Moo

Well, I might not quite feel like a cow just yet, but I'm well on my way. My weight gain is still under 15 lbs, but everyone has been commenting lately on how "pregnant" I look. Putting on tennis shoes has proved to be the most annoying daily task now that my belly is all big. Shaving my legs? Well, let's just say that our cousin Jordan Williams (a sophomore at Belmont University here in Nashville) and his buddies aren't the only ones who did "No-Shave November". (Jordan's beard looks very nice, by the way.)

We're heading to Rochester, MI tomorrow afternoon for Christmas. This will be our last trip up before Charlotte is born, and we're bringing both Connie and Duke along for the ride. They will be so excited to play with their canine cousin, Kayla, in the snow. I fear for Barb's floors if all that snow melts and turns the ground to mud. I forsee a lot of paw-wiping in store for this visit.

Now that we're at 28 weeks (with only 84 days to go!!), here's what's going on with Charlotte:

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Hey - she was a different type of cabbage last week! I guess she's a cabbage patch kid? Actually, I remember learning that "cabbage" is a term of endearment in French ("Je t'aime, mon petit chou!"). So it is an appropriate comparison, I suppose. Erin just told me her baby (at 15 weeks along) is the size of an apple. Is it weird that I'm now hungry for a Gala apple?

Goodbye 2nd Trimester, Hello 3rd Trimester!

OMG - As of today we have officially entered the third trimester of pregnancy. That's the last one! No more after this! We're 27 weeks along with only 91 days to go. Good thing Charlotte's Grandma Jo Jo and Grandpa Spike are coming soon to help whip the nursery into shape. If Charlotte came right now, she would have to sleep on Connie's doggie bed with her. Knowing how bad Con-Con's breath is and how much she likes to ba-SLURP unsupecting people, I wouldn't wish that fate on anyone.

Considering how good I am still feeling, I am crossing my fingers in the hopes the rest of the pregnancy will continue on that path. Experienced mothers keep laughing at me and saying evilly "just you WAIT!", but I try to just smile and thank them for the advice rather than running away screaming. I have resolved not to be one of those people who delights in telling my pregnancy horror stories to other expecting parents. We'll see how long that lasts.

And now, for the 27-week update from BabyCenter.com:

This week your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14.4 inches long with her legs extended. She can now open and close his eyes, and she sleeps and wakes at regular intervals. She may suck her fingers, and although her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with assistance — if she were to be born prematurely. Chalk up any rhythmic movement you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments and isn't bothersome to her. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. Wonder what she's thinking?

I bet Charlotte's thinking, "MMMM - those taquitos Mommy had last night for dinner were AWESOME!" I bet she's also excited about the upcoming Michigan State basketball game we will be attending on December 22nd. Or something like that. I guess I'm going to need to steal one of Corey's MSU t-shirts to wear to the game, 'cause my maternity wardrobe is lacking in Spartan gear. Think we'll be able to get a photo of Sparty rubbing my belly?

Glucola Test

As Corey wrote in his post yesterday, we had another check-up with Dr. Bell. For this one, I had to drink this nasty glucola drink (tropical punch flavored!) and then get a blood draw done exactly an hour later to test for gestational diabetes. I just got the phone call from Justina the nurse with the results. She left a message saying something like "congratulations - you passed your one-hour glucola test!" I am taking that to mean I DON'T have gestational diabetes. I'm not even sure what all that entails, but luckily we don't have to worry about it.

Things are moving along nicely! Charlotte has been dancing up a storm lately, and I'm starting to look more and more like a pregnant woman instead of just a chubbo. Her nursery is starting to shape up since we loaded out a ton of miscellaneous stuff and rearranged the furniture into the positions they will occupy once all of the painting and carpet laying is done. I have been practicing gliding in the glider (sometimes holding Pacey, but he still thinks the gliding motion is a little freaky). We have also taken the dogs for a walk along with the stroller to start to alleviate Connie's strange fears of it. So far, not much progress has been made. I'm sure our neighbors think we're wacko.

Pregnancy "Clumsies"

I love my wife a lot. As my dad once succinctly pointed out - "She's good-looking, she's funny, and she's smart" (followed with the admonition "propose to her now before you screw it up"). I also, however, also accept that she is a mite clumsy, and that was before the pregnancy. She has knocked over and broken innumerable glasses, and at one point, on a 4th of July, took Connie our dog to work and locked Connie AND her work keys in her office. She had to call Vanderbilt University Plant Operations to come let the dog out.

Today, she dropped the keys to her Mazda down a sewer. Luckily for her, however, VU Maintenance swooped in for the rescue and not only fished her keys out, but also sanitized them. The key fob even still works!

We had another check-up today. Everything still looks good and on track. Knock on wood, baby. Knock on wood.

- Charlotte's Dad

26 Weeks and Keeping Corey Under Control

FYI - I had nothing to do with putting Connie in the Bumbo seat, nor did I condone it. I believe I was actually shrieking "Corey! Knock it off and leave her alone!" while the deed was being done. To her credit, Connie just looked a little put out and licked her lips a little. Great - now I have to worry about Corey trying all of the baby's new things out on the dogs. (Not like I can talk, because I'm the one who put Pacey the cat in the stroller last month.)

