Week 21- Look to the pee-pee teepee

We are officially over the hump, and more than halfway through the pregnancy. Hoo rah. Aiden is about seven and a quarter inches long and should weigh approx. ten and a half ounces. All of his senses are really kicking in now. He has started to hear and recognise outside voices, sense touch, and his taste buds have developed. He can now taste all that amniotic fluid he's gulping down. It seems now is the time to start ramping up my veggie intake, as studies do suggest he does develop some taste preferences in utero. Well, we know he's just gonna love chai tea and simple carbs then. I'm taking the science with a grain of salt, but hedging my bets and adding carrot juice and such to the equation. It can't hurt. As for the outside voices, we are talking to ourselves a bit more around here, and every day we listen to "Don't fence me in". Drew has started to make a point of talking to him every night before he goes to bed. At first he had some typical Drew concerns about "saying the right thing", cause you know Aiden is such a critical audience. He has settled on reading him the Saint Francis prayer, and even manages to ad lib a bit at the end.

We have started to dip into the whole wide world of baby outfiting that is Babies R Us and the like. Good God it's overwhelming. I have spent more time than I would care to admit comparing strollers and onesies and forming a registry, and I still feel pretty clueless. Do we need pee pee teepees for when we change Aiden? You place them over the offending source to prevent spray and they sure are cute. Stupid and wasteful, but cute. Drew and I went to the mecca itself a while ago, and it was an overload. We managed to have an actual argument about whether Thomas the Train is too commercial for our boy to wear. Drew argued the PBS factor as an exception to my "no cartoon advertising on baby" proclamation. He also declared all mothers who put their infant in swings as "just to lazy to rock them". I decide to go ahead and show him the swing I had registered for. Good times. I also found out I still don't like strange pregnant women all that much. I just don't feel any sort of "sisterhood bond" or anything. That should make the parenting classes fun. We did pick out an outfit to bring Aiden home from the hospital in. I told him all about how you save it, and how my mom had put our little heirlooms in shadow boxes. He suggested we go with the much more efficient vacuum sealer. Look to the vacuum sealer, my friends. Good times.

Week 19- Locating my Nei-kuan

Week nineteen, baby is six inches from crown to rump and weighs nine ounces. Had the detailed sonogram on Monday, and everything they could see looks great. His spine, arms, legs, and most of his organs all got the once over. We did have our first run in with an uncooperative baby, so we weren't able to get a good look at his face or heart. We coughed, jiggled, bounced and walked around, but the squirrely little bugger just wouldn't play. Seems he can hide behind my belly button, what a bizarre thought. I'll just go back in four weeks for the follow up. Saw the ob for my monthly check in as well, and everything looks awesome. Blood pressure, sugars, weight, all that stuff is in good order. Most importantly, I was able to answer this month's baby questions. Drew's concern about me riding in the trailer when we go to the ranch has been addressed. I can bounce all I want, I just can't fall off. Lying on my back is not the horrible thing some of the baby books make it out to be. We can probably travel over Christmas, we just have to be OK with having our baby wherever we go. Oh God, please don't let me have my baby in Bush country.




So what's my Nie-kuan, you ask? Don't worry, it has nothing to do with the gore of childbirth or lady parts. Desperation has led me to make my second unpredicted pregnancy purchase so far. I am stupid excited about the fact that I got some Psi bands today. These are plastic bands you place on each wrist in an effort to acupressure the barfing away. They are striped and, when placed on the right pressure point, supposed to be an awesome "drug free way to treat ongoing morning sickness." I will be using them on top of my drugs, thankyouverymuch. I hope my estimation of the "two finger widths above the center of my wrist crease" is right, because that's supposed to be where my Nei-kuan is located. The fingers on my right hand were kinda twitchy for a few minutes, but I think it's properly placed now. I'm a pink and red striped pregnancy wonder woman, I am.

My Thoughts - Week 18

Ever since we found out that we were pregnant, I have been having thoughts about teaching our child things and how we might go about each teaching. Things from: how to tie your shoes, how to swim, how to throw the football... to how to treat other people. I am really looking forward to teaching Aiden.

Angel is reading several books, blogs and news articles to stay informed on the best ways to provide a healthy environment (in her womb) for Aiden. She is the most wonderfully caring, loving, intelligent, thoughtful woman I know and, I am proud to have her as my wife and friend, and Aiden's mother.

Thanks to Angel (financial & emotional support), I have rejoined the rec. center and have set a goal to be fit and healthy for Aiden's arrival.

Angel has started to "show" a few weeks back. You can tell she has a little baby in there.

We are looking forward to the 15th (Week 19): Anatomy Scan - to make sure everything is cool with Aiden.

Till the next time...

Wow heck darn, that is good news

Entering our fifth month this week, and the halfway point is in sight! Our boy is about five inches from crown to rump and weighs approximately three and a half ounces. My shape is constantly shifting, and I am looking more pregnant every week. The Old Navy maternity line has made a few deliveries to the cul-de-sac already. I wish I could say the days of sparkling pregnancy had started, but I'm still struggling with nausea and sleeping. A few weeks ago my manic depression reared it's head to remind us it was still in there, unmedicated and strong. Drew was an absolute rock star, and said and did all the right things. It was the first time I'd felt those feelings brush up against me since I came off my meds, so it was a frightful shock. For both of us, I'm sure. I was eventually able to see it as a good reminder not to get too complacent, and to keep managing it- even when I can't feel it there. Enough! Boy can I lead with the good stories, or what? Next week maybe I'll start off talking about intestinal issues. Don't forget to subscribe so you get these posts the minute they hit the web.

Well by now I'm sure everyone knows we've got a boy waiting for us. As Drew said so artfully on the last post, "the arrow is pointing at the scrotum". My other favorite is our Texan sonographer feeling the need to write "See ya'll soon, I'm all boy" on the image. Really?! Are we doing that already? I just hear Bush's good ol' boy "heh heh heh" laugh in the background when I read it. Got to love birthing in Williamson county. Seriously, we are happy as could be. Turns out Drew called this one. Seems I will remain a guys girl for a few more years. Any thought I had of girls flew out the window that day. It surprised me how quickly, to be honest.

Our big news this week is that we have chosen a name for our little rude boy. Start the monogramming orders today for Aiden Strummer Carpenter. Drew liked the fact that he and his father had the same initials so we went with another A name to go with that flow. As for the name itself, we just like the sound of it. Turns out Aiden is Celtic for"little fire" and was a common name for the early Irish saints. That will work too. Strummer is after one of my favorite musicians, Joe Strummer. Been listening to a lot of The Clash during the pregnancy, and we were watching a documentary about him and Drew really got into it too. It just fits, and we really like it- so screw you guys. It's strange how finding out it's a boy just completely made this whole thing real for me. We are having a son. It's gonna be a helluva ride, and I can't hardly wait.