Photo Shoot!

Over the past week, Vik and I have: (1) finished the nursery (which is ADORABLE), (2) had our baby shower (which was AWESOME), and (3) taken some new maternity photos (which are GORGEOUS*). That means that over the next week or so, we will be posting lots of pictures!

We begin with the maternity photos because, well, they are the only pictures we have gotten around to uploading and editing. Enjoy!

34 and 1/2 Weeks!

Not Bad, Right?

The Rear View

A Duck for my Duck!

The Belly Gets Some Love!

* All of these photos were taken and edited by Vik, and so all credit for their gorgeousness goes to him!

Blame it on the Hormones . . .

… if I am going to be completely honest about it, I have to admit that I often find myself wondering what in the world I’ve gotten myself into.

Up until very recently, my pregnancy hormones had been very kind to me. My skin has remained clear, my hair thick and shiny, and my mood has been generally upbeat. I have not been prone to mood swings nor have I been weepy, hyper-sensitive, or (unreasonably) bitchy.

Well, in the past several weeks, things have started to change — I can literally feel the hormones surging through my body. Although my skin and hair still look great (which, of course, is the most important thing), I have been nesting like crazy (our closets have never been so well-organized) and have also become increasingly (and overly) emotional. I almost don’t recognize this woman who is suddenly having overblown emotional reactions to relatively neutral occurrences, is crying frequently and for no apparent reason, and is just generally anxious and overwhelmed.

Don’t get me wrong, I am unequivocally overjoyed at the thought of bringing my Little One home … but if I am going to be completely honest about it, I have to admit that I often find myself wondering what in the world I’ve gotten myself into.

I worry constantly about whether I will be a good mom, whether the baby will be healthy, and how the cost of this endeavor will affect our long-term financial plans.

I question whether I am reading the right books, buying the right products, and learning the right skills.

I am scared of how my body (and psyche) will react to prolonged sleep deprivation.

I worry whether I will be able to breastfeed successfully, how I will cope with the isolation of being holed up in our townhouse with a newborn, and how in the world I will balance a demanding career with the demands of motherhood.

Most of all, I worry that because of all of this (i.e., the sleep deprivation, the demanding career, the financial pressure, and my general lack of knowledge), I will simply be unable to be the sweet, loving, and infinitely patient mother my precious baby deserves …

¿…Who-Dee-Knee…?

…we continue to marvel at his magical prowess…

My son has been quite the magician these past few days. He’s been working hard on mastering the mysterious art of illusion. He makes a GRAND appearance – and I mean GRAND – elbows, knees, hands, and feet flailing about and mysteriously poking out the side of his mama’s belly. He provides unscheduled (albeit extraordinarily entertaining) “sessions” of squirming and squiggling in his mamma’s belly. And the list goes on and on…

And then… nothing! Seconds turn into minutes; minutes into hours… And the anticipation (er, I mean, anxiety, really) builds exponentially. He has such a way about his mysterious disappearance acts that he must have trained under the great Houdini, one would think. These bouts of mysterious quiescence often result in mommy and daddy frantically trying to get the magician to reappear – tempting and enticing him with sweets, sugar, caffeine (just a little, relax), carbs, and any other nutritious foods at hand. Most times it works, but sometimes it takes a while before Ducky The Great decides to reappear. I understand that this is part of his charm, part of his program, part of his routine – but, honesty, I could do well without the anxiety anticipation!

However, in the end, we continue to marvel at his magical prowess combined with his fantastic acrobatic skills, and are only happy when he’s whaling on the insides of his mommy…

I can’t wait to meet this kid!

PS: The ¿…? was on account of the fact that I’m presently en route to Madrid (business trip, of course) for a few days. Viva la vida!

He’s a Maniac, Maniac, That’s for Sure!

… don’t even get me started on the joys of having a baby use your bladder as a trampoline at 3 o’clock in the morning!

As is apparent from previous posts, this Little One has been showing off his acrobatic skills for quite some time. Initially, these activities were confined to right around bed time and first thing in the morning. Lately, however, he has been wiggling, kicking, and punching for hours and hours on end  . . . I have no idea when he sleeps!

While I of course find this absolutely adorable, I also find it enormously distracting! Carrying on a conversation with a co-worker is more than a little difficult with a four (plus) pound baby bouncing back and forth across your belly. And, don’t even get me started on the joys of having a baby use your bladder as a trampoline at 3 o’clock in the morning!

All of this prolonged activity really makes me wonder what is going on in there. Is he playing? Trying to get comfortable? Exercising? Voguing? What I wouldn’t give to know . . .

In addition to being super-active, this Little One also has a distinct preference for the right side of my tummy. He never, ever hangs out on the left side, which means that my bouncing belly is also extremely lopsided, a situation that is less than ideal from an aesthetic perspective. And, forget trying to move him over – once he finds a position he likes, he is staying put, no matter what.*

All I can say is that if this little guy is half as active and willful outside the womb as he is inside, then Vik and I are going to have our hands full!

* I am pretty sure that he acquired this skill from his father, who has the ability to stay seated in his recliner for what seems like days on end, despite endless nagging encouragement from me to get up and get some work done!

A Journey Down the Produce Aisle

I subscribe to a weekly e-newsletter that details how my Little One is developing week-by-week. My favorite part of each newsletter is a little paragraph that describes his size and weight for that week — it is amazing to read just how quickly he is growing!

