21 Weeks: Carrot

Well, the length of a carrot anyway. The dude's about 10 1/2 inches long and about 3/4 of a pound (12 oz). We have taken to calling him Rad. Don't worry, that won't actually be his name, but since we (KP) can still not settle on a name, Rad or Munchkin or the Dude or the Kid work just fine.

Not much has changed since last week. I can feel him kicking from the outside, but KP isn't patient enough to wait around for a kick. Once he starts moving more, KP will get to feel Rad more. I feel HUGE, which is not good. I know that I am going to get even bigger. As a severe type-A personality, this is hard to swallow. I have never had a great grip on my weight, but now it's totally out of my control. I know Rad needs it, but it sort of creeps me out. I am pretty much hot all of the time and cannot wait until the cooler weather is here to stay.

I registered at Babies R Us and BuyBuy Baby (a Bed Bath & Beyond baby store). That was actually pretty fun. I still have a few things left to add to the list. I LOVE the giraffe pac n' play and car seat that BuyBuy baby has, in case you are wondering what my favorite gear is.

We have not started on Rad's room. We do have his crib, dresser/changing table, and some odds and ends, but I am waiting on swatches of the custom bedding we ordered before we paint. Hopefully that will come soon. I fear that I am going to be too huge to move around after too long.

Rad also received his first big gift this past week. Midge, Sue Sue, and their dudes got this for him. I am so excited!




And here's gigantic me.

IOWA 2009

We hopped on a series of planes last week and headed for the metropolis of Boone, Iowa. Honestly, if you are a Boucher (KP's mom's family), it is quite a hub. We thought it would be time for a little relaxation, but it was more like, go, go, go fun!

KP is one of 11 (I think) grandchildren that range from 39 to almost 3. Then there are the great-grandchildren. I think there are 5, with ours making the 6th. Nine of 11 grandchildren and two 1/2 of five great-grandchildren were present.

Between food, bottles of wine, and laughter, I can tell you it was a great time. It was awesome to get to know the little cousins, who were either not born or newborns the last time we visited. Hanging out with the Aunts and Uncles and adult cousins also provided lots of fodder for years to come. (No, but HOW did we get Indian blood in us? Talking in a deep voice, with Grandpa always answering with the time. You're going to walk home!?)

These pics are in backwards order. BLOGGER!!!
KP at the airport headed home. We had a 7am flight, which meant getting up at 4:30. No big deal, except that KP and Grandpa went to bed at 2! KP had a hint of Eau de Booze on in this pic.

We took family pictures in Tod and Carol's beautiful back yard on Saturday evening. Everyone wore white, which didn't stay clean for long after the photos! Here is Uncle Tod with two nephews and a grandnephew (niece's son) feeding the koi. I had to look that relationship up.

Tod and Carol's beautiful home. Grandma's hanging out on the porch with the pooches.

Uncle Kelly with his daughters and nephews. The pond was a magnet for white clothing!

KP and ADP with baby Rad. We told everyone that we are naming the baby Rad Danger Lightening Awesome Paczosa. Rad is short for Radical, of course.

Ade with a cheetah nose on. She looks hot.

Grandma, Grandpa, and Ade shucking corn. It was delicious even though it was late in the season.

The state capitol, with some random car in the picture.
At the new and very impressive Des Moines Sculpture Garden, Me and Rad at almost 21 weeks, plus a lot of home cookin'.

KP and Grandpa inspecting craftsmanship.

KP, Ade, and Grandma hanging out under a creepy tree.

Ade's a thinker.

We should have some proofs of the professional pics soon too. I love how much the family's grown! Now, Bouchers...come to Texas!!

A Banana: 20 Weeks

A banana? Who picks these analogies? Technically, our baby is the length of a banana and weighs about 10 oz.

Last night, after devouring Baby Bargains, the only baby-related book that I have read from cover to cover, I decided to take in a couple of passed weeks worth of pregnancy information. I quickly regretted that decision. The book I read said that my baby is going to grow 15 times his current size before I deliver him.

15 times.

I cannot grow 15 times the size I am right now. I simply will never move again. Plus if he is 15 time his current size, I am going to have a nearly 10 lb baby. People, I do not want to birth a 10 lb baby (sorry Steph). Now, i do not want to birth a 5 lb baby either, but somewhere around the 7lb mark would be nice.

