Inchworm: 22 weeks

Babycenter.com Updates:

Inchworm now looks like a miniature newborn and should be checking in at 10.9 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound.

• His skin will continue to appear wrinkled until he gains enough weight to fill it out.
• The fine hair (lanugo) that covers his head and body is now visible.
• His eyes are developed, though the iris (the colored part of the eye) still lacks some pigment.
• Eyelids and eyebrows are in place.
  
• His lips are becoming more distinct, and the first signs of teeth are appearing as buds beneath his gum line. We won't actually see his first tooth until he's around 4 to 7 months old, unless he's one of the rare babies who are born with teeth! weird!

My Updates:

• My bellybutton is flattened out and I can say "hello!" to the inside of it anytime I want.
• His kicking is now more like "thumps" rather than little "pulses".
• He likes to squirm and turn his little butt around more than kick.
• no cravings, no sickness, nothing like anyone says being pregnant will be (except for the belly).
• bending in half is harder (to put socks, leg warmers and shoes on

Baby Stuff Shopping

[Finally!] Here is my latest torso-shot. It really doesn't look much different than earlier shots. I am bigger though. I'll try to get a better one in January... promises, promises. We'll see...

OK, so here are my unplanned baby purchases. Yes, yes, yes, they were good buys. I agree with my mom, but the next time I go out to do ANY kind of baby shopping I will have a well laid out list!

[click on images to make them larger]

I got all 5-onsies for 4$ and the "little John" outfit for 3$. My mom made a fuss over the onsies being Carters brand. I guess it is supposed to be a good brand? The onsies generally go for .99 each, but I got 4 of the 5 in a pack.















The bassinet was 60$ (you can find the same brand at Target for 80-130$). After I'm done using it, I can take it back to the place I purchased it from and they will redeem 40% of the price I purchased it for (if it is still in good condition still). We figure after the refund we will be renting it for around 20$ from now until the baby is 3-months old or so old. I think that's a good purchase! My mom IS right about all the wood flooring. I like the thought of being able to roll it from the bedroom to kitchen to living room and office. I absolutely do not have good hearing so a baby monitor would only make me paranoid that I wasn't hearing everything ok. Anyway, There are a lot of pluses with having this type of 1st bed.

By the way, regarding the name, I want to get it decided and over with. When we think we have a name I'm sure everyone will know before he's born. :) If we happen to change it suddenly when he's born, I'm sure you guys will survive the suddenness. The name John thought of the other night was Donovan. We already have Joel as his middle name (named for a friend). I REALLY like it... Donovan Joel Bermea. Short names can be DJ or Dono but absolutely NOT "DON". Not an easy one for kids to make fun of too (yes, we are considering him having to survive with his name). So let us know what you think?

Inchworm: 20 & 21 weeks

My posting is behind schedule, plus our due date moved to a more solid April 30th so it changed week count. I missed the 20-week mark so this is a quickie on 20 and 21.20 weeks: Inchworm was about 6 1/2 inches "head to rump" and about 10 inches head to foot this week - the length of a banana.

21 weeks (up to date): Inchworm now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long - the length of a carrot. His eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed, and I can certainly feel him move even if he's not wild and rambunctious.

No, we have not named him yet although we do have a middle name we previously picked out. John brought one up for a first name, just last night and I've really taken a liking to it. We'll see!?

Lastly, Never go browsing for baby stuff when you're with your mom if you're not ready to buy things. haha! My mom was out Christmas shopping with me last Saturday and we stopped by another used baby store that just opened. I bought a small, rolling bassinet, 5 onsies and a little "mini John" outfit. All for 70$ (the bassinet was 60$ and brand new). I'll post the goods tomorrow.

*I will also continue to post the remainder of our Europe trip this weekend. (almost done) I will be posting them backdated so they keep with the rest of the trip.

Inchworm: 19 weeks

Inchworm should be weighing in at about 8 1/2 ounces, and he should measure around 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Sheesh! He really looks squashed in there in the image above!

Babycenter.com updates:

• His arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now.
• His kidneys continue to make urine.
• The hair on his scalp is sprouting (hey my mom might just be right about his hair being in!).
  
• This is a crucial time for sensory development: Inchworm's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch.

My Updates:

The tummy grows, that's all I know! I never got our tummy photos so I'm glad Robyn has at least posted her own. I keep meaning to do it so I will keep on trying to remember to do so.

