29 Weeks

Well, it's week 29 and the baby should weigh in at nearly three pounds now and measure about 17 inches. Though he should be getting pretty close to his birth length, he still has to chub out a bit. In fact, over the next 11 weeks, he'll more than double — or even come close to tripling — his weight! And as he grows and room in the womb gets tighter, I'll be less likely to feel those big kicks and more likely to get poked by an elbow or jabbed by a knee, which I can already feel happening a lot more frequently. Just this week I've begun to see movement across my belly that isn't kicking or jerky... much more fluid and quite alienesque! But, of course, every time I tell Jason to look, he's done moving for that moment... figures! :) The picture below is a drawing of about what the little bugger looks like in my womb now, but I'm pretty sure he's breach right now, judging from the way he responds when Jason is singing to my belly... It really feels like he's trying his best to push his head as close to the sound as possible and it also feels like he reaches for it with his hands and pushes against my kidneys and liver with his feet to get his head closer to the noise......... It's very strange.

Kicks for Kacy!!!

YAY!!! Aunt Kacy got to feel her little nephew move and kick tonight!

She was complaining (as usual) that she's the only one who hasn't felt the baby move.... (which, of course, isn't true....) but since she was over catching up on the entire season of LOST that she missed, I figured I'd wiggle the baby around and try to wake him up and get him moving for her....

IT WORKED! He gave her a few solid kicks and she could also just feel him squirming around and re-positioning himself after being rudely disturbed by mommy... she cried. :)

The torture begins........

Grandmom felt Karson kick!!!

Grandmom finally got to feel Karson kick tonight!!! So exciting! So far it's been Daddy, Aunt Candace, and Grandmom...... hopefully more people will start feeling him too!

Really cool story!

Wednesday night, before bed, Jason laid his head on my belly and sang to the baby (which he's done a few times before) but something really cool happened! During the first song he sang, I felt the baby move around like he was getting excited. I told Jason to sing another one and as he did, the baby starting kicking (or pushing) up right where Jason's mouth was... right where his voice could be heard the clearest! He pushed up or kicked 4 times in a row RIGHT in that spot! Jason joked that the baby was telling him to shut up.... but I really believe he was showing us that he liked it!

So, of course, we decided to try it again last night... as soon as Jason came in the room and started talking, the baby started moving around a lot! I was like, "I think he's recognizing your voice!!!" As Jason sang, he did the same thing again, hitting right where his mouth was... which isn't by any means a usual place where I feel kicks. I also felt like the baby was trying to push himself up closer to Jason's voice like he was trying to get close to it but there was this stupid pesky wall in between! It was SO cool! I really think he might be our little musical prodigy.... We keep talking about whether he'll enjoy athletics or music or both.... he's not all that acrobatic so far... not very jumpy.... but he REALLY seems to like Daddy's singing! :)

It was just a really really cool experience on both occasions!

Week 28

Around this time, the should be settling into the proper position for birth, with his head facing downward. He should now be about 2.5 pounds and almost 16 inches long. He's busy adding new skills such as blinking to an already impressive repertoire of tricks like coughing, sucking, hiccuping, and taking practice breaths. His sleep now includes the REM (rapid eye movement) phase — and that means he could be dreaming already! (feel free to comment on what you think he may be dreaming about). Though his lungs are nearly fully mature (so both of you might breathe a little easier if he were born now), your baby still has plenty of growing to do. Of course, it's still best that he doesn't check out of that uterine hotel just yet — there's still a lot of growing and maturing to do over the next 12 weeks.

He's started kicking and moving around a lot more lately. And it's been happening all throughout the day instead of predominantly at night, which is exciting. Aunt Candace actually got to feel him kick this past weekend! Grandmom and everyone else are a little jealous.

Week 27

At this stage of pregnancy, we officially start measuring the baby from head to toe, rather than crown to rump... which means the baby should be about 15 inches in length. He should also weigh close to (if not over) two pounds! Wow!

Most babies this age still like to snuggle in a slightly curled position inside the uterus (thus the term "fetal position"). Maybe because they don't have much of a choice! haha. But when my friend Casandra's baby Ashton was born, he always used to love laying on her stomach all curled up in a snuggle ball. So cute!

The baby's auditory development is progressing as the network of nerves to the ears matures. And even though the sounds he hears are muffled, he or she may recognize both yours and your partner's voices already. I've also read that if Jason presses his ear to my belly, he might be able to hear the baby's heartbeat.... he's excited to try that this week sometime.

The baby's taste buds are very developed now too (with more taste buds than he will ever have outside the womb, actually). Some babies will even respond to certain tastes (like spicy food) by hiccupping. I've read that hiccups feel like belly spasms... which is so weird because I was JUST telling Jason I've been feeling a new kind of movement that feels like muscle spasms in my belly.... So, now I know what that is!