ANYWAY, today I am officially 26 weeks pregnant. It's not a milestone week or anything, but I just happened to notice on a pregnancy countdown that we only have 98 more days until the due date! Crikey. We haven't even taken our childbirthing class yet (we're scheduled to do it over 5 weeks in January and February though), nor have we picked a pediatrician (something my doctor has been bugging me to do for months now). But we do have a Bumbo seat, which is hard to come by nowadays ever since they issued the recall to amend the safety instructions to let people know not to put their kid in a Bumbo up high and then leave the kid unattended. DUH! [For a funny take on this, click here.] My buddy Chris in the law school's IT department hooked me up with the Bumbo.

I'm a little afraid to buy any diapers ahead of time for fear that Corey will cut tail holes in them and try them on one of the animals. Or that he'll model all of the baby clothes on Pacey. Or that he'll see just how well a snot sucker works on poor Duke. This is going to be an interesting last 98 days...

Here's what BabyCenter says is going on with Charlotte:

Your baby now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber), from head to heel. The nerve pathways in her ears are developing, which means her response to sounds is growing more consistent. Her lungs are developing now, too, as she continues to take small breaths of amniotic fluid — good practice for when she's born and takes that first breath of air.

Bumbo

A 60 lb. dog will fit into a Bumbo, but unless you help support the dog's back, the dog will just topple over and fall out of it.

Dentist

Today was Charlotte's first trip to the dentist. Well, sort of. I had a cleaning, and she decided to dance all during the appointment. She tends to do that when I lie flat on my back (which I know I'm not supposed to do for an extended period of time!) and stay still for a while. I'm happy to report that I don't have any of the "pregnancy gingivitis" that a lot of women get, and my hygenist said I didn't bleed an unusual amount (which is another thing that is supposed to happen during pregnancy). Plus, I didn't have any cavities.

Between Corey not needing braces and my complete lack of cavities (other than a tiny one caught very early on one of my baby teeth), I'm hoping Charlotte will have some nice strong and healthy chompers. At the very least, let's hope she gets better teeth than Pop (my mom's father). He had his last tooth pulled while in the service when he was 19 or so and has had a full set of false teeth ever since!

Hiccup

Another first. Charlotte had her first hiccups this morning. Niki said they felt like little, evenly spaced kicks. They only lasted a few minutes, though.

Joe Thomas, a friend of ours, helped us pick up the crib and glider chair for Charlotte's room over the weekend, and we have begun emptying the room. Prior to the pregnancy, the room had been used as a craft room/office/storage room. In addition, in preparation for installing a ceiling fan and Charlotte's man-in-the-moon light, we have completely emptied the attic. We have been pulling out our favorite childhood toys and books from boxes in the attic for Charlotte - Possum (for those you who remember Possum) has made his appearance, for example. We have also gone through our old books and found books with stories that we are looking forward to reading Charlotte, such as Tall Tales of America, Albert the Running Bear (given to me and Stephanie by Mom after she watched Uncle Dave run his first Boston Marathon in 1983) and Grimms' Fairy Tales. (Niki is not real keen on me reading Grimm's Fairy Tales to her. If you have never read the original Grimm's Fairy Tales, give it a try. Wow. Gruesome.)

In addition, I have never read all of Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha, and think I would like to read that to Charlotte as a baby. So, that book went in Charlotte's libary as well.

We have completely abandoned the color scheme for Charlotte's room that Niki pondered from Target (the picture is in an earlier post) and will be going with mostly blues and sage greens. The glider, though, is in a "ginger" color (orangish/redish/pinkish), and sets off nicely to those other colors. They are not quite pastels, but are light and calming.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this all comes together.

Charlotte's Dad

So exciting!!

As some of you may already know, Corey and I aren't the only ones in the family who is expecting a baby right now. As can be expected from twins, we tend to do things at about the same time. We both abandoned the nest on the same day and even forced our family to split up for our college graduations. Then, we got married about eight months apart and even bought houses within a year of each other.

Now, my goofy sister has joined me in the ranks of "eating for two" and is due to give birth exactly 13 weeks after me in the middle of June. I have held off mentioning it in the blog so as not to steal her thunder or to announce it before she felt it was safe to let people know. She has given me express permission to post this info, and now that she has hit the crucial 12-week mark I think it's time!

It's neat that the cousins will be so close in age. So will Charlotte have a girl cousin or a boy cousin to play with at all the Evans family functions? We won't know for another 6-8 weeks or so (Erin says they are pretty sure they will try to find out the gender). Needless to say, the future Grandma JoAnn and Grandpa Spike are pretty tickled that they will earn their grandparent status twice over in 2008. I'm especially glad that I have someone else to moan to who is in the same situation, though it is interesting that our pregnancies have not been progressing identically (she's way more nauseated than I was in the first trimester!).

Question for you all to ponder -- since Erin and I are identical twins and thus have the same DNA, will our kids be sort of like half siblings? I mentioned it to my doctor, and she just laughed and shrugged. I definitely think they will have a unique bond at the very least!

P.S. Erin says she and Andrew probably won't be doing their own blog, so anyone interested in how she's progressing should just look at my blog entries from exactly 13 weeks prior. Hee hee.

25 Weeks and Look at That Butt!

Aww - the baby's butt in the 25 week drawing is pretty cute. We're so happy to have hit the 25-week milestone, because the baby's chances at surviving early delivery seem to dramatically increase at about this point.

