29 weeks -- baby block is a butternut squash!

yay! just in time for fall!



from babycenter.com:

How your baby's growing:
Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

See what your baby looks like this week.


How your life's changing:
Your baby's very active now. Your practitioner may ask you to spend some time each day counting kicks and will give you specific instructions on how to do this. Let her know if you ever notice a decrease in activity. You may need a nonstress test or biophysical profile to check on your baby's condition.

i've grown -- again!

yes, within a week of my syracuse shower, i've managed to grow yet again. i was wondering if it was my imagination, but definitely not. this evening i put on a pair of pants that was borrowed from auntie inna -- meant for me when i got too big for my smaller preggo pants -- and they actually fit! they didn't fit last week. but they fit tonight. damn.

hehehehe...

oh well, guess it's a good thing. you know, this whole baby-needs-to-grow theory and all...

=)

welcome to the world, gabriel joseph lopez!

my friends meredith and carlos got to welcome into the world their new son, gabriel joseph lopez, on wednesday october 8th. he was born at approx. 9:30 a.m., and weighed in at 7 pounds, 11 ounces.

how damn cute is he? and i think meredith looks FABULOUS as a new mommy.

i can't wait to meet the little guy. meredith, carlos, all my love to your new gorgeous son. we are so happy to have him in our lives.

iron supplements and more...

i had my 28 week midwife visit yesterday. overall, all is well. my glucose test came back normal (yay!), and the size of the baby is right on target. i gained more weight, but about half the amount that i did upon my last visit... so i guess i would get "most improved" on my report card. LOL... but it was still 4 pounds. i spoke to them about what i'm eating, and after confirming with me that i'm not going hog-wild on sweets or carbs (which i'm not), my midwife told me that maybe my body just needs to gain the weight. **shrug** i'm still eating healthy, so i hope that means all is well.

my only not-so-great news was that my iron count is still low. it was low in the beginning, and i've made a concentrated effort to eat iron-rich and fortified foods ever since. but this little bugger must be sucking all my iron from me! so i've been prescribed iron supplements.

otherwise, all is well. so good, in fact, that i was able to avoid the 2-week appointments for now. my midwife gave me a choice for my next appt. -- i could do 2 weeks from now or 4 weeks. but since i'm right on track, she didn't see a need for a 2 week. so, to make my life easier, i went for 4 weeks! yay! but that WILL be my last 4 week appt. then i'm switched to 2 week and eventually 1 week appts.

we're coming down to the wire now! now that we're heading into mid-october, it's really only 2.5 months away! eek!

28 weeks -- baby block is a chinese cabbage

yeah, i don't know. LOL



from babycenter.com:

How your baby's growing:
By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

See what your baby looks like this week.

How your life's changing:
You're in the home stretch! The third and final trimester starts this week. If you're like most women, you'll gain about 11 pounds this trimester.

At this point, you'll likely visit your doctor or midwife every two weeks. Then, at 36 weeks, you'll switch to weekly visits. Depending on your risk factors, your practitioner may recommend repeating blood tests for HIV and syphilis now, as well as doing cultures for chlamydia and gonorrhea, to be certain of your status before delivery. Also, if your glucose screening test result was high and you haven't yet had follow-up testing, you'll soon be given the 3-hour glucose tolerance test.

for those of you waiting patiently -- new belly pics!

yes, yes. we finally took a few photos. not the most ideal ones, but they're there!

me at 27 weeks, all dressed up for my shower. thanks to aunt inna for the oh-so-comfy pants!

back from shower!

we are back from our weekend in syracuse, and that means back from my first baby shower!

first, i have to thank grandma barbara (barb, have you decided on a grandma name yet?) and her friend sarah for such a wonderful day. it was just so kind of both of them to do this, and so nice of sarah to host it in her home. and thank you to all the ladies who attended!! it was just so great to know how much this baby is anticipated. he or she will be well loved.

we had a lovely time. everyone gathered in sarah's fabulous home for appetizers and conversation. after lunch, i was presented with my "surprise cupcakes", which i had been told ahead of time i wasn't allowed to see until they were unveiled. oh my goodness, they were so adorable!!! i couldn't get enough of them.