I have said that I wouldn't complain because I am so thankful for this baby and his and my own health. I am worried that I cannot continue to do this. I am taking a mini-break from working for a few days, so hopefully I will get some rest, put my sleep back into a pattern, and find a cure for heartburn. A girl can dream.

Regarding sleep, I have always been a side-sleeper. At week 16, the evil books say that you can no longer sleep on your back. Something about cutting off blood flow to the baby. But now, that's all I want to do...sleep on my back! It might be time to kick the pugs out of the bed.

The banana boy is moving and kicking and hungry! He loves PB&J sandwiches at about 11pm. Add peanut butter, soft wheat bread, and strawberry preserves to the list of items to take stock in. Oh, and I mentioned good toilet paper too, right?

Here's a 20 week (HALF WAY) belly pic. +9.5 pounds, which is right on track with the 8-14 I should have gained by this week.

Hide your Face

Mac is a notorious secret pee-er. Anytime he is left alone, we are bound to find a spot or two of sweet-smelling urine along the base of our bed. We're not quite sure why he's picked this spot, of all of the spots in the house to mark, but because of this display of separation anxiety, Mac is kenneled when we're not home or even just outside.

When I take baths or when I am in the bathroom getting ready, I put Mac in our bed, where he burrows into the covers and takes little rests.

Today he stayed in the bed long after I left the room, which is rare. I thought that he must have been super tired, but it turns out that he had several layers of insulation around his ears.
Where's Mac?
Inside of the pillow case, of course.
Good morning, sunshine!

A Large Heirloom Tomato: Week 19 (and Names Part 1)

I LOVE heirloom tomatoes. I also LOVE week 19. I have started to really feel Munchkin this week and it thrills me. I thought it would feel so different. People kept telling me to wait for flutters, but it feels more like he is grazing his little heirloom body across me. I think it helped me to see him and how he flips himself around over and over and over to be able to visualize the feelings that I am having.

As far as how I am feeling...my allergies are through the roof. I am sniffling and sneezing and yes, a little burst of pee comes out every now and then. I was talking with a client on the phone yesterday and he asked if I had a cold or allergies. You can hear my misery? I have always been a horrible allergy sufferer and about three years ago was diagnosed with asthma from allergies. I quit taking all of that medication in January, to prepare for pregnancy. I can take Claritin, which has become my friend. Note to Austin Moms, purchase stock in Claritin as well as toilet paper.

We have settled on a crib, dresser, maybe some bedding, but definitely not a name. Would you like to know the front runners? Please remember, your vote does not count and you may comment on a name that we end up giving our child. No pressure.

Archer - From The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. No, I haven't read the book yet, but I will if we name him this. Also, Archer was my great-grandmother's maiden name (Fact check, Older Sis?) and is an awesome typeface.

Silas - I'll come clean, we like this name from Weeds. There is also a literary reference with this one from Silas Marner by George Eliot.

Nash - Goes with the one-syllable theme we have going with our other (four-legged) children. We found this name in the Musicians section of a names book. I will openly admit that I am musically non-inclined, but my guess is that this comes from Crosby, Stills & Nash. Anyway, we just like it.

Other contenders include Pike, Keats, Rhett, Rhen, and a few others.

In other news, two of our favorite people found out this week that they have a healthy, growing, 7-week old baby developing. They have waited for this little blessing for four years. We are thrilled, A&P, that we will be partners in parenthood as well as friendship. Congratulations!

And for the sake of my growing belly, here's a pic. I think it's time to start slathering on the moisturizer. Oh, still +7 pounds.

Out of the Closet

Literally. I spent the better part of the day yesterday finally doing what I promised I'd do here. As you can tell from this post, I am a little behind in life. But please, give a girl a little credit...I have paid our bills, closed more homes since I became pregnant than I think I did all last year, and have somehow have not forced my husband to leave me. Now that's success in my book.

Since outgrowing my normal, non-spandex clothes, and receiving Older Sis' humungo-bucket-o'-maternity clothes, I have had an interesting system working for me.

Basically, I separated her clothing into three piles: wear now, wear when it gets colder, and never wear. Wonder what got relegated to the never wear pile? Older Sis has maternity jeans that are a smaller size than I started out. Mind you, they are spandex on the top, but my thighs still have to squeeze into those suckers. Plus, anything baby pink went into that pile. I am not feeling pink these days. Maybe it's the correlation to Miss Piggy.

So, All of the wear when it gets colder and never wears went back into the humungo bucket and the wear nows went into a laundry basket. I have been living out a a laundry basket for over a month. Until now.