According to "I-am-pregnant.com" (seriously - that's the name of the site!), "[i]f your baby were delivered at this time, it would have a good chance of surviving. It is best for your baby to remain inside of you for the remainder of the pregnancy, but great advances have been made in the care of a premature baby. Ventilators, monitors and medications all help premature babies develop and grow outside of the womb." Sounds good to me!

That same site also says "[y]ou can hear your baby's heartbeat with both a doppler and a stethoscope at this time, and your partner may even be able to hear the heartbeat unaided if he puts his ear in the right position." We'll have to try that tonight! I'm certainly feeling a lot more kicking all over the place right now. In fact, Charlotte took the opportunity to dance last night for what seemed like forever while I was at a Nickel Creek concert with my Indiana cousins, Larry & Sarah Williams. I think she likes bluegrass.

The other site I visit describes Charlotte like this:

Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. Her hair is probably recognizable now (in color and texture), although both may change after she's born.

24 Week Pictures

Here's the BabyCenter.com rendering of what Charlotte looks like at 24 weeks. There's not a whole lot of change week to week anymore like there was in the first trimester, but I'll keep posting the pictures anyway.

The other picture shows how much bigger I'm getting. That's my maternal grandpa, Pop, there with me. I still have only gained a little over 10 lbs (even after finishing a whole pumpkin pie by myself over the course of a couple of days during Thanksgiving last week in California!), which is good because I wasn't exactly underweight to begin with. For those preggos with higher starting weight, I keep reading that 15-20 lbs is a better target for weight gain over the entire pregnancy.

Speaking of Pop, Corey and I realized the other day that Charlotte will be born with eight living great-grandparents and all four grandparents. Not many kids are that lucky! We are sad that Corey's Grandma Stringer isn't here to meet Charlotte, but we know she's looking down from above and keeping tabs on everything.

24 Weeks

Well, Niki is 24 weeks along. We have been trying to do research regarding the "stuff" we apparently need for raising a baby, and have been trying to be very careful about it. This stuff (cribs, strollers, car seats, etc.) is expensive, so we want to make sure we make the right choices (so we'll have some money left over for some fun stuff, too). We have been asking for advice from our friends and family, doing research online, and discussing, discussing, discussing.

I have been working a ton, and am hoping that work slows down in December and January so I can get working again on my projects for Charlotte's room - new shelves, changing table, etc. I'd hate for time to run out and have to buy this stuff from a store.

We have ordered the fixtures and new carpeting for Charlotte's room, so those will be ready to install when Spike and JoAnn come to visit in December.

As for Charlotte, the website we consult says that she is about the length of an ear of corn. She's kicking quite a bit - I can actually see Niki's belly bump out when she kicks. That's kind of fun. Well, for me at least.

I am slowly becoming aware that babies are not simply babies, and that there is a big difference between ages. Every baby I see, I have an urge to ask the parents how old the child is. The differences between each month are amazing. 18 months looks like a fun age, as does 3 months . . . Well, they all kind of do.

I have been worrying about Duke and Connie. I know full well that when Charlotte is born, Duke and Connie won't get as much attention from us. On the other hand, we'll make up for it later, because as Charlotte grows up, she'll give Duke and Connie 24-hour attention. Petting, scritching, running, pulling ears and tails, etc. They'll just have to live through some lean months when she is an infant. As for Pacey, I think he'll appreciate having Charlotte as an infant rather than a toddler. He lives upstairs, and once this baby is born, we'll be spending a lot of time upstairs. Plus, an infant won't be chasing him around.

Respect for animals is a huge topic with Niki and me. We are, quite frankly, appalled at how some children treat our dogs. Other kids are fine, but some - wow. We'll have to teach Charlotte (and any of her friends) that dogs and cats are to be treated gently and with love. We have been trying to be more proactive with neighborhood children to teach them about how to pet and treat our dogs. The Hancock children are especially good with them. After all, the better children treat our dogs, the more our dogs are likely to enjoy Charlotte . . .

I have been working on with the dogs with playing more gently. Before Niki was pregnant (and, to be truthful, now, too), I played VERY rough with the dogs. They like it. It's fun for me. Not going to be so good for the kid. I trust that the dogs will be able to distinguish between playing with me and playing with a toddler, but I have been trying to be gentler with them, just in case. For example, when Duke sees me sitting cross-legged on the floor, he'll charge across the room, put his head down, and somersault into my lap, landing belly-side up. I can take a full-speed hit from a 90lb dog. A toddler won't.

We have some work to do with Connie and the stroller. She was deathly afraid of my roller blades, and now she's petrified of the stroller. We'll have to take some walks with her and the stroller and get her used to it. Daily walks around our little neighborhood are going to be a staple for us, and we can't have Connie freaking out every time we pull the stroller out. Plus, Connie'll have to tolerate Charlotte in one of these (see above) (once she gets old enough) - a real stamped steel Mustang pedal car to match mine. (I'm already saving up for it).

Riding in Style

After Corey made it back from Knoxville with no major injuries other than a bruised ego (Vandy blew a great lead and barely managed to lose the game), we got two major things accomplished. We ordered new carpet for the upstairs rooms (other than the master and the bonus room, which will be refloored probably in wood) and worked a bunch on the baby registries at Target & Babies 'r' Us.

