Sunday, January 27, 2008

Why, Aren't You Just a Ball of Sunshine, Pregnancy Email

Update: Upon receiving an email from them this morning with the topic "can working moms have happy babies?" I promptly unsubscribed to their services. No more iVillage for me.

I've been receiving a pregnancy progress email throughout much of the pregnancy. It's been fun to read about how the baby is developing and what changes to expect in myself. It's also made me happy not to have had a lot of the side effects they detail.

A few weeks ago I decided to double my efforts and sign up for a new one at iVillage.com, despite knowing that that website is extremely commercial and generally loosey-goosey with their advice.

This week I received this cheerful message in my inbox:

31 weeks:

"At this point you may be quite eager for your pregnancy to end and your baby to be born. Aches and pains, along with feelings of anxiety, may be on the rise. Your body might be weighing you down, and weird stuff (like false contractions and vaginal secretions) is starting to pop up. The final weeks may begin to drag, but you're very near the finish line now."

Um ... Thanks iVillage.

Although I am getting more uncomfortable, it's definitely not as bad as they make it sound. I can't wait to see what they come up with next month ...

Friday, January 25, 2008

Spellbound Baby Sneak Preview

We finally obtained copies from the ultrasound I had while I was in the hospital, which was done at just shy of 12 weeks. Here they are:

You can see the umbilical cord in these first two.






And a little spine in this one:



Arms:



And legs:

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Ow ... I'm Getting Kicked ...

Spellbound baby was having a disco dance party yesterday and it was, for the first time, actually a little painful.

At the risk of having someone who's been pregnant before laugh at me, I must admit, I didn't really believe that baby kicks could make you sore. But I do now.

In a way it's nice because it's just another marker of how big and strong the baby is getting.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

It's begining to look a lot like baby …

… everywhere you look around here. Jody and Toby were kind enough to ask the Hinkle family to lend us the bassinet pictured here. Something like 9 kids in total have used it, including my niece and nephews Ali, Matt and Joe.


(29.5 weeks)

Joe also bought Spellbound baby a cute turtle that plays Calypso music and the board book Goodnight Gorilla, which we've been reading to the little one. As you can see above, our little one is getting big — 14-15 inches and somewhere around 3 pounds. It's hard to believe there is 14 inches of baby within me.

Right now the bassinet has been sitting in our living room. Tonight Joe looked at it and said it makes him wonder, "where's the baby."

Friday, January 18, 2008

Music

I've said from the beginning that I think this baby might be a musician like his or her grandfather and great-grandfather. For whatever reason music has been more pronounced to me while pregnant.

I'm amazed at the way an album or song can remind you exactly of a time and place, or even, collective state of mind. Ani Difranco's Reprieve album reminds me of the campaign so vividly that I have actually refrained from listening to the album much since so that I can preserve that connotation for a time when I am able to write down a few reflections about the experience.

I wonder what songs will bring back what it feels like now to be so close to this baby, yet so curious about and unknowing of who he or she is. It's bound to be Andrew Bird songs and maybe a little Zeppelin.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Regular Jeans

When I went to post this picture on the other blog I said to Joe, "Am I actually wearing my regular jeans?"


Photo by Nikki

Until a few months ago the concept of "regular jeans" was foreign to me. Pants and shirts were pants and shirts. As my wardrobe shrinks and I expand, I'm almost fascinated by what I look like here, just three months ago. It's not something that bothers me, but it is, simply, fascinating.

To put you in the same mindset I'm in, take a look at this diagram of pregnancy at 28 weeks:



As I said to Joe last night, "I'm an ecosystem."

Saturday, January 5, 2008

She wore a ...

.. not so itsy-bitsy bikini (for obvious reasons =).



We found an awesome maternity store out west in Worthington, MN. Though it's late in the game (I'm 27.5 weeks here, or just under 7 months) I've been wanting to swim, so I picked up this swim suit at the store.

More belly below:



Joe and I have been watching my belly button to see what happens. He thinks it will pop out. I'm not so sure. So far, it's kind of just become oblong. Only time will tell ...