Breathing

Crikey - I have really been short of breath these past few days! The books say it's normal, but it's still super annoying. As my boss and I met today to talk about a transition plan so I won't leave the office in a lurch, it really started to hit home that my life will be changing dramatically. After my last day of work on February 29th, Charlotte will be my full-time priority. Perhaps this is contributing to my difficulty breathing!

Corey has a new worry -- that the hospital will mix Charlotte up with another baby. I told him it was his job to follow Charlotte around until she's properly fitted with an ID bracelet, 'cause I'll be kind of busy trying to recover from giving birth. Corey's back-up plan is to mark Charlotte with a Sharpie (like Michael Scott does to the Benihana's waitress at the Christmas party during the third season of "The Office"). So, if you meet Charlotte in her first few days of life and she looks like she has some strange disease, it's probably just Corey's paranoid handiwork.

Madeline and two months left to go

First of all, congratulations are in order. Kristin and Justin Banz had a baby girl - Madeline - a few days ago, and I'm sure she's going to be the cutest thing ever. Madeline joins a whole slew of grandkids for Kenny & Sally, but she is the first for Kristin & Justin. Those are going to be some wild family holidays!

Corey and I spent all weekend finishing up our organizing and beginning to clean for next weekend. We will have a whole bunch of guests -- Corey's mom, my mom, my Aunt Toni, and my sister Erin. Together we will have three pregnant women (Erin, Toni and I), two women who are probably glad they are past that stage (Barb and Mom), and one poor guy who will have to deal with all of the craziness (Corey). Good luck, Corey -- you're going to need it. Everyone is going to be in town for a baby shower thrown by Erin and my friend, Sara Thomas.

Yesterday was January 13th, which is two short months away from Charlotte's due date of March 13th! Thank goodness we finally started childbirth classes, though we were amazed to find that there were a few people in the class whose babies were due on or a little before the last class! At least we didn't procrastinate THAT long. I'm also signed up for a breastfeeding class next month. The class description invites the fathers to come along as well, but Corey emphatically refused when I brought it up. Guess I'm on my own.

Charlotte's Web

As we wrote before, we had a LOT of help getting Charlotte's room whipped into shape (though there are some finishing details left to be completed) from my parents and Grandpa Chuck. Here are some photos of the room to give you an idea of our progress.


Alicia from across the street painted us this sign before we even knew we were having a girl (but had already picked out the name, obviously!). Alicia's instincts were correct!


Here's the crib my parents bought for her, along with the crib sheets from Grandpa Chuck. The bed does convert to a double bed, but we probably won't use it as such since we have Corey's old twin bed and the matching one we found at the antique store in Rochester.


I absolutely love the glider and practice gliding in it often. The color of the fabric we chose was named "ginger", and I tried to tie it into the room with some of the fabric in the valances.


The Michigan State mobile (a gift from Corey's cousins, Erin and Katie) plays the MSU fight song in such a pretty way that it really does sound just like a lullaby. If Charlotte's first words are "Sparty" and "East Lansing", I won't be surprised.


The moon light Corey found is set on a dimmer so we can turn it on very low for late-night feedings. It's probably my favorite part of the room and really adds a lot of character.

Anyone think we need to put up a little spiderweb in the corner with "Some Pig" spelled out in it? Maybe for Halloween...

31 Weeks Down, 63 Days to Go!

Okay, so the illustration of Charlotte at 31 weeks is a little creepy because the eyes are partially open, but don't let that distract you from the fact that we are starting to barrel down the home stretch -- LITERALLY! I'm pretty sore from my ligaments/tendons/whatever on my sides stretching to accommodate Charlie Jo as she continues to grow. I'm starting to look for any excuse to avoid having to climb stairs, and Corey is sick of me offering to pay him $5 every time I need something from the second floor. Sorry about that.

The good news is that we start childbirth education class tonight! The bad news is that it means we're going to miss the party our neighborhood is having to watch our neighbor, Alicia, on the gameshow "Don't Forget the Lyrics" (airing on Fox at 8 pm CST). Considering I went with her to try out for the gameshow last summer (yeah, I didn't even make it to the second round!), I'm especially interested to see how she did. How in the world she managed to keep her winnings quiet for all these months since the taping is beyond me. Tune in an watch for her if you get a chance.

Here's what is happening with Charlotte at 31 weeks:

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. She weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. She can turn his head from side to side, and her arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. She's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

Charlotte is definitely moving around TONS lately. I think she may have already hit her growth spurt based on the aforementioned side pains I have been getting. My belly button is getting shallower and shallower. Soon, I may look like a certain male relative of Corey's who forever lost his belly button after hernia surgery. (Though he has a MUCH flatter tummy!) Hee hee.

Lots of babies

I'm following the courses of four other pregnancies besides mine at the moment: (1) Erin's, (2) Aunt Toni's, (3) Kristin Banz's, and (4) Susan Nelson's. Susan is the wife of Matt, who is a law school buddy of my brother-in-law, Andrew. I met them when I got to stay with Erin and Andrew last fall after a business trip. Matt and Susan have an absurdly adorable daughter named Fiona (she's just shy of 2 years old, I think) and Susan just gave birth to a second daughter, Whitney. Whitney was diagnosed in utero with a serious form of spina bifida, and the Nelsons have been writing a terrific blog about the entire experience. (http://www.whitneynelson.blogspot.com/) It looks like Whitney's post-birth surgery to close her spinal lesion went really well, and I'm going to continue to follow her progress. After meeting Matt, Susan and Fiona, I think that if there ever was a family special enough to have a baby with such special needs, it's definitely the Nelsons!