The baby has been moving around quite a bit lately! Sometimes, I can even see my belly move when he kicks or squirms, which is so cool! He's also been really cooperative for Daddy.... on several occasions, Jason has put his hand on my belly while he's kicking and he'll kick right where Jason's hand is several times in a row. Maybe he's slapping him a high-five.... or saying "yo, dad... I'm already crammed enough as it is, can you give me some space?" ahh.... not looking forward to those teenage years quite yet :)

This is my last week in my second trimester! I can't believe it!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Happy Mother's Day! Today is the first time I've been able to celebrate this holiday as a mommy-to-be! Until now, it's always been more of a "happy-unfertilized-egg-day" haha!

We really enjoyed the weather today with my mom, sisters, hubby, nephew, and max (my sister's boyfriend) at Bethel Mill Park; our traditional mother's day activity. Played some tennis and other games, barbequed, etc... it was nice. Then, Jason and I went to his parents house for dinner (or more like dessert!) to celebrate Mother's Day with his mom, sisters, etc.

Then, when I came home, my mom gave me a really cool mother's day present; MY FIRST MATERNITY CLOTHES! yay! Even though I'm not showing a ton quite yet, these clothes are much more comfortable on my belly and will give me a little room to grow. I was so excited! (Thanks, Mommy!!!).

Just for fun, I'll post some of the mother's day pictures we took for my mom! Funny story first... I usually get pictures printed online but I didn't have much time so I took them to Walgreen's instead... well, the dude behind the counter told me I needed to have a signed release from the studio that the photos were taken in or I couldn't have them printed... I tried explaining that we did them in my living room, but he didn't believe me. I had to get a business card from my car and then I STILL had to sign a paper, releasing the prints to myself!!! lol. Geez!

The Fam (minus quite a few)

Kacy & Max....... & Jason & me... (like the symmetry? we didn't even plan that!)

Jason & Bid (my nephew)

Me & My Sisters (again... minus a couple!)

There's plenty more to choose from, but you get the gist. It was a goofy, yet fun event.

R.I.P. little bunnies....

So... during our yard sale, I almost stepped on a tiny little bunny who was sitting in a puddle, soaking wet & shivering... about to get run over or eaten (or stepped on). I picked the little guy up and took him to dry land... Jason's paternal instinct kicked in early, as he held the bunny close to his chest with a towel to get him dry & warm him up. I wandered back over to where I found him and found another one in the same condition! After a fervent search, I concluded that these must have been the only two.... so, we decided we would try to take care of them.

We got some kitty milk and pulled out our old dropper bottle we used to feed Oliver... and Aunt Kacy finally took over after a few days since she was better at getting them to eat. They were doing really great for about a week... but sadly, one died. A few days later, brother followed suit. :( They were so cute (& so sweet).... but we didn't have as much luck with them as we have with our other stray vagabond pets. Look how cute they were.........

bye-bye little buddies! sorry we couldn't spend more time with you!

Week 26

This week, the baby opens his eyes for the first time! I, on the other hand, can't keep mine closed! I have fallen helpless victim to pregnancy insomnia. I have trouble getting comfortable and being able to breathe at the same time... lol and I have to get up every 2 or 3 hours to pee.... and then start the whole process over again, but sometimes strong pangs of hunger take me on a tour of the kitchen at 3 am first.... then no matter what I snack on to quench the hunger, I get heartburn when I lay back down and have to chew one of my little tablets... lol. What a mess! The dog is so confused every night.

The baby now weighs a full two pounds measuring 9 or more inches! This week, his eyes, which until now were developing under fused eyelids, start to open! This means if the baby spots a bright light, he may move around a little more! The baby's brain-wave activity is kicking in at this stage in fetal development as well, which means he can not only hear noises but can now also respond to them with an increase in pulse rate or activity. Last night, Jason and I were singing a song that was stuck in both of our heads and he started moving around SO much!!! I was amazed! It was like he was telling us he was enjoying the serenading (or he was telling mommy to shut the heck up so he could hear daddy better!)... lol.

He started kicking up a storm and Jason put his hand on my lower abdomen and the baby kicked his hand like 5 times in a row! He was so excited! We were both so thrilled that Jason could feel distinct kicks and feel more than one.... it was very cool! Then daddy fell asleep and baby kept dancing for about an hour........ lol. And mommy stared into the darkness of her room, listening to daddy slumber oh-so-peacefully and laughing at the dog whimpering and dream-barking.... I'm starting to get used to the idea that it will soon be a common experience to be wide awake with baby in the middle of the night. ahh..... I can't wait!
The baby will soon be feeling a little cramped in my uterus...(as you can see above) There's still plenty of room for him to grow, but he'll soon have less room for those somersaults, cartwheels, and other Olympic feats.... such as using my bladder as a soccer ball!