Week 26 Update (14 to go!!)

Week 26 Update:

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.

Who even knew there was such a thing as an English hothouse cucumber? I guess the quarter is to give us some perspective. So he's growing quite a bit and fattening up which makes me happy. He's gained a lot in the last week (which makes me feel better about the fact that my belly is getting bigger and bigger :-)

Nothing too exciting to pass on other than the week 26 update, really. We're headed to Greenville this weekend for our baby shower so I should have some pictures to post soon. Oh, and today in court, a police officer with no children told me how much having a baby would "change my life". I asked him what it would change specifically and he said, "you know, it will just be different". See, he just proved my point... unless you have some solid advice, that's just a weird thing to say. It's like me announcing that our new president will change our government to some degree.... well, of course they will! I felt kind of bad for writing my hormonal rant, but hearing it again this morning made me feel a tiny bit more justified.

Happy Labor Day and Love to All,

Jessica

My Pregnant Rant...

(Disclaimer: This is just me venting a couple of my pregnancy frustrations relating to things that people say to you when you are pregnant, so if you aren't in the mood to listen to me complain, skip this post!)



Let me start this off by saying that I am VERY lucky to have a great and supportive group of friends/family and friends who are more like family who in general have been nothing but fantastic throughout my pregnancy; answering questions, providing advice, loaning maternity clothes, suggesting books, daycares, you name it. So I totally may seem like an ingrate, but these observations are directed at people in general, not my friends and or family in particular, so don't take it to heart. And you know me, when things are getting on my nerves, I like to get them off my chest. Maybe the hormones are making me a little more sensitive (which is kind of amazing as I'm already a VERY sensitive girl), but at the same time, I hope that when I'm not pregnant, I will remember how much this made me crazy....



1. Pregnant women don't actually enjoy vague statements about how much their lives are going to change.... Pregnancy in general is kind of a stressful time and vague statements paired with knowing looks about how much your life will change are just confusing and frightening. I know my life is going to change and never be the same again. And being the kind of girl I am, I'd like to plan for it, but aside from laying in supplies of diapers, prepping the dogs, setting up the room, taking a class and reading some books, I don't think there is anyway to actually anticipate how exactly my life will change and prepare for it. I have faith that Quinn will bring us great happiness along with sleepless nights and a few freak outs. And I hope that lack of sleep or motherhood in general won't turn me into a negligent wife, friend, family member or dog mom. And seeing how everyone is a little bit different and reacts to things differently, I don't think there is any point in making predictions as to whether or not I'll love or care about everyone the same. I'm pretty sure that adding someone else to my life who I love tremendously won't necessarily take away from the love I have for the people with whom I already have relationships.

Moreover, I'd like to point out that after saying your life is going to change, no one really tells you how. They may say, "when the baby comes" or "you'll see" but I don't think either of those are particularly constructive. If you want to give me a list or some hard and fast facts, bring it on, but otherwise, I'm well aware that motherhood will be a big change to my life. And I'm already worried about being prepared for all of it-emotionally, financially, physically, intellectually-so unless there is just something you think I'm completely unaware of, I probably am already worrying about it.



2. Expectant mothers are probably not the best people to confide in about how terrible children are. I've been amazed at how people will periodically exclaim to me that children are just horrible or awful behaving. I'm not going to say that I always disagree, but at the same time, I'm pretty far down the pike on this one and have no plans to get out of it now, so maybe I'm not the best person to confide in about the horrors of children. Also, I have not actually started making a list of all the things that Quinn is and isn't allowed to do yet, so there's no real point in pointing them out to me. I'm hopeful that he won't smash large objects into peoples legs at stores or throw tantrums in the middle of the mall or run around in public screeching like a banshee making the same high pitched sound over and over, but I'm guessing at some points, he is going to behave in a less than ideal manner. I mean, I know I did, so how can I expect perfection from him? And though I think that Turner and I will be reasonably involved and kind of strict parents, this is our first go at it (see: "your life's are going to change" above) so I'm sure there's going to be a bit of a learning curve. And beyond that, even if Quinn is the almost perfect, never sick, never cranky baby and we are the almost perfect parents (which seems a little unlikely on my part at least), I'm willing to bet at some point he'll act out and maybe annoy people. I apologize in advance, but I can't really address it at this point. Right now, save the occasional jab or kick which only I can feel, he's quite well-behaved. The rest of it we'll have to deal with when he's on the outside.



