You're the size of a Rutabaga! {25 weeks}

So tired today and I don't think it had a thing to do with being pregnant!  I awoke at 2 am and despite my best efforts, couldn't fall back asleep.  I changed positions, put more eucalyptus spearmint oil on my neck and listened to music.  Nothing worked.  I should have probably just got up and made a taggie blanket or something but I wanted SO badly to get more rest.  I don't think I've ever just laid in bed for 3 hours straight.   Grant was restless to around 4 or 5 am......and never of us could figure it out.

Anyhoo.....The manfriend and I spent a nice, relaxing weekend up at the Lake to celebrate Turkey day. For the first time in 25 weeks, I felt full.  I was so full, I didn't even eat dessert.  We spent a lot of time lounging and I did no work.....and I even forgot to read all my magazines! 

We came back on Sunday just in time to get ready to go to dinner and celebrate our one year anniversary.  Jordyn and Mark had given us a gift certificate to the 112 Eatery in downtown MPLS for our wedding present last year. Suffice to say, it was a WONDERFUL way to spend our 1st anniversary together!  If you haven't been there yet, do yourself a favor and please go.  The scallops with truffles were so delicious and tasted almost as though they were cooked in bacon grease.....yummm.....everything is great when cooked in bacon grease.  When I steal some pics from Grant, I'll post them so you can all see our weekend in action!


About Popeye


According to Babycenter.com "Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — 1 1/2 pounds....but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture." 

Whattoexpect.com gave me a much more clear 
picture of what the heck is happening in my uterus "Your baby is growing by leaps and bounds...Under his skin, capillaries are forming and filling with blood and by week's end, air sacs (also lined with capillaries) will develop in his lungs, getting them ready for that first breath.  And speaking of breathing, your baby's tiny nostrils, which have been plugged up until now, are starting to open, and his vocal chords are getting ready to roar"

I've been able to feel her kick WAY more.  In fact, it was almost like a punch to the gut last Friday night.  As Grant and Larry watched airplane videos and Lynn and I watched the news (all in the same room), Popeye decided it was time to workout.  At this point, I have no idea if she's elbowing me, punching me or kicking me.  Nevertheless, it's a very cool (and still a little weird) feeling.  But, glad she is moving around.

I also really hope that Popeye likes Christmas music....because that's primarily what's been playing in my car when driving to/from work or from up north.  

Have a standard doctor appointment on Friday after work.  I'm guessing they'll test my glucose levels to make sure I haven't developed diabetes.  Not sure if anything else exciting will happen at the appointment but I promise to write about it next week.  

We are still brainstorming names......so many options....so much time.

How weird is it that I'm nearly done with trimester 2?   CRAZY weird.

You're the size of a lil' {Grape}fruit (23 weeks)

According to Babycenter.com "With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about the size of a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb."

It's hard to believe that week 23 is already here!  There seems like there is so much to do and decide upon and the time is going to just fly by!  From taking additional time off after birth, to finding childcare and figuring out how to care for a child that will be our own (one that we just aren't babysitting for a few hours).....there are many things to consider.  I'm not stressed about any of it - but that may be because I'm preoccupied with creating a new website and organizing our state conference in January/February.

I'm definitely feeling more movements from our little one now.  Most active at breakfast and lunch time.  Then, I think she just naps the rest of the time or is done with her exercise. Either way, she's still being mostly quiet.  Speaking of which, we got a CD last week at our ultrasound.  I haven't had a chance to upload the images yet but here is one that we got printed out for us.  As a side note, these pics are WAY less creepy than the first 3D ultrasound pictures we got.  She now looks like a little human.....with a cute nose and high cheekbones.

As you can see, she is peacefully resting in there.

Apparently at this stage, I may be developing a "linea negra" (i.e. the delightful black line from my belly button).  And some people start to notice their belly button changing.  My belly button is still an innie and that hasn't popped out yet.

