Goodbye Toes

Just a funny little picture to show you that from my 5'8" perspective I am losing my toes. Getting my shoes and socks on and off is getting harder and harder too.

Merry Christmas From Bump

We had a lovely Christmas. I had in my head the whole time that this would be our last Christmas as a child-less couple. It was certainly relaxing. But, needless to say, we are very excited to have a little one around next year.

7 Months Today!

I am officially seven months today! And I am now officially in my third trimester. Some more major milestones are happening in there. From my own experience I have noticed that the movements have become less punchy- they're now more like fingers rubbing across my belly or like elbows scraping against me. The movements are more frequent but don't last as long as they did a month ago. I don't have anything to compare to but I feel like this baby is very active.

As for the professionals... well they say the baby now weighs (on average) 2 1/4 lbs, about the same as a head of Chinese cabbage. He or she measure 14.8 inches from top of head to toe (again, on average). The baby is also busy blinking his/her eyes with its new eyelashes. The eye sight has developed enough that some babies may be able to see light filtering through from outside the womb. Bump is busy preparing for life after birth by packing on baby fat. And he/she is also busy developing billions of neurons in his/her brain.

One of the websites I follow for prenatal development information said that I am due to gain 11 pounds this trimester. That will, sad to say, make me heavier than my husband. Oh well. I plan to order Tracy Anderson's post-pregnancy workout video at some point to help shed the pounds.

On The Up-Swing

I am finally starting to feel a little bit better after 7 weeks of this virus. What a pain its been. After I finished my prescription of codeine, the doctor had me try Zithromax, an antibiotic. Typically the "z-pack" is only a five-day prescription but the midwife I saw gave me a second week in case the first was unsuccessful. Today was my last day of the pills... and I feel like maybe it is starting to go away finally. Either way I am done with pills for a while. Now I am just down to a nasty cough.

Poor Drew not only had to deal with me being sick but also got sick himself. He spent most of Sunday in bed. Luckily, he is not pregnant, so was able to get over it much faster than I was.

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.