Movement: I can't feel his soft little kicking with my hand on a regular basis yet, but he likes to do this thing where he scrunches up in a ball and lodges himself high in my tummy. Not sure how to explain, but that's what it feels like. Or maybe it's like he's stretching out, but when he does it it feels like I have a large apple pushing up hard to the left of my bellybutton up toward my rib cage. haha. When you touch it it's all hard. From what I've gathered from the last two ultrasounds is he is a content little guy that just wiggles around slowly - unlike Robyn's little heathen. (HAHA!) Man, her little guy is crazy! I do feel my guy tapping a bit when I try to feel him move with my hand, but it's very vague and not consistent enough for John to come feel because I might be three little taps and not be able to feel it again for hours or even days.

*By the way, I know I am quite behind on my posts as I still need to update the rest of our trip. We had stopped posting because we didn't want to pay the ridiculous fee in Rome for Wifi. I wrote our daily adventures in MS Word until I could post them. I will try to do so by tomorrow.

Oh Boy!

I know the girls vote was winning, but the as nature has put it, we're have a boy! yay! Going into the appointment we were kinda thinking it'd be a girl, as you can see (above) we were quite wrong. Of course we are SO excited and the waiting is OVER! Here are the remaining pics. He totally has John's nose and my mom swears he's got a full head of dark hair (like John)... not so sure they actually have hair this early but I do know they get their hairline. It's fun to say it though.

[ AS ALWAYS - CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO ENLARGE THEM ]

Europe: Italy, Rome – Day 3

We made it to Rome. Our taxi driver was waiting outside customs fully decked in a gray pinstripe suite and a delicate scarf, although he drove a fairly plain van like a madman. The ride from the airport to our hotel was a live version of Mr. Toads Wild Ride (Disneyland) only, life threatening. I don’t think I’d make it driving in this city!







The top photo is us in front of the Spanish Steps, about a 10-min. walk from our hotel. Today we made it down to the Piazza Spagna which encompasses the Spanish Steps, Bracaccia Fountain (Boat Fountain - located at the base of the steps), and the Column of the Immacolata (Immaculate Conception / 2 photos above).
After this piazza (there are millions in Rome), we ventured forward to find the Trevi Fountain (above), a very cool site to see. We threw our coins in [this symbolizes that you will come back to Rome again]. As you can see, they are quite popular.

Europe: Sweden - Day 2 / Dinner

Tonight (Tuesday) we walked down to the best kebab shop in Goteborg! We acted like tourists tonight with the camera.
We had planned to take a picture of our plates of Souvlake, but greedly gorged ourselves silly and then remembered what we had planned. So here lay one masacared plate. The meat is pork on a stick (like a kebab in the US) over french fries with a delicious (mild, medium or spicey) sauce. This is our favorite server (we forgot to ask his name this time), he has served us the last 3-times I have been to Sweden.....ok so I'm having photo-loading-issues... will post him at another time. Goodnight (it's about 1:30 pm for you guys)!

Europe: Sweden - Day 2

Here we are in Goteborg (or Gothenburg), Sweden!

The three of us picking up our new volvo. Our Overseas Delivery Specialist, Gilleana was brave in asking if we were expecting...I could just be fat at this stage (*lol*).

We left the Medford (Oregon) airport at 12:30 pm, Sunday and arrived last night around 6:30 pm (Monday). Of course we did not sleep last night until we had eaten a dinner of our precious Souvlake (su-fla-key) which we will be back for tonight! Today started around 7:30 am(Tuesday) to shower, eat at the fantastic breakfast buffet, nap and head out to Volvo City (the factory) to "pick up" our new car.

Here is our wonderful room at the Radisson in Sweden. They are quite cozy and stylish and are done up in a salsa fashion, complete with a large plastic chile on the wall!

We checked out the mall which was full of christmas shoppers and cute kiosks full of handmade goods. The remainder of the day is for relaxing, enjoying our last chance for more Souvlake and sleep! Our flight to Italy, Rome is early. Until tomorrow!

Inchworm: 18 weeks

Babycenter.com Updates:

Head to bottom, Inchworm is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and weighs almost 7 ounces. Bell peppers are pretty big!

• The baby is busy flexing arms and legs — which I am noticing more and more.
• Blood vessels are visible through the thin skin.
• The ears are now in position and stand out from the head.
• Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around the nerves, a process that will continue for a year after the baby is born.
• If we're having a girl, her uterus and Fallopian tubes are formed and in place.
• If our baby is a boy, his genitals are noticeable, though he may hide them from you during an ultrasound. We will find out in a week!?