I drank the pregnancy Kool-Aid at work as did a handful of other teachers.  Some are due at the end of January and others are due mid-March and April.  Babies in our district are like buying a round of drinks for the entire bar.  Everyone gets one!

More and more people are noticing the pregnancy.  I have officially told the students about it - mostly because it's hard to hide the 15 pounds now....even under an apron and flowing shirts.  One student asked, "Mrs.Wilson, do you have any children?".  I replied, "Not yet.  Just the one growing in my uterus".  Most students didn't quite get the "bun in the oven" reference, considering they are Baking & Pastry class.  Most give a confused look or say "huh"?  

Anyway, not much more to report.  We put up the tree for Scottie Pippen birthday weekend hopefully we can get the crib up this coming weekend!  I'll post pics once we make some progress!

ALSO, I got sent a great Baby Puree book but it didn't indicate who it was from.  If it was you, let me know!  I can't wait to try those recipes!

You're a Spaghetti Squash! {22 weeks}

22 weeks and they say you are the size of a Spaghetti Squash.  According the babycenter.com "At 11 inches and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn... ".  Some websites say it's the size of a spaghetti squash, others the size of a doll.  What to Expect reports "Your little doll (who now has eyebrows, eyelashes, and maybe even some hair on that little head) is a living one who can now perceive light and dark. She can also hear your voice, your heartbeat, your gurgling stomach, and the whoosh-whoosh of blood circulating through your body. And as her brain and nerve endings develop, she may reach for her face (or whatever she can reach) just to experiment with her newfound sense of touch."

We had an ultrasound on Friday - at 21 weeks and 5 days....so nearly 22 weeks.  And, in fact, our child is progressing well and is on track.  Popeye is 15 ounces, just shy of a pound (or a pack of bacon if you are bad with weights).  The ultrasound technician took a lot of measurements on the head, heart, torso, etc.  I'm assuming it helps determine how the baby is progressing but she really didn't go into detail about the measurements.  We were able to watch the blood flow into the heart chambers in a cross sectional view.  We saw Popeye move a little bit....most of the time moving the arms to poise them on the face.  Popeye has the hiccups which is pretty common amongst growing babies.  It was fun to watch the tiny body react to hiccups.

Unlike the first 3D ultrasound picture, this one was WAY less creepy.  This little fetus has gone from  an alien like, forearm/leg bulging Popeye to look like a mini child resting peacefully in there.    From the ultrasound the uterus looks like it's a cramped, over-filled room with little space to move.  At only 22 weeks, while I know the space will expand but with it - the baby.  It's no wonder why babies aren't a fan of leaving the womb after spending so much damn time in there.  Sunglasses and swaddle blankets may be our key to keep our tiniest one happy.

Yes - I know you are dying to know if we haven't told you yet - but we were able to find out the sex of Popeye.  Before I tell you though, I will say that G and I were just so happy that the doctor said everything was progressing perfectly and we were actually kind of boring (in my opinion, that's the best pregnancy compliment we could receive!).  She said they are not able to determine every anomaly at birth but they were could definitely see if there would be problems with the vital organs and other apparent issues through measurements and blood tests.   While we were eager to know the gender of Popeye, we were just so relieved to hear that Pop was doing okay in there.

The ultrasound tech determined we are having a girl!  We'll post the picture later but most of you reading this will need more of an interpretation of what the picture is actually showing. 

G sent out a quick email to a few folks to let them know of our news.   "Shawna's still trying to figure out how to deal with girly things…sooooo I'm sure we'll end up with frilliest princess in the land. We're beginning a pink purge in the house starting….now." I've always told G that I would never know what to do with a princess.....the ruffles, the tiaras, the plastering of pink.  I'll admit - I even wore a tutu when I was little, having been in ballet for like 8 years.  It was great for balance and fluidity but the time came to find a more.......aggressive sport.  We'll love our little one regardless of how much pink she loves.  But, I do want to share an email we got from one of our friends in response to G's initial email.

