Thanks alot

Yesterday, my father-in-law noted how much bigger I am this time around, as compared to the twins' pregnancy. THANKS. Rob, ever his father's son, had no idea why I would even remotely take offense to that observation. "It's just a fact. " THANKS again.

Our Little Girl

Well, the prophecy was right. It's a GIRL! She's got all of her major parts - all fingers, toes, and major organs accounted for! She's a mover and a shaker, which is why the 3-D ultrasound looks like an alien. Rob was a little scared when he saw that picture. "Does she REALLY look like that?" No. I don't think so. Heart rate - 147 bpm. Weight - 10 ounces. Height - 12 cm crown to rump, not counting legs which were folded up near her head half the time. She flip-flopped several times during the "visitation". And kicked me repeatedly - of which I felt nothing. I asked the ultrasound tech why that was, and she said that my placenta was anterior, and the baby was really kicking THAT more than me. OOOOOOHHHHHH. So THAT'S why I haven't felt her.

Tiny baby feet -- see them? Her legs are crossed, so the left foot is on top, right foot on bottom (a little blurry), toes pointed towards the left of the picture.

There she is, smiling for the camera, arms up over her head. Colby used to sleep like that. She's already taking after her big brother!

The creature from the Black Lagoon

The boys were pretty excited to see a picture of the baby in Mommy's belly. At least, excited for approximately 30 seconds before Colby asked "Can I have a ball? Get it, MOM!" But Quinn, at dinner, noted that babies LOVE to eat mushrooms, so he generously gave me all of his. In other pregnancy-related news, I have been a TOTAL klutz lately, and sprained my ankle today while at work. Yesterday, I spilled orange juice all over the fridge, dropped chocolate milk all over the kitchen floor, hit my hand really hard on the coffee table. Today, I was running with a little boy outside when I twisted my ankle and fell to the ground. I've been limping around, looking ridiculous. I cancelled my last two kids at work, as I knew I would NOT be able to keep up with them. STUPID.

20 Weeks

TAAAAADAAAAAAA! HALF WAY! I have to admit, this first half went pretty quickly. When I have little boys to chase around rather than stewing and dreaming about HAVING little boys (as I did in the first pregnancy), things do seem to go quicker. Baby weighs about 10.5 ounces now on average, and is the size of... insert fruit of the week here.... a banana! Bananas are starting to seem baby-sized, right? And, note to my husband -- I just read on babycenter.com that it is the increased ESTROGEN produced during pregnancy that makes me snore. So, we get to blame THAT on the baby, too! Isn't life wonderful???? Newsflash for tomorrow's blog.... pictures of OUR baby, not miscellaneous babies I find on the internet.

A prophecy?

OK. I'm going to make a guess here, and I could very well be proven wrong (likely to be proven wrong, but just in case I'm RIGHT, it'll be dated and documented here). I had an experience 2 years ago that was rather freaky, and at the time I thought it applied to what was happening THEN, but it occurred to me as I was sleeping last night that maybe it applies to NOW. So here's what happened.... don't think I'm insane.
I was working with a little autistic boy two years ago, doing our physical therapy (sit ups, I believe) in the back hallway at work. He looks at me funny, and says out of the blue "Monica, who's going to be my therapist when you're taking care of the baby?" Weird. "What baby?" I asked. "The baby. You're having a baby". No, I told him. I definitely WASN'T. Biologically, things had recently occurred (if you know what I mean) that told me I definitely was NOT having a baby. "Yes you are, and it's a girl. Monica Jr. She'll be born in November". I tried desperately to convince him I was NOT having a baby, but he was having none of it, and was very insistent. He kept saying that Monica Jr. looked like me, and SEE! There she was, waving at him! He was concerned as to who would be his therapist when I was at home with the baby, and it was very upsetting to him. Well, that incident stuck with me the rest of the day, and later that night. He was just so SURE, it was weird. So, early next morning, I took a pregnancy test, and YUP. Pregnant. Crazy. So I assumed we were having a girl, just like Matthew said, and hoped he was just being silly about the November thing. In October I miscarried. Matthew hadn't brought up the baby thing at all since that initial time, but his first visit after my miscarriage he just looked at me, and asked matter-of-factly "where's the baby? Is she born?" I told him no, that the baby was in heaven. "Hmmm. " he said. "She was supposed to be born in November". And he never mentioned anything even remotely unusual ever again, and eventually moved away with his family. Well, that pregnancy turned out to be a molar pregnancy -- neither girl nor boy because it was just kind of an empty gestational sac. So it occurred to me, that if God was talking through this little autistic boy, maybe he was meaning THIS baby (I know, it's a stretch). THIS baby is due in November. Will it be a girl???? Monica Jr.? HMMMMM. So, even though by the "timing method of sex-selection" that both my sisters swear by, this baby is bound to be a boy -- I'm going on record as guessing it's a GIRL. Because Matthew said we'd have a girl born in November. Time will tell if I'm being silly or not :) Thanks for bearing with me. See, I can say crazy things like this, because I can always blame it on the pregnancy if I'm whacky.

19 Weeks

This is what I know about the baby's development this week.... s/he is now the size of a "large heirloom tomato". WHAT is an heirloom tomato??? Translated into non-vegetable terms, that's 6 inches, I guess, and 8.5 ounces. Sensory systems are developing big time right now, and I am taking Omega-3 supplements to help that process optimize! With two children already experiencing "under-reactive" systems, I don't need a third :). Ultrasound a week from tomorrow, and I am beside myself with anticipation. Not being able to see this baby all the time like I did the boys makes this whole pregnancy thing seem "less real" than the last. I've yet to see a picture of more than a blob, and I can't WAIT to actually get to SEE our baby!!

18 week Prenatal visit

Prenatal visits are so much less.... dramatic.... than they were with the last pregnancy :). There's no rushing upstairs to have an emergent fetal stress test, no grave warnings to stay in bed, no concerned looks, no prescriptions or IV's. Just "yup, everything's fine, see you in 4 weeks!" and 10 minutes later, I'm outta there! The heart is beating (I have no idea the rate, as she didn't tell me, but it sounded faster than mine, which I take is a good thing), and the baby IS moving, even though I can't feel it. With the doppler, I can HEAR it, and it is reassuring. Quinn was with me, as he "won" the argument as to who would go with mom to the hospital. I'm guessing he was re-thinking the merits of that win... hang out with mom for 45 minutes in a doctor's waiting room, and then watch her give blood at the lab, OR stay home with grandma, eating cookies and watching cartoons. HMMMMMM. C-Section tenatively scheduled for November 17th, 18th, or 19th, depending on availability of the doctor and OR. That is, unless the baby decides to come early, but, given that there's one instead of two, that shouldn't be such an issue. I asked the dr. about my weight gain, and she assured me I was "right on track" given her official records -- only gained 7 pounds according to her. I said "Yeah, but you weren't keeping track those first 7 weeks, and MAN! Were they DOOZEYS!" At least the past 11 weeks the rate of weight gain has slowed down as compared to the first several.

18 Weeks

A definite growth spurt this week -- I have gained 3 pounds, and my belly now sticks out farther than ALL the rest of me. I met up with an old coworker this past week who is 31 weeks pregnant, and I am bigger than her (of course, she said she never "shows" much with any of her pregnancies). The baby is now the size of a bell pepper. It makes me laugh how the "experts" always compare the baby's size to fruits and vegetables... s/he went from a raisin to a kumquat to a plum to an avacado to a bell pepper! My next prenatal visit is Tuesday, and I am anxious to schedule another ultrasound. I don't feel the baby moving hardly at all, and I need some reassurance!