tomorrow is 15 wks

yay. almost 4 mos. here is what baby center says about our baby: (no food analogies though :( )

At around 4 inches long, crown to rump, your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 ounces. He's busy inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid, which will help develop the air sacs in his lungs. His legs are growing longer than his arms now, and he can move all his joints and limbs. That means his hands are more functional, too. Sweat glands are appearing, and although his eyelids are fused shut, he can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, he's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but his taste buds are beginning to form. And if you have an ultrasound, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or girl! (Don't be disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down the sex depends somewhat on how clear the picture is and the position of your baby during the ultrasound; he may be curled or turned in such a way as to keep you in suspense.)

This Week's Activity:
Talk to your baby. It's a great way to start the bonding process. If having an actual conversation seems odd to you, narrate your activities; read a book, magazine or newspaper; or share your secret wishes for your child. This is great practice for after your baby's born. Talking to babies is one of the best ways to help them develop language skills.

well i guess i should start reading my favorite books: good night moon, runaway bunny, red fish blue fish, the very hungry caterpillar, etc. :) i only have harry potter books.

interesting info

i love random facts - so here are some interesting ones.

First-time Moms: Average age of new moms is 25, vs. 21 in 1970

Kids: Modern moms average 2 kids (1950s: 3.5 kids; 1700s: 7-10 kids)

4.3 babies are born each second

72% of moms with children over 1 year old work (about the same as childless women) , vs. 39% in 1976

55% of moms with a child under 1 year old work, vs. 31% in 1976

Diaper Changes: 7,300 by baby's 2nd birthday

Diaper Changing Speed: Moms take 2 minutes, 5 seconds (adds up to 3 40-hour work weeks each year!) , vs. 1 minute, 36 seconds for dads I NEED TO GET MYSELF UP TO DIAPER CHANGING SPEED :)

Giving Attention: Preschooler requires mom's attention once every 4 minutes or 210 times / day

Taking Care: Preschooler moms spend 2.7 hrs / day on primary childcare, vs. 1.2 hours for dads

Mommy Records

Most Kids: Mrs. Vassilyev of Russia gave birth to 69 children between 1725 and 1765 IS THAT REALLY POSSIBLE - OUCH!! SHE'S A BIRTHING MACHINE.

Oldest Mom: Rosanna Dalla Corte gave birth to a baby boy when she was 63 years old in Italy in 1994

Heaviest Newborn: Signora Carmelina Fedele gave birth to a 22 lb 8 oz boy in Italy in 1955 OUCH!!! THAT IS JUST CRAZY. ITALY HAS SET SOME MAJOR BIRTHING RECORDS.

MISC FACTS:

Most popular birth month: July (that's when our baby is due)
Most popular birth day: Tuesday
Most popular birthday: October 5
30 Pounds: Average weight gain during pregnancy
Baby Gender Gap: 105 boys born for every 100 girls
First Year Baby Costs: $7,000 of baby items before 1st birthday
Cost of Raising a Child: Middle-income families spend $242,070 to raise a kid to 18 (not incl. college!)

Research suggests that moms who give birth later in life, live longer
Having kids may make you smarter

-Babies don't have kneecaps when they are born. They only develop during the latter half of the first year
- At birth, a child's feet have 22 partially formed bones; by the time the child turns 18, each foot has 26 fully formed bones.
- The average toddler takes 176 steps per minute.
- A typical new born will double its weight by 6 months and triple it by the first yr.
- Babies eyes don't produce tears until the baby is between 3 & 6 wks old.
- The foundation networking of the brain's synapses is nearly complete after the rapid brain development of the first 3 years.
- The more stimulating experiences you can give your baby, the more circuitry is built for enhanced learning in the future.
- The number of connections in the brain can increase or decrease by 25% depending on the environment & stimulation.
-Shortly after birth, infants can discriminate among a large number of sounds that occur in many languages.
-At 7 days a baby can distinguish his mother's voice, by 14 days he can recognize his father's voice.
-Babies gradually develop a preference for the sounds of their native tongue.
-In the second half of the first yr, babies start paying less attention to subtle differences in pronunciation & more attention to whole words and phrases.
-The rhythms of speech become attractive, helping them remember words they hear frequently.
-Babies who hear lots of words will understand more words & perhaps begin to speak sooner.
-"Sign language" is emerging as another way for babies to communicate, even if they don't have hearing or developmental problems.
-Babies have a define preference for high contrast images, like geometric shapes in black, white & red.
-A newborn baby focuses best at 25cm from the bridge of his nose- the distance from his mothers breast to his mother's eyes.
-Newborn babies have an acute sense of smell, which enables them to recognize the natural scent, or pheromones, from their mother's body.

