32w0d - updated belly pic

Here's the latest belly pic in all it's glory. My isn't that thing getting awfully round?? LOL
A frontal shot. Nice beach ball, huh? NWSO commented yesterday about how I have hardly any belly button left. I think it might actually make it to an outie this time.
Had my 32 wk OB appointment today too. Gained 7lbs in the last month and boy do I feel every ounce of it - hanging in front of me! That brings the total weight gain to 24lbs. At least we know that a minimum of 6lbs of that is him. Makes it easier to stomach somehow. In yoga, I'm really noticing the difference in my weight and how it's so far forward. Maneuvering into and out of poses is getting to be a workout in and of itself. One gal in class commented yesterday that she can see how the weight of the belly is trying to pull me down as I get up into handstands. It IS getting to be more work to get up there, but so far they're still happening and once I'm up, they still feel great.

Hubby is home now from his last business trip. He won't be heading out on the road again until after The Bean gets here (well after I hope). It's nice to have him back but honestly, it's a bit weird. Sometimes I feel like there is a visitor at the house - I just got so used to it being NSWO and I by ourselves. We'll get back into the swing of things soon.

I found a mini co-sleeper for pretty cheap on craigslist.com (LOVE that site!! Just be sure to include the 's' in the address - trust me.) so we'll have that in lieu of a bassinet in our bedroom in the beginning and since it folds up so well, we can take it with us when we go to visit Grandad and Grandma Jan in Oregon after he gets here. Plus, I should be able to re-sell it after we're done. Sidenote - if you like craigslist, you'll LOVE listpic.com. It's the ads from craigslist, but only the ones with pics and it's displays the pics to browse thru. If you see something you like, you click on it to see the text with the ad. Brilliant!

31w5d - ultrasound pics

Today was my last 'big' ultrasound at the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Center. We checked on his kidneys, bladder, and his overall growth. Overall, the news is good. His left kidney is still measuring slighty above normal, but given his size they're not too worried about it. I expect that we'll be keeping an eye on his kidney after he's born and be on the alert for an increased risk of kidney infections or UTIs.

As I said above, he's measuring big. This is not new news. He's been consistently measuring ahead for weeks now. Four weeks ago at the OB office he was estimated to be 3lb 4oz (+/- 1lb). Today, almost 4 weeks later they estimate that this little chunky monkey is already 5lb 15oz (+/- 1lb). Yes, you read that right. I still have 7 weeks of growth to go and he's just under 6lbs - ALREADY! Heck, I was not that much over 6lbs at birth!! At this rate, he'll easily be over 9lbs by the time he comes out. I've said it before, but I'm so glad I don't have to push this kid out the hard way! LOL His head is measuring about 36 weeks.

And now, for the pics. This kid has had his hands in front of his face ever since the first time we did 3D pics at 21wks. Apparently, he likes them there. We actually saw him sucking on one of his hands today - so cute!

Here's what we could get of a face shot with that darn hand/arm in the way. Being a fetus is tough work!

Here, we get to see his chubby face. His right hand/arm is moved under his chin. That thing you see up by his forehead is his right foot. Yes, he's already doing yoga - very impressive!!Granted, I'm a little bit biased, but he's a very cute baby! And in so many ways he's already so different from his brother. I guess I'd better get used to it. I've been washing up the rest of NSWO's baby clothes and it just brings back so many memories of him in those cute outfits. I wonder how this one is going to look in them. Big.

31w2d - Happy Mother's Day!

My shower for NSWO was this weekend 4 years ago. My mom and my mother-in-law both came to town for the shower and it was just so lovely. Even my future son gave me a present that day. Of course, his wasn't quite as desired. I got my very first stretchmark on Mother's Day 2003. Apparently, he assumed I enjoyed my gift so he just kept on giving them to me. LOL So far, this one is content to share and hasn't added to the litany of lines on my belly. I sure hope it stays that way, but we'll see.

This year, my Mother's Day weekend isn't quite as festive. Hubby is out of town on yet another business trip. Poor guy, he's been gone so much lately and just wants to be at home. NWSO and I couldn't agree more. Hubby realized that with trips and working long/extra hours lately that he hasn't had a full weekend at home in months. This should be the last of it though, so at least he's able to finish up the big push of it before The Bean gets here.

Growing up, Mother's Day was a day to do something nice for Mom. That was about it. Now, on the other side of the coin, it has so much more meaning. I was explaining to NSWO yesterday about what today is and what it means. I told him thank you for making me a mom and how lucky I am that I get to be his mommy. Then the pregnancy hormones kicked in and I teared up while I explained that I am so amazingly lucky to get to be a mommy again to his little brother. He looked at me and told me not to cry, and I explained that sometimes people are soooo happy that it makes them cry.

Today, watching the Discovery Health channel's shows on multiples I realize just how lucky I am to be getting my ideal of 2 kids. I'm watching a show about a woman in the UK who did donor sperm IUI and got one girl. Then tried again nearly immediately and needed drugs to get more eggs and ended up with quads. Apparently, not content to let things rest, they went for it again and got quads - again! One of those quads didn't make it, so they have 9 kids under 3 years old. Allow me to repeat that so you can take in the significance of it - 9 children under the age of 3 years old. And they're saying that they'd like a few more, that 12 would be good. Huh??? Just watching the chaos of their house makes me exhausted. I know that I can do 2 kids, I am amazingly impressed by moms who have it in them to juggle more than that.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you who are juggling your broods today, whether that be 1 or 17 (like the famous Duggar family). For those of you anticipating your first child(ren) in the coming months, this day will never be the same again.

31w0d - back from the trip

I do not recommend flying cross-country at 30wks pg. The flights weren't too bad (save for NSWO refusing to nap and being a general pain in the ass on the flight to Chicago) and the support hose things kept the swelling away. The hotel bed, on the other hand, left MUCH to be desired. Our room had two double beds and Hubby and NSWO took one of them so I could flop around on the other one with out waking them. I had the air conditioning cranked, the ceiling fan going and slept with just the sheet over me. The boys were bundled up in PJs and buried under blankets and I was still too hot. Thank you hormones!! LOL

I totally forgot to do a belly shot for 30wks and Hubby has the camera with him at work today so I'll have to do one later tonight to post. I think the Bean has grown again.

I don't know if any of you who are currently pregnant are experiencing this, but my kid has decided that 9:30pm is his favorite time of day to spaz out in there. I swear the other night it was like he was trying to bust out of the sides and the bottom all at the same time. His pushing against my cervix was so strong that I was cringing in pain from it. Darn kid - chill out in there a bit, would ya??

So the Social Security Administration came out with their name rankings for 2006 today. You can see the full list here. For those family members who are itching to guess the name, I can tell you that the first name is in the top 100, but not the top 10. The middle name isn't even in the top 1000 names for the last 15 years. How's that for vague??? Have fun guessing.

I'll post soon about the wedding and I'll have some pics too.