Week 25: Eggplant

Dear Bun,

We are now 25 weeks along, you are weighing about 1.5 lbs and are around 13.5 inches.  Apparently that's the size of an eggplant, but it seems like eggplants are smaller than that to me. This week, capillaries are forming under your skin and filling with blood, and air sacs lined with capillaries are developing in your lungs which will help you get ready to take your first breath of air.  Your vocal cords are now functioning and apparently your heartbeat may now be strong enough to hear from the outside without using a doppler.  I'm going to ask your dad to listen to my stomach tonight to see if he can hear it! 

As for me, I have still been feeling great.  I feel you move around all the time but especially after I eat something.  I think I am starting to have experience nesting in a big way.  Last week, I had to go to Raleigh for work and they have a Container Store there.  The Container Store is one of my favorite places since I am a bit neurotic about oraganizing things anyway, but add on pregnancy, and the Container Store was like walking into heaven!  I bought organizers for your closet, the laundry room, and our basement storage area.  This week, I have been organizing and going through things like crazy.  I cleaned out all my drawers and closet space and deep cleaned the house. It seems like I can't open a drawer without tossing half the stuff out and organizing/cleaning the rest.  I love it. 

I wanted to take a "before" picture of your room, so it's below.  It's not techincally before since it was a guest room before, but all we have done is painted and assembled the crib.  Lots more to do, I have so many ideas I can't wait for everything to come together. 

Love,
Mom

Happy Birthday Mom!

Last weekend, I flew out to Colorado to surprise my mom for her 60th birthday.  In addition to my visit, we had also rented The Sheldon House for a high tea with some of her close friends.  The menu was wonderful, and the tea was good too.  It was a huge success, my mom was surprised (wish I had gotten a pic when she first saw me) and the party turned out well too. I knew my mom would not want presents, so I got a journal and asked everyone to come prepared to write words of advice, favorite quotes, fond memories, or funny stories so my mom could have something to remember the party by. Well, the journal went over great, but people still brought gifts!  Sorry mom, I tried, even wrote it out on the invitation, your friends just love you too much! Here are a few pics.  I hope I look as good as my mom when I'm sixty!

And the yummy fruit torte we had for her at the house the next day:

Weeks 23-24

Dear Bun,

I did not update last week because I was traveling, but you are still around the size of a papaya and the length of an ear of corn now.  You weigh about 1 1/2 lbs and are putting on about 6 oz a week for the next few weeks.  You are starting to accumulate baby fat and your taste buds are continuing to develop.  You are very active now!  I still feel the flutters, but now you have started to really kick sometimes.  Last week, your dad was able to feel you kicking from the outside which was really neat!   I had another doctor's appointment last week. You are measuring right on track, and your heartbeat was very strong at around 158 bpm.

I have still been doing really well.  I got a prenatal massage yesterday which was wonderful.  They have a special table with the belly and chest area cut out so I could lay on my stomach.  That alone felt amazing since I haven't been able to lay on my stomach for the past 6 months.  We are making progress on your nursery, the painting has been done and your crib and mattress have been delivered.  We also registered this morning and ordered your stroller and carseat.  I can't believe I am 6 months pregnant, where has the time gone?  I'm sure it will go just as fast once you get here. 

PS Last weekend, we were in Colorado visiting my family.  You got to hear your grandma, grandpa, aunt, great-grandma, and great-grandpa's voices, and over Christmas, you will get to hear some more voices from your dad's side of the family.  Everyone loves to talk to you and feel my belly!


Here I am at 24 weeks:

We have a name!

Dear Bun,


We have decided on a name for you! I love hearing stories of how names are chosen, so I thought you might like to know how we came up with yours. Your name came to us very easy, actually before you were conceived, I mentioned to your dad that I loved your name, and he said he did too. Once we found out about you, we started calling you by that name around the house, and it seemed to fit already. I even have a few nicknames already that I call you by sometimes. So, even though we decided fairly quickly on the name, here is what we wanted/did not want in a name.

1. It could not start with the letter “J”- There are some great J names out there, but since your dad and I both have names that start with J, we did not want to use that letter for our child too. Plus, if you have a sibling, then their name would have to start with J too, so they “fit in” with the family, and I don’t care for alliteration in names, so we did not even want to start down that road.