I got over my adverse overwhelmed reaction to Babies 'r' Us (I actually got dizzy in there without Corey on Saturday!) and took a stab at picking out some baby items. We're still working on the Target registry as well, but we hope to have it all finalized very soon. While we were at Babies 'r' Us, we picked out the stroller and car seat that Barb & Larry bought for Charlotte! They aren't part of a "system", because we preferred being able to pick out each of the pieces separately. They also don't really match, but we're cool with that. The stroller is super light - about 9 lbs. The car seat has all of the safety ratings Corey wanted, and the baby will only use it until she reaches 30 lbs. anyway. The next car seat up will be used for a whole lot longer, so we're going to do a bunch more research before we pick that one out.

Thank you so much to Barb & Larry for helping us get Charlotte traveling in style! We tried to test out the stroller with Pacey, but he was having NONE of it. Connie barked at the stroller and ran from it, but our friends Austin & Kelly assured us that this is not an uncommon thing for goofy dogs who are afraid of things with wheels. Duke had no reaction whatsoever to the stroller, other than to sniff it and roll over for a belly rub. No surprise there.

23 Weeks and a Pizza-Hunting Dog

We had such a fun time with Ernie and Andrew in Chicago last weekend! This weekend, I finally get to stay home and rest, but Corey is taking off with his friend, Joe, to Knoxville to see Vanderbilt take on the University of Tennessee. Vandy did beat them in Knoxville two years ago, so there is some hope.

Last night, our bigger dog, Duke, proved his worth in the Stringer Family. When I sent him and Connie out to do their business when I got home (it was raining so I stayed in the garage), Connie came back without Duke. I waited a few moments then called for him. He came proudly trotting back WITH HALF OF A PEPPERONI PIZZA IN HIS MOUTH! He was so proud, but dropped it quickly when I told him to. A lot of trash cans in the neighborhood were knocked over in the crazy storm we had earlier that afternoon, so that's probably where it came from. Anyway, any dog who brings home dinner for the family is worth keeping, in my opinion. Corey says Duke's breed is now officially "Pupperoni Retriever". My dad wants us to specially breed a whole line of them to sell to college kids and newlyweds. Too bad Dukie is fixed.

Inspired by Duke's resourcefulness, I promptly ordered a (new) pizza for dinner. Luckily, Duke didn't seem to have any hard feelings about being denied his booty. Charlotte seemed to enjoy the pizza, because she kicked like crazy for the rest of the night. Speaking of Charlotte, she's now 23 weeks along (see the photo above) and is moving right along with her development, according to the websites:

Your baby is more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango). Her skin is red and wrinkled. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare her for breathing. She can swallow, but she normally won't pass her first stool (called meconium) until after birth. Loud noises heard often in utero — such as your dog barking or the roar of a vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze your baby when she hears them outside the womb.

Heading to Chicago

I'm heading to Chicago early tomorrow morning for a law school alumni event and to hang with Erin & Andrew (Corey's joining me later), so here's the 22 weeks post a little bit early. I'm still feeling pretty darn good, but I'm having a very hard time finding things like maternity suit jackets for a reasonable price. Who knew it was going to be so hard to look professional while pregnant?

Good thing Charlotte doesn't have to worry about her wardrobe yet. She actually has a pretty good head start -- she has a onesie from Corey's mom that says "What happens at Grandma's STAYS at Grandma's", and a onesie from Auntie Erin with a happy cupcake on it. My mom also got her a cute bib that says "Mommy's Little Monster". I guess any kid of Corey's and mine will probably live up to that title.

Here's what BabyCenter says is going on with Charlotte:

Your baby now looks like a miniature newborn, checking in at 10.9 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound. Her skin will continue to appear wrinkled until she gains enough weight to fill it out, and the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her head and body is now visible. Her lips are becoming more distinct, and the first signs of teeth are appearing as buds beneath her gum line. Her eyes are developed, though the iris (the colored part of the eye) still lacks pigment. Eyelids and eyebrows are in place, and her pancreas, essential for hormone production, is developing steadily.

Preggo

I have been asked by several people to post a photo of how big I'm getting. Here's a couple we took in Paducah, KY last weekend. In the top one, I don't really look that large. The shirt in the bottom photo makes me look bigger than I really am, in my opinion!

Some people say I am carrying "high", which makes sense because it's a girl. Even though it's an old wives' tale, it still makes me smile. Now we'll have to see if the tale about the correlation between heartburn and hair on the baby's head turns out to be true. If it is, then Charlotte is going to come out with a full head of lustrous hair! (Unlike Erin and me, who were bald as cueballs.)

What's up, Doc? (21 Weeks)

We survived Halloween last night (our neighborhood gets TONS of trick or treaters!), and seeing all of the little kids in constumes got me excited for next year and the years to come. My mom sewed many of the costumes I wore over the years (princess, M&M, etc.). Even when she didn't, I was borrowing pieces from her wardrobe. One year in high school, I snaked her maternity overalls and went as a pregnant woman. I guess it wasn't as funny when one of my classmates turned up pregnant for real a couple of years later.

