first videos

A fun new feature of my iPhone is the HD video camera and editing capabilities! I decided to try out this feature with a few videos for my baby blog.

I learned some valuable lessons. Number 1? Always turn your camera to landscape mode before shooting the video. Rather than re-record, I just decided to let that lesson live on in this first video where you'll get a little tour of the baby's room (in its current state). Feel free to go full screen and enjoy it in hi-def!

I also had fun learning how to use iMovie and its various editing abilities. So, enjoy a couple of minutes of footage, which represent basically my whole afternoon of tinkering!

21 weeks

Hooray! I now have fewer weeks to wait than I have been pregnant. Woooohoooo!

Baby stats for 21 weeks:

Our little girl is the size of (and I quote) a "spaghetti squash". Well that doesn't really help me at all. Maybe I'm just not a gourmet cook, but it doesn't seem like that is the kind of vegetable that I interact with on a regular basis. For those who are equally confused, that equals about 8 inches. And she weighs about one pound this week! We've graduated from ounces to pounds, alright!

She is refining her sense of touch this week, and because there is nothing to play with in there, she will likely grab the umbilical cord from time to time to practice her grabbing skills!

She is also able to perceive light more behind those sealed eyelids, so if I shine a flashlight on my belly she should be able to perceive it! Cool.

Her hair has no pigment yet, so if we could see her she'd be sporting bright white hair!

And, she's doubtless getting cuter by the week!

Mommy stats for 21 weeks:

I'm starting to get uncomfortable . . . already. I'm noticing my belly just being in the way and annoying! I can't lie on my back anymore without being pretty uncomfortable. When I get too full I instantly become immobile and want to lie down for a day or two. Also, I better get exercising asap cause I'm getting to be pretty weak sauce. I get winded walking up the stairs/small hills. Yikes. Gotta get swimming, walking, yoga-ing or something!

Fortunately, I'm still feeling really good. I've been blessed with a mild pregnancy, and aside from some emo days and mood swings, I'm typically feeling great. I will admit, I still love to take naps whenever possible, but they aren't essential to my quality of life.

Picture of the week - and I know it looks way yellow! My attempts at doctoring it up failed - better luck next time, huh?

it's a . . .

This morning we had our ultrasound - which was an amazing experience! It was so fun to see our baby's cute little profile and pumping heart and toes and legs and . . . parts.

Here's a little video highlighting the event


We are so excited!

HALFWAY!!

I'm officially at my halfway point! And tomorrow is the ultrasound - so exciting! I think the baby is really excited for tomorrow's video debut, because there has been lots of jumping and wiggling around today.

20 week stats have the baby at the size of a large banana this week - 7 inches from crown to rump and 11 ounces heavy! The baby is swallowing nutritious amniotic fluid and practicing eating for when he/she arrives in November. Also, there's about 12-14 hours of sleeping going on right now . . . from the baby, that is. I'm getting my fair share as well.

Now, for the 20 week pictures:

if you look closely you can see some of the road rash on my

nose from my little episode on Monday

LAST CHANCE TO CAST YOUR GENDER VOTE!!

Tune in tomorrow night for the big announcement!

faceplant

Ah, Monday. A fresh new week, piano lessons from my home, no driving all over Utah county to teach students. All in all, a good day.

This morning I woke up from a good night's sleep, got ready, had some breakfast and greeted my first three piano students at 10:00am.

With just about five minutes left of my first lesson, I started feeling a bit thirsty. And hot. My students didn't think it was too hot in our upstairs piano room, but I decided I should probably take a 30 second break and grab a drink between my first student and his sisters.

With only a couple minutes left, I just had to check his theory assignment and I'd be off to get a refreshing drink. Then I started feeling weirder. Heavy and hot and woozy.

"Whoa, guys. I'm feeling really lightheaded, just give me a second." I said as I closed my eyes. "Is my face white?" I asked, to which I received affirmative nods from the 16-year-old twins. Ugh. I put my head down between my knees to recover normal blood flow.

Then, BAM! The next thing I knew I was very confused, with a throbbing nose, and hearing strange voices . . . "Did she pass out?!" "Go get her husband!"