2. It could not be in the top 10 most popular baby names- Jennifer was the most popular girls name from 1970-1984 (I was born in 1981), so I was always one of many Jen’s around. I remember one time, there were 7 Jennifer’s/Jen’s/Jenny’s in my class of 25. When you subtract out the boys in the class, almost half of the girls were named with some form of Jennifer. I remember hating that growing up, so I did not want to do the same for you. Right now, here are the 10 most popular boy’s names that were immediately eliminated:

1 Jacob

2 Ethan

3 Michael

4 Alexander

5 William

6 Joshua

7 Daniel

8 Jayden

9 Noah

10 Anthony

3. It could not be too trendy- This goes along with being in the top 10, but basically, we didn’t want to give you a name that will tie you to a generation. We wanted a strong, classic name that has stood the test of time. Lots of boy’s names lately are ending in “-den” such as Aaden, Brayden, Jaden, etc., or starting with “Br” like Brady, Brayden, Brody, or ending in “-son” like Greyson, Jackson, etc.


4. It could not be a unisex name, or a name used for girls- Girls names are now crossing over into boy names in a big way it seems. I know kids like to tease about names, so I didn’t want to chance anyone calling you a girl by giving you a name that many girls are now using such as: Parker, Carson, Cameron, Hudson, Mason, Riley etc.

5. It had to be spelled in the most conventional way- This is more of a pet peeve of mine I guess, but it seems like sometimes parents will give their child a common name, but spell it in a unique way. I think that would be frustrating for you because people would always ask how you spell your name, or you would have to correct them. This is more common with girls I think than boys, but still, it was a rule.

6. It could not be a last name used as a first name- This does not bother me, but it does your dad, so names like Carter, Parker, Jackson would never work for John

And the name we decided on is:

HENRY JAMES

And here are some reasons why we love your name:

- We don’t have any negative associations with the name. I don’t personally know anyone with this name, although most famous people with this name are well regarded authors, artists, sports figures, or actors. Some of the famous people with your name include Henry “Hank” Aaron, Henry Ford, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Henry David Thoreau

- One of my favorite literary characters is Henry DeTamble in “The Time Traveler’s Wife” I love the book and his character

- It is my great-grandfather’s name- although I did not realize it at the time, but my great grandfather’s name is Henry Leland. He died when my grandmother was 2, but when my mom told her of your name, she remembered her father

- Your middle name is John’s grandfather’s name and I love that we were able to honor him by using his name. Your dad will tell you all about him since he passed before your dad and I met. Even though there is a great British author with your name, we promise, you were not named after Henry James the author.

- Your name is currently the 71st most popular name in the US for boys- we love that it is not too popular, but not too unusual

- Your name was most popular in the 1880’s and we love that it has such historical roots



We hope you are happy with your name Henry! We can’t wait to meet you in a few months!

Week 22: Papaya

Dear Bun,

You are almost 1 lb!  For the next few weeks, you will be around the size of a papaya or spaghetti squash, and will be working on putting on weight. You are starting to look like a miniature newborn now and are developing tiny tooth buds beneath your gums.  Your eyes have formed, but they don't have any pigment yet and are your eyelids are still fused shut. I still talk to you daily, and last weekend you got to hear your Grandma Retta and Grandpa Paul's voices too.  They can't wait to meet you!

Thursday was Thanksgiving, and I could not help myself from thinking about next Thanksgiving and how you would be with us then. Your dad will probably be sneaking you bites of turkey and autumn pudding, maybe some pumpkin pie too.  We have so much to be thankful for bun, but right now, I am thankful for you.  For your health (so far), for your kicks, for your hiccups that I feel every now and then, and thankful that in a few months, I will be able to hold you in my arms.

Love you,

Mom

P.S.  Here we are, I managed to get Morgan in one picture and I dragged your dad into the other one :)  I hope you like to have your picture taken more than he does.



Week 21: Banana

Dear Bun,

Here we are at 21 weeks, we are now at the point where we are counting DOWN until the due date!  As for your weekly development, you are now swallowing amniotic fluid and can taste a difference in what I eat.  Bun, this is perfect timing because this week is Thanksgiving, so at least you can enjoy it a little too :)  I have heard that what I eat forms your preference for certain foods when you are older, so moms that ate lots of spicy foods, have kids that like spicy foods, etc.  It will be interesting to see if that holds true for you too.  You are still moving alot and quite active.  Your arms and legs are finally in proportion so your movements are becoming more coordinated.  I still feel you move throughout the day, but John has not been able to feel from the outside yet.