ANYWAY, Corey's first Halloween "costume" (when he hit his first Halloween at about 6 weeks of age in 1975), was being placed inside of a real jack-o-lantern. Sounds slimy! I have no clue what my first costume was (though I have seen very cute photos of us in Raggedy Ann costumes at an early age), but the one I enjoyed most was the M&M outfit I wore several years in a row (one of the bonuses of moving quite often was that you could recycle Halloween costumes since the audience changed).

We didn't get to dress Charlotte up yet, but here's an update on her progress at 21 weeks:

Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. Her eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed.

Having WAY too much fun with decorating

After Corey single-handedly redecorated the baby's bathroom this weekend in a monkey theme in honor of one of his favorite children's books, "Caps for Sale", I decided I had better get my butt in gear to get Charlotte's room décor picked out before he beat me to it. The bottom photo is of the shower curtain from the set.

My current favorite bedding set (see top photo) is called Sweet Potato Domain and is sold through Target.com. I ordered one piece of it so we could make sure we liked it in person before we committed to registering for it. Corey is TOTALLY anti-pink for the room, but he is cool with my preference for a bright graphic design. What do you all think?

Half-way there!!

I'm heading to Washington D.C. tomorrow for a quick business trip, so I'm posting the 20-week post today. According to the standard pregnancy cycle, I am half-way to my due date. Charlotte is kicking quite a bit lately, and people are finally starting to tell me I look pregnant. March 13th still seems so far away though.

Here's what BabyCenter.com says about Charlotte at 20 weeks (be forwarned - it's kind of gross!)--

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom, and about 10 inches from head to heel. (For the first 20 weeks, we use measurements taken from the top of the baby's head to her bottom — known as the "crown to rump" measurement. After that, we use measurements from head to toe. This is because a baby's legs are curled up against her torso during the first half of pregnancy and are very hard to measure.)

A greasy white substance called vernix caseosa coats her entire body to protect her skin during its long submersion in amniotic fluid. (This slick coating also eases the journey down the birth canal.)

Your baby is swallowing more, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky substance that's the result of cell loss, digestive secretion, and swallowed amniotic fluid. This meconium will accumulate in her bowels, and you'll see it in her first messy diaper (although a few babies pass it in utero or during delivery).

19 Weeks Down!

The 19-week mark crept up on me because I was so focused on finding out the baby's gender! This drawing cracks me up, because the baby is twisted up like a pretzel. Little Charlotte didn't look quite that scrunched on the ultrasound yesterday, but it looks like she is fast running out of swimming room. The description below of a baby at 19 weeks pegs Charlotte's weight a little low, since the doctor estimated her weight to be about 10 ounces. I changed all of the gender references to be female!

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, and she measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the length of a small zucchini. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine, and the hair on his scalp is sprouting. This is a crucial time for sensory development: Your baby's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. She has an astonishing 6 million eggs in her ovaries, but they'll dwindle to fewer than two million by the time she's born.

Ultrasound video

The ultrasound video was WAY to big to send via e-mail, so I braved the world of YouTube and uploaded it. Click below to view the video. The baby's head is to the right, and in the middle of the screen you can see the heart beating!



If you can't see the video in this window or if you want to see it a tiny bit bigger, click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVb7-zHu1wc

4 Things Charlotte Will Get To Do That Most Girls Won't

1. Ride our 100 lb Lab, Duke, around the neighborhood bareback like a small pony at age 2.
2. Out-belch her male relatives at age 6.
3. Be able to recite the counties and county seats for all counties of Tennessee, Indiana, and Arizona. Age 8. Okay maybe not all the counties, but definitely the states and capitals.
4. Race her mother's station wagon in the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway's Run-What-You-Brung drag race nights. Age 12.

Care to add any?

Photos from the ultrasound

Charlotte is looking a little less like Voldemort and a little more like a human! Here's some images they recorded for us from the ultrasound. The top one is of the baby waving at you again. The bottom one is of the itty bitty foot.

It's a Charlotte!

At the ultrasound this morning, the technician and the doctor were in complete agreement - we are having a girl! The plan is to name her Charlotte JoAnn Stringer. We're thrilled, but definitely would have been happy either way. Looks like Corey's premonition was correct! My coworker, Kathryn, also was sure it was going to be a girl.

The baby looked perfect on the ultrasound. We saw all of her limbs, all of the chambers of her heart, the ventricles of the brain, her spine, both kidneys, fingers, toes, the umbilical cord, and all sorts of stuff. She weighs about 10 ounces and is right on target in terms of size and heart rate. I'm doing pretty well too - my weight gain is "perfect" and everything else looks good.

The things we need to consider now are cord blood banking, signing up for childbirthing and parenting classes, and picking a pediatrician. Our next appointment (not until mid-November) will be with another member of the practice (Dr. Scott) so that we can get to know everyone else who might be delivering our baby in the event Dr. Bell isn't able to be there.

The wait is killing me

I'm dying to get to our ultrasound appointment tomorrow! I think the baby is getting antsy too, because I'm feeling all sorts of kicking at all hours now. Pacey the cat was trying to "make biscuits" (kneading me with his paws) on my tummy this morning and was perturbed when I stopped him. Maybe he was trying to give the baby a little massage?

And now we're at 18 weeks!