Moments after I had put my head down I blacked out and fell sideways off my chair, crashing into the little end table which proudly displays my diploma and a pencil cup. My head hit something on the way down and left a nice little goose egg on the back, my glasses got all screwed up and my nose got some serious road rash. I slowly sat up, dazed, my head collecting little beads of sweat. My concerned little students returned with a cup of ice water and McKay, looking up pregnancy stats on his iPhone - apparently your blood pressure is the lowest when you are halfway through your pregnancy (which would be right about now for me).

I apologetically canceled my remaining lessons and made my way to my bed. I realized that my neck got the brunt of the injury - it was stiff and sore. I spent the day sleeping, snacking, drinking, and playing scrabble with McKay via iPhone. Oh yes, and a bath while I watched The Office from my laptop on the counter.

It was a rough start to the day, but McKay just got groceries - and an iceberg milkshake for me - so things are looking up! By the way, have you seen the size of iceberg's small shakes?? They are HUGE! Way more than is healthy for one person. Maybe I'll just eat half . . .

friday

This is the last Friday that we won't know the gender of our baby! Let the countdown begin!!

Ever since we found out we were pregnant McKay and I have both felt - confidently - that it's a girl. I've been having lots of pink and frilly thoughts and have been racking my brains for girls names. But, now as it gets closer we wonder if we'll be surprised with a boy instead! We've all of a sudden lost that 99% confidence we had at six weeks.

Boy or girl?!?! We're not even sure what we think anymore!

One more week to collect those votes - and boy has it gotten close. Girl has had a firm lead for a couple months, but now the votes are within one. Who will win??

Tune in next Friday to find out!

nineteen weeks!

I'm nineteen weeks today and if I do a bit of rounding, we only have a week until our ultrasound!!

I'm too lazy for a picture right now - I'm in my sweats and you just got one a few days ago so I'll surprise you all with one later this week!

Feeling the baby movements a bit more. My little mango has grown to about 6 1/2 inches and 10 ounces this week. My "What to expect when you're expecting" app on my phone gives me a bunch of fun new details about each week. This week's topic? My baby's developing genitalia. I'll spare you the details (but ask McKay how he liked being forced to read it out loud to me on our drive this morning!).

Well I'm starting to notice my belly a bit more. One thing I have a bad habit of doing is eating for two - literally - at mealtime. I'm always hungry so I sometimes forget to STOP eating dinner. The other night I went crazy on bagel pizzas and felt like I was carrying a rock the rest of the evening! Fortunately today I have eaten a much lighter fare with lots of cold cereal to fill in the gaps!

I might be going to get a snack right now though . . .

catch up!

Well I'm way past due for my 18-week post, but my teaching schedule changed this week and the time I usually blog (in the mornings) is now being spent teaching! This weekend was our first anniversary so we were too busy playing to blog!

So here it is - two days before my 19 week mark - my 18-week post!

Pictures first

giving the self-portrait-in-the-bathroom-mirror tactic a try.

My belly is definitely growing, and I'm feeling that little mango move around a bit!

This week the baby weighs half a pound and is six inches long!

The arms and legs are proportional to the body now, brain neurons are connected between the muscles and brain and cartilage is turning to bone. Also this week is the famous "cheese varnish" (a literal translation from the latin vernix caseosa - that's for you, Rae) that will keep the baby from looking like he/she has been in a bathtub for nine months when he/she is born. Made from oils on the baby's skin and that soft fuzzy baby hair (lanugo), it's a self-made anti-wrinkle cream!

We are counting down the days until the ultrasound! Less than 2 weeks until we get a peek at our little girl or boy. We're pretty excited :)

I've been doing research on baby products this week and have decided that there are far too many products and far too many options to sort through!! Which diaper? which wipe? which breast pump? rear-facing or convertible car seat? which stroller? which baby bath tub? where to register? boppy/bumbo? baby sling? baby Einstein? Nam, nuk, soothies? Blah blah blah.

Someone just equip me and bill me later.

But seriously, I'm excited to get buying/receiving baby stuff. But it sure is a lot!

In other baby news, my newest nephew, Neil was born this weekend - on our anniversary!! It was so fun visiting that tiny newborn knowing that in a few months I'll be holding my own little one. I was much more interested in observing the nurse check out his diaper and take his temperature than ever before! Neil came 10 days early (just like his oldest brother, Mark) and my sister-in-law had a pretty short labor (which is what I'm interested in!). I guess by her fifth birth she deserves an easy one!

He's a great-looking baby, take a look: (and click here to visit Ken and Julie's family blog).

Neil Ross

I'll wrap it up with that sweet little face!