how great are these cupcakes???!!!

and after our cute and yummy cupcakes, we settled in for some gift opening.

don't really know why kira and jen look so serious here.

our friends and family were so very sweet and generous. we mostly got clothes for baby block -- a lot of socks, hats, and sleepers, and some great syracuse gear, which was very necessary for the child of SU alumni. we also got a few books, which is huge for me, and both of our carriers (thank you kira and jen/brandyn!!). finally, of course, is also our stroller base, given to us by grandma barbara, uncle noah, uncle larry, and aunt olivia.

kira telling some "interesting" stories about baby block's father. i covered the baby's ears...

barb's reaction to reliving those stories.

we chatted for a while afterwards, mostly telling block-brothers stories to everyone. we also took a bunch of photos to make sure to capture the day (and the belly).

kira, me, and baby block.

the block ladies. anju (uncle larry's girlfriend), me, grandma barbara, and aunt olivia.

kira, me, jen.

grandma barbara, me, sarah. my two wonderful hosts!

finally, it was time to depart. dave and uncle noah came over to help carry everything back to grandma barbara's house, and we loaded much of it into the car.

when we got home yesterday evening, i spread *most* of our gifts out on the sofa, so that i could take some proper photos of the presents. i'm not sure that baby block needs any more clothes now! he/she got so much in the way of smooth babywear. =) i put all of the clothes away after taking the photos, and put the books on the baby's bookshelf.

baby block's loot!

some of our new additions to the baby's library (and the parents' library), as well as a couple of the outfits received.

outfits, towels/washcloths, toys.

the two onesies here were handmade by apryl, and the oh-so-cute "peace" hat and "rock and roll" bib are from sarah and peter.

the basket is from kara and sammy.

cute monkey outfit suite, and more books!

closeup of our syracuse gear!! very appropriate.

thanks again to everyone who was there. we really appreciate it.

glucose test -- check!

i went today for my glucose screening test -- which tests for gestational diabetes. it wasn't nearly as bad as i expected it to be. just had to drink this small bottle of very very sugary orange soda in less than 5 minutes, and sit there for an hour before getting blood drawn.

i'm sure the results will be more than fine... our only concern is that there's a lot of type 2 diabetes in my family, which is the type that's genetic. but there's no family record of gestational diabetes, and i'm certainly not that big, so i'm pretty sure we're fine.

also, in other exciting news, our high chair was delivered yesterday! (see picture above.) my grandma, aka great-grandma mary, purchased it for baby block just 2 days ago. and it was delivered yesterday! go buy buy baby! dave has to put it together yet, but it looks really beautiful and matches our dining set. and now that all the boxes are out of our home, there's actually room by the dining table to keep the high chair. =) i know that it won't get used for, like, 9 months, but i don't care. we're putting it together right away! LOL

anyway, i'm doing work today to get ready for the trip upstate this weekend. excited for my first baby shower!

27 weeks -- baby block is a head of cauliflower

ha! these never cease to amuse me...

from babycenter.com:

How your baby's growing:
This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

See what your baby looks like this week.

How your life's changing:
The second trimester is drawing to a close, but as your body gears up for the final lap, you may start noticing some new symptoms. Along with an aching back, for example, you may find that your leg muscles cramp up now and then. They're carrying extra weight, after all, and your expanding uterus is putting pressure on the veins that return blood from your legs to your heart as well as on the nerves leading from your trunk to your legs. Unfortunately, the cramps may get worse as your pregnancy progresses. Leg cramps are more common at night but can also happen during the day. When a cramp strikes, stretching the calf muscle should give you some relief. Straighten your leg and then gently flex your toes back toward your shin. Walking for a few minutes or massaging your calf sometimes helps, too.

seven months, and things are moving...

so today marks my seventh month. or, at least in some books estimations... by others, i have to wait until next thursday, my 28th week. but for all intents and purposes, i'm here.

which means big things are happening! first big thing is me... i'm getting larger and larger. i popped again last week, and everyone notices! ha!

