Busy Weekend!

What a great weekend! Baby's Grandpa and Grandma Rankin came to visit Saturday. It is always great to have them in Chicago. They appreciate the city as much as we do! We made the trip out to IKEA to check out baby items. They had some cute stuff but most were play things that will be better to get for him once he gets older. We picked up some essentials like wooden baby hangers though! Later we went to check out the Christmas lights on the Magnificent Mile (see the pic above - beautiful!) and out to dinner at one of our favorite Latin restaurants, Mambo Grill. Baby was pretty low key but he did manage to show Grandpa and Grandma some of his moves. He especially enjoyed Grandma's singing!

This morning we had to get up early for our first prenatal class at the hospital. It was 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. We learned so much about labor (my first birthing video experience...not so bad), relaxation techniques, hospital practices, etc. As a first time parent-to-be it was really informative and helpful. We toured the hospital to see the check-in area, labor & delivery rooms, recovery rooms, etc. We are so lucky because the hospital is only a year or so old and it's beautiful! Flat screen tv's and Bose sound CD/ipod players! Both Joe and I think the class was worth it and feel that much more prepared. We are getting there!

We're so excited to head back to Grand Rapids for the Thanksgiving holiday to see family and friends. Of course, we're very pumped for our first baby showers! Can't wait!

29.5 weeks

Picture from two nights ago at 29.5 weeks. 38.5" around and growing! :) You may also be happy to know that a woman offered me her seat on the bus this morning even though my big down jacket was zipped up. If she could tell through that big coat then it must be REALLY apparent I'm pregnant!

Third Trimester!

First off...Happy Birthday to "Uncle" John Rankin!

We made it! I can hardly even believe I am over 70% through. The second trimester went by so fast and was so wonderful. Finding out the sex, experiencing his first kicks, finally starting to "show". I felt better during my second trimester than I did before I was pregnant! I know that the third trimester will bring on new feelings and challenges for my body, but so far so good!

What can I tell you about Baby Middleton? He is still very active, but his movements are more rolls, squirms and light jabs and kicks. My belly shape is constantly changing depending on where he's going or decided to cuddle up. I can feel him creep up close to my rib cage and then turn all around a while later. I am not sure, but I think he responds to music and talking. He'll be moving like crazy and then we'll stop to watch him or feel him move and, of course, he'll stop too. I feel really fortunate that Joe can see and feel him move a lot of the time. Of course, he thinks it's kind of "creepy", but it is so cool that he gets to share in the experience now.

Books and Web sites have him anywhere from 15-17" this week. Wow! He is around 2.5 lbs. Personally, I think he might be a little bigger, but I've never been through this before and probably just think that because I'm not used to anything even near that size being inside of me. I found this great Web site, Future Babies, that shows 3D ultrasounds of babies all throughout pregnancy. Check out the 29 week babies! It helps me to envision him as a real baby like this and not the sketch drawings in most books. I bet he is so cute in there and is already getting little chubby cheeks!

He was there!

Yes, "Joe Jr." was there! Check out the left hand side of the picture above for a red circle highlighting approximate location. 

Regardless of your political preference or who you voted for, you have to admit it was a historic night. Joe and I wanted to make sure that we could tell baby that he was "there" (as a stow away in my belly)! We were fortunate enough to get tickets to the rally and considering that it all went down less than a half mile from our house, we made sure we were there for the experience. It was amazing! So much positive energy everywhere. Of course, Obama is an amazing speaker and it was very moving to be there to hear it. I am overwhelmed with emotion to think about the fact that America made a huge statement about race (the walls are down!) and that for our son's generation the color of your skin will not mean a thing! 

Loving our active boy

This week our babycenter.com e-newsletter said that he is finally opening his eyes! I find that exciting because I remember way back when we were just reading about his eyelids forming and they mentioned he wouldn't be opening them for a very long time. That long time is here!