Yikes! I was so busy the past few weeks with the law school's Reunion that I haven't had time to breathe let alone the energy to post anything. I'm at about 18 1/2 weeks now, and we're really looking forward to the ultrasound on Wednesday the 17th to find out the gender of the baby. I am showing a whole lot more now, though people who don't see me often probably just think I'm just getting a little chunky.

We had a rough week with our animals - first our sweet cat, Chewie, passed away, and then Connie the dog got bit by something which caused her snout to swell up so bad on one side that she looked like a bull terrier! The doctor says she's going to be fine, but she's on antibiotics and steroids. Connie doesn't even seem to notice how funny she looks, and it certainly hasn't slowed her down from wrestling with our other dog, Duke, or running around outside!

Anyway, here's what BabyCenter.com says is going on with our baby this week:

Head to bottom, your baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a large sweet potato) and she weighs almost 7 ounces. She's busy flexing her arms and legs — movements that you'll likely start noticing more and more. Her blood vessels are visible through her thin skin and her ears are now in position and stand out from her head. Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after she's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and Fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If your baby is a boy, his genitals are noticeable, though he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

Kick kick kick

I finally got to feel the baby kick. Niki had me feel her belly a few nights ago, and sure enough, kick kick kick. Very gentle, but I could feel it. Brought a smile to both our faces.

17 Weeks Already

We're moving right along and have reached the 17 week mark. I'm not sure if I'm imagining it or not, but I think I'm feeling a little bit of movement from the baby. We have not been keeping up quite as religiously with the pregnancy diet, but I'm doing pretty well with eating healthy. I have only gained a couple of pounds, which is probably a good thing!

Here's what our baby website says about the baby at 17 weeks:

Your baby weighs about 5 ounces now, and he's around 5 inches long — about the size of a large onion. He can move his joints, and his skeleton — until now rubbery cartilage — is starting to harden to bone. His sense of hearing is also developing. The umbilical cord, his lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker.

Sixteen Weeks and Counting!

Well, Niki is at 16 weeks here, which means this baby is due in about 24. We are very close to the halfway point. At this point, the baby has developed to the point shown in the picture. The baby is the size of an avocado, but will double in size in the next three weeks! Wow!

Anyway, Niki is doing very well. Her nausea seems to have eased up, and even though she is always happy to take an extra nap, she seems to have a little more energy. She insists that she does not have any food cravings, but only food aversions. This works out nicely for me, because Niki is much too sensible to wake me up in the middle of the night to tell me she does NOT want to eat olives, for example. On the other hand, on Saturday night at the Vandy game, Niki had a hot dog . . . dipped in nacho cheese sauce. She insisted that the nacho cheese helped meet her calcium quota for the day. Then today she put cream cheese on her turkey dog. Same excuse . . .

Quad Screen Results Normal!

Last week, I had blood drawn for a "quad screen" prenatal test, which looks for abnormal levels of alpha-fetalprotein ("AFP"). Levels too high could indicate a neural tube defect like spina bifida or anencephaly. Low levels of AFP and abnormal levels of human chorionic gonadotropin ("hCG") indicate the potential for Down Syndrome or Edwards Syndrome. There's a couple of other chemicals the screen looks for, and interpreting those in conjunction with the AFP levels can indicate other potential problems.

Luckily, the test showed that I was negative for "abnormal AFP levels", which is (according to the nurse who called me) another way of saying my test results showed no abnormality. Had the test shown an abnormality, we would have considered an amniocentesis. Luckily, I get to avoid the big long needle and we can feel a little more confident about having a healthy baby!

Click here for a neat site that explains more about what the quad screen testing does.

Job for Everyone

Statistics show that a pregnant woman who is hugged a lot is more like to hug her baby after it is born.

So, when you see Niki, hug her.

Thank you.

Learning the News

I wrote this the first day that I knew that Niki was pregnant and thought I'd share it with you:

I was in the anteroom for the Hamilton County Circuit Court, Division 4, when Niki called this morning. She told me that she's pregnant. She has missed a period and taken a pregnancy test. I told her to take another pregnancy test and give me a call. I spent the motion hearing in a haze. After the hearing, and on the way back to Nashville, Niki called to confirm that a second pregnancy test said she was pregnant. She called a doctor to schedule an appointment. They told her that if two tests told her she is pregnant, then she is pregnant. Due date is March 13. We think the kid was conceived in mid-June.

Niki and I decided that until 12 weeks, we will consider this to be a medical condition of Niki's. After 12 weeks, it's on! We agreed to tell our parents and siblings, but ask that they keep it quiet until 12 weeks. . . .

On my way back to Nashville, I had the following thoughts:

1. Thank God I've got the Mustang now. It'll be paid off in December, so that bad boy is "grandfathered" in.

2. I'll be 32 when the baby is born. That means when I'm 50, the kid will be 18. That's plenty of time to resume the "couple's life" with Niki again.

3. Nine months is not a lot of time.

4. We're pretty damn lucky.

5. I think it is going to be a girl.

Chewie the cat has been very affectionate with Niki the past few days and was there for the "test." Is he going to play a big role in this?

We are both completely floored. We knew we wanted to get pregnant, but were not officially trying. This happened REALLY quick.

We took one more pregnancy test tonight. She's definitely pregnant. In less than a year, my wife is going to be somebody's mother.

