Future Mr and Mrs St John

Baby Bump, Drew, and I would like to congratulate Auntie Kate B and Uncle Jordi on their recent engagement! What a perfect pair. We are so excited for you guys- and can't until next September.

Cough, Cough, Cough

One of the worst things about being pregnant is that when you get sick- you are restricted by what you can take for medications. The weekend after Thanksgiving I developed a cold, mostly cough. It has been keeping me (and unfortunately Drew) up at night. The cough is a dry one that gets so bad at night that I have to sit up or walk around. When I went to the doctor last Friday I asked her about my cough and lack of sleep. She wrote me a prescription for Robitussin with Codeine!!! I was shocked. I never would have guessed codeine was on the safe list for prego prescriptions. Dr.Streeter said that at this stage in the pregnancy the medication won't hurt the baby and the codeine may actually help our family sleep at night. I must admit, I did get a much better sleep last night.

Big Brother

Tuckerman spent the night last night snuggling up to his little "brother" (just to remind everyone- we have no idea whether its a boy or girl but have decided to call it one gender for simplicity sake). It was really cute. Tuck had his paw on my belly and I could feel "Bruce" pushing on Tuck's paw. It made me wonder if Tuckerman has any idea what is in store for him.

Getting Big Now...

Today marks the official beginning of my sixth month. Last Friday I had a follow-up ultrasound which Auntie Kat was able to come to. The appointment fell the day after we had an ice storm here on the coast, so of course things at the hospital were a little screwy. Turned out my appointment never got properly scheduled... but when Dr. Streeter saw the look of disappointment in Kat and my eyes, she gave me a "mock" ultrasound anyway. So Auntie Kat was able to see "Bruce" afterall. Bruce is so big now he doesn't fit on the ultrasound screen all at once. Dr. Streeter would zoom into "his" feet and then move up to "his" head. It was really cool to see the movements I feel on the inside. What an active baby! Dr. Streeter said that everything looks really good. The heart is developing very nicely, no abnormalities in the stomach, liver, kidneys. She was overall very impressed with "his" growth. Unfortunately that was most likely the last ultrasound I will have- so from here on out I just have to imagine the progress.

Celebrating 5 Months

Now that I am closer to 6 months than 5 months, I figured I would quickly celebrate all of the growth little "Bruce" is doing in there.
The biggest development this month is the ability for "Bruce" to sense "his" surroundings. "His" inner ear begins to function this month so "he" can hear not only my voice via vibrations, but also outside noise like Drew talking to "him". I read "him" two Christmas children's book the other night... Santa Mouse (a classic from the 80's) and How The Grinch Stole Christmas (everyone's favorite).
"Bruce" can also now suck "his" thumb and get hiccups.
And by the end of this month- the average size according to a few websites I've been checking is 10-12 inches in length and about a pound in weight. Our last doctor's visit revealed "Bruce" to be in the 60% percentile for size. Looking forward to seeing what the size is like next Friday.

Happy Birthday Gramma Kake!!

Happy Birthday Mom/Kate from the Maine crew! We're going to hopefully get to talk to you tonight... but wanted to make sure we got a birthday wish in just in case we don't catch you.

Gettin' Kicked Around

The most exciting event so far in this pregnancy is feeling the baby move. It started a couple of weeks ago now- but gets stronger everyday. At first it was only me who could feel it... just a light bumping on my lower belly. Now sometimes I feel like I am being jabbed with an elbow. About a week ago Drew was finally able to feel it. It was so exciting for me to finally have someone to share the movements with that I started crying (probably due to the high levels of hormones!). I remember when Jess was pregnant with Lexi you could see legs, elbows, and a head occasionally popping out under the skin. What a crazy, crazy process!

Our 20 week Ultrasound

Here is a 3-D image from our 20-week ultrasound just over a week ago. The technology is very cool. Unfortunately our baby is stubborn just like his mum and dad and wouldn't come up out of it's little hammock space down in the birth canal. So this was pretty much the best photo we were able to take. It reminds me of a charcoal sketch Kat might have done in college. The skin on the top of the head is really there of course- just appears to be missing from the pressure of the ultrasound tool. Dr. Streeter said that everything looks great- no sign of any problems.

Keeping In Touch

In order to have everyone stay up on our belly progress... I have followed my sister Jess' lead. I have created this blog so that I can share all of the baby excitement with you- our family and friends. Enjoy!