I am not sure why I was having such a hard time parting with some of the things in my closet, others I understood completely. For example, the napkin-size backless boob covering that I wore for New Year's 2000 was an easy one to let go; no one my size or age or social class should consider wearing an article of clothing that resembles a flamed disco ball, not to mention would expose my gut, one boob, and back fat. I did have some trouble letting go of a shirt and two skirts that I rescued from my Nina's closet. I have never worn them, but they made me think of her. I had a little heart to heart with myself though, and realized that I have memories, and a few other things that I do use often that make me think of her. Out with the hippie skirts and polyester shirt.

In sum, I am delivering six bags to Goodwill, put two bags in the trash, and two in recycling (who knew there was that much plastic and cardboard in my closet?). I also went through the Baby's closet last night and ditched half of my coats. KP will not get rid of any of his nine coats, so please expect to see him layering a bomber jacket, a military jacket, a puffy down jacket, and a leather smoking jacket over two lightweight jackets and what he affectionately calls his Grandpa Sweater. I feel confident that this will happen as I have challenged him to wear every single one of those coats at some point during our four-day long winter.

Here's photographic evidence of what took place yesterday.

Clean Out in Progress...it took over the entire bathroom, plus...

Most of the bedroom. Please don't judge me for my missing bedskirt. I have a pissing dog who likes to mark that one thing in particular.

After. Pretty Closet.

KP's after. I cleaned his out too. But, it's about to see an influx of old, crappy, oversized coats.

18 Weeks: Boy Bell Pepper

Oh boy, oh boy!

As I am sure you have heard by now, we're having a boy. More importantly, we're having a healthy baby boy. And right now, he's the size of a bell pepper.

(As a side, I don't really care for bell peppers, well, except for this one.)

I am steadily gaining weight and am up 7 lbs. Oh man. I am hungry pretty much around the clock, but fill up quickly, so many meals it is. My back aches and I am still tired every day. I have been told that this is preparing me for the tired I will experience for the rest of my life. Other than that, my symptoms are non existent, for which I am very thankful.

Here's a picture of our sweet boy's perfect profile.

And here's a picture of my growing profile, many thanks to a baby boy bell pepper.

Hopefully I will be able to get a non-baby update post up soon. Just maybe.

A Turnip: 17 Weeks

A turnip? I had to Google Images one (like how I turned that into a verb?) to remember what a turnip looks like. Yes, I guess I did just fall off the turnip truck yesterday.

This kid is growing. My stomach is getting much bigger, in my opinion, but to others I am sure I just look like I am packing on the weight to prepare for hibernation. At the doctor's office today, my doc said that women don't actually look pregnant to others until about 26-30 weeks. For the love people, start paying attention to pregnant women and when in doubt, give women the benefit. There's a baby in there not just ice cream sandwiches, Chinese food, and ginger ale.

(Except--Sisters, remember that woman on the beach on Memorial Day? The one we debated about for half an hour before she played with Lukers and then we were able to confirm that in fact it wasn't a baby, but barrels of beer?)

I am getting excited about finding out the gender, looking for bedding, making over our guest room, oh, I still have 22+ weeks. Ok then, I will settle down.

Penis or Vagina?

Ok, ok, I just wanted to get y'all riled up. Did the clinical terms for anatomy work?

Seriously though, we find out the gender of our baby, who for some reason has switched names in my book from Munchkin to The Kid, in less than a week.

Because we didn't get to tell some people about the impending arrival of our baby (word travels fast), we may not tell everyone right away. Unless the nut in me surfaces, as it is known to do, and I will facebook before I get dressed in the doctor's office!

KP thinks it's a girl. I am starting to have feelings that it's a boy. Heart rate in the 140's, Dr. said my uterus (shit, another anatomical word) is a little high, and conceived on May 17th at 29 years old (if you're going to look at the lunar charts).

Honestly, I don't care either way. KP sort of has me geared up for cute dresses, bows, dance lessons, and Daddy's Girl. In fact, my whole family is saying that if this isn't a girl, future girls in this generation are going to be out of luck when it comes to toys, clothes, and things pink just because this will be the third baby boy. But, something deep inside of me says it might be a he. We will see! I am very excited to get to lay eyes on our baby next week. I haven't had an ultrasound since 9 weeks and I just want to see it! I hear that this could be the last time until we deliver.

So, any thoughts? What's our baby going to have: penis or vagina?