Crib and Glider

We found a baby store MUCH more pleasant to shop in than Babies 'r' Us (and it's a lot closer, too!) and went there this morning. It's called USA Baby (www.usababy.com), and it's terrific. We found both a crib and a glider that we loved. They were both very reasonable, especially because the store had its "Once a Trimester" sale going on. Now all we need is for Corey to build the top for the dresser that will serve as a changing table, and all of the major pieces of the baby's room will be in place. I guess we should start getting all of the crap out of that room now, shouldn't we?

The crib is a Munire and is made out of solid hardwood. The glider is a BestChair and my mom will be happy to hear that it will be built in Southern Indiana! We got it in a textured fabric in a color called "ginger", which is nice and soft but easily washable. I already have my eye on some bedding that has the same color in it.

15 Weeks

Looks like we have hit the 15 week mark! According to one website:

"At around 4 inches long, crown to rump, your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 ounces. He's busy inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid, which will help develop the air sacs in his lungs. His legs are growing longer than his arms now, and he can move all his joints and limbs. That means his hands are more functional, too. Sweat glands are appearing, and although his eyelids are fused shut, he can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, he's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but his taste buds are beginning to form."

Great. Now Corey is going to be chasing me around with a flashlight and asking me how the sweaty baby is doing. I'm still not showing a whole lot, and people don't know I'm pregnant unless I tell them. I have read that some people don't "pop out" until they are 5 or 6 months pregnant with their first child, so I must be one of those "lucky"(?) people.

Barb & Larry's Big Announcement

Barb and Larry wanted to tell their dance group friends in a special way that B&L were soon to be grandparents. Each week after their dance class, the group heads back to Wendy & Tom's house for refreshments. Barb offered to bring the food this time, and made these adorable cupcakes, served with the hilariously cute baby boy and girl napkins. Barb reports that it didn't take the group long to figure out what was going on!

Corey's Birthday Present

I guess only a new father-to-be would want a "manly diaper bag" for a birthday present, but I was happy to oblige! He chose the one above (only the one he got is tan) because of all of its cool features and decidedly non-diaper-bag look. It's got all of the standard features, like a changing pad and an insulated bottle pocket, but there are no teddy bears or hearts on it. Now we just have to teach him to change a diaper...

And I wouldn't want to miss out on wishing Grandfather-to-be Larry happy 60th birthday today! We had the big birthday blowout a couple of weeks ago, but I'm hoping he pulls a bottle or two out of his new wine fridge tonight to celebrate.

More about names

...and this is why picking a name is so important! We don't want our kid to get any strange reactions when he/she tells people his/her name. ;)

Heartbeat!

Poor Corey didn't get to go with me to my OB appointment this morning because he had a meeting, but I told him it would be fine because they were only drawing blood anyway. When I got there though, Dr. Bell whipped out a little hand-held device and let me hear the baby's heartbeat. It was at a rate somewhere in the 140s, which Dr. Bell said was perfect. We could also hear little blips, which she explained were kicks. She told me not to expect to feel any kicking until closer to the 20th week, so I'm going to quit obsessing about that.

We go back on October 17th to do the in-depth sonagram and will hopefully find out the gender of the baby that day! If the baby cooperates (everyone keeps warning me about uncooperative babies that thwart your hopes of determining gender) we will make the announcement on the blog for you all to see.

Happy Birthday!!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my sweet husband, Corey, a happy 32nd birthday! He is lucky enough to share his birthday with his mom (Happy birthday, Barb!!) and Uncle Doug (Happy birthday to you, too, Doug!!). As someone who also shares a birthday with a close family member, I know how fun it can be. Above is a photo of Corey with his favorite guy in the whole world, Sparty.

Addendum to Previous Post on Dogs and Babies

Connie has just informed us that OF COURSE she will be slurping on the baby, especially if there is food stuck to his or her face. Duke just wagged his tail and winked at me when I asked for his thoughts.

Dogs and Babies

I found the above photo on www.cuteoverload.com (one of my favorite sites) and sent it to all of the Taylor family, since they all love golden retrievers. I wrote some comment beneath remarking on how we weren't going to let Connie and Duke lick OUR baby and asking if Sevvie the golden retirever ever licked Corey's cousin, Ellie, when she was a baby. Here was Ellie's response (which cracked Corey and me up considerably):

OH of course Sevvie licked me on the face like that and of course Dukie and Con-Con will! You were kidding right right right? Cause if you weren’t what kind of baby would your baby be if she or he didn’t have doggie breath on their face. That’s how I turned out so beautiful. And I’m sure that baby will be.

Ellie

Officially in the Second Trimester

As of today, I'm 14 weeks and one day pregnant (which, according to the baby books, is the official start of the second trimester). Here's a drawing of what the baby is supposed to look like. Still no kicking, but Kristin Banz just told me she didn't feel anything until 18 1/2 weeks (she's due about 8 weeks before me!), so I guess I should just be patient. I have determined that I no longer fit into any of the non-maternity pants I own (except for the ones with elastic waists and drawstrings!), so it looks like it's time to do some more shopping.

184 more days

According to www.BabyZone.com, I only have 184 more days to go until the due date. The above drawing is a representation of what the baby is supposed to look like at 13 weeks. He/she looks a little less like an alien, which is good news!

