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.