My Updates:

I haven't been the slightest sick or nauseous in the past few weeks....hoping that is over with completely. No feet or hands swelling. Oh, and I have gained a whopping 4lbs.

Baby Beats (18 weeks)

I went to my 18-week prenatal appointment today and as promised, I captured audio with my cell phone (the audio will open in a new window as a Quicktime file).

LISTEN HERE

You can hear us discussing the beats. The first noise is softer, that was my beat - then it gets really loud as she found the baby's beats. As you hear the baby's beats more prominently you can notice interruptions in the beat like someone is hitting the microphone - THAT is the baby moving. We started discussing it because she was surprised that I couldn't feel it. If you turn the volume up you can hear her asking if I felt it or not. I started to tell her that I can feel the flutter-bubbles of the movement but wasn't sure if I'd actually felt the baby move with my hand. This has helped me better understand what I am feeling and what is obviously a movement or not. I have concluded that I have been feeling the baby move around...more and more as the bubble gets bigger. She also mentioned that because I had worked out a lot pre-pregnancy, my abs could hinder my hand being able to feel a kick or whatnot right now.

I love the nurse, Christine, she likes to spend the time and give you that excitement about having a baby. When I told her I wanted to record the heartbeat audio she was all for it and made sure we got a good clip. I apologized for taking up her time and she said,"nonsense, it's not every day you're having a baby!" - I really like the office and attitude of the people there.

Interesting info from my discussion with the Dr:

An episiotomy is not as recommended as it use to be. Latest studies recommend letting you rip (ouch!) rather than jumping at the chance to slice you up. The dr. explained that this was because there is a much greater chance of muscle tissue and nerve damage as opposed to tearing which naturally decides to rip the weakest areas instead of the dr doing a direct cut through everything. She did say that sometimes it is still necessary if it's just not working w/out ripping you completely in half. *lol* She even said it is hard for her to sit back and let it rip (so to say) than immediately make an incision. ok, I know it's gross for you guys that know what I'm talking about.... but interesting all the same.

I was considering a water-birth but my office doesn't offer it, so no big deal I'll go without, it was just a thought. The Dr noted that there is a higher chance for infections and such due to swimming in your stuff post birth. haha. gross.

All grossness aside, everything checked out OK and we're set to fly out Sunday for Europe. By the way, everyone has one more week to place their votes on the gender-poll and the score is ACTUALLY 9 (girls) vs. 6 (boys) as Fiona has not been able to place her vote for some odd reason. You have 1-week from Monday. Robyn finds out this coming Monday. yippee!!

Inchworm: 17 weeks

Inchworm weighs about 5 ounces now, and is around 5 inches long — about the size of a large onion or turnip.

Babycenter.com updates:

• The umbilical cord, the baby's lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker.
• She/He Can move its joints, and skeleton — until now, rubbery cartilage — is starting to harden into bone. A newborn's skeleton has 300 parts (a combination of bone and cartilage). As the child grows, some of these parts harden and fuse together. By the time your baby reaches adulthood, it'll have just 206 bones.

My Updates:

I don't have much to report. I completely blanked on getting a belly-shot for the blog with Robyn and I together. I will try to remember for this Thursday as we will be doing yoga.

I find it cute that when I'm laying in bed on my side for a bit and then roll onto my back, the baby sits way higher and is quite prominent. I like to feel it's little body when it does this...until it sinks away.

I'm getting really antsy about finding out the gender. I see the poll is 8 (girl) to 6 (boy)! Some people must really want a girl! I find that guessing by heartbeat, morning sickness, how you carry the baby, etc. for gender is nonsense. I get so many contradictions on these theories. Paul swears they will have a girl because of one of these theories... I think it's his paranoia (haha! Just kidding Paul!). They've got a week to find out, we've got two! :) Can't wait! We don't have a preference either way, it's just exciting to know!

I have a Dr appt. this Thursday and this time I'll try to record the heartbeat.

Thanksgiving Blast

I don’t even know where to begin with Thanksgiving this year! As always it was over-the-top with family and activities. *NOTE: To continue and fully enjoy the hilariousness of these images, it is an ABSOLUTE MUST to click on the photos to enlarge the people and funny expressions. ENJOY!

This year we all gathered at the Swartz household (thanks Mike and Heather!). With a house full of gymnastic munchkins (*ahem* the kids: Morgan, Miranda, Sage, Justin and Sabrina), the Swartz’s have a huge playroom/gymnasium built right into the house; very cool and a must for any house of active munchkins (about the size two 4-car garages!).