Waiting for the kick

The books all say that I should be able to feel the baby kick starting as early as this week. I keep trying to sit or lie very still and concentrate on trying to feel a kick, but so far no luck. After seeing how active the baby was at the last ultrasound, I think it should be any day now that I will feel something.

Names

We're set on Charlotte JoAnn Stringer as the name for our child if female. We're struggling with names for the baby if male though. My current favorite is Evan James Stringer (since Evan is close to my maiden name and is the name of my great-grandpa, although I never did meet him). Corey really likes Colby James Stringer.

We both like the name Scott (my mom's maiden name), but have reservations about using it (probably not best discussed on a blog). Corey keeps pushing for Corey James Stringer Jr. and Leonidas James Stringer, but I think he's kidding about the second one. Taylor would be a natural choice since it was Barb's maiden name, but Taylor Stringer sounds a little goofy (any name ending in an "er" sound is too rhyme-y to me) and Taylor has really become a girl's name in the past decade or so. Corey also keeps pushing for Hudson James Stringer, but I (and everyone else who has heard it) think it sounds lame.

We bought a baby names book that talks about the popularity and reputation of each name, and that has been very fun to look at (mostly to research the names of family members and giggle if, as in the case of poor Don, his/her name peaked in popularity LONG before he/she was born).

If anyone as any suggestions, please leave them for us in the comments!!

Ellie's Reaction

Our trip to Michigan this weekend was fabulous (more on that later), but the best part might have been when we told Corey's cousin, Ellie, that she was no longer going to be the youngest in the family. We stole an idea from Larry & Barb (who told Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Sims that they were pregnant with Corey by playing a game at a family party) and played a little game with her. We wrote down the name of each family member at the family party on 11 different index cards, shuffled them, and then taped one to each person's back. We each had to run around asking other people yes or no questions about the name on our own backs (like "Do I live in Michigan?" or "Do I own a cat?") to try and figure out which family member was on our backs.

Corey made a card for Ellie's back that said something like "Corey & Niki's new baby that will be born in March." He handed it to Aunt Lisa to tape on Ellie's back, and that's how Aunt Lisa found out we were pregnant. Then, we all played the game while keeping a close eye on Ellie to see what questions she asked. She stumped everyone by asking "Am I a boy or a girl?" Aunt Lisa replied "yes!" Ellie looked a little confused. She then asked Don, "Am I a girl?" Don said, "I don't know." She asked someone else if she was a boy and got the same response.

Once Ellie was COMPLETELY frustrated, we told her to take the card off her back to see what it said. Her jaw dropped open and she got all teary. She ran up to Corey and gave him a bear hug, then found me for a hug. We all laughed and Granny got the great shots above.

Heading to Michigan!

We're heading to Michigan today to spend the weekend with Corey's family. We're only taking Duke (Connie is staying with the Hoeksemas) since he doesn't do things like chew on doors or have to be zip tied into his crate while we're away from Barb & Larry's house. Dukie is looking forward to meeting Uncle Dave, Aunt Lisa and Ellie for the first time!

Fourth Ultrasound on August 29, 2007

Looks a lot more like a baby, but also a little like an alien! The baby is now officially named "Voldemort". I think he/she is either waving hello or setting a curse upon us all.

Third Ultrasound on August 9, 2007

Still can't see much from this third ultrasound, which was done on August 9th. Looks pretty blobby!

Second Ultrasound on July 25, 2007

Here's ultrasound number two, which I did for the study I am participating in (called "Right From the Start") through Vanderbilt University. The big blob on the bottom is the baby, and the little blob higher up is the yolk sac. Based on this ultrasound, the baby's new name became "Blobby".

Blackmail for Grandma JoAnn

We had a blast this weekend in Indiana, but most importantly I was able to take this photo of my mother at the airport in Chicago. We have several options for this photograph -- blow it up and frame it for the baby's room (so he or she will know Grandma JoAnn is looney tunes) or threaten to show it to her students in exchange for some sort of payment.

Back in the old country

This weekend, Mom, Aunt Janet, and I all met up in Chicago and headed over to Nappanee for Great Uncle Leo & Great Aunt Bev's 50th wedding anniversary party (thrown by cousins Brian and Melanie). The party was fabulous, and it was so nice to be able to see all of the Indiana folks again. Since it was still so early in the pregnancy, I only told Meem, Pop, and Aunt Janet about it that weekend. Meem squawked and Pop grinned. I think Aunt Janet was thrilled that Mom will be joining her in the ranks of grandmotherhood!

July 20, 2007 Ultrasound

Here is the first ultrasound, taken at our very first appointment with Dr. Bell. We nicknamed the baby "Blinky" after seeing this because we thought he/she looked like one of the ghosts from the video game "Ms. PacMan".

Celebration!

Once Corey finally returned from his court appearance that evening, we celebrated the good news by going to my favorite restaurant -- Blue Coast Burrito. Then, we ran out to the bookstore to buy some more info on pregnancy (we're both pretty clueless!). Corey has already predicted with absolute certainty that the baby will turn out to be a girl, and we're already making grand plans for the rest of the nine months.

OMG!

We're pregnant!!! I called Corey while he was preparing to argue a summary judgment motion in East Tennessee somewhere. Let's hope I didn't distract him or anything...