End of Summer/Six Month Post

Well month 6 ends tomorrow and I enter the third trimester in three weeks. Sounds sort of dumb but any woman who has ever been pregnant will tell you that you're actually pregnant for ten months. I think a male doctor must have come up with the 9 month concept. I'm feeling good but honestly, I'm really for the weekend. It's been go, go, go for about two weeks and we'll get a reprieve this weekend given the Labor Day Holiday. I also have a pedicure planned with friends as well as putting up all of my fall decor. YAY! I love autumn. If only the weather would cooperate and cool the heck down. This 95+ degree heat is killing me by nightfall. Oh well. Baby Girl is VERY active--even more so than Callum ever was. Callum used to kick me crazily whenever I sat down and would shift after meals and when I'd be at my work desk. Baby #2 beats me up no matter what I am doing-- standing, sitting, walking, in meetings, eating, etc. She also lets me know when she is hungry (hey, you, feed me) and when Callum's poked her the wrong way (hey, you, get off of me!). I have my 7 month check up next week and my second ultrasound the week after that so I'll post an update when I have some news. I think I also have a diabetes test soon. On the Callum front, he has moved into the older toddler room at daycare and is interacting with children from ages 2-3. The only way he moves up again is when he's finally potty trained. Only God knows when that might actually happen. He enjoys sitting on the potty and telling other people he uses the potty, but is actually fibbing about that. Guess we'll be using size 4s for a bit longer. His vocabulary is large and he's pretty articulate with what he wants. The other week he was making soup in the bathtub. This means he was stirring water in a plastic cup with a sand shovel. He told me "I make soup". I responded "Oh, ok. What kind of soup". Callum: "Chicken soup". I respond "Mmm, okay, what will you put in your soup?" Callum: "I put chicken and corn and carrots and noodles (I'm impressed at this point because the ingredients make sense) and pancakes"... Oh well. :-) I didn't sample it.

6th Month Update

As we drag along this hot, hot summer, I'll post an update about life and baby # 2. The heat hasn't bothered me too much but there are some evenings that I feel like a big blob from the weight of the baby and the humidity in general. I haven't been swelling like last time (as if that could happen twice in one lifetime), but occasionally I am wiped by 7 p.m. Like tonight for instance, I sat down on the couch after cleaning up after dinner. Iain had Callum upstairs so Callum could watch Iain cut his hair. They were gone for almost 45 minutes and I fell asleep from the wave of exhaustion that swept over me. Now I feel great but possibly too wide awake for 9 p.m. Anyway, baby #2 is very, very active. One of the main differences between this baby and Callum is that this baby moves around all the time, whether I am sitting, standing, in a meeting, walking, shopping, etc. She (if she is actually a she) also likes to poke me when she's hungry or if Callum's just bashed her head with his elbow. I think she may be saying "get... off...of...me!). It is sort of funny. Another update on baby # 2 is our ultrasound results. All in all, everything is going well with her development. The only thing that's been brought to our attention is that the baby's head is slightly smaller than her abdomen. However, because everything else is perfect, and our testing for generic disorders was negative, the doctor emphasized that it was nothing to be worried about. The doctor has ordered a second ultrasound in approximately a month so we'll get some new pictures and another analysis of the baby's growth. The doctor told me that ideally the baby's head and abdomen are the same size and they need to keep an eye on this to ensure that the baby doesn't have any sort of infection. There really isn't anything I can do for now and she stressed that there was no need to worry. Her bigger concern was that month's weight gain, which, of course, was painful. I so don't gain weight pretty. Anyway, I'm almost 7 months pregnant now so I'm not going to beat myself up. I'll be counting Weight Watcher Points before I know it and trying to squeeze into my Levis. On another note, Callum's jabbering about this, that or another thing. He really never stops talking which is fun although exhausting when you try to read him a story. I'll post more on him later in the week with some new pictures. Hope everyone is staying cool. Drink a lemonade for me!

Likely to be pink

I had my 20 week ultrasound today and despite the desire to wait to find out the baby's gender, I let my curiosity get the best of me. In all actuality, Iain and I decided together to find out the baby's sex for planning purposes. I think that planner is really my middle name-- not Elizabeth. Anyway, the technician did the ultrasound, which I forgot was kind of painful given my full bladder and the pressing she did to get an accurate picture of the baby. The picture was very clear and it was extremely cool to see body including parts like the brain, heart (beating), spine, eye sockets, feet, arms and even the placenta. This time, I was watching while she typed. Last time, I was trying to call the gender on my own. The tech then asked if I wanted to know the gender of the baby and I said yes. Although quite professional, quick and to the point, she spent a few extra minutes on the stomach/legs/genital area of the baby and said that she didn't see anything that indicated male (nothing was sticking out). She did mention that sometimes the baby's penis can be tucked in so it really isn't 100% until he or she arrives. So we figure that we may have been blessed with a girl but if a little boy arrives, we are well prepared for him as well. Onto the next 20 weeks...