6-Month Bump!

Bunnies bunnies everywhere!

I honestly meant to post this picture of the chosen baby bedding - I swear! If it weren't for a harrassing email I just received (thanks Heather!), you may have had to wait until the nursery was complete!

Green, Brown, Tan, White...it's all here...and with a sweet bunny rabbit theme to go along with the colors!

6 Months!

OMG - hit the 24 week/6-month mark today! WOW!!

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Baby Gifts

We had dinner with some friends the other night, and they were so kind to bring Smyrna Baby a gift bag full of goodies! With the exception of the bunny rabbit that one of our family members bought the baby, this is our only other "gift" that we have been able to open for the baby.

Our friends bought him/her the most adorable bathrobe and sleeper with little footies! To have something hanging up in Smyrna Baby's closet melts my heart. Before we know it, the entire closet is going to be jammed packed with goodies...I cannot wait!

Hospital Tour

We toured Northside Hospital Women's Center this evening. I can honestly say that we were both thoroughly impressed by the facility, the organization, the tour guide and the labor/delivery room. I felt as though we were walking through a hotel the entire time - you'd never know it was a hospital!

This is definitely THE place to have a baby. Neither of us could get over the size of the labor/delivery room. Shoot, they even have hardwood floors and flat screen TV's!

"Ranking first in the nation among community hospitals in the number of babies delivered, with more than 18,000 deliveries in 2004 and receiving the Consumers Choice Award in 2005 for Women's/GYN and Maternity/OB Services." - Northside Hospital Website.

Looking towards the Labor/Delivery Admissions desk:


This is where it is all going to take place:


Smyrna Baby will have his/her fingers and toes counted and warmed up here:


The Northside Hospital Women's Center Atrium:


Smyrna Mama outside of Northside Hospital:

Feeling BIG

I know, I know - "just wait" - this is what I have heard countless times when I mention that I am feeling a little "big". But, when you go from having a flat stomach to having a soccer ball belly, you start to feel big - it's only natural - especially when you just happen to look in the mirror and catch a glimpse of your back side. YIKES!

I know it was the fact that I tried to torture myself by putting on pre-pregnancy shorts, but OMG. My butt isn't getting wider (thank you, thank you, thank you), but it's getting bigger. I think I've gone from a small bubble butt to a medium bubble butt - OVERNIGHT! It's bound to happen, and I'm honestly fine with it (it has to happen), but I can't say it makes you feel that great either.

Don't take any of this the wrong way - I am not having self-image issues or even trying to complain. Consider it more of an...observation if you will. Thankfully, I still feel great and I've got a husband that still continues to compliment how I look (thank you, thank you, thank you!)!

Here's a picture from Smryna Baby's trip this past weekend:

Smyrna Baby Loves to Travel!

Pittsburgh, Portland and now Blowing Rock! This baby is getting to see some great sites and some great people! This weekend, Smyrna Baby took a whirlwind journey up North to Blowing Rock, NC to visit with his/her future grandmother and great aunts and great uncle.

While it was a great time, 5 hours in the car (one way) takes a toll on Smyrna Mama. Overall I felt good, despite being exhausted by the time we got back home Sunday afternoon and having my left leg twitch uncontrollably for about an hour while visiting with everyone! The oh-so-fun Charlie Horse made an appearance a few hours later (in the middle of the night), which I should have expected after the twitching episode. But, honestly, it was all well worth the adventure!

Smyrna Mama will rest for the next couple weeks until we head up to another part of North Carolina for one of our last solo getaways before Smyrna Baby makes his/her appearance!

Listening to the Heartbeat

22 Week Check-Up

I had my 22-week check-up yesterday, which lasted oh...all of about 10 minutes! It would've been less if I hadn't walked into the bathroom to leave a urine sample, only to find myself yelling "Nooooooooooo!!!!!" at the toilet as I realized I flushed without ever leaving one! Thankfully, it only takes approximately 3 minutes to refill my bladder these days, so it wasn't much of an issue. My first true stupid pregnancy moment!

Needless to say, the visit was great. The nurse practitioner I met with measured my belly (with a measuring tape) and said I was right on track and listened to the heartbeat. I took the liberty of recording this part of the appointment - a video that will prove to be possibly boring to several of you, as she had a hard time finding the heartbeat, but one that I will cherish nonetheless. Eventually the thump-thump-thump was found, but it made for a rather lengthy video!