Thanksgiving Day started off with plenty of food and laughter. This year I contributed by baking 3-pumpkin pies (one was made milk-free with coconut milk instead of condensed milk – very good!), homemade whipped cream to boot, tons of homemade rolls and a vat of whipped honey-butter. Endless amounts of turkey, ham, whipped potatoes, stuffing and gravy came via everyone else!

After food and rolling about a bit the activities exploded. Being too full to do anything else, I believe we started with Gestures [Boys vs. Girls]. As the turkey-drugs wore off, gymnastics took place! The group couldn’t decide between the launch pad and the bar… no one got tired of watching everyone flail through the air from the launch pad (spring-board) onto a pile of foam.

A while later karaoke and the costume bin were discovered. Quite the scene! After a bit of wigs and bad singing and maybe some more gymnastics and stick-fighting on a balancing beam, we played Sardines. Sardines must be played in the dark for it to work. This works like Hide-N-Seek but backwards.

How to play: The person that’s It hides while all the other players count to 60. Everyone looks for It, and each player quietly hides with It when they find him/her. Soon, those who are left realize that they are looking for a hiding place with a lot of people in it.

It is quite hilarious when about 25 or so of us are playing in a big dark house. Half the people have never even been in the house before and the house has a lot of nifty hiding places! One spot ended up in a attic-fort, one was in the master bath…shower! Someone kicked the water faucet on that one ending in wet feet and almost a communal shower. In the last game we all ended up under a bunch of foam pads in the game room. Not the best spot because everyone would come charging into the room stomping on all the early hiders realizing it was people under the pads that was squeaking and not toys!

That night ended at 10:30pm for us… bruised and worn out. Friday consisted of the annual Paintball Wars! Sadly, John did not get to play for the first time in like 6-years. Not to go rubbing it in, but the weather was gorgeous and the turnout very good (15-20 people per team). As a part of the camera crew, we ventured out to see how the game was going. It is quite risky being a part of the camera crew; sometimes you get attacked.

After the forest and players were painted, bruised and completely worn out, we had more turkey, potatoes, ham, gravy and pumpkin pie. Then it was off to the Slick Car Tracks (in Medford) for some more fun! It looked busy upon arriving, but our mob tends to clear out smaller groups upon arrival.

I spent the remainder of the holiday weekend at home tearing apart our home office which was quite the adventure and good for another post. I believe Saturday was another day of paintballing and Pats turkey soup…and/or pizza so I heard.

We hope everyone had as great a holiday as us! ... and of course, there's always room for a turkey leg! (robyn was a starving nome here).

Organizing 2008

I've had a lot of thought in the past couple weeks regarding the fast approaching, but sneaky new year. I can't believe it's going to be 2008 so soon! I remember graduating from High School (1999) and thinking how funny it would be to see 2010, well, not so much now. OK I'm off my topic...

In thinking about the new year I tend to think of questions like,"what will it bring? what will I do this year?" You're either the type of person that gets all gung-ho over great big goals you are going to accomplish or you say you aren't making goals, but secretly you have little hopes and promises to yourself that well, are realistically goals nonetheless. ;)

Regardless of your choice for '08, we can't help it. It's our trained nature to use the timelines we've been given as starting and ending points. I personally think it's healthy human nature to do so otherwise we might go crazy thinking we can't have a "new beginning" here or a "light at the end of the tunnel" there. Some people just want to make it from the beginning of the day to the end to see a new start in tomorrow. Some use the start of a week or month as a fresh moment. I think I'm a weekly-monthly-yearly type. I tend to make too many or too large of goals for myself too.

My point is coming to the fact that I have a constant desire to be that organized person. I discovered Martha Stewart's website on accident the other day (not a huge fan of her personally, but she has good ideas now and then). I was poking around the organization section (under Home Decor) and found more than a few great tips and easy solutions that will work for me in my house. I was so excited about it, I started compiling all the ideas I thought were useful - I can email this to you if you are interested. Let me know or just go to Martha's website and cruise around yourself.

Clutter drives John mad! *lol* He would stuff pots and pans in the dryer if it would get rid of some clutter. Just kidding! I am constantly cleaning, shifting and trying to re-organize the clutter but it seems to never leave me alone! As a person with many hobbies and interests I brought the majority of the clutter into the household spaces - so I need a working solution for it all.

