Week 18

Okay, so it's week 18... and "they" say it's about time to start feeling some back pain! Right in time, as usual! What I thought was especially interesting was that JUST THIS MORNING I was looking at myself in the mirror thinking... "wow....I don't remember my lower back curving forward that much.... hmm... maybe it always has..." Apparently, my cantaloupe-sized uterus is causing my center of gravity to shift, pulling my lower back forward and pushing my abdomen out! Hmm... who knew?

The baby is about five and a half inches long from crown to rump (about the size of a grapefruit) and weighs about five ounces.

The art of the yawn has been mastered by the baby this week! In fact, it's possible that we might catch a glimpse of that adorable yawn if we're lucky during our ultrasound this month. The baby is finally big enough to be felt moving (and everyone and their mother has asked me if I have yet) but I haven't.... :( Although I am very excited for the day that I do!!!

The baby's nervous system is in working order and rapidly maturing during this time. Nerves, now covered with a substance called myelin (which speeds messages from nerve cell to nerve cell), are forming more complex connections. And those in the brain are further specializing into the ones that serve the senses of touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing. The baby's hearing is growing more acute, making our little one more conscious of sounds that come from inside my body (which must get noisy!) like digestion, hiccups, my heartbeat, etc. The baby is supposedly hiccuping now as well... but like I said, I have yet to feel it.

Daddy is starting to talk to the baby more & more and sometimes sings us to sleep :)

Just another day...

So, one thing I forgot to mention about the ultrasound was that at one point, while we were watching the screen, my uterus began to change shape and looked like the baby's living space was getting smaller & smaller.... I was like... umm, what's going on? Why is my body suffocating my baby? They (completely nonchalantly) said... "oh you're just having a contraction..." WHAT????? Who the heck knew the contractions started this soon? I couldn’t feel anything, of course… but they said pretty much all women have them this early but usually never know unless it’s caught on an ultrasound like this. SO WEIRD!!! I didn't feel even the least bit crampy! I was just so confused! lol. The poor kid looked so cramped up until it passed... I felt bad!

So, just for your reading amusement, I decided to stop at Rita's today (since it JUST opened today in Gloucester County)... and I buy my gelati and everything is fine.... then I go to get in my car and I realize I can't find my keys. Oh, right... they're in the passenger's seat. And I locked the door..... um... GREAT! So, of course I called Jason and of course he was teaching so he couldn't answer....

So I stood there and debated walking to my office.......... then I remembered that we have a spare under the wheel well.... whew. Bailed out of yet ANOTHER D.I.P.S. moment.

Aye aye aye! But I must say.... the ordeal was well worth the fuss!

Another Ultrasound

I had another ultrasound today... at Jefferson University Hospital. This one wasn't as fun as the others, though (unfortunately)... I didn't get any videos or pictures this time because the guy who knew how to work the machine wasn't there to burn me a DVD.. :( So basically I was a pregnant dummy-model for students who were definitely learning..... lol. They must be the new kids on the block.

What we did get out of this ultrasound was seeing a bigger baby in there who was actually starting to look a little crowded, a heartbeat of 156, and all measurements looking very consistent (still) with most of them showing up as 17 weeks and 3 or 4 days (which is pretty close).

I tested the students to see if they could tell me what the sex of the baby was... and I didn't tell them about the other appointment. Again, they found what they thought to be "male parts" but weren't confident so they called the instructor in and she said "I can pretty confidently tell you that it's a boy but I don't want to say 100%, since it's still sort of early to know for sure." At that point, I told them all that I had another doctor say the same thing the previous week so I was just trying to see what they'd say and if they could find anything.

So, that's another confirmation to us that Baby Straub is, in fact, a baby boy! :)

Week 17

Welp, Baby Straub is about the size of my palm now... about the size of a mango. His heart is now regulated by his brain (no more random beats) to beat 140 to 150 times per minute — about twice as fast as mine! The baby's body is accumulating fat (join the club, kid!) and will continue to do so throughout the entire pregnancy. By the time the baby is born, his body fat will make up about 2/3 of his weight!

The baby is almost certainly listening up by now. Loud noises — i.e. the dog barking or mommy/daddy yelling at the dog — will actually startle your baby (and also get him or her used to such noises) I've read that fetuses who regularly hear a dog barking will become babies who sleep right through the dog's outbursts, which means Jantzi might just survive this transition!

The baby's eyes (which have fortunately finished their migration to the front of his head) are making small side-to-side movements and are perceiving light, though the eyelids are still sealed. The baby is perfecting his sucking and swallowing skills in preparation for that first "meal" in the real world.

Within the next week or so, the pads on your baby's fingertips and toes will become adorned with completely individual swirls and creases...making his fingerprints one-of-a-kind!

It's a ....................... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, many of you may have already heard, but here's the scoop:

Today we went to our appointment at the high-risk doctor (they wanted to test my blood because something goofy showed up in my iron count or whatever... nothing to worry about). Anyway, unbeknownst to me, they had every intention of doing an ultrasound! What a fun surprise!