In order to illustrate relative weight and/or length, the newsletter each week says something along the lines of: “This week your baby is [insert weight and length], which is roughly the size of [insert name of fruit or vegetable].” For a while, I found these comparisons quite useful — I was genuinely awed to imagine my baby sprouting from a poppy seed (4 weeks) to a kidney bean (8 weeks) to a lime (12 weeks), in the span of only eight weeks!

As the weeks go by, however, I am finding these comparisons less informative (and certainly less flattering to my Little One). To be honest, I have trouble picturing my baby as an “average rutabaga” (25 weeks), and I struggle to comprehend the significance of his progression from a “Chinese cabbage” (28 weeks) to a plain old “cabbage” (30 weeks) and from a “spaghetti squash” (22 weeks) to a “butternut squash” (29 weeks). And I am not too proud to admit that I had to consult Google when my baby grew into a “jicama” (32 weeks).  I will no doubt be consulting Google again in 3 weeks when he grows into a “crenshaw melon.”

Of course, I recognize the difficulty of sticking with a single theme for forty weeks — there are bound to be some weeks that are less usefully descriptive than others. At any rate, I guess I should just be grateful that they did not go with animals . . . I am not sure I want to imagine my precious baby growing from a field mouse, to a house mouse, to a sewer rat!

A Baby's Development (in produce . . . and one random crustacean)

32-Week Update

We went to the doctor this morning for our 32-week visit, and everything continues to look great!  The baby is measuring exactly where he should be, and his heartbeat was strong and regular. 

My weight gain, or lack thereof, continues to (pleasantly) surprise me. I actually maintained my same weight from my last appointment (which, for the record, I was definitely NOT trying to do). The doctor was fine with the lack of gain though, and just advised that I try to gain one pound per week for the rest of the pregnancy. 

I think that means I have the greenlight to gorge now, right?  The only problem is that this Little One never, ever gives me cravings (seriously, not one single craving in 7 months),* and certainly not for unhealthy foods. In fact, whenever I have fries, burgers, or any other type of high-calorie, high-fat food, I get the worst heartburn and indigestion ever!  

I think this baby boy is bound and determined to keep his momma fit and trim … And, I LOVE him for it!

* On a side note, Vik seems to have cravings all the time. I have essentially had to ban him from watching Food Network, because whatever they are cooking on there, he HAS to have for dinner that night! That hardly solves the problem, however, since the same thing happens when he sees a manwich commercial (he HAS to have sloppy joes) or reads something about China on the news (he HAS to order Chinese). Although he has not yet had the nerve to send me out at midnight in search of pickle-flavored gelato, I am starting to think it is only a matter of time!

Bottom Ten, Top Five

At times, pregnancy seems like one great-long list of things you are not allowed to eat, or drink, or do. At the same time, many of the (seemingly few) things that you can eat, or drink, or do, become impossible thanks to your ever-expanding abdomen. Here are just a few of the many things I have been missing:

(1) Lemondrop martinis;

(2) Sleeping on my back or tummy;

(3) My oh-so adorable fitted suits and dresses (my two main motivations for dropping this weight post-baby are named Nanette Lepore and Milly!);

(4) Champagne;

(5) Medium-rare ribeye steaks;

(6) The ability to look at a menu without seeing 30 dishes that could potentially kill my baby;

(7) Rum and Cokes;

(8) My waistline (or, more accurately, just having a waistline at all);

(9) The ability to paint my own toenails; and

(10) Sushi.

Of course, pregnancy has its perks as well (aside from the obvious pay-off at the end). I would love to insert another top (or, rather, bottom) ten list at this point, but I unfortunately can only come up with five things I am loving about being pregnant:

(1) I have a 9-month reprieve from litter changing duties;

(2) I no longer have to carry anything in from the car;

(3) I am able to secure a coveted seat on the rush-hour train at least 50% of the time;

(4) I never have to worry about sucking in my tummy; and

(5) Baby kicks (which are way more entertaining than television).

Of course, even if the negatives outweighed the positives 200 to 1 (and by the time this is all over and done with, that may very well be the case), I have to believe it will still all be worth it in the end!

The Danger Zone

When you are pregnant, threats to your baby’s health seem to lurk everywhere.

If you read enough pregnancy books, blogs, and online discussion boards, then you will come to believe that your sweet little kitties are toxic demons; that the lattes you chugged before you even knew you were pregnant have caused your baby to develop ADD, and the second-hand exposure to the paint fumes emitted when your husband painted the nursery, asthma; that you have contracted any number of potentially deadly, yet virtually undetectable, conditions as a result of the soft-cheese appetizer you sampled at the company holiday party; and that you will cut-off all blood and oxygen supply to your precious little one should you happen to roll over onto your back in your sleep. Not to mention, of course, the countless environmental and food hazards you have carelessly unwittingly exposed your poor defenseless fetus to.

It is enough to make you wonder how in the world the human race has not yet gone extinct . . .

The book "Safe Baby, Pregancy Tips" is full of helpful advice . . .

Happy New Year!

Exactly one year ago yesterday (New Year’s Day), in a Target store in Verona, Wisconsin, Vik and I decided that we were ready to start trying for a baby … I can hardly believe that in another year, I will be trying to post a New Year’s update with a sticky-fingered little one crawling all over me!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Burn Baby Burn (Calories, That Is)!

I just have to say that I am extremely pleased with my hyper Little One right now! All of his kicking, punching, and flipping must be burning through some serious calories, because I definitely overindulged (as always) this holiday season … and yet I only put on 2 pounds! WooHoo!  In the past, my holiday weight gain has hovered closer to 5-7 pounds, so this is a marked improvement.

Thank you Baby!

P.S. We had an OB appointment today (we are now going every two weeks), and everything looked absolutely perfect!