Last week, we cleared out the room we had planned for the nursery, but once I got everything out of the room, we realized that the furniture we have picked out will not fit, so I had to switch everything over again on Monday night.  This way, you will have a bigger room, so there will be more room to play on the floor when you are older, and the furniture will fit better.  Speaking of furniture, we made our first big nursery purchase today, we got a rocker/glider for the nursery.  I am excited to rock you and start reading to you.  Your grandmother (my mom) was a reading teacher, so I think I inherited a love of children's books from her.  I am excited to start building your book collection.  When I was little, I had so many books, but I made my mom read the same one to me every night: Goodnight Moon.  I will get a copy for you so we can see if you like it as much as I did!

I had to take my weekly bump pic in a different spot this time because it was dark and the lighting in the front room is bad.  Right behind me are 2 bedrooms, yours will be on the right, and the guest room will be on the left.  Your room is still empty now, but I will share pictures when everything comes together.

Love,

Mom

Week 20: Cantaloupe

Dear Bun,

We are halfway there!  This week, you are about as big as a cantaloupe!  Your major develpments are that your genitals are fully formed and you have started producing poop.  That's right, this week, I learned that you are producing "meconium" which is a by-product of digestion, and will be the first thing we find in your soiled diaper.  Can't wait for that one.

You have been moving around so much lately! I was resting with my hand on my stomach the other night, and I even felt you move from the outside! I have still been feeling great. So far, pregnancy seems to be agreeing with me.  I have been reading "what to expect when you're expecting" and every week, I read about something that pregnant women may be experiencing at that time, but I have yet to experience any of the horrors that you read about (stretch marks, skin tags, morning sickness etc) I'm not done yet of course, but am happy with the way things are progressing.  I have gained 13 lbs so far, and am wearing maternity clothes all the time.  I even had to go buy nursing bras this weekend because my stomach has not been the only thing growing!

I have been working more on your nursery and started picking out paint colors.  I think the walls will be blue.  I have selected some of the furniture, and your dad is helping me tape everything off so we know how it will fit in the room.  I'm a big planner like that.   

As far as eating, I have started eating red meat again.  I made beef stew today and it tasted so good, it has been about 2-3 months since I have been able to think about red meat.  The biggest thing I miss (shockingly, it's not beer or wine) is deli turkey.  I think the first place I am going to go after you are born is Jersey Mike's to get a turkey sub!  I eat peanut butter or peanuts alot, and I was nervous after reading the study that came out last week about the link between peanut allergies and mom's that ate peanuts while pregnant.  I asked my doctor though, and she thought it was inconclusive, so she told me to keep on with the peanut butter, YES!

I still crave fruit, hot chocolate/chocolate milk, and cheese alot.  I have lots of aversions too, but they seem to change depending on the day, nothing really consistant.  I still have to carry snacks (usually nuts or crackers) with me all the time, because I will go from not being hungry at all, to needing something to eat right then.  Usually, as long as I have something in my stomach, we are both happy :)

Week 19: Mango

Dear Bun,

We are almost halfway there!  This is week 19 and time has been going by so quickly lately. I could not find much exciting about week 19 except that your sensory development is being perfected now, and you are developing a waxy coating on your skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.  I guess that makes sense, I can't imagine what my skin would look like after sitting in a bath for 9 months! I have been talking to you alot since I read that you can now hear and recongnize our voices.  Sometimes, I accidentally slip and call you Morgan, sorry about that.  We have a name for you that we are 95% percent sure on, but we are not sharing it yet just in case we change our minds since we still have some time. 

Here I am at 19 weeks.  I took this picture on Saturday because I was cleaning out your future room and thought my bump looked especially big in my yoga pants.  I was really productive and got everything out of your room and closets, so now I can start shopping for furniture.  I ordered your bedding last week, and it came in and we both love it.  I can't wait to see how it all comes together.  I am feeling good, but my back has been hurting alot recently.  John tells me it's because I need to sit down and relax, which is very hard for me.  I am also trying to switch from sleeping on my back to sleeping on my left side since that is what is recommended.  It's hard though, I haven't slept much the past few nights because I am trying to get used to it!  Also, I guess I am starting to look like a real pregnant woman now... the past 2 days, I have had complete strangers ask me if I was expecting which I think is a scary thing to ask someone if you are not sure! 