As Jason and I sat in the room waiting for the technician, I said... "hey, how weird would it be if she could actually see the sex of the baby today and we weren't even expecting to know till next week or 2 weeks from now!" Jason said he was thinking the exact same thing but didn't want to get too excited!

She came back in and started taking all of her measurements and whatnot. Then, when she was getting the femur length (femur = thigh bone for those of you who are going "fe-who?"). She was taking the measurement, and I was looking at the screen and I saw something between the kiddos legs. I thought to myself... um.... is that what I think it is? Then the technician stopped and said "oup.... look at that! It's early yet, but if I had to guess, I'd definitely say that's a little boy in there!" I said "yeah, I was about to ask if that was something... I saw it too" Then a couple seconds later she tried peeking again and found that little spot again with no problem. She said "Yeah, if you asked me, based on that I'd definitely say it's a boy... although I would wait for a few weeks before you go paintin' the nursery!!!"

So, the vast majority of you who have voted boy... chances are you're very good guessers! Like I said, we may not know for absolute sure, but it seemed awful promising that the little bun in the oven will be named Karson! :)

For now, we have the pronoun we were asking for. From this point forward, (or until further notice), we will refer to said baby as "he."

And all God's people say: AMEN!

Jantzi's Hair Cut!!!

This post is for anyone who is interested... I'm just really excited to show him off!!! I'm sure Tara will appreciate it more than anyone but it really is remarkable!

Jantzi got a REALLY great grooming from a good friend of mine who is AWESOME at her job! Take a gander at our gorgeous pup...

BEFORE

AFTER

WHOA! He looks like he (somehow) got 2 years younger! What a difference!


Beard.....No beard... What a pretty little face! Who even knew it was under all that scruff! And who the heck knew this dog even had a neck!???? Turns out he does... and that it's like a whole foot long!

Trying to get a full body shot...

Yes, Jantzi has a very "unique" look, ungroomed. It's charming and adorable in it's own special little way... but I just can't get over how ADORABLE he is after being groomed! He looks like a tiny little puppy! Losing all that scruff and that beard makes him look so skinny and he just moves around like he feels lighter... (and if you saw HOW MUCH HAIR was on the floor of that grooming salon, you'd completely understand!)

He's just so soft & handsome. I can't imagine him getting in trouble for anything over the next few weeks.... lol. He's just too cute!

The Name Game

Okay... it's time for some fun! After much deliberation, we've decided on two names (one for a boy, one for a girl).

We had this idea that it would be really neat to name our kids after us, but in reverse. The name we came up with for a girl named after her daddy was Jasey and we loved it! Jason means "healer; to heal" and Jasey means the same, but also means "a gift." So we just liked the name all around and it was a go.

Coming up with a name for a boy named after his mommy was a little harder. Of course, we originally thought of the obvious... Kristopher.... and considered Kristian... but for whatever reason, I just wasn't really "sold" on either of those names. I don't know whether they felt too common to me or what, but they just weren't sinking in as much, as quickly, or as deeply as "Jasey" had.

So..... I kept pondering........................

Kristy is derived from Christian (which isn't news to anyone...) so I started looking up Christian and trying to find other derivatives of the name. The first one I read was Carson and the wheels started turning!

I thought... Karson.... oooooh, I like that a lot! Karson is also derived from Christian (it sort of sounds like it a little if you think about it... makes sense), so Karson, like Kristy, means "bearer/follower of Christ."

The coolest thing (I think) about this whole thing is that Jasey and Kristy have the same ring to them as do Karson & Jason. Both names just seem to really fit!

So, as of now, we're pretty set on those names as our top choices. We thought it would be pretty fun to post a poll for everyone to try to guess what we would choose for middle names. But before we send you into the game blindly, let us explain a little bit about each middle name we're listing so you can make a better-informed decision.

Middle names for Karson:

• James - "to follow" - James is Jason's father's name.
• Josiah - "healed/supported by God" - Jason's middle name is Joseph. Sort of sounds similar, plus we like the meaning.
• Micah - "who is like God?" - with this name, Karson's initials would be the same as mommy's! K.M.S.
• Elijah - "my God is Jehovah" - This has been one of mommy's favorite names for years.
  

Middle names for Jasey:

• Margaret - "pearl" - Margaret is Kristy's mother's name.
• Jordan - "the descender/the watering place" - with this middle name, Jasey's initials would be the same as daddy's! J.J.S.
  
• Hannah - "favor/grace" - This is a name mommy really likes. Aside from being pretty, I think it would be a really fun way to teach Jasey what a palendrome means! :)
  
• Rebekah - "captivating/beautiful" - This is a name daddy really likes; plus one of Jasey's meaning is "a gift"... so a "a beautiful gift" is a pretty cool first & middle name.

So, now that you've been given all of this education/information... vote wisely! There will be great prizes for our winners...... (umm...... except voting is anonymous). Feel free to leave comments as well explaining why you voted the way you did! Have fun! (we sure did!)