Time flies

Looks like we have lost track of some time. Can't believe we haven't updated in 2 weeks! Sorry for going quiet.

Let's see . . . we had our 16 week ultrasound. This one was an audio ultrasound (versus visual) and we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat. For what it's worth, the heart rate was between 150-157. There is an urban legend about heart rates and gender but it's like all 'predict the gender' games. . . it is accurate 50% of the time. That being said, according to the nurse/midwife we are in the boy range. (She has maintained it's a boy since day one.) We will know for sure if it's a boy or a girl sometime around 13 June when I have my 20 week ultrasound. Right now we have agreement on a girl's name but not on a boy's name. If it turns out to be a boy then we will have to get that resolved. Just an FYI - we have decided not to share the name until the baby is born so that will have to be a surprise.

Work on the addition continues. We are up to dry wall at this point. If all goes to plan the contractors should be done the end of this week and we will take over after that. We have already made the requisite IKEA run. Christof, you will be happy to know the 'IKEA effect' lives on. Tried to stick to our budget . . . but you know how it goes.

Things continue to go well with the pregnancy. The only issue I had was illness last week, but it was a good old fashioned head cold and nothing specific to the pregnancy. It's fun trying to deal with cold symptoms sans medicine. For the most part I am better and really only felt terrible about 3 days last week.

I guess that's the news for now. Love to you all!

The show(tunes) must go on!!!!

I have always admired Tobias' skill with electronics and all the work he does around the house have everything wired. But today I realized it's all self-preservation.

I was working in the kitchen and listening to the Showtunes music channel when Tobias walked in with these headphones. It was then that I realized that it was time for Tobias to watch soccer. He connected the wireless headphones to the TV in the guest room and turned on the Showtunes channel so I could listen to my music while he watched soccer. So notice what's on the TV in kitchen while I work.

And on other side of the island . . .Tobias watches his soccer free of show tunes. Only two problems with this plan, the headphones don't stop me from singing and Tobias still thinks I should be able to hear him talking when these are on . . .

Making room for baby

Construction began this week to enclose our side porch. This space will allow us to move furniture out of our study and convert that into the guest room. Then we'll have space to set up a nursery. Just so we all know that everything is right in the universe . . . yes, Tobias does have an elaborate wiring plan so that this room too will have TV, it's own sound zone, and internet. He's even getting the builders to include an extra 2"x8" in the framing to support his wall mounts. My contributions have been a vaulted ceiling (which means extra cost), constantly changing my mind about the location of the door, and painting the brick.

We have a contractor doing the work through dry wall and we will take over from there. When the room is done we hope to have a comfy space for reading and watching TV as well a very casual dining area.

We are now at 15 weeks. Second trimester feels a lot better than the first, but now it's weight gain time - - on average a pound a week. Yikes!!

Caving (or distending) to the pressure

After much pressure from family I have decided to post a picture of the 15 week tummy. Here it is. Guess it's only onward and outward from here!!!

The baby bump begins

Today marks the beginning of our second trimester. I still have a ways to go before I look pregnant, but the baby bump has begun. For weeks I have been uncomfortable in my pre-pregnancy clothes, but this week I got to the point they no longer fit well at all. I took the plunge and got my first pieces of maternity clothes. If I didn't hate shopping so much this might go a lot faster. I am still living with about half of my normal energy so shopping is not how I want to use my good energy. I guess necessity will get me back in the shops soon. For now, though, I am enjoying waists without buttons and zippers. (That's the best way to say 'I am enjoying elastic waists' - - but there is part of me that just does not want to confess that!)

According to the books baby Janke is now the size of a clenched fist (a skill, by the way, s/he now has), and s/he also has the coordination, strength, and smarts to wiggle his or her fingers and toes and even suck a thumb (how cute is that?).

A bouncing baby . . . literally

Today we had our 12 week ultrasound. To went with me for this one since it's actually possible to see a baby at this point. The heart beat was clearly visible and the nurse said very strong and healthy. We could also clearly see the head (which is about 50% of the baby right now). The dark matter in the head is the developing brain and fluid. Also visible today were arms, legs, and fingers. The baby decided to touch its head and do some flips for us so we got to see the arms and legs in action.
Delivery date has been updated to 31 October 2008.

I continue to be very lucky in that I am not suffering with sickness but I have some days where I remain very fatigued and hungry. For the sake of our grocery budget I told Tobias I need to be banned from grocery shopping until I can do it without being hungry. Today's journey, which was supposed to be for 4 items, ended up costing nearly $70. At the time 5 cereals, Triscuits, and a zillion fruits and veges made sense. All in all though, I can't complain.

In the first picture the red X's mark the measurements points from head to bottom (not including outstretched legs). In the second you are looking at the top of the head and the arrow marks the elbow joint of the arm. We told the baby to save its salutes for Poppa Marine. :)

The next ultrasound will be 9 May. Since Mami and Papi will be there I hope that both grandmothers will come along!!

Theta Beta Beta

Last week was a great week visiting Rob, Ginger, Winston, Wesley, Charlie, and Julep in Boston. As Rob and Ginger pointed out, since their house consists of 4 boys and one girl, Ginger has joined a fraternity. And, based on their roles, Rob and Ginger are the pledges since they are doing all the dirty jobs for the brothers. Here is a picture of the founding members of Theta Beta Beta (the Greek letters transliterated for 'The Bunn Boys'.)

What you can't see in the picture is what the brothers were discussing when I took the picture . . . Charlie decided life was getting too safe for the pledges. Win and and Wes agreed and they decided to make Rob and Ginger learn a new schedule by dropping their 3rd nap and adding a feeding. They decided the timing was good on this since Rob and Ginger were consummed with house-hunting and buying their first home.

Certainly gave me great appreciation for two great parents who are handling having 3 babies very well. Makes one seem like a walk in the park.