6 hrs

yay. i have slept 6 hours two nights in a row. maybe the 2nd trimester i will get some sleep. no more waking up in the middle of the night to play word games and research. we'll see. starting to get a little belly. can't wait to actually look pregnant.

14 weeks

Head to bottom, our baby's 3 1/2 inches long — about the length of a lemon (love these food comparisons -- last week it was a shrimp) — and weighs about 1 1/2 ounces. Her body's growing faster than her head, which now sits upon a more well-defined neck. By the end of this week, her arms will have lengthened and will be in proportion to the rest of her body. (Her legs still have some growing to do, though.) She's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair all over her body (called lanugo). Her liver starts secreting bile this week, a sign that it's already functioning properly, and her spleen starts contributing to the production of red blood cells. She's also producing and discharging urine into the amniotic fluid, a normal process that she'll keep up until birth. We still can't feel our baby's movements, but her hands and feet (which are now half an inch long) are more flexible and active. Thanks to brain impulses, her little facial muscles are getting a workout as she squints, frowns, and grimaces. She can grasp now, too, and she may be able to suck her thumb.

car seats

been doing a lot of research and talking to friends. just found out that the illinois passenger protection act requires children under the age of eight years to be secured in a child safety seat. i had heard it was 80 lbs and 8 years. good thing there isn't a height limit. our kids might be in those seats forever ;) 8 years is a long time to be in a car seat.

in nebraska the law is all children up to age six must ride correctly secured in a federally-approved child safety seat. kids in nebraska are bigger? as my friends would joke - they're cornfed. well - i'm short. wonder why it's different ages in different states. hmm. i do random research when i can't sleep if you haven't noticed :)

i have also been looking into nursery furniture and decor. it's so fun! trying to decide about the room decor. the nursery is a really nice yellow. we were thinking celestial - moons and stars. something neutral. blues, yellows and greens. there are a lot of patterns out there. a few good crib choices. some cribs could take three months to deliver and order. so that will probably be one of the first things we buy. or a pack n play so the baby can sleep some where :) not really sure if we need the bassinet since the baby will be so close to our room. and we can fit the pack n play in our room. it's nice that we can really stay on the first floor - no stairs until they move upstairs. any suggestions? about cribs? or about the baby sleeping in the room? i heard it's supposed to help the baby sleep better to be close to me and convenient for the mom to feed, but i'll be there every few hours :) and the room is a few feet away.

the glider is a must. i love the one at my mom and dad's cabin. and a dresser/changing table. it gets more and more real every day!! i love it. we are doing all white simple furniture.

besides being up at this hour - things are great! i know it could be a lot worse. i've been very lucky to not get sick.

with the blog - i can talk about baby stuff and not drive everyone nuts :) they can read it or not and i get it out of my system. hoping to have our first sonogram first week in february. if not - the next appointment and then we might find out the sex. yay.

slider

somehow our baby got a nickname from my friends already. marty mckee (friend from champaign) - thanks to him for starting the nickname. mckee gave me a nickname a few years ago from a crappy movie. it's 'cheeseburger' - stupid story. anyways - the movie had a line about some guy who happened to be from nebraska and they called him a 'cheeseburger' - the line was something like - 'that guys is a cheeseburger - he clogs your arteries' - so it's not because i eat lots of cheeseburgers or because i'm cheesie. it's because i'm from nebraska. if any of you have had white castle. then you know what a 'slider' is. a slider is a mini burger. and i guess since i'm going to be a mommy cheeseburger. i'm supposed to have a slider. poor kid. not even born yet and getting a nickname. but it cracks mike up.

