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.

Sweet sisters

Ann and Abby spent the night last night while Traci and Bruce are in NYC for their 10th anniversary. This morning Ann asked me if I had a baby in my tummy. I told her I did and we looked at the ultrasound pictures and talked about how big the baby is, etc. Ann looked at me and said 'I need to listen'. She put her ear to my tummy and said 'Oh, Lala, it says everything is OK.'

This is Ann and Abby this morning watching Little Einsteins. This afternoon Tobias and I are traveling to see the Boston Bunns. I have a conference in Boston Monday - Thursday of next week and it was the perfect excuse to take Friday afternoon off and go see Rob, Ginger, Win, Wes, Charlie and Julep!!

Martin Luther (almost) makes me sick!

All things considered, I really can't complain. I am dealing with pregnancy fatigue but so far I have not had to deal sickness. Remembering how sick Traci always was, I often wonder if I am really lucky or if my luck is about to run out. This was the first week that I noticed big changes in how I feel. I am hungry all the time. And getting hungry now means feeling sick. I have moved from eating meals to nibbling all day. At first I was really concerned about gaining weight because I don't usually eat like this, but I don't eat much when I eat - - I just eat all the time.

The closest I came to sickness was in my Thursday Theologians group yesterday. About half way through the session I felt exhausted and began to feel sick, despite the fact that I had eaten. I kept watching the clock thinking 'you can make it - you can make it'. Then we moved from the relatively harmless articles like 'the clergy and celibacy' to Luther's instruction regarding meats. Not sure what it was, but the meats nearly did me in. Thankfully I just felt like I was going to get sick, but never actually got sick. As soon as the clock hit 1315 I was outside in the sunshine getting fresh air, and that made all the difference.

There are some theologians who notoriously make me feel sick (Al Mohler, Page Patterson, Paul Pressler, etc), but this was the first time it was Martin Luther!!!!

Strong heart beat . . . then silence

Today was the second ultrasound for baby Janke. The goal was to see a heartbeat, which should have started about 1.5 weeks ago while I was in England. The red crosses indicate the top and tail (although I can't tell which is which!!).

When the ultrasound started the doctor immediately said, 'I see a heartbeat.' Then he got very quiet for what seemed like an eternity. He was looking at all kinds of angles and then began to explain what I was looking at. He said the reason he got quiet was because he saw what he thought might have been a twin which did not implant, but after looking from several angles he thoughts it was the yolk sack where all the genes are forming.

What the pictures don't show is that hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities we'll one hold and tickle.

If we could see inside the womb, we'd spot eyelid folds partially covering the eyes, which already have some color, as well as the tip of the nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of the baby's brain are growing, and the liver is churning out red blood cells until the bone marrow forms and takes over this role. The baby also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in the baby's growing intestines is bulging into the umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from its tiny body. Not bad for something the size of a blueberry!!!

Important stats: 7.5 weeks pregnant, strong heart beat, due date of 9 November 2008.

Pregnancy in the 21st Century

Tobias and I thought it would be helpful to have a place for you to keep up with the pregnancy and news about life with the Jankes in VA. We will use this space to keep you in touch with all that is happening so that you can go through all of this with us. So keep an eye out for ultrasound pictures and stories of our journey into parenthood.

Funny story number 1. Tobias and I were looking at different budget scenarios for life after baby. I asked Tobias to see what the budget would look like if I stopped working. He was able to put together a very nice budget which gave us a good picture of life without my income. It was all great until we realized he did not budget anything for the baby. He didn't believe me but I ultimately convinced him that babies do cost money.

I leave for England on Monday and already have contact numbers for a good doctor in London in case I need one.

Enjoy!

Love

'Bias and Lala