Tristan And Baby

I asked Tristan if he wanted the baby in my belly to be a boy or a girl. He said he wanted it to be a boy like him. I said, "Oh, so you want a brother, not a sister?" He said, "I want a brother AND a sister AND a baby". So apparently, he doesn't quite understand that the baby will be his brother or sister and that he can not have both nor all three!

Yesterday, I felt the baby move for about a minute or two straight. I hadn't felt that much activity with this little one before. It was when Tristan came to see why I wasn't out of bed yet and he was talking a lot. Today I noticed that when Tristan came and started talking to me the baby started moving too. The baby must already like his big brother. :)

I thought the baby-o-meter at the top of each post would be fun to see progress, but it automatically updates everyday... so anytime you look at the blog, they'll all say the same thing and they'll be current for the day you're looking at them instead of all being different.

Appointments, Appointments

We had a doctor's appointment this week. Eric and Tristan accompanied me to the visit. Eric distracted Tristan while my blood was being drawn (for the last time). We all smiled as we listened to our baby's heartbeat. Tristan told the doctor that his little sister is in his mama's belly. She said that boys usually want brothers. I explained to her that he has lots of friends that are boys and they always want to play with his toys, but girls always want to play with dolls. He's got that much figured out! Tristan also told our doctor that he doesn't ride in a car seat sometimes. She got an alarmed look on her face. We assured her that he's never ridden in a car without his car seat. Three-year-olds and the stories they make up!

Tristan likes to tell me that my belly is "out to here!" while he stretches one arm out and pats an invisible HUGE belly in front of himself. I keep telling him it is NOT, but that it will be. Yesterday, our friend Jennifer who is only 23 days away from her due date, came down to see us. When Eric got home from work he asked Tristan what Jennifer's belly looked like. He stretched out two arms and patted an invisible HUGE belly in front of himself and said, "Out to here!" Then Eric asked him if she walked funny (she didn't). And Tristan said "Yeah!" and he started walking around the room normally with both of his arms 'out to here'. It was pretty cute.

And yes, I have a round belly now. But it kind of looks like I've eaten too many doughnuts at this point. Or like a little boy belly that pushes the shirt out.

Something new that is happening during this pregnancy that didn't happen with Tristan... I'm waking up hungry in the middle of the night and can't fall back to sleep until I eat. Me want food!

We got our slip to make the ultrasound appointment sometime between May 8th and May 19th. I haven't made the appointment yet because I want Eric to be there and I'm not sure what day will work best for his work schedule right now. I don't want to have to call him up at work to tell him if it will be a boy or a girl though... I think that would be lame. I'll keep you posted... literally.

Bump, Bump, Bump, Did You Ever Ride A Wump?

Monday night sitting quietly at the Kingdom Hall, I felt a bump-bump. Then Tuesday night sitting quietly on the couch, I felt a bump-bump. Then Friday laying in bed, I felt a bump-bump.

People describe quickening in lots of different ways: fluttering, popcorn popping, bubbles, etc.

For me, it feels like there's a little goldfish trapped inside, just swimming around and occasionally bump-bumping into the glass. A very light tap of something very tiny swimming in fluid almost weightlessly.

It will probably be another month and a half before the movements will be strong enough to be felt externally by a hand on the belly.

Hello in There

Today is the first day of week 15. And according to BabyCenter dot com our baby can hear us now. (Although, I'm sure s/he could hear Tristan before now with all his super-loudness). :)

Baby is the size of a lemon now and by next week at this time will be the size of an apple. (See picture). Here are some other interesting facts about baby:

• Baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb!
  
• Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another.
  
• From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces.
  
• His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck.
  
• His arms have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.)
  
• Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

And by the end of the 15th week s/he will be doing these other things:

• Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces.
  
• She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop.
  
• Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs.
• There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds.

I can't feel the baby's movements but should be able to start feeling them in the next couple of weeks. They say 16-20 weeks is when most start feeling it; later for new moms, earlier for multipara moms.
We saw a good movie recently that made me wish we'd adopted instead of getting pregnant again. However, Eric and I weighed the pros and cons of adoption for 5 or 6 months before making the very researched/educated decision that it would be better in our situation to have one from scratch. We fully support anyone else who decides to adopt! There are lots of needy kids out there. We can even point you to some informative websites.

No More Secrets

Well, folks, we made it through the first trimester. Only 6 months (give or take 2 weeks) to go! So, our pregnancy is not a secret any longer.

Tristan told me that when the baby gets bigger it will be able to chase him and when it's a big boy like him it will be his friend. I smiled and told him that I hope that they will be friends.

We probably won't find out if it is a boy or a girl until mid-May... about 6 more weeks.

We got an exersaucer from some friends of ours yesterday. Having it in the living room makes the eventual arrival of our little one more real. Tristan loves playing with it... I hope he doesn't break it before Baby gets a chance to use it. :)

My belly is starting to get round. Tristan likes to lift up my shirt and kiss the baby. Yesterday he told me that I was getting fat. :) Wait until he sees where it's going to be in a few months!