maternity clothes

i braved old navy's maternity section today. i am not big yet, but i know i will get big. and i have some events coming up that i'll be sitting for long periods of time and can't wear sweats, but don't need dress pants. so i bought a pair of maternity jeans. they are soo comfy. i think i'll wear them all the time. ha ha. ok maybe not if i can fit into my favorite pants someday again. but especially to thanksgiving dinner, passover, etc. why don't other people wear pants like that all the time? elastic is amazing. props to the inventor. no one will be able to even tell unless they ask. :) they look like all my other jeans. so now i have my first maternity clothing item. would rather have the ultra sound image. ha ha. gets more and more real and exciting every day.

why a blog?

thought i'd keep people posted who were interested. in the future there will be photos and updates.

little facts

91 days down, 189 to go!

Fun Birthday Facts
(if our baby is born in July)
-Your baby's birthstone will be Ruby (Contentment)
-Your baby's Astrological Sign will be Cancer
-Your baby's Flower is Larkspur or Water_Lily (Green, Russet and Red )
-Your baby will be born in the Chinese Year of The Pig
-This time next year your baby will be 25 Weeks Old!

this is weird to think about
-Your baby will start kindergarten in 2012
be old enough to drive a car in 2023,
finish high school in 2025
and will graduate from college with the class of 2029, give or take a year

Contrary to its rather negative reputation in the West, the Pig of Chinese Astrology may be the most generous and honorable Sign of the Zodiac. Pigs are nice to a fault and possess impeccable manners and taste. They have so much of the perfectionist in them that others may be inclined to perceive them as snobs, but this is a misconception. Pigs are simply possessed of a truly luxurious nature, one that delights in finery and riches (in surroundings, food, lovemaking and otherwise). This Sign believes in the best qualities of mankind and certainly doesn't consider itself to be superior. Pigs also care a great deal about friends and family and work hard to keep everyone in their life happy. Helping others is a true pleasure for the Pig, who feels best when everyone else is smiling.

A Pig with no one around to appreciate its giving nature is a sad sight. Pigs are so magnanimous they can appear almost saintly; this can lead some less-than-well-intentioned souls to stomp all over this Sign, and the bad news is, the Pig will take the blows! Pigs make great companions in part because of their refusal to see the more negative or base qualities in a partner, but that rose-colored view can lead to this Sign's allowing itself to be taken advantage of. Contrary to their seemingly benign dispositions, however, Pigs can be quite venomous in response to being crossed by a lover, friend or business partner.

Pigs are highly intelligent creatures, forever studying, playing and probing in their quest for greater knowledge. They can be misinterpreted as being lazy, however, due to their love of reveling in the good stuff; this Sign could happily spend hours on end making love, napping, taking a long bubble bath or dallying over an incredible spread of rich foods. Pigs tend to make wonderful life partners due to their hearts of gold and their love of family. Even so, Pigs can be rather exclusive, choosing to spend time with those who will appreciate them most and ignore the rest of the populace. Pigs would do well to realize that there's more to life than being needed. When they open up their world to a diverse group of people, they will truly bloom.

The most compatible match for a Pig is the rabbit or the goat.

13 wks

baby: "I'm still tiny. In fact, I'm only about 3 inches long crown to rump — roughly the size of a jumbo shrimp — and weigh just about an ounce. Despite my small proportions, I'm a fully formed baby now. Much more proportional than I was a few weeks ago, my head is now only about a third the size of my body. My tiny, unique fingerprints are already in place. My kidneys and urinary tract are functional."

heartbeat

today we got to hear the baby's heartbeat. very exciting. it is super fast. i can breathe a little better making it past the 12 weeks mark. :)