Belly Photo: Week 29

Babies are the size of small cabbage (17 in", 2.9lbs)

Belly Photo: Week 28

Babies are the size of cauliflower (2.5 lbs, 16")

Things I Miss

1. Sashimi
2. Being able to stay up past 9pm
3. Going to concerts on weekdays (see point 3)
4. Getting off the couch on my own
5. My old workout routine 
6. Running.  (Sean - there I said it.  I miss being able to go outside and run)
7. Stringing a complete, and coherent, sentence together.  Baby brain has made this impossible. 

Belly Photo: Week 26

I'm catching up on belly photos.  This one's only 2 weeks late. 

Babies are the still the size of eggplants (9.2", 2 lbs)

Nursery Sneak Peek

The inspiration print for the nursery. 

Based on the print, we picked out several shades of light purple and yellow for the wall color.  Not sure what color we'll pick, yet.

Walking Cliche

Up until this point, the pregnancy has been great.  I've felt awesome during the majority of the pregnancy (with the exception being the migraines I was getting during the first trimester).  Not only did I feel good, but I felt comfortable.  I enjoyed being pregnant.  Don't get me wrong, I still like being pregnant, but man, this week I've felt like a walking cliche of a pregnant lady.

Preggo Brain: my brain officially stopped working Monday morning. I can barely string together a coherent sentence.  And tasks at work take at least 4 times as long to complete as they should.  I've completely given up even trying to hold a conversation with people because I lose my train of thought so easily now.

Bottomless Pit:  My stomach is never full.  My satiety hormone has stopped working - that's the only explanation I can think of.  I can't say no to food.

No Room:  At 27 weeks, I still have at least 10 weeks to go before the kiddos are done cooking.  But good lord, I have NO IDEA how they can get any bigger because it already feels like they're running out of room in here.  Things are fine in the morning and throughout the day.  But around 7:00-ish, that's when things start to get really uncomfortable.  My stomach feels like an overfull water balloon, if I'm laying down and move positions it feels like bowling balls are knocking around in my uterus, and I can't get off the couch by myself anymore - Sean has to pull me up because my ab muscles are so stretched out that I can't contract them anymore to pull myself up when I'm lying down.  (Poor ab muscles - I'm so sorry for what I'm doing to you.  You're going to be wrecked after this pregnancy. I promise to fix you.)

So there you have it - I've now become a walking pregnancy cliche.  The only thing that hasn't happened are over-emotional outbursts. Like morning sickness (which I also managed to skip) I have a feeling you won't catch me crying in the middle of a grocery store.      

Belly Photo: Week 25

Babies are the size of eggplants (1.7 lbs, 9")

Yes, that is coffee.  It's my one vice in the pregnancy.  I tried giving it up for a week and my head almost exploded.  I cannot live without coffee.  The good news is that I'm allowed 8-12 oz of coffee a day and it doesn't harm the babies.

Belly Photo: week 24

 

Babies are the size of an ear of corn (8.5", 1.5 lbs)

Belly Photo: week 23

Woah - this is SUPER late.  Between the extreme exhaustion and preggo brain - I'm just now finding the energy and focus to put these photos together. 

Babies are the size of papaya (8" long, 1.2 lbs)

Music 101

As a self-professed audiophile / music snob, Sean has been obsessing over how to introduce music to the girls.  According to the gazillion pregnancy e-newsletters I’m receiving – they all said that the girls would start hearing sounds (or at least become aware of sounds) that week.  So, Sean decided to play DJ for the girls. 

The first step was to determine how to play the music for them.  We hooked Sean’s iPhone up to our portable iPod speaker and placed the speaker on my belly.  The next step proved to be the most difficult.  Not surprising to anyone who knows him and how he feels about music – he obsessed over which song to play first.  He decided that because we’re having two girls – and our goal is to raise strong-willed broads – that he would start with some music by a strong-willed broad. 

