almost an hour because she was not cooperating. she was curled up in a little ball. we will scan pics and send them out tonight. she even waved at us. so cute. it just makes it seem that more real and it is just an incredible feeling. :)

18 wks tomorrow

yay - 4 1/2 months. whoohoo. not sure if this counts as half way, but it is halfway for 9 months.

How your baby's growing: Head to bottom, your baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a large sweet potato) and she weighs almost 7 ounces. She's busy flexing her arms and legs — movements that you'll likely start noticing more and more. Her blood vessels are visible through her thin skin and her ears are now in position and stand out from her head. Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after she's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and Fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If your baby is a boy, his genitals are noticeable, though he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

hopefully we will be able to tell from an ultrasound monday to find out what we are having. yay. can't wait to see the little thing growing in me. hee hee.

so now it's a large sweet potato. sweet. no wonder women crave food - they compare your kid to food the whole pregnancy.

so i'm too big now for my clothes (they are tight and look hideous having body fat/baby fat hanging out) and maternity clothes are too huge. i've heard about mothers-to-be being in this 'in between' phase, but now i know how it feels. i guess i'll go for the too big of clothes than the too small. my tops fit ok, but i don't look pregnant unless you know me.

we'll see - if people start rubbing my belly - i'm figuring that's a sign that i am start to get bigger.

belly

not showing a lot yet, but i can tell more now :) thought i'd document my belly's growth. 17 weeks!

17 wks

How your baby's growing: Your baby weighs about 5 ounces now, and he's around 5 inches long — about the size of a large onion (yay - ONION). He can move his joints, and his skeleton — until now rubbery cartilage — is starting to harden to bone. His sense of hearing is also developing. The umbilical cord, his lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker.

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.

With more weight up high and out in front of your body, you may feel a bit off-balance as you walk around. Store away your high heels and wear low-heeled shoes to reduce your risk of taking a tumble.You're likely to feel protective of your tummy, and that's good. Trauma to your abdomen could be harmful to your baby and dangerous to you, so be sure to buckle up when you're driving. Keep the lap portion of the seat belt under your belly and very snug across your hips for maximum protection.

This Week's Activity:
Start a baby name list. Make a list of ten names you like. Have your partner do the same. Trade lists and each cross out one name on the other's list that you dislike. Keep taking turns until you have a set of names you can both live with. Talk about why you like and dislike certain names. Many couples even create ground rules, such as no names of former girlfriends or boyfriends and no names that have ever been used for family pets.

we haven't finalized a list yet. we have time :) and no marty - we aren't naming our kid after you. sorry. not in our tradition.

baby appt

today had another baby appt. everything is good. heard the heart beat. we get to schedule a sonogram soon. yay. a few weeks and we might know the sex. the nurse was this cute little asian lady. she asked where i was from. i told her that i was half vietnamese and laotian. which i am. she said she couldn't tell. that i probably get that a lot. i guess i don't look like either. she asked if i was 'american grown' - i said yes - she said she could tell because i am tall. which is funny. ha ha. me tall. anyways - she was a very sweet lady until she poked me three time because she couldn't find the american grown's vein. ouch.

so when people ask my kids what they are - will they have to list everything off. and then when they have kids - we are all going to become mutts in the long run. i think bi-racial people are gorgeous - so we will have a world of pretty people. we'll see. it's late and i'm just blabbing.

accurate?! :)

but it's still fun. i don't think it is right for any of my friends that are expecting, but i could be wrong on the conception months - so let me know. :) can you tell i'm bored at work. waiting for approvals.


for the women out there that know the sex of their baby - how accurate is this chart
it says i might have a boy. i doubt it is accurate - i got more on gut feeling - which still happens to be a 'boy' feeling, but we'll see hopefully in the next month or so for sure! can't wait. i think it will make shopping more fun and maybe we will think more seriously about names.

go by month of conception and then your age. that would mean that everyone that conceived - let's say in june and was 26 - are all going to have boys. it's like the chinese animals - where everyone born in 1980 are all the same. ha. still fun to read this stuff.

boo

ok - so don't get your hopes up for that ultrasound. i guess we might have to wait another month. boo. that's a long time to wait. most people we know have had one by now, but i guess they assume i am healthy and there is no need - which is also good. so 3 more weeks. and by that time - we should know the sex and have our first baby pic. i'll just have to be patient. :) it's a good time to learn. ha ha.

sterilizer bags

here's some great advice from pam: check out sterilizer bags at amazon. i think they are at target too, but i didn't see them.

