Week 26 & 27

This Halloween I was thinking of Angel and I dressing Aiden up in a costume and taking him trick-or-treating with his cousin Julian, and having him watch the kids that would come to our door. No holiday will ever be the same.

Recently, we started being able to feel Aiden pushing against Angel's stomach. It is so cool. I had my ear pressed against Angel's stomach and I swear he punched me; very neat.

The baby shower in CC at my parents house when very well. We had a good time seeing & talking to everyone and are very grateful for all of the gifts we received. Kim said we needed to add our registry links, so here they are; BabiesRUs & Target.

Well, Angel seems to be doing better now. The vomiting has been limited to 4-5 times a week; instead of 4-5 times a day. She is still nauseous every morning but feels much better during the afternoon. I am very glad she has found something that makes it more bearable.

Aiden is now over 2 lbs. and is 10 in. from crown to rump. Angel is going in for her monthly OB tomorrow, so we will let you know how that went next week.

Till then...

Week 25- Doing the BRATT

I know it's been a while since I've posted, these last few weeks just haven't seemed too worth reporting. We've just been mired in the grit of the middle of the pregnancy. Exciting stuff like fighting with insurance over medications, trying to manage my nausea, finding childbirth classes, and figuring out the whole doula situation. While I'm still wading through the last two issues, the first two seem fairly resolved. I've settled on a combination of my first nausea medication and the bratt diet. For those of you lucky enough not to know what that is, its a sick kid regime consisting of bananas, rice, applesauce, tea and toast. It's just as boring as it sounds, but it does seem to help manage the vomiting. Now aren't we all glad you didn't have to read weekly updates full of exquisitely boring and mildly depressing detail on these matters?

This month has had it's bright spots though. We celebrated Julian's birthday with the family and took our first trip to Midland since last Christmas. Our main mission in Midland (besides eating at Taco Villa)was to watch my two oldest nephews march in their high school band. Mitchell is graduating this year, and we were glad of the opportunity to see the one year they would march together. Neither Drew or myself are really big into football, and certainly never spent time at the games while we were in school, so we were surprised by how much we enjoyed the game itself. Between the music and the sight if those boys swaddled in their polyester uniforms,the pregnant lady did cry. God I love those kids.. all of my nephews and nieces. As the youngest child, these boys were the first babies I really knew. We measure the length of our relationship by Lance's age. I think Mackenzie is the first teen age girl Drew has liked. When I imagine having one of our own and the weight and luminescence of that love, it shifts my insides- and scares me a little too.

This weeks baby stats- he should weigh between 1.5 and 2 pounds and if he could stand up he would measure about a foot tall. His skin is starting to loose it's translucency and he's got his own fingerprints. His nose and eyes are opening up, and his lungs continue to strengthen. He also voted Democrat for the first time Saturday. Tonight, we are about to find out what he thinks of his dad's special cornbread and beans. Come back next week, cause you know you've got to know how this one ends...

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.

It's A Boy!!!

The arrow on the right image is pointing at the scrotum.

What's a Oisi, nuchal testing, and playing with knives

Week sixteen and the books say Oisi is the size of an apple. Four inches long and around two ounces. I've only gained five pounds, but all the weight I do have is shifting and I'm starting to outgrow pants already. Not unexpected, but none too thrilling. My appetite for decent food is finally coming back, and the nausea pills are starting to work better. God how I won't miss that shameful chicken nugget period of the pregnancy. I'm finally back playing in the kitchen, which I have missed terribly. Drew got me a gift card from Sur La Table for my birthday, so a trip down there last weekend helped to stoke the fires a bit too. Got the awesome eight inch chef's knife I've been wanting (thank you Tony and Sara), lots of odds and ends, and a giant block to fit all my knives. I'm thinking these next few months may be my last chance to quietly putter around in the kitchen for a while. One of my main goals is to get this baby to have a more adventurous pallet than I did as a kid. I shake my head when I remember the time Kim cooked migas and I almost burst into tears because they looked so terrifying and strange. I was not an easy kid to feed. We won't even mention the burrito that did make me cry. In my defense, it was smothered in sauce.

Okay, let's address the main question we've been getting. Oisillon is one of the two gender neutral nicknames we have picked up for the baby, and Drew decided it had a far better blog title ring to it than the other one, "junior". When we were trying to conceive I went through a period of obsession with the cardinals, blue jays, sparrows, and doves that make a home in our yard. When we first found out I was pregnant I started calling the blastocyst "baby bird". This morphed into the far flowier oisillon, which is French for "baby bird"or "fledgling". You see, in an effort to make all those French classes seem useful, my brain has retained some of that junk. Important stuff like that.

Had my second monthly OB appointment today, and all seems good. Everything is progressing as it should. I don't just love my doctor, but I don't know how important it is that I do. Especially, since we have already decided that we would both benefit from hiring a doula to help with actual labor support (I'll explain that to you later, dad). Next week is the big appointment where we find out the sex.

Got the final results from the nuchal testing we did, and everything looks very good. A brief explanation on what I'm talking about seems in order, as it's pretty new science. Nuchal testing is a combined sonogram and blood work screening test for Downs syndrome. They perform a sonogram and measure the fat on the back of the baby's neck. A larger pocket is an early indicator of potential Downs. Anyway, everything looked great. While it's no guarantee of perfection, it's as far down the genetic screening road as we want to travel, for now. The first of the millions of difficult decisions I'm sure lie ahead. It's just now starting to hit me that I am going to have to start looking at the nasty stuff in the back of all the pregnancy books. You know, that whole "childbirth" section. Questions or comments for us? Send them our way.

Breaking News: Sex Of Oisi

We will know the sex of Oisi by the afternoon of 8/25 !!!! Happy Day!!!!

Drew's first post

It's week 14 and Oisi looks great. I am so happy that we are going to have a child of our own. I am doing whatever I can to keep Angel comfortable and happy. There will be more to come later.

Waiting for my Snoogle- First day of week Fourteen

Week Fourteen started just like weeks Four through Thirteen. Vivid dreams and vomiting. I wait for the magic morning void of nausea, and ignore Kim's words as they echo through my head. "You know, sometimes it never goes away" is pushed aside, as I choose to believe that eventually this pregnancy WILL turn unicorns and butterflies. We forgot to add that option in the IUI package, I suppose. The sparkling pregnancy option. Probably wouldn't have cost more than the "anti nausea" pills I'm taking now. They work sometimes and taste like bitter recreational drugs from the Eighties as they dissolve on the tongue. Drew pointed out that maybe the nausea is baby boys attempt to get my attention, and make me stop calling him a her. In the afternoon, between scheduled vomit times, I have a better perspective. If this is my only complaint in this world- pregnancy symptoms- then things are pretty damn good.


So, what is a Snoogle, you ask. Why it's the first pregnancy thing I've ordered. It's this giant C shaped pillow that I'm supposed to wrap myself around when I sleep. While I don't have a belly yet or anything, my uterus is pressing on the veins in my legs when I lay down at night and cutting off circulation. Hence, the Snoogle. I'll post a picture of it when it shows up. Maybe get Drew or Mancha to pose with it, cause it sure as hell won't be me. Honestly, I can't believe how exited I am about this thing. I am leaking out coolness by the minute at this point. I guess I forgot to check for the "cool pregnancy" option, too.