He started with “Respect” (Aretha’s version, not Otis’).  Followed that up with “Femme Fatale” by the Velvet Underground & Nico.  After that, we played songs from Neko Case, Wilco, Sonic Youth and Solomon Burke.  He played more songs than I’ve listed – and I’m sure he’ll fill in the missing artists in the comments.

I was surprised that the babies actually responded to the noise.  At a few points, I caught sight of the speaker and it was vibrating violently on my belly.  It was pretty rad.  They didn’t react to all the songs that way – but to a few. 

I’m not sure if they actually heard the noise through all the noise they currently hear in their amniotic sacs – but it was a fun night for us and we’re looking forward to introducing more music to the girls.  Next on my list – Jimmy Buffet, of course. 

Belly Photo: week 22

Babies are the size of spaghetti squash (8" long, 1 lb)

Belly Photo: Week 21

This photo's almost 2 weeks late - but better late than never. 

Babies are the size of bananas (7" long, 11 oz)

A Week of Firsts

Well, the new year has started off with a bang, or more precisely, a kick.  The lava bubbles have officially turned into kicks and punches.  I felt the first kicks/punches on New Year's Day and man, they caught me by surprise.  I knew instantly what they were.  And it was one of the most awesome feelings I'd ever felt.  Once the kicks/punches started, I didn't want them to stop - but they eventually died down.


And today I actually saw one of the girls (both of the girls?) kick/punch me.  I was lying on the couch and felt some kicks/punches so I looked down at my stomach.  And the next time I felt a kick, I saw the movement on my belly.  It happened a few times and I have to say it was strange.  And awesome.  I have these little active kickers in me and it's definitely making the pregnancy seem even realer.  I think I saw the kicks because my bladder was super full, crowding the babies and pushing them tighter against my ab muscles.  But I'm totally making that up because I'm not a doctor and have no idea why I was able to see the kick.  (Who knows, maybe it was just really big gas bubbles popping.) 

Now that I know that I can feel the girls kick, I keep hoping they'll kick again so I can feel them again. 

Belly Photo: Week 19

Babies are the size of mangoes (6" long, 0.5 lbs)

Oh Sweet Jesus!

Best parts of being pregnant, so far:

1. no more sucking in my stomach when I'm standing around people.  
2. maternity pants!!  holy crap - I think I'll wear these for the rest of my life.

And combine those two - sweet Jesus!  Best part of being pregnant so far!

Belly Photo: Week 18

Babies are the size of sweet potatoes (5.5" long, 5 oz)

Lava Lamp

Well, it's official, I've felt the babies move.  It finally dawned on me a few days ago that the rumblings I'd been attributing to gas were actually baby movements.

I kind of feel like a lava lamp - the amniotic fluid is the liquid in the lava lamp and the babies are the lava bubbles.

Following G-ma's tradition, I put up the Christmas tree the Friday after Thanksgiving.  And to get into the holiday spirit, I popped in "Die Hard 2."  

Belly Photo: Week 17

I'm holding a turnip because the pregnancy books and websites use fruits and vegetables to explain the baby's size each week.  This week they're the size of turnips - approximately 5" long and weigh 5 oz.  

Personally, I think the books use the world's smallest vegetables and fruits because the turnip I'm holding in my hand is 10 oz.  So technically, the cubs weigh the same as 1 turnip. 

Hormones

I’d heard the stories – friends bawling at a Kleenex commercial or breaking down looking at baby clothes.  Hormones, they said.  Don’t worry, they laughed, it’ll happen to you too.  So, I was prepared for water works.  I wasn’t prepared for what’s actually happening. 

Annoyance.  Anger.  Irritation.

I’ve always had a pretty low tolerance for bs.  I’ve never suffered fools.  And I can’t stand incompetence.

Now, normally this hasn't been a problem, because I’ve tried to do a good job of being as neutral as possible (friendly, even) when I’ve come across people who irritate and annoy me.  Well, not anymore.  I’m not saying I’m mean or rude, I’ve just noticed that the mask I’ve been able to put up to block my disdain, annoyance and exasperation is on its way to completely disappearing. 

In short – I’m starting to act more and more like my brother. 

Huh.