next is that baby purchasing is on its way! the wonderful grandparents have already purchased their overly-generous baby gifts. grandma barbara purchased the bugaboo stroller last night, while grandma maria (and grandpa hank, by extension) purchased the crib today. so exciting! can't wait to have both in the house.

also, my first baby shower is this weekend. woo-hoo!! grandma barbara has graciously offered to throw me a shower upstate in syracuse, hosted by her and her friend sarah at sarah's home. this is so kind of them! dave and i are heading upstate saturday to partake in a weekend of fun with grandma barbara and friends.

i promise to have photos of the belly this week -- whenever dave can take them for me. and this weekend will of course give us a ton of photos, which will go up as soon as we return.

yay baby block! he/she is coming very soon. =D

nesting like crazy!

i've been slow on posting again due to migraines... i'm hoping that they'll be better tomorrow.

just wanted to update this blog with my current state of mind -- i'm nesting like you wouldn't believe. yes, i can seem to do nothing except worry about finishing this home for baby block. which means that poor dave has been dragged back and forth to ikea and home depot several times now, just to satisfy my need to finish our place RIGHT NOW!

=)

we recently put together everything for my office part of the office/nursery, including my new desk. we also purchased the bookshelves for the library, the bookshelf for the bedroom, the chest of drawers for the baby, the chest for between the bookshelves, and fabric for a chair we need recovered. dave has put together a lot of ikea furniture by now! and i lent a hand myself, by finishing the drawers on the highboy chest yesterday. it's all very exciting.

tomorrow or the next day i'll take some photos to post on here. i'm also going to buy buy baby tomorrow with grandma maria to purchase the crib for baby block. i'll bring my camera with and post photos of the crib in the showroom.

26 weeks -- baby block is an... english hothouse cucumber?

ok. this is awfully specific! i've never even heard of this cucumber. LOL

from babycenter.com:

How your baby's growing:
The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

See what your baby looks like this week.

private birthing classes -- we're so priveleged!

yes, we do get private birthing classes. a midwife comes to our home and gives us all the information we need on the labor process. these sessions will be had as many times as we want until the birth of our child. and this midwife is available to answer all our questions by phone or email anytime.

and the best part? this midwife is our lovely friend kira, and she's simply doing it out of the goodness of her heart.

kira came over on saturday to hang out with us. she spent about 3 or 4 hours going through all the basic labor information -- stages of labor, drug/epidural options, birthing positions, etc. she explained what equipment would be used and what it meant. and she told us what they as midwives/doctors look for from the readouts that may alert them to the good or bad in the process. it was so helpful, and so nice to have it be in our home with our friend.

i have to do my part in reading up on techniques and positions, and then we'll talk to her again with more specific questions.

we were going to take a birthing class, but honestly this is all i wanted out of it -- the information i need to make decisions about what i do or do not want. i'm fully aware that i'm not in control that day, but the baby... but i do want to know the difference in all the treatments and options.

thank you kira!!! we can't tell you how much we appreciate your time and advice (especially on your day off).

welcome to the world, abigail sarah!

our friends shaun and sarah just welcomed into the world their beautiful baby girl, abigail sarah. she's so adorable!


congrats on your 2nd gorgeous kid, you guys.

25 weeks -- baby block is a rutabaga

they're really fishing now...

from babycenter.com:

How your baby's growing
Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

See what's going on in your uterus this week.

How your life's changing
Your baby's not the only one with more hair — your locks may look more full and lustrous than ever. It's not that you're growing more hair, but thanks to hormonal changes, the hair that you'd normally shed is sticking around longer than usual. Enjoy the fullness while you can — the extra hair will fall out after you give birth.

You may also notice that you can't move around as gracefully as before. Unless your caregiver has advised you otherwise, it's fine to continue to exercise, but follow a few safety rules: Don't work out when you're feeling overly tired and stop if you feel any pain, dizziness, or shortness of breath. Don't lie flat on your back and avoid contact sports as well as any exercise where you're apt to lose your balance. Be sure to drink plenty of water, and make time for both warm-up and cool-down periods.

