Are there three of them in there?

An awkward moment, I have to say. No, just one. Recently our doctor's wife announced their third pregnancy. We chatted on Christmas Eve and she told me she felt so big and like she was definitely showing. I just looked at her, grabbed my belly, and told her she is not showing. Silly kid! An unappreciated moment: when my boss told me I don't look pudgy anymore, and I have really popped out. Thanks.

Speaking of belly, I now understand why pregnant women are always rubbing and feeling their bellies. I can't stop. My belly button fascinates me, and I love to gently press on the baby parts I can feel to see how the baby reacts. It is amazing how it all works, and feels, and tickles sometimes. I like watching my belly wiggle. Sometimes I think we must be popping popcorn inside.

PG 13 alert: This next part may not be appropriate for younger eyes...

I was getting a haircut last week, and as M was washing my hair, she was asking baby questions. Then she asked "How about the sex?" I very candidly said, "Oh, we still can." She meant the gender...oops. I bet she asks that question differently next time.

Okay, back to G ratings...

We had a good Christmas, early in the day with family, later in the day with friends. My piano students and school students made me lots of treats that I couldn't eat, but every now and then I was tempted by a piece of fudge or that awesome danish kringle, and had an upset stomach for about three days. Even though I didn't eat that much bad stuff, it all had soy, and I paid for that. That would be the reason I don't keep anything bad for me to eat in the house.

Tonight Babycue will go to his/her first hockey game, and we are excited. Finding a hockey sweater to fit over the baby was a challenge, and I ended up choosing my Las Vegas sweater. The St. Louis Blues note looks funny over a pregnant belly, and the Iowa Hawkeye also sticks out significantly on that sweater. I tried one of our huge Hope hockey sweaters, but it looked terrible on me.

goo in my belly button

Ultrasound goo, that is. And all over my pants and shirt. But worth it for those cute face pictures. :) Odd that Babycue is cuddling with the placenta (which unofficially has moved higher, the whole reason for ultrasound #2), but Q and I are both cuddlers. Today we saw the heart, kidney, an ear, and the stomach, as well as witnessing a bout of hiccups. The heartbeat is good (140), and the head is 7.35 centimeters across. Q says that the eyes look less deep, the nose looks buttony, and the lips look...lippy. Monica, the ultrasound tech, said the amniotic fluid is good, and Babycue weights 2 pounds and 12 ounces now. She also said the baby is developed like a 29 week baby, even though we are only 27 weeks.

Dr. B said last week that I might experience the occassional contraction now. And Sunday night we did. Just one, and not for long. And my first thought was, "oh no, Dr. B is in Florida this week..."

Congratulations to my cousin J and his wife K, on the birth of my newest (nine pounder) cousin yesterday! We're excited to meet him. Also congrats to another cousin, J, and his wife K whose announcement we read on facebook while in the ultrasound waiting room. We are excited to meet your little one in July (now there are several confused family members reading and trying to figure out who I'm referring to...). It would be awesome if you waited until my birthday, so the family will remember your little one's birthday like they remember mine. And, J and cousin L, we are sorry to hear of your loss.

Funny pregnant moment: I was between classes at the daycare and one of the aides came up to me and apologized for asking such a rude question, but she just had to know if my wearing maternity clothes meant something. I told her that I wasn't insulted and that yes, I am six months pregnant. She felt bad for asking, but I didn't mind.

And finally, grapefruit. Yes, a fruit I love to eat. For breakfast, or today I had it for lunch. Auntie knows this; she used to get them for me. But then I went on allergy meds, and besides nixing apple juice, the meds nixed orange and grapefruit juices. Last week at the grocery store I realized that I am not on the meds, and can therefore enjoy the tart citrus taste that is the grapefruit. Yum. Almost makes up for not getting to eat Christmas fudge.

Finally here are two sets of photos of the Smileycue belly:




Picasa has a new feature that lets you update the album automatically. As the belly grows, so with these albums!

Babycue...in 3-D

We had another ultrasound today...so here's more Babycue!

good OB appointment, and the seatbelt

Today we saw Dr. B. All is well, things are right where they should be, and I gained two more pounds. We talked about iron supplements, and will continue to experiment with that. The "look for the placenta" ultrasound will be next week. Dan asked about rubbing more oh so sore back, and got the okay there as long as he isn't hitting my belly. Like he would do that (though last night I accidentally belly flopped on the bed...). Dr. B said the abuse rate for pregnant women is 70 times more likely. He wasn't entirely sure of the accuracy of that statistic, but nonetheless, that is craziness. I have not experienced any of that, unless not having dinner ready when I want it counts.

I have noticed lately that it is more difficult to buckle the seat belt. Maybe that is due to a bulky winter coat (I can still zip it, barely), but it takes more seat belt to go around me, and I have to really check to make sure I buckled. Today I buckled my scarf into the latch, and not the belt itself. I had to really pull to get the scarf out. And it isn't like I can lean over and look to check...

In other news, we are working on registries still. I went to a baby shower on Sunday and payed close attention to the things she got that looked useful, and the comments others made about them. I learned about using dead batteries to make toys not "work." I even enjoyed the cheesy shower game a little. Q is adjusting to random mood swings. He wishes there was warning when one is coming. Coming next week: pregnant belly pictures, and our Christmas card picture. Q has been busy at work.

The baby registry, or "What do you want for your child?"

Smileycue and I have been making slow progress on the registry for BabyCue. There are several reasons for this. One is my procrastination. Two is figuring out what we "need" versus what we "want." Three is figuring out how to say, "Could you please buy [BABY THING] because we want/need it, but please buy used."

To help us as we work through our registry decisions, we invite you, readers of BabyCue, to help us by answering these questions three in the comments:

1. What thing(s) did you find most useful for you baby?
2. What was the least useful thing you had for your baby?
3. What thing(s) did you wish you had for your baby?
   
4. If you had another baby, what thing(s) would you get this time?

Battle Bruises

Monday morning I got up early after fasting for 12 hours and headed to the hospital to do the GTT test. First, they drew blood. Then I got to drink orange stuff this time. I took the time to read the label, and it seems that one is not supposed to eat before this, or drink caffeine (I had a cherry coke and macaroni and cheese before last week's test). So I sat for three hours, getting blood drawn every hour. I have some terrible bruises to show for it, but I got a good nap in, and Dr. B walked by while I was sitting and stopped to chat. Really, the bruises look really bad. One was swollen for a while.

Tuesday when I went in to get my allergy shot I asked about the results. I passed. My blood sugar after three hours was 113, which mom says is still high, but I passed, so who cares. Nevertheless, she is digging out a diabetic cook book she happens to have.

In other news, we have some great belly pictures that perhaps Q will post soon. And Monday I start job #4, teaching music at a very small private school (42 students K-8). If this and daycare continue to work out, I might not have to get a real full-time job next year and can spend a lot of time with Babycue...