My weight gain is right on track - I did gain 5 lbs this past month which wasn't too much of a shock given my frequent visits to bakeries while in PDX...and the fact that I am growing a human inside me. All-in-all, I have gained a whopping 10 lbs, which from what I read is right on track. And, thankfully, it seems to be all in my belly!

I'll entertain (or bore) you with a video in the next couple days. Uploading a 200+MB video to YouTube takes a bit longer than you may expect!

Happy weekend!

Hello Baby Bump!

Fulfilling Cravings

Maybe I haven't been experiencing cravings like most pregnant women while I am awake, I have been certainly dreaming about food! I woke up in the middle of the night Monday absolutely dying for a root beer. I don't even like root beer! If I remember correctly, I was raiding someone's refrigerator, taking every item out and placing it onto the counter, determined to find this one can of root beer. No luck.

I went to the grocery today in search of a small pack of Muggs Rootbeer, but it is only sold in 12-packs. Total waste of money for me.

Maybe I'll go make a trip to the gas station....

Spaghetti Squash and 1 LB

Our Smyrna Baby is rapidly growing! It's hard to believe, but I hit 22 weeks today. In fact, today was the first day that I forgot it was my "rollover" day. Not sure how that happened, except that I have had 8,000,000 things on my mind.

I couldn't believe it when I read the below description of what he/she is up to. A mini newborn? WOW!!

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

Be on the lookout for new pictures in the next day or so!

It's 4 am..

I've heard from several of my friends that there will come a time in the pregnancy where you wake up in the middle of the night, and are wide awake. Well, this makes 2nights this week, but unfortunately the kicker is that it's a result of an acid reflux attack! If I lie down, everything comes back....well....read about acid reflux if you don't know what it is. I'll spare you the details at 4:00 in the morning!

The silver lining of being awake at this hour is really two-fold. #1 - I can lay in bed and periodically feel the baby moving around. #2 - I can update my blog, as I forgot to yesterday!

We have had a new development this week! Smyrna Baby has learned to swallow amnioitic fluid this week. Just call Smyrna Baby advanced - this normally doesn't happen until 23 weeks, but can happen as early as 21 weeks. Our baby is obviously skilled, given that he/she started to swallow at 21 weeks and 1 day. And, how do I know this you ask? Well, hiccups! Baby has gotten the hiccups 3 times now. Twice on my right side and an hour ago on my left side (guess he/she has finally swapped sides)!

For those of you who have been pregnant and experienced this, I am sure you will all agree it is the coolest (and strangest) feeling! If I hadn't had so many friends tell me about it before, I never would've guessed that the consistent feeling (for approximately 1 minute) were hiccups, but now it's so obvious.

From what I have read, this is all a sign of a very healthy baby...

I'm off too bed again and hoping that a couple pillows under my back will help me fall back asleep for a few hours! Oh, and I was just kidding about the "advanced baby" part. :)

The Little Carrot

I am a day behind in updating, as I just returned from my little getaway late last night. Smyrna Baby is starting to get more active, which I am thoroughly enjoying!

How your baby's growing:
Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.

The Innocence of a Child

I've had such joy the past 4 days playing with my almost-four-year-old brother. We've gone to the playground (2 actually), blown up countless balloons, played with fireworks (poppers/snappers), taken walks through a couple vegetable gardens and read a ton of books together. This morning, as I was helping him get ready for pre-school, I found myself thinking about how much I am going to enjoy being a mom.

The innocence of a child, to me, is an amazing thing. You buy him a pack of latex balloons and he can remain fascinated for hours on end. A child will ask countless questions, and half of them I find myself laughing at. "Why did you use up ALL of the toilet paper?"

I look forward to the day when our son or daughter has a similar curiosity about life and a deep sense of wonder about the world, like my 4-year-old brother does. It can't help but bring a smile to your face.

Smyrna Baby Goes on Vacation!

Smyrna Baby took his/her first long airplane ride this past Friday to Portland, OR to visit his/her grandparents and uncle. Thankfully, Smyrna Baby was fully cooperative on the plane and did not give me any fits, make me too uncomfortable, etc. The night we arrived to PDX, I was sitting at dinner with family and felt the little one give me a good kick! I've felt a few more movements since then, but nothing like that night at dinner.

Smyrna Baby has had a very relaxing time so far - letting me sleep quite a bit, visit with family, play with his/her uncle, visit his/her second cousin, play with fireworks and go to a couple parks!

Here is where Smyrna Baby went today:

We're Halfway There!

How Smyrna Baby is growing:
Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)

He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

How Smyrna Mama is growing: