Belly - 23.5 weeks

When we first started this site I imagined that we would have a lot more to say and more time to post. We are simultaneously bored and over stimulated resulting in a bit of writers block.

First off, for those of you who know and/or remember Brian (a childhood friend of mine and still one of my closest buds) he and his wife Becky welcomed their first child, Owen, to the world a few weeks ago. Brian and Bec are the second of our crew to have a child. We can't wait to meet little O-man in person.


Meanwhile, back at the ranch I am still incubating baby here. I am feeling a bit better and a lot less scared. I am still feeling woozy and fainty, typically in the mornings, but I am not longer scared of it any longer. I believe that it's a natural part of this pregnancy and not really a sign of anything wrong. I actually think that it might have something to do with my metabolism as it really only happens in the mornings - usually around the same time. I have a follow-up appointment with my Doctor on Thursday and will be sure to let you know if anything is amiss.

Here is the latest and greatest belly pic:



Baby at 23.5 weeks, she's about 11 inches now and kicks like a maniac. Rob has been able to feel it a bunch. She is most active at night, right when I am ready to go to sleep! A sign of greater things to come, I am sure of it.

My goal is to post every night for a week. There is quite a bit to update you on - baby's first gambling experience, baby's first baby shower, baby's first hand-knit sweater. Can you even stand the excitement?!

Arm Bands

I had to stay home from work today, this picture was taken this afternoon. The sweater is one that I am knitting for the baby due in approximately 18 weeks. The wrist bands are from the two trips to the hospital that I have taken since becoming pregnant. Two of three times that I have EVER been in a hospital since birth.

The first visit, the yellow wrist band, was a Sunday emergency room trip for severe cramping at 8 weeks. The worry was ectopic pregnancy, an ultrasound confirmed it was not and we were happily sent on our way having actually seen the blob growing.

Yesterday’s trip, the white arm band, was much scarier. I fainted at work. Thankfully I was standing next to someone and therefore, did not fall. I have never fainted. It was scary in and of itself but when you add the fact that you’re carrying a human inside of you that could be hurting. Well, there are no words. I hadn’t felt the baby move in about 23 hours. My blood pressure remained low and the RNs at work (I work in a hospital) decided that I should be send to the OB Triage and/or Emergency Room of the hospital next door (my work hospital is a specialized outpatient hospital) via ambulance.

I laughed.

An ambulance to go across the street. Dude, I could walk there faster. I could take a wheel chair over there faster. My coworkers and OBs office supported the RN’s recommendation. If I fainted again I would be with people who could take care of me and, more importantly, the baby. So, I was loaded up onto a stretcher, pushed past people in our lobby who are sicker than I would wish on my worst enemy and loaded into the ambulance.

Baby’s first ambulance ride, Wendy’s first ambulance ride. What a bonding experience.

We drove, oh 3 feet, into the ambulance bay of the adjacent hospital and I was wheeled up to the OB Triage…a place where babies go to be born. A premier women’s hosptial. My nurse, although at first gruff, was great. Rob arrived in a panic shortly after. I was stuck with an IV, given fluids and put on a fetal monitor. The heartbeat was there. Phew. It was dipping a bit but an ultrasound confirmed that she was okay.

Rob and I spent about four hours there yesterday. Mostly waiting, me resting, we were forgotten a few times (not unusual in a hospital of this size), and ultimately assured that everything looked okay. We heard babies cry, ate really good cookies, and dozed.

The ultrasound tech gave us some more pictures of the babe, seen in the picture above. She is the most photographed baby ever. Her features are more pronounced and we have determined that she has Rob’s lips and chin.

My OB was on call at the hospital so I got to see her. Judging from my bodies reaction to the fluids and the results of a blood test I was dehydrated and a bit anemic. That could have caused the episode. I have been instructed to attach a water bottle to my body, take iron supplements (in addition to the prenatal vitamin I am already taking), and eat regularly. I was told to stay home today and go in for a check up tomorrow. We already had our monthly visit scheduled for that exact time.

I haven’t done much today which is unusual for me. I spent the day seaming the sweater above and wishing I could know that my body won’t fail again. I had no warning. It just happened. The people around me, my coworkers, thought I tripped. I thought I was going to puke. Thank goodness it was just a normal everyday faint, I didn’t even totally black out. However, I was out of control and that is a sucky feeling. Truly. I suppose it’s the beginning of a long line of lessons that teach me to let go…

I WAS THE SADDEST DOG YOU COULD EVER SEE…

Well it’s been a pretty crazy week here at soon-to-be-parentville. Where to start?

For about a week, the Bookish Girl has been saying, “Honey, come feel… she’s moving.” I’d jump up from whatever football game I was watching/beer I was drinking… scattering dogs and cats in my wake to get to the belly before the event concluded… but every time… nothing. “Man, you just missed it,” the Bookish Girl would say.

But finally (twice actually), I felt a little “thud.” It’s hard to describe and not quite how I imagined it would be. I guess I envisioned a tiny female Jackie Chan in there doing some Ju Jitsu… her tiny foot stretching the Bookish Girl’s belly until I could see the little footprint (just like on the banner). WHACK! HI-YAH! But it was more like, “Excuse me… I’m rolling over… here’s my elbow real quick if you want to feel it. Missed it? Too bad.”

So yeah, finally it happened. I think I was reading both times. Wendy’s been encouraging me to read to her and said I could read whatever I wanted. Ironically, Elisa and Mike recently gifted us with The Digging-est Dog (just like Elisa to give US a gift on HER birthday). As it turns out, The Digging-est Dog was one of my favorite books as a child and I can still remember my mom reading it to me. It’s a sad story with a happy ending. And so it was… the Digging-est Dog… baby’s first book... baby's first "kick" (for me).

So, I made quick work of the Digging-est Dog (speaking into the Bookish Girl's belly as she rested on her left side) and then moved right on to my favorite book of all-time: On The Road. Maybe I’ll feel completely different once she’s out here in the real world… but at this point, I have no problem reading to my unborn baby girl about sex, drugs and rock and roll (or Bop, as they called it back then).

So anyway, last night, as I’m reading the part where Montana Slim has to take a piss over the side of the big flat truck the blond Minnesotans are driving on their way out west… our baby girl decides to start jumping around like crazy. Is she laughing? Is she protesting? Every time I would stop reading to feel her move… she would stop moving. Pretty funny. Wendy said, “I think she likes your voice.” I’d start reading… she’d start moving. I’d stop… she’d stop. Mmm, mmm, mmm... but I finally felt another good thump. Sweet little "thump."

Right now I’ve got the headphones out and a stack of CD’s ready for her to listen to in utero. Most of our CD’s (six or seven boxes) are still packed away in the basement. But I think we have just enough to get through. I’ll keep you posted. Also, stay tuned for baby’s first concert experience (in utero). There are a TON of good local shows coming up in the next month or two… Ralph Stanley, Jay Farrar, Bob Pollard, Centro-matic… and CHEAP TRICK!!!

How lucky can one man get?