Already?

As is becoming our little custom, I came home from work this afternoon to a smiling baby boy sitting with Dad on the porch.  I kissed both of them hello, and as soon as Nate ended his phone call, he told me to "Come see this."

He put Weston on the bed, and he helped him get his legs tucked under his body.  Of course, Weston wasn't interested in showing off his new trick, so Nate had to fill me in on the details...He pushed himself up onto all fours and rocked back and forth a bit before he toppled over.

Already?  He's not even five months old (although he will be in a couple of days).

I did get to see this amazing feat this evening before bath time.  I was quite impressed.  Nate was able to capture it this afternoon:

Oh, the Dreams...

Last night, I very vividly dreamed that I was throwing up.  It was so real that as I woke up from the dream, I did it ever-so-cautiously because I didn't want to barf all over the bed.  I've only puked four times in my life, and I couldn't believe how much last night felt like I had just barfed in my mouth.

Then, I had another dream that the baby's foot was protruding out of my belly and I couldn't get it back in my belly.  It looked exactly like this picture, except I wasn't blue:

By the way, do you think this picture is real?

Photoshop fun or really sweet picture?

Fetuses Are Funny

I don't get my fetus.  Some days it's super quiet and doesn't do much, other than a few rolls and lazy jabs and upper cuts.  Other days, like last night and this morning, it's incredibly active, making my belly jump around like I'm cooking popcorn inside.  I can't figure out what makes it move.  It usually dances a bit after I eat and also when I am lying in bed.  But I can't seem to do a Pandora on it... Meaning that I play it music fairly often, but can't get its music tastes just right.  Last week, my mom was here, and she wanted to feel the baby move. So, I pulled out the iPod and played Yellow Sun by The Ranconteurs, and the fetus gave a "thumbs up" in the form of a head butt that was pretty powerful.  Of course, that could have meant that it didn't like it very much.  I don't know.

I've played it all sorts of other music, and some days it digs what I've got on, and other times it's like, "Blah...I've heard better."

Yes, I'm trying to figure out a fetus.  A fetus that weighs about a pound and a half, whose bones are becoming harder, and whose prime source of entertainment is exploring structures in my uterus.

A fav onesie

Yes, I'm neurotic.

Almost 100 Days Left

It's really hard to believe that I'm over halfway through this pregnancy.  Yikes.  This Thursday will mark 25 weeks, and then in a few weeks after that, I'll be in the third trimester.  And I'll get bigger and bigger and bigger...  The baby is well over a pound by now, and it's kicking and punching away like a champ.  I still can't get over how weird that feels, and I love it when Nate puts his hand on my belly and feels it moving around, too.

I'm pretty grateful with how well this is going.  I didn't have morning sickness, no complications thus far, and my husband has been beyond wonderful.  I could do without the leg cramps in the middle of the night, though.  Holy cow.  Those are pure evil.  What's up with those, anyway?  I've had three in the past month, and the most recent one was over Christmas.  That one was so utterly painful that it brought tears to my eyes at some ridiculous hour of the night.  I woke Nate up with my strained breathing, and I was in so much pain that I was practically paralyzed until it passed.  Stretching before bed has been helpful, and I think exercising has its benefits, too.

It's Alive!

I can no longer question if I'm feeling Mr. Belvedere--it's definitely moving around and kicking!  Probably since before Thanksgiving, I've felt the "flutters," but I was hesitant to say that it was.  As a side note, I personally think that the movements feel like a muscle spasm, like when your eyelid twitches or you get a spasm in your arm.  But in the past week or so, it's no longer been in question.  Yesterday at work, after what was an exhausting day, I was sitting at my desk with my hands on my belly, and I felt what was an unmistakable punch, kick or head butt.  I looked down, and on the next movement, I actually saw a small area of my belly pop out.  I laughed.

This afternoon, I had to send a student down to the in-school suspension room, and any time I have a confrontation with a student, the adrenaline starts to pump through my body.  Well, that seems to make the baby flip around a lot, and it tickles.  So while I'm trying to discipline this student in front of a wild class of 32 eighth graders, I feel like laughing.  Not helpful.

Flutters and Flips

I'm one week shy of being officially halfway through the pregnancy.  Nineteen weeks down, and twenty-one weeks (or so) to go!  I am increasingly more convinced that I've felt Mr. Belvedere (my sister's semi-endearing nickname for the baby that has stuck) swim around.  Last week, I could only feel it when I was super still and not moving.  But, lately, I just have to be sitting down.  I usually ride the bus home from work, and I felt it this afternoon and had a little grin on my face for awhile.  Of course, I constantly doubt that I'm feeling Mr. B...

I've been playing music for the past two nights as I lie in bed.  I put my iPod ear buds on my belly and play what I consider to be good, but sophisticated, baby music.  It listened to a couple of Ratatat songs, and then I switched to Philip Glass and Ravi Shankar.  Last night, it rocked out to Yann Tiersen's soundtrack from Amelie.  I would have played some Beethoven or Mozart, but I don't have any of that right now on my iPod.

Does Baby Like Houska?

Thanksgiving is officially over, but my sister flies into Minneapolis/St. Paul this afternoon, and we'll bring her back to my brother's house to complete the guest list.  Then, we'll have our own feast this evening, complete with our Polish/Lithuanian/Czech embellished holiday.  I am responsible for making houska, a sweet bread that I think used to just get made at Easter, but now has become a staple at all of our holidays.  In fact, I need to get up and get that going!  We also make kugelis, which is a potato, onion, and bacon savory cake (to be simplistic about its description) topped with sour cream.

I'm finding I fill up more quickly than I used to, so I'm going to have to sacrifice with small amounts of everything.  Or just draw out the meal over a couple of hours...

The other night, I'm pretty sure I felt the baby move, but I don't want to make any assumptions.  It felt like a little flip that was different than other rumblings and pressure I've felt thus far.  I need a few more of those to be certain about what I'm feeling.

Let's Move!

No, I'm not referring to moving out of our cramped apartment.  I am talking about wanting to feel the baby move!  Last Thursday, I was at 16 weeks, and according to everything I read, quickening (feeling the baby's first movements) usually happens between 16 and 20 weeks.  It's about the size of an avocado, and it's going to double its weight in the next few weeks.  However, being a first time pregger, I may have wait patiently for its movements until week 20.  LAME.  I have loved hearing women describe their first experience of baby's movement.  Here are a few descriptions I've heard from moms I know:

• flutters
• popcorn popping
• flips
• gas (Gert?)
• a light touch
• butterflies

The avocado
(taken from babycenter.com)

With all the craziness that happened last month with the loss of my dad, I never scheduled a three-month prenatal appointment.  Oops.  We do have a four-month appointment with our midwife this Tuesday evening.  I love the fact that we can have evening appointments with her, and Nate doesn't have to miss school, and I don't have to take sick time!