As for the other pregnancies, I'm DYING to hear how Kristin is doing. (For those on Corey's side of the family, Kristin is my Aunt Kim's neice who lives near San Diego.) When she wrote me a few days ago, she was fast approaching her due date and was already starting to dilate a couple of centimeters. She and Justin chose not to find out the baby's gender, and the suspense is killing me. Considering how close Kristin, Erin and I all were to the entire process of bringing our "susin" (sister/cousin), Abbey, into this world, it seems fitting that all three of us are going to have babies within 5 months of each other. Now that Kristin & Justin are living back on American soil, I'm hoping we can all meet up to show off the new little ones later this year or next -- maybe up in San Luis Obispo at Uncle Jerry & Aunt Kim's??

I'm still cracking up that my sister and I are both pregnant at the same time as our Aunt Toni. Yes, she is closer in age to use than our father (her oldest brother), but isn't it hilarious that she will become a great aunt while she's still pregnant? I can't wait to see if big sister Emma will end up with a little brother or sister. I hear Uncle Eric is convinced the baby is a girl, so we'll have to see if his intuition was as accurate as Corey's was.

Finally, I just heard from Erin that the results of her quad screen were totally normal, which means her baby probably does not have neural tube defects (like Whitney's spina bifida). Too bad there's not a test to check to see if either of our babies are going to suffer from the Scott eyebrows. Do you think that could be corrected with fetal surgery before birth? JUST KIDDING!!! I'm so happy Erin finally seems to have gotten past all of her morning (actually, morning/noon/night) sickness and is feeling a whole lot better. I can't wait to see her in a week and a half when she comes down for a baby shower. Watch the blog for a photo of us comparing bellies!

Everything is A-OK

I had my 30-week appointment yesterday and got to meet another doctor in the practice (they rotate you around a little so you will be familiar with everyone else in case your own OB isn't available for the birth). Her name is Dr. Kim Scott, which made me giggle. (She politely smiled when I told her I had an aunt with the same name.) So far, I have really liked the other doctors in the practice (they're all fairly young women!), so I'm not stressed out at all about whether Dr. Bell will be the actual one to catch Charlotte on her way out.

Anyway, Dr. Scott confirmed that everything looks "A-OK" with my pregnancy so far. My blood pressure is terrific, the baby's heartbeat is right on target, and there are absolutely no warning signs to indicate I made a mistake in choosing the hospital closest to home (Williamson Medical) rather than hoofing it over 20 miles to Vanderbilt with its high-level NICU. [Corey keeps telling me that the hospital is so close (barely over a mile from home) that I should just walk there when I'm in labor instead of wasting the gas. Yeah, right.] So, the only disappointment I had with the visit was when I accidentally grabbed a banana Dum-Dum sucker out of the basket instead of the peach one I had been going for. Talk about a nasty surprise when I popped it in my mouth on the interstate on my way back to work!

All in all, I'm still feeling great and feeling Charlotte kicking all over the place a bunch of times each day. My sister recently started feeling her own baby moving around, which was really exciting to hear. BabyZone.com says I only have 65 more days to go until the due date! Time seems to have been speeding up as of late...

30 Weeks

Goodness gracious! With all of the holiday traveling, guest hosting, and business traveling we have done over the past few weeks, I have completely neglected to post any updates. First, we spent Christmas up in Michigan with Corey's family. While there, we saw a Michigan State basketball game (no, we weren't able to get a photo of Sparty rubbing my belly), had a family baby shower (so many great gifts from all of the Taylor/Stringer/Sanderson women! Thank you so much, Stephanie!!), ate TONS of food, opened a bunch of terrific presents, and saw the world's most over-decorated house (the one that caused a traffic jam of "Christmas light tourists", not the really cool one that had the lights timed to music).

Once we returned from Michigan, I spent nearly an entire day stuck in the house while the slowest carpet installers EVER put in new carpeting in the two front bedrooms, upstairs hallway, and main staircase. It looks fabulous, but that was the longest day of my life.

Then, my mom, dad, and Grandpa Chuck flew in to help us paint Charlotte's room and bathroom (photos of that in a later post!). In addition to the painting, Corey and my dad installed two ceiling fans with lights, a closet light, a moon pendant lamp, a new light switch for the attic light, and did a bunch of other little fix-it tasks. It was a busy few days! Grandpa Chuck kept us entertained while he knit, frogged, and re-knit a shawl over and over again. The most important lesson he learned after New Year's Eve was that he shouldn't knit while tipsy.

The day everyone left, I flew to New York for the Association of American Law Schools annual meeting and an breakfast for NYC Vandy Law alumni. I got to hang out with Corey's cousin, Erin, at her office and caught up with a bunch of alumni acquaintances, but by Friday night I was SO happy to be back in my own bed. After a dinner party with some of our favorite neighbors (the Marshalls), a visit with Sara Thomas and 18-month-old Annabelle, and an evening in Ronnie & Jean Ballentine's garage watching the Titans game, I think I'm finally ready to go back to work tomorrow for my last 7 weeks of work(!).

Since I missed the 29-week post, I'll just share what's going on with Charlotte at 30 weeks:

Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face.

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.