YAY!  This kid is going to be so amazing!  And about all that pink stuff...

A) Remember that Pink herself is a BADASS!

B) Balance is key 

C) Princesses can be pretty tough - 

D) Just remember who her mom is - 

E) Just remember who her dad is ...

Somehow these images make me a little more confident our little one can be pink and be a warrior. 

Some people have asked about our registry....so I figured I'd share it here.
Amazon Registry: 
http://www.amazon.com/registry/baby/2S6F76Y73QSHQ

Babies R Us:   
 http://www.toysrus.com/registry/link/index.jsp?overrideStore=TRUS&registryNumber=51445969#.UnG3pLKuKDY.gmail 

Target Registry:   
http://www.target.com/baby/registry/vRkWxMViDbjXd8M4rkDbZQ

You're the size of a Pomegranate! (21 weeks)

The big week is finally here - the ultrasound is on Friday!!!!  I'm eager to learn if we'll be having a boy or girl but above and beyond anything else, I just want Popeye to be healthy.

On Friday after our ultrasound, we are heading back to WI for a wedding.  I'm sure we'll have plenty of hours to discuss names....but will we tell you the name we select?  I don't know.

This whole pregnancy thing is a little surreal.  I keep asking the doctor if there is really still a baby in there.  Every time, he says yes.  But there are all these websites with suggestions, ideas, and timelines.  I just approach it as taking it day by day and knowing this baby will do what it wants when it wants. Take, for instance, the time when people first feel their baby move.  I may have mentioned in the previous blog that people feel their baby move well before 20 weeks.  Not me and I was just certain Popeye had a little bit of Grant in him/her and was relaxing.  No sense in doing gymnastics in utero when he/she could just relax and enjoy the growing period.  But at over 21 weeks, I *think I felt Popeye move last Thursday night as I laid on my stomach in the middle of the night.  It surely wasn't just digestion or butterflies...it was more pronounced.  Probably the first time when I felt like I was actually pregnant or had a sign (other than an ultrasound picture) that I was pregnant.  I've been so incredibly fortunate that this pregnancy has been easy on me so far.  That just probably means that the labor will not be easy....maybe I'll get my mom's 2 hours and done labor.  I'll hope for that but realize I may have better chances at winning the lottery.

Then, today (Monday), after a cup of coffee - I felt a couple of strong knocks on my stomach.  And at various points today, I felt like Popeye was hiccuping, which is supposed to be a pretty standard experience.  I'm still waiting for a punch in the gut....might need to wait a few more weeks for that kind of activity!

My mom and Aunt Kay came into town this weekend to visit.  They got to see our new house for the first time and the beginnings of the nursery.  We had a great time being together and going out to eat for lunch and dinner.  They shared stories of birthing children and child rearing.

Kay brought lil Popeye a few items - CDs, wood blocks, and a book.  We went shopping Saturday and my mom bought me my first two pairs of maternity jeans - one black and one blue -  and they are basically fancy leggings. They fit like a dream and I can only hope my tummy is the only thing that grows in the next 19 weeks so that I can still fit in the pants!  Maybe it's time that G and I get ourselves to the gym to make sure I can still fit in those pants!

My favorite clothes: Leggings, long shirts, boots....and scarves.  (Notice: this is not any different than my normal favorite clothes at this point).

Definitely showing a baby bump.

I do wonder what this child will be like, look like, act like.  Will it have G's charismatic personality? His Gandalf height?  His convincing speech?  Or will it luck out with my porcelain skin, intensity or my complete inability to use idioms correctly?  Who knows?  I can't wait to see what characteristics have been put into our little creature!

One thing is for sure....I don't want a jumbo baby.  Have you seen the new Nationwide commercial recently with the oversized baby?  We are hoping our baby isn't this big!

Over and out.

You're a banana! {20 weeks}

That's right - 20 weeks - halfway done with pregnancy!  