Getting Started!
To get started with decorating or room ideas, there was a neat, simple item I liked that was labeled as a Decorators Pouch, or what I might refer to as an Idea Pouch.

Simply use clear zip pouches that will fit into a large binder. Use one pouch per room. Collect fabric swatches, paint chips, scratched notes you thought about while daydreaming and jotted on a napkin, room re-layout sketches, measurements, supply lists, tools you may need to purchase before starting, etc. and keep them in the pouch.

This method will help you fully visualize a rooms finished decor, layout and you will more easily be able to:

• price it out as a whole if you want a smartly budgeted room, this way you can either work on sections of the room at a time buying pieces or tools as you can.
  
• carry the zip pouch while shopping specifically for the room or project
  
• can help focus spur-of-the-moment spending

You can also use this for specific project ideas that will take planning and pieces to purchase. It is not limited to just the rooms in your house. I plan to use a large 3-ring binder to stash my packets in. I will label each pocket accordingly. If you don't want to go out and buy binder pouches, think of using gallon-size freezer bags (try punching holes in them?).

Hope someone finds this useful. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Inchworm: 16 weeks

At 4 1/2 inches long (head to bottom) and 3 1/2 ounces, Inchworm is about the size of an avocado! In the next three weeks, it'll go through a tremendous growth spurt, though, doubling in weight and adding inches to the length.

Babycenter.com updates:

• The lower limbs are much more developed now.
• The head is more erect than it has been.
• The eyes have moved toward the front of the head.
• The ears are close to their final position.
• Some of the more advanced body systems are working, including the circulatory system and urinary tract.
• The heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, circulating the total blood volume through the body many times. (By the end of your pregnancy, this will increase to about 190 quarts.)
• The patterning of the scalp has begun, though hair isn't recognizable yet.
• Although closed, the eyes are moving (slowly), and we've even started growing toenails!

My Updates:

• No more blood in my ear. Never heard back from the dr so I'm clueless on that... ? :(
• I've got "bubbly" in my tummy in the central location of the baby-ball so I'm sure that's my movement signs.
  
• Not sick at all.
• Feet get soooo tired from standing/walking. I wear my crocs around the house when I'm making dinner or doing laundry, etc. Which helps quite a bit. We have wood flooring through most of the living area.
• I'm loving Oranges and Honey Bunches of Oats cereal :P
• Robyn and I do Prego-Yoga once a week, it's a lot of fun. Although we are not that great at sticking to the relaxing breathing parts because we chat a lot. heheh.
  

At our last yoga day, Robyn told me that Limabean (her baby) kicked her hand while she was laying on her back the night before. All I have are bubblies so far. Robyn told me that I would probably not feel anything for a while because my baby was lazy. haha! Simply put, her baby is always very active in her ultrasounds and mine has always been asleep. Mom has told me that I was a really active baby/fetus... we'll see if Inchworm perks up further down the road. I can feel her/his body shifting around and sliding away from my hand when I poke at her/his water bubble.

I can't believe the rate the baby is growing at this point! I've finished all of my maternity clothes shopping last Friday with mom....until I'm too big for those. It has been really easy to find cute jeans at the only maternity store locally, and they all fit perfect! Easier than shopping for normal jeans. I call them "buckets" because I feel like I'm getting into a bucket when I wear them.

Only 3-weeks until we find out what we're having! Make sure you've voted!

Amniocentresis. What is it...

I wanted to post about this because to me it was an eye-opener and important to note. Additionally, I was talking to Robyn about it last week and she had not really done any research on the topic. I wanted any other new moms or those of you planning to get pregnant, to be aware of this decision you get to make.

My Dr. has been mentioning these new tests to me that can detect problems with the baby... for instance, Down Syndrome. We were interested because for one, you can at least prepare emotionally and educate yourself if you are needing to take care of a child in this state.

Simply put, Amniocentresis is the process in which the Dr. collects a sample of the amniotic fluid that surrounds the baby (with a huge needle to the tummy!). Aside from all that drama, step one, before you get to the amnio is to have a simple blood test (from the mother) that is not invasive to the baby to determine if there may be something wrong. This screening is NOT 100% either. So in my opinion, if you decide to get the screen done, you should be aware of what there is to follow and be prepared to do the amnio; otherwise doing screening seems kind of pointless.

The most common reason to have an amnio is to determine whether a baby has a genetic disorder or a chromosomal abnormality, such as Down syndrome. (some symptoms can be treated in the womb).