According to the experts, he also has regular waking and sleeping schedules. These days though, I am not sure when he is actually sleeping besides at night when I am sleeping. He seems to be moving almost constantly. Some days he is much more active than others. I asked my doctor about it and she said it depends on my activities. Walking and movement lull him to sleep, which is why he seems to be less active on the weekends. The times I feel him the most are when I'm at work...probably because I'm sitting still while he's awake. While she thinks it's unnecessary for me to count his kicks, she says a great way to test that he's ok (if I'm worried) is to drink an OJ or coke and then lay down. All of that sugar going right to him will wake him right up! I start most days with an OJ so I guess I am riling him up from the start. :)

I went shopping at lunch today and couldn't resist buying him a little hat for this winter...and also this great coat for next fall! It was over 50% off and it should be just the right size for next year. I keep staring at it and thinking of how cute he is going to look!

Joe and I measured my belly again this week and this time it was only 37.5 inches around. I certainly did not shrink, so it must be that we switched from using a tape measure to ribbon. We'll see if we get different results next week!

26 weeks and counting!

As you can see, he is growing (and therefore I am growing too)! I am going to start measuring and tracking my belly growth. This may spoil the toilet paper shower game, but right now I am 39.5 inches around. We'll see what next week brings!

I can hardly believe that this week he is 14 inches long. Well, maybe I can. Last week I felt him move in two totally separate locations at the same time (a first - before it was always one focused kick). I think his arms were punching my upper left side and his legs were kicking my lower right abdomen in one swift stretch of sorts. He must've been lying on an angle in there. He has had some really active days lately and they are just the BEST! Friday night I was too distracted watching my belly move to focus on the movie we were watching. Sometimes it even makes me laugh because he is just so wild in there! I want to know what he's up to!

Joe and I are reading to him a lot. Joe is a big Dr. Seuss fan so we've started those and I am reading him Curious George stories from a book Cameron & Casey Braybrook bought for us. I'm also reading aloud articles from Real Simple and other books and magazines - he doesn't really know the difference, right? I can't wait until he is here and we can read more fun books together. I have seen some really cute ones about city life that I can't wait to get my hands on.

I got the invite to my first baby shower, which will be hosted by Paula Nowakowski and the "group", last week! It was so exciting to get it in the mail and it is adorable! We're trying to finish up registering this week. It is quite overwhelming. Decor for his room is especially hard. I just want it to be perfect!

24 weeks!

We hit the sixth month mark on Saturday October, 11th. It was also Mike and Amy's wedding - congratulations to the Tomaszewski's! We spent the weekend in Lake Geneva, WI, where they got married. It was such a gorgeous fall weekend and it was so nice to be out of the city where we could relax. We went to an orchard and got a pumpkin family...three sizes, one for each of us, including a "baby" pumpkin for the baby! We were also able to swim, which felt so great.

My belly continues to grow exponentially! I have a theory that it grows the most over the weekends when I have a chance to do a lot of sleeping and eating. Whereas before my uterus was below my belly button, it has moved to above my belly button. For the first time today I could feel the baby move at least 1-2 inches above my belly button...it is a weird feeling when I am used to him being so much lower! Having him way up there is making it harder to bend over. Time to move to slip-on shoes!

He is a full 12 inches now (about the length of an ear of corn) and just over a pound. I can tell he is getting a lot bigger. Before, I could mostly just feel kicks or jabs. But now I can feel rolling and twisting (and even SEE rolling and twisting), and I notice these movements a lot more frequently throughout the day as opposed to every now and again. The movements definitely have that "alien" quality everyone talks about - it's so weird to see your belly moving like that without having any control. I read that he has learned to decipher up and down, since his inner ears have formed and they control balance. That is so cool!

He is a very good boy. For the most part he sleeps at night (although two nights ago I woke up and was absolutely ravenous...I grabbed a handful of almonds...I guess he was hungry! I would NEVER have done that before my pregnancy). He even "wakes up" in the mornings with me when Joe says goodbye and rubs my belly! We had dinner with Matt and Susan Maine last night and they got him an awesome onesie that says "Chick Magnet". Perfect for this sure-to-be handsome boy!