Love you bun!

Mom

Morgan's Second Birthday

Yesterday, my first baby turned 2! We did not have a paw-ty for her like we did last year, but we still celebrated her birthday all week long. Everyday last week, she got a special treat and yesterday, the grand finale was a trip to the dog bakery where I ordered her cake from last year.

So many choices!

 Morgan is checking out the treats..

Yum, she thought the Salmon bite was good!

 This is what we ended up with: a halloween petit fours, a peanut butter/cream cheese cupcake, and a carob covered dog bone.

Random week 18 bump

Happy birthday Sweet Mo!  I had a talk with her last week before we found out we were having a boy, because I always call her "my best girl" and I said she might have to share the title if she was having a little sister, but I guess not!  To my best girl, I love you and happy 2nd birthday!

Week 18: Sweet Potato

Dear Bun,

We had our big ultrasound last week, and found out that you are a BOY!  Apparently, you are very proud of that because you flashed us your boy parts first thing and kept your legs open for most of the ultrasound.  You are now 8 oz and measuring right on track to the day of where you should be!  You were moving around like crazy, the ultrasound tech had a hard time getting pictures of you!  One time, I put my hand behind my head to get a better look at the screen, and we saw you do the exact same thing, it was so neat!  Then we saw you clapping, and you got the hiccups too.  I have been feeling you more and more, especially at night.

Here you are at 18 wks:

And here I am:

This is the last ultrasound we will probably have of you.  They will only do one again if for some reason you are not growing or are growing too fast.  Some people choose to have 3D/4D ultrasounds done, but we decided not to.

I have started thinking about your nursery this week and have some ideas for what I would like to do.  Sorry mister, it will not be sports related.  You will probably have some sports theme in your room for the rest of your childhood once you are old enough to care, so I decided not to start that now!  I also selected and booked your photographer for your 1st year photoshoots.  I am really excited about her!

One of my biggest surprises so far (besides not getting morning sickness) has been my lack of emotional swings.  I always heard that pregnancy will make you cry one minute and be a raging witch the next, but so far, I have just felt this overwhelming excitement, joy, and desire to be more introspective with my thoughts and feelings.  It seems like I am always in a good mood and feeling great which I am so thankful for.  I warned John about the pregnancy hormones I keep reading/hearing about but so far, I think I have done pretty good :)  I know, I still have some time, but wanted to record my feelings as of now. 

My biggest complaint (so far) has been the amount of unsolicited advice that we both recieve regularly.  I want to belive that people have the best intentions in sharing thier experiences and opinions, but there are so many personal choices to make and everyone's situation is different.  I have actually enjoyed navigating the land of baby things and, while it is overwhelming at times, there are so many wonderful resources available that it has been pretty easy for me to determine what is right for us and what is not.  I am thankful to be going through pregnancy in the age of the internet, so reviews and comparisons are so easy to see.  I am also lucky to have a network of trusted mommy friends here that I can reach out to whenever I am trying to decide between a video monitor or a motion montior for example.  In the end, we all want to make the best choices for our children and I am confident on our ability to research and plan every choice so we can do just that.

Love you bun!

Mom

PS I think your dad will be writing some to you too now!

Fall colors and apple orchard

Today, we headed up to the NC mountains to pick some apples and take in a hike.  We went to Chimney Rock, which is where they filmed Last of the Mohicans and it was really beautiful.  I thought we were a little late to see the foliage, but lots of the trees were still green!  Occasionally, we would see a really vibrant orange or red one, but most had not changed yet.  We took Morgan along, and the first part of the hike was all stairs, she got so scared that John had to carry her for part of the way.  The second trail we took was a little flatter so she was much better then.

 Some of the stairs we had to go up..

 Morgan got a little scared...

 We had a gorgous day- it was 77 degrees!

 17 weeks

After a hike, and some BBQ in the cute town of Chimney Rock, we headed to a nearby apple orchard.  There was only 1 variety available for u-pick, but we ended up with a bushel of fuji, granny smith, cameo, and mutsu varieties that were already picked.  Also had to sample the apple cider doughnuts, apple pie, and bought some applewood chips for Thanksgiving turkey smoking! 