Sorry I didn't post last week - we were off on the beautiful island of Kauai on our belated honeymoon.  We were too busy dining oceanside and watching sunsets - I didn't spend much time around a computer.

Us, after hiking a nearly vertical, rocky path to overlook the beautiful Nepali coastline on Kauai.  Worth every step!

Oh, you didn't come here to hear about the awesome honeymoon, did you?  You want info on the progression of Baby Wilson.

All popular info points to Popeye being the size of a banana, weighing in at about 10.5 ounces.  That's like 1 1/4 c. of water or a little over half of package of bacon in weight.  Is it odd that I think of weights this way?  Maybe not given my profession.  I still think of 6", 9", 12", and 24" in the size of a sub sandwich.  And, it's not because I'm craving food all of the time but because of my first job at Pizza King.  In fact, it might be a good time to point out that I don't have any cravings yet but have found that I rarely feel full.  I probably do eat more than before I was pregnant but sometimes I just wish I felt "full".

Back to Popeye.....
It does seem weird to me that something as heavy as a 1 1/4 cup of water can be so incredibly full of life.  According to popular mommy websites "He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper".  

All the websites and books say that you can feel you baby move sometime after 16 or 17 weeks and that it might be like butterflies or possibly food digesting.  I think I'm so used to getting roughed up on the track that I have a really hard time noticing these minor movements.  Or, maybe I have already and it's all those tummy sounds I hear on a regular basis....though I think it's really just food working it's way through the digestive track.  I haven't felt this babe move yet....

While it's already week 20, we scheduled our ultrasound for the end of next week.  We'll be nearly 22 weeks at that point but since I hate being away from my classroom, it's a teacher workday so I don't have to prep for a substitute!  In any case, I do think when we find out the sex of Popeye, we will tell you.  Just don't go crazy with those frilly outfits if it's a girl.  

Other updates.  This weekend I couldn't wake up later than 6 am.  So while Grant slumbered, I thought I would make myself useful....so I made a couple of changing pad covers.  I've been looking online for an orange cover but they are more rare or just too expensive.  So, about a month or so ago I went and picked up 2 yards of fabric to make them myself.  If you have even sewn a straight line on a sewing machine before, you could make these.  This is how the final product turned out:

I probably said long ago that I'd post pictures of the nursery and I haven't done that.  To be honest, we still need to put the crib together and once we have a quiet weekend, I'm sure we will actually do that! It's because of this girl, Maggie, that the nursery looks as cool as it does with it's striped grey walls!  If you need a painter, she's your lady.  But, she'll probably request the use of Sherwin Williams paint or she may decline the opportunity.  Seriously.....she stayed in town to make sure the just of finished and it looks awesome!

We've already been so fortunate to have folks shower us with gifts for little Popeye.  This is just a small sampling of what we've received so far.  Jess gave us a set of 3 rubber duckies but those were in the living room due to a small guest wanting to play with them the other night!  I've washed all of the clothes so some of them didn't make the picture because they are in the age appropriate box (thanks Nina for the 2T Puma track suit!).  Some friends (The Woods, in particular) brought over a CAR LOAD of baby items the day we moved in.  This includes everything from prenatal yoga DVDs, to spoons, pack-n-play, backpacks, baby bjorns, bouncers, bath tubs, books and toys.  Like I said - car load and mostly being stored on the changing table shelves or in the nursery closet.  We still need to install a closet in the nursery and at that time, the room won't be so chaotic.  I'll definitely post more pics then......crib up and items put away.

 I'm definitely showing now.....well - I think I am showing. This weekend we went to a wedding and I had bought a maternity dress at Target in preparation for another wedding in two weeks.....and it's a good thing I did - all my normal dresses fit weird so I ended up wearing this new dress to the wedding on Saturday.  The great news is that there is still a lot of room for growth in this dress!

I'm too tired tonight to put on my preggers pic outfit....I'm comfortably buried in my oversized snowboarding hoodie and work out pants. 