When you have your glucose-screening test at 24 to 28 weeks, a second tube of blood may be taken at the same time to check for anemia. If blood tests show that you have iron-deficiency anemia (the most common type of anemia), your caregiver will probably recommend that you take an iron supplement.

funny ad from days of yore

how funny is this ad? why in the world would your child NEED caffeine and sugar? like people really need their babies to be more wired and awake? ha!

found on strollerderby.

a note from mopez

my friend meredith sent this to me yesterday from her soon-to-be-born baby boy, who we affectionately refer to as mopez.

Dear Baby Block:

You don't need to torture your Mommy by giving her migraines right now. There are better ways to torture a Mommy. Some of my personal faves:

*sticking your feet in between her ribs

*using her bladder as a speed bag to practice your boxing moves

*pushing down on her so she feels like a hard sneeze will have you shooting out of her

If you need more tips, you know how to find me.

Sincerely,

Mopez xoxo

funny baby dream last night

i haven't had a baby-related dream since the first trimester (and those were all scary dreams). so i was surprised to have this one -- especially since it's so odd.

i dreamt that i was woken up by dave at 7 in the morning (which i was this morning) and he told me that the baby was born at 1am. he had already been to see it -- so i guess i didn't actually give birth to the baby -- and she was perfect. i started to cry and asked if it was really a girl. he said yes. and somehow it didn't bother me that he left me sleeping at home to go visit baby block, and then left her where she was to come back home and go back to sleep with me! LOL... he told me he had wanted me to rest (which didn't make sense, of course, since i clearly didn't give birth!).

then he had to rush off to work. and for some reason we had to go to SI before he could go to work. but he was worried about missing his presentation. so we rushed to get him to the subway -- which doesn't exist in SI -- and then i finally went to go visit my baby girl.

very strange!! i have no idea what any of it means except a) dave's had a crazy work schedule lately, and b) we do think we're having a girl. other than that, i'm very bemused. =)

art print by etsy seller gorjuss.

24 week doctor's visit, and what's next

i had my 24-week visit yesterday with my midwives. aunt carrie and i had gotten together for coffee beforehand, and so i asked her to join for the appointment, since dave couldn't be there. she found out that she'd hear the heartbeat, and jumped at the chance.

all is well with baby block. he/she is growing steadily, has a very strong heartbeat, and is causing some serious weight-gain. that last part has to be controlled a bit more, not because i've gained too much, but because i had two big jumps in weight in the last two visits. so i'm going to try to watch myself even more -- not that i eat poorly now at all, but there are definitely times that my cravings get the best of me. so i'm going to try to work those situations out for the better.

dave and i have a lot to do from here on out. here's a brief list of what's coming:

- glucose testing for me
- tour of the birthing center at methodist hospital
- meeting with pediatricians
- do birthing sessions with kira (our own little personal instructor -- thanks kira!)
- finish the changes in the office/nursery to make room for the baby furniture

not to mention the rest of the stuff that's going on, like work, other apartment updates, showers coming up, etc. it's crazy! but all good things.

my migraines have returned in the last few days -- hormone fluctuations that i'm always attributing to the growth of the baby. so it's been a bit rough. but other than that, the pregnancy is at a good point, and i'm happy to be feeling baby block so much and having him/her as company during the day.

POLL: is baby block a boy or a girl?

i was online with my friend jothan the other day, telling him that dave and i have both kind of decided that baby block is a girl. not because i'm having any dreams of the sex of the baby, and not because i feel anything particularly strong in either direction. just that if we had to guess, both of us would guess girl.

jothan agrees... actually, he said that i'm such a strong woman, that could only mean that i'm going to have a girl or a really effeminate boy! ha! i said that while dave and i would welcome any type of boy or girl in our family, i would guess that our boy would be just as much of a guy's guy as his dad. LOL... but i digress. jothan, after letting me know that he too thinks it's a girl, suggested that i do a poll on the blog and ask everyone else what they think.

so, here it is! friends and family -- what do you think? baby boy block, or baby girl block? let us know!