• Unique and powerful - eliminates 99.9% of all harmful bacteria and germs from most breastpump parts & feeding accessories
• Complete in just 3 minutes, easy to use--just add water
• 5 reusable bags per box

for those mothers-to-be and interested parties. :)

starting to shop

some have asked about where we are registered. we are still working on it and have plenty of time :) but in case you want to get a good idea of what we are looking at -- there is a list in the side bar.

we are going with moons & stars for the nursery. yellows, blues and greens. we want a pretty neutral/unisex nursery for future kids.

we still hope to find out the baby's sex - so we can add more baby stuff if it's a girl or boy :)

fun checking out baby stuff. and mike had fun with the little gun.

go bears!

Jennifer Gordon, 35, sold advertising space on her eight-months-pregnant belly to uBid.com for tickets for two 50-yard-line seats at the Super Bowl. Her husband will join in Miami.

looks like someone wrote on her belly in marker - it could be much bigger and better design for 50-yard-line seats...i should do that :) they should have also used her belly button for the dot in dot com.

smart lady!! instead of spending 6k she gets to go to the superbowl for free. only has to pay for airfare and hotel. not a bad deal. and at least in miami it's going to be warmer than our 5 degree weather here.

she's gotten a lot of publicity too.

4 mos (16 wks)

yay - a milestone for us. i know it's silly, but 4 mos is pretty exciting to me. well ok - this whole pregnancy thing is very exciting for us.

How your baby's growing: At 4 1/2 inches long (head to bottom) and 3 1/2 ounces, your baby is about the size of an avocado. (ha ha from jumbo shrimp to avocado - i love the food analogies) In the next three weeks, she'll go through a tremendous growth spurt, though, doubling her weight and adding inches to her length. Her lower limbs are much more developed now. Her head is more erect than it has been, and her eyes have moved toward the front of her head. Your baby's ears are close to their final position, too. Some of her more advanced body systems are working, including her circulatory system and urinary tract. Her heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, circulating her total blood volume through her body many times. (By the end of your pregnancy, this will increase to about 190 quarts.) The patterning of her scalp has begun, though her hair isn't recognizable yet. Although closed, her eyes are moving (slowly), and she's even started growing toenails. (we don't know the sex yet - but we want to find out - the babycenter just writes their descriptions in her/his style)

Soon you'll experience one of the most wonderful moments of pregnancy — feeling your baby move. While some women notice "quickening" as early as 16 weeks, most don't until about 18 weeks or more. If this is your first baby, don't be too anxious — you may not be aware of your baby's movements until 20 weeks or so. The earliest movements may feel like little flutters, gas bubbles, or even like popcorn popping. Over the following weeks they'll start to feel unmistakably like kicks.

mike has even felt some fluttering - or i guess it could just be gas. but it feels different. so we think it might be some early flutters.

our appointment is next week. we will do some more tests and maybe get an ultrasound. i should have one at this appointment or the next.

been reading babywise - something about a gift of nighttime - it's a really good book. we'll see if it works. thanks mom!

oh and thanks grandma for the present. we will also be finalizing our registry in the next few months. so i'll keep you posted. i have been holding back on going to the store some since i have a feeling that once we start - we won't stop. so trying to hold back and save some unnecessary shopping and expenses. baby stuff is just too cute and any of my friends who have had kids - know i love buying stuff.

wow - i'm pretty awake and up early in the morning without my diet pepsi :) hormones can be great. ha.