We took Morgan through the orchard and thought she might be interested in the apples, as you can see, she was not really interested...

Until John took a bite of the apple (she always wants what we are eating)...

 We have so many apples now that John is taking 3 to work a day!  I think I will stick with 1, I don't need any more digestive issues than I have!

Week 17: Onion

Dear Bun,

17 weeks and you are about the size of an onion.  Your skeleton is busy changing from cartilage to bone and you are growing some fat too- finally it's not just me :)  Your umbilical cord is also getting thicker and you are starting to develop sweat glands and the beginnings of fingerprints.  Last week, we went to Philadelphia and today we took a trip to the NC mountains to see the fall colors and visit an apple orchard.  More on that later, but the whole time, I was thinking about how you were going to be along with us next year!  This is the week we have been looking forward too since we first found out about you- we get to find out if you are a little boy or girl!  We also get to take another peek at you during the ultrasound.  I can't wait for Wednesday!

I have been feeling great- I have energy and have been sleeping so well at night except for a few trips to the bathroom.  One weird thing that I have never read about, but am experiencing, is that certain foods taste so much better to me than I remember before pregnancy.  It is usually something very basic too, like last week I had a piece of pizza and it was amazing, I also went through this with cottage cheese and pineapple, and a granny smith apple and cheese.  Nothing crazy, but when I took I bite, it was like the best thing I had ever eaten. 

I also think I have felt you move a few times!  It usually happens at night when I am finally laying down.  I am looking forward to that first kick so maybe John can feel it too, but for now, I love the little flutters I get before I fall asleep (which does not take me long these days).

Here I am at 17 weeks:

Love,

Mom

Week 16: Avocado

Dear Bun,

Here we are at 16 weeks and you are about the size of a avocado, which makes me want some guacamole!  The biggest development for you this week is that you can now start to pick up on our voices.  I hope you appreciated the Whitney Houston that I was singing along to in the car yesterday. Also, your eyebrows and lashes are starting to fill in and you are starting to grow toenails.  Can't wait to paint those little piggies if you are a girl.

I had another doctor appointment last week, your heartbeat was at 158. While I was there, they made me get a flu shot.  I really did not want one, since I have never had the flu and that vaccine is so new, but I got it.  And now, I feel like I have a mini case of the flu, so I look a little sick in the picture below.  I hope it goes away soon and I hope I made the right decision.  I know we will be faced with lots of hard decisions regarding you and your health and I just want to do the right thing. 

Tomorrow we are off to Pennsylvania for 1 night and then we will stop traveling so much.  So far, you have been to or through Denver, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, Atlanta, Grand Rapids and Tampa.  Not too bad for 16 weeks!  There are so many wonderful places that I can't wait to show you when you are old enough.  I love to travel and I think it's important to expose you to as many places and people as possible. so we will go, see, do, baby!

Here I am, so far I have gained 7-8 lbs which may be a little high, but I'm not too worried. 

Love,
Mom

Pumpkins

Dear Bun,

Every fall, we will go to a pumpkin patch, go on a hayride, get some cider and pick out pumpkins!  It's my favorite time of year and I hope you love it too.  Usually we get two, one for your dad and one for me, but this year I got one for you too.  I searched hard for a pumpkin that was about the size of you, or the size you will be on Halloween.   Most of them were squished looking, but I finally found the one. 

 I think you fit in perfectly!

Can't wait to have you along for the pumpkin patch trip next year!

Week 15: Orange

Dear Bun,

We are at 15 weeks now and you are the size of an orange.  You are continuing to even out in proportions, your legs are now longer than your arms and you are about 4 inches long.  Your eyelids are still fused shut, but they say that you can sense light now so you would know if I was shining a flashlight at you.  You are forming taste buds, but you can't taste anything yet, which is a shame because I have been on a fall baking kick, and just baking my 3rd loaf of pumpkin chocolate chip bread.

I am doing great, starting to wear some maternity clothes now (like the top below) and am much more comfortable in them than my regualar clothes.  I still have alot of shopping to do, but I have some things to get by with now.  On Friday, we visited our first daycare.  We are on a waiting list and I really hope you get in.  It is part of a church in our neighborhood so you would be there with some neighborhood kids.  It is one of the few 5 star facilities in North Carolina though, so it is highly competitive to get in.  We will work on a back up plan just in case. 



Love,

Mom