Just the two of us...well, three really

My boobs itch and are driving me mad. My skin has been SO dry since I got pregnant, no matter what I put on it. I fear I'll draw blood from scratching. Clay slaps my hands away when he hears that fingernail on skin noise, but I try and sneak the scratching in.

I feel "nesting" coming on. I so want to be in Amsterdam, in a nice apartment, starting our new life. I want to get cozy and make a home for us, get ready for Bean to arrive, and just be a happy, pregnant Kim. It's time for it to just be us, I'm trying not to be impatient, but it's hard.

I put my Mountain Dew slurpee in the freezer last night, now it's hard as a glacier. I'm waiting for it to melt even though I went and got another one. I need an intervention.

Fetal development in pregnancy week 14

Isn’t it glorious? You and your little buckaroo have roped your way right into trimester numero dos! Are you ready to rock!? Okay, okay… maybe just a little rolling and poking and well, needless to say, your baby will definitely be making themselves known in the upcoming weeks. At about 3.5 inches long, their little body and limber limbs are coordinated enough for loads of complicated motions. In fact, their whole body is moving right now!—only their current size is still a bit too small for you to notice. (Movement would be recognizable on an ultrasound. Speaking of which, you shoud be scheduling one with your health care provider—week 16 is the classic date as you can usually determine whether your little one is going to pee standing up or sitting down) Your baby is also starting to develop the ability to move their eyes this week, although the eyelids still remain fused shut. What's more, they can make all sorts of fun facial expressions as they practice squinting, frowning, and grimacing. Cute development of the week: their little hands can grasp at things and they may already be sucking their thumb!

thumpa thump thump

clay and i went to the baby's doctor appointment yesterday. we finally got to hear the heartbeat! it took a little while for the doctor to find, but there it was, sounding strong and healthy. both of us teared up again, we are such an emotional pair! the dr. said he was almost about to put me on the ultrasound after searching with the doppler for a while, but we had success.

in about four weeks i'll go for genetic counseling since i'm 35. they'll do a detailed family background history and we'll have a "super-duper" ultrasound done. i'm not really worried, but it will be good to have it done.

all is well and healthy with Bean, and clay and i are thrilled. happy little family!

How to make a 280 pound, bald, tattooed man cry like a little girl:

Let him listen to his Baby's heart beat. Went to Kim's second appointment today hoping for an ultrasound, but only got a doppler. That was enough to make me look like Niagara falls. Apparently my baby has a STRONG heart beat, and the pregnancy is normal and healthy. We are getting an appointment with a genetic counselor and they will be doing the ultrasound in about 4 weeks. I guess being 35+ and pregnant increases the chances for a downs syndrome baby. So instead of having the sonogram done at the health dept we are going to the genetics clinic so more tests are performed (4 instead of 3, on newer equipment). This means I have a little more time to figure out if I want to know the sex or not. Kim wants to know, but loves me enough to not find out if I don't want to know. If she knows and I don't she is confident she will let it slip. She's so damn cute sometimes, hahaha...




Oh yeah and, my baby is gonna need a stroller and stuff, feel free to inspect our Babies-R-Us Registry at your leisure.

On Friday

We have our second Dr. appointment on Friday. This time they will probably do an ultrasound and listen for the heart beat. Everything we have read says that the baby's sex organs are now formed. I wonder if they will be able to tell us. I am still not sure I want to know what the sex is. Part of me really wants to know, I am conflicted. I guess if we know we can concentrate on just boy or girl names. I think my fear of us imposing gender roles may be something I don't need to worry about. I don't know for sure but if we have the option to know on Friday I think I will want to know. I do know that our baby will have more clothes and stuff than I do before it's born.

Fetal development in pregnancy week 13

This is your final week in the first trimester and your little weed continues to grow and grow and grow. Of the three trimesters, this one has been the most important for your little one’s development. Assuming you’ve carefully adopted a healthy diet, exercise and ample rest, your little one is set up perfectly for even more growth and development in tri two! Way to go! He or she now weighs about 2.5 ounces and is roughly 3.5” in length. Little hairs, known as lanugo, will start to cover their body this week, as their sense of taste and smell are further refined. Their cozy little amniotic sac is also increasing in size and mass, as it continues to fill with more fluid.

The first trimester comes to a close...well, almost!

I'm about to begin my 12th week of carrying around this little creature inside me. It's amazing how you can love someone you've never met, and who has only just become a "fetus". Yes, Bean graduated from embryo status to fetus. Our child's first graduation!


I've been lucky as far as morning sickness goes, I really have only had bouts of nasuea, no throwing up. I count my lucky stars for that. I'm not a good sick person at all and poor Clay if he had to go through Kim hurling her guts up.


Moodiness is another story though. I'm the roller coaster of emotions, up, down, sideways, I feel it all. Happy one minute, total anger the next, and then crying my eyes out. Sigh, I'm so glad Clay thinks it's cute, because there are times I can't stand to be around myself.
I'm also sleeping like a wanna-be corpse. I tried to fight it at first, but quickly gave in and I enjoy every moment of my sleep. My dreams are getting more strange with each and every night, so vivid and odd.


We have our second doctor's appointment on Friday, let's see what this leg of the adventure brings!

Fetal development in pregnancy week 12

Even though your little Einstein’s body is still growing quite rapidly and is about 2 inches long right now, the overall super-speedy growth of their amazing brain continues to leave the head proportionately larger than the body— and is actually slightly more than one third of their total body mass! The head and neck are still straightening at this point as can be seen by their little chin lifting off of the chest. Your baby is also actively rehearsing “breathing” by using amniotic fluid to prepare the lungs for future air respiration.

The big news: your little pooper is now officially going to need diapers! Although a majority of the waste produced is transferred to the mother’s system for discharge (to avoid lingering in the amniotic sac), some urine is released to the amniotic fluid and your baby will actually breathe it in before it passing it on to your for discharge. Not to worry, urine--in this particular form is actually harmless to your child.

Fetal development in pregnancy week 11

Maybe you’ve noticed… your child is a stupendous grower! They will be gaining a substantial amount of weight this week, and have already achieved fruit-size-status comparable to a plum. Your little scientist is already starting to explore their body, focusing most intently on touching their head, and especially their face and mouth. The mouth in particular will provide them with hours of entertainment. This happens not only because your baby is gaining coordination, and is therefore able to move a hand on command, but also because their palms have gained sensation and can actually “feel” what it touches.They're also developing their swallow refllex this week. And lastly, your baby's smelling and other olfactory senses begin developing this week, which when combined with the maturing taste buds, will provide your baby with their first experiences of taste and smell.

Baby Bling!

we had fun at babies r us tonight starting our baby registry! clay got to use the gun to scan in all the goodies we found, and did we find a bunch. i think i'm addicted to frogs, so much of the stuff i found had frogs on it. we seem to have gone with the green / rainforest theme.

i found a baby boppy i would die for, and a pillow for my belly when it gets big. and the stroller clay found kicks ass! i wouldn't mind being pushed around in it!

Baby Things!!!

Kim and I just made a baby registry over at Babys-r-Us, there are plenty of cheap things on there...