Time for an overnight nap.

Over and out!

A lazy, rainy weekend {16 weeks}

What was supposed to be a weekend filled with all-day meetings not allowing me to return home to celebrate my dad and brother's birthdays, became a weekend of spending time with Grant and Jess, eating delicious buttermilk pancakes from Mickey's Diner on W 7th in STPL, trying the new peppermint mocha creamer (yuuuum), dreaming up baby names that would be horrific for a child, and unpacking more boxes from our move.

We had our 16 week appointment on Thursday afternoon.  Per usual, not much to report for this trip. When I arrived, they did the usual weigh in and blood pressure check.  They drew some blood to test for neural tube defects.  We met with my regular OBGYN, Dr.Curran, who is amazing.  Our clinic does not offer clients to deliver with one specific doctor.  Instead, the doctors are on call and we'll get who we get.  I've been trying to schedule appointments will all the doctors to get a feel for each of them.  So far, I still prefer Dr.Curran but it will just depend on the day.  If my birthing experience is anything like my mother's, the doctor may not even arrive in time to deliver the baby.  I figure, as long as we have a stellar support staff, the delivery doctor won't be a huge deal.

They said the test results would come back in a week but on Friday, I got an email that said our results were back and Popeye didn't show any signs of neural tube defects!

I still asked the doctor if we had a baby in there.  So far I've lucked on the whole illness thing, food aversions, or the other uncomfortable things some people experience while growing a child in their uterus.  Turns out.....we were able to hear a heartbeat - strong and consistent - proving yet again that there is a reason my pants are getting tighter!  Dr.Curran said it was probably 130-140, tracking similar to what it did at our ultrasound at 12 weeks.

While we will find out the sex of Popeye at our next appointment, we are still deciding as to whether we will tell everyone.  We try to keep you on your toes ;)

Yep - totally pregnant.

Still so surreal....{14 weeks}

Say hello to our lil' popeye!

We'll call our lil' one Popeye for now.

But first, the beginning....

I knew something was "wrong" when I tried to go for a run over the 4th of July.  I was so tired and felt so out of shape.  The Monday after the fourth of July I took a pregnancy test and boom - it didn't take long to change to the double lines.   Yep - I was pregnant.

Well that confirmed it....I was tired for a reason. I even took naps.  And I don't take naps, especially in the summertime.  Just going to workout and then run an errand made me tired beyond belief.  Other than being tired and my boobs being sore, I didn't have any of the other symptoms of pregnancy.  No nausea, morning sickness or food aversions.  Part of me wondered if that test was even correct.

We opted to have the first trimester genetic screen which is basically blood work and an ultrasound to obtain measurements on certain parts of the fetus.  We wanted to identify our risks as well as have an opportunity to see the growing lil' one via ultrasound.  As soon as the jelly went on the stomach, we saw an image of our lil' one.  Proof.  Evidence that I was indeed carrying a little person and I wasn't hallucinating.

At first, our lil' one was upside down and the technician informed us that we'd just have to wait until it decided to cooperate to take the measurements we needed.  As she was pointing out the very obvious things like heart, head, hands, arms, etc, Popeye turned the right direction!  It was incredibly surreal to watch Popeye move on the screen.  This tiny little creature just bouncing around in your uterus and you can't even feel it!?!  It didn't take too long for her to get the information she needed so she took a few additional pictures for us.  Including, super creepy 3D images of Popeye.  Maybe creepy isn't the correct word but it looked like this small human just plastered against the bumpy terrain of Mars.  In looking at those pictures, the forearms and knees were quite developed, almost bulging, like Popeye.

Hence, why we say lil' Popeye.

Either way, we saw a heartbeat (142 bpm) and it looks as though Popeye had all the initial parts.

We'll update more later but we'll likely start at Week 15 (Monday).  As a holdover, I'll be sure to post pics of the nursery updates that have already been made this weekend....thanks to Maggie.