To get your brains rolling, the amnio is invasive to the baby in the womb and there is a 1 in 200 chance of miscarriage. To me, that's a big deal. If currently, there is nothing wrong visibly then I will stick to not doing it. Some women may have to have the amnio for other specific reasons. I have decided not to do the test. Robyn has done the screen but I don't think she'll do the amnio after hearing what I said. Really researching it is a must! A great start to this is at Babycenter.com - HERE . There's a lot of varied information and personal comments to from women that have experienced it. Wikipedia also has some more straightforward descriptions about it.

If anyone has had it done I'd love to hear your comments!

Inchworm: 15 weeks

Inchworm now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple).

Babycenter.com Updates:

• The baby is busy moving amniotic fluid through its nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in the lungs begin to develop.

• The legs are growing longer than the arms now, and she/he can move all of her/his joints and limbs.

• Although the eyelids are still fused shut, the baby can sense light. If I shine a flashlight at my tummy, for instance, the baby’s likely to move away from the beam.

• There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but it is forming taste buds.
  

• If I was having an ultrasound this week, I might be able to find out whether we’re having a boy or a girl! We of course are waiting until December which was scheduled a bit ago. Hopefully the baby won’t be curled or turned away! That would be disappointing!

My Updates:

I am now an addict of Oranges. None of my cravings seem to turn me into a "crazy pregnant lady" though so I always brush things off as not being a craving...just a food of choice.

I thought this was interesting to note because I seem to have a knock-off symptom of what can happen. Everything regarding the 14-15 week period keeps noting that you can get nosebleeds and not to worry...

"...since hormonal changes and increased blood flow to your mucous membranes. This condition is so common, there's even a name for it: "rhinitis of pregnancy." Some pregnant women also suffer nosebleeds as a result of increased blood volume and blood vessel expansion in the nose."

That said, this morning I had blood in my ear! eek! OK well, before you freak out and give me suggestions it would be good for you to know that (if you don't already) I have a [long] history of ear problems and currently have had a hole in my right eardrum for about a year now. I keep putting off the surgery to get it fixed and may do it next winter if it can wait....that is an entirely different story I can tell at another time if it ever happens. I have promptly emailed the Dr. at OHSU (Portland Oregon) where I started going for new ear treatment last winter. I am hoping to avoid a checkup overall because well, simply put, it's 4-hours away! I'm sure it just has to do with the nose and ear stuff all being connected and well, a hole to boot etc. (cross your fingers).

By the way, a hole in ones eardrum is perfectly fine and it will usually heal itself, but mine do not seem to have that extra little *umph!* to do so and leaves me with getting infections and overall worse hearing than I already have. Oh woe is me. heheh.

Tummy VS. Tummy

I know all I've posted recently is "baby this, baby that" but that's all that's been happening really. Aside from work-work-work.... so not to bore everyone with yet another baby-related post, but it is exciting for us!

We took these tummy-shots the day of our shopping trip. Robyn has wanted to post her own tummy-shot first (on her blog) but hasn't had time. In the meantime, our tummies are starting to grow at an amazing rate so I needed to rush to get this one out the door. Will post another double-tummy-shot around Thanksgiving (couple of weeks).

I know most of the blog readers are moms, but I have to say, it is the oddest feeling to have your belly morph into this cute little ball. Knowing what you are growing inside you just seems crazy. I keep thinking of the movie, Alien ... hopefully our baby isn't as crabby as those aliens when they come popping out! ;)

Gobble! Oink! Hee-Haw!

My mom dropped by yesterday and we went to Jack & Jills, a pre-owned baby and maternity boutique in Medford. My mom got a few great items that were definitely worth the buy. Inchworm picked up a few things for herself/himself and then bought daddy a present. Our first baby items purchase!














I must say, Inchworm is such a bargain-shopper! We picked up an Eddie Bauer Front Carrier for $28.00. I almost didn't buy it because I have been wanting to wait until January to buy anything baby-related. I had a feeling that it was too great of a price, and I was right...we checked online later and found the exact model for $80.00! I wanted a manly carrier for John and I plan to eventually get a carrier like Fiona's, Mei Tai for myself. I am really impressed with all the smart pieces of this carrier though. It has tons of great padding in all the right places and easy in-and-out buckles for both you and baby, plus a back support piece. I of course had to try it on when we got home. We put Mr. Cuddly Bear in a farmer onsie and a knitted hat my mom and I make. He was trying to impersonate Inchworm. (I know I look like a ghost... the camera really washed my skin out!?)