So, those are just some thoughts I've had about a few things that have frustrated me throughout pregnancy and I now have had enough time to think about that I could put them into words. I certainly cannot speak for all pregnant women, but personally these have been a few of the things I find frustrating and figured I won't have the pregnant perspective that much longer, so I might as well share.



Talk to all soon and thanks for listening to me complain :-)

Love,

J

Week 25 Update (25 down, 15 to go!)

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. (As a side note, I personally am willing to be he is much cuter than a rutabaga!)
I wish that the updates gave us more than just foods to compare him to. Too bad there aren't additional measures, like "cuter than a labrador puppy", "as long as 4 Smurfs end to end" and "packs less punch than the Incredible Hulk".... that would make the blog pictures more interesting.

Livin' la Vida Embarazada....

Hey, all!

Just thought I'd put a general update as to what has been going on in our world on the blog. Things have been really busy of late (or they always are busy, it seems) so I haven't really gotten a chance to post much about what is going on. We have more or less finished Quinn's room, save some accessories and artwork at this point. Last weekend, our friends Mindy and John, and their son Hayden and daughters Camden and Riley, brought over the crib that Quinn will use. It actually matches the furniture perfectly and has rails that are a safe distance apart-even by today's super strict, crazy baby safety standards!!
I did have to sew new ties onto the bumper as the ties that came on it were too short to tie appropriately around the crib. There are funkier sheets that match the bedding, but this plain sheet actually came with it, so it is what we have on for now.

We also got a new shelving unit to go on the side of the room which we thought would be handy for toys and books and such. Turner had the great idea of using green and brown baskets in it (I was just thinking green) and I really like the way that it looks with the rest of the room. We also got a few books for Quinn on sale the other day when I saw some for 75% off. I'm amazed at how expensive children's books are these days so I'm trying to keep an eye out for a bargain as I want him to have plenty of books to read or be read to him. I need to get to my mom's soon and pilfer my old books as I think she still has lots of my old favorites....
I've cut out most of the pieces for the quilt my friend Nichole is going to make for Quinn from my dad's old shirts, but I'm hoping to finish it this weekend so I can get it to her so she can start working on it. I think it will be kind of cool looking, but I'm not 100% sure since I really know nothing about quilting. We'll see, I guess.
Last night we went on a tour of Baptist Hospital which is one of the two hospitals that my doctor, Dr. Haney, delivers at. We anticipated that we would prefer Centennial over Baptist so I hope that we're right as I wasn't too excited about what Baptist had to offer. Part of it might have just been the woman giving the tour who kept calling all of the waiting rooms and recovery rooms "holding areas" which just made me think of bunches of pregnant cattle. She also announced that they had made the postpartum rooms smaller and that they are redoing the c-section area so that right now, they are using 4 beds separated by curtains for c-sections. Not too pleasant sounding. With any luck, Centennial will not be doing any bizarro remodeling and it will work out better for the birth. The birthing suites at Baptist for people who are having regular labor and delivery were really nice, so I think it is at least partly that I know I'll have a c-section that turns me off of it.
Beyond that, the pregnancy is going well. I definitively feel like I've slowed down a bit in the last week or two and I am definitely looking relatively pregnant. Quinn is moving quite a bit more, though he is still on the unpredictible side and doesn't seem to want to let anyone feel him moving. On the other hand, he was jabbing some piece of himself into my side yesterday and I realized that it was actually poking out of my belly, so Turner got to feel it. I imagine it was a very bony elbow or something-ow!
That's all for now, but I'll try to be better about posting more often.
Love,
J

Week 24 AKA 6 months!!!!

It's crazy that we're at 6 months already. That seems close, but it turns out they actually measure gestation as a full 40 week process, so we aren't nearly as close as it seems :-( Not that the pregnancy has been difficult at all, I'm just getting excited about meeting Quinn and seeing whose nose he has and if he has Michael's curly hair and so on. I'm hoping he doesn't inherit his brother Darwin's pointy ears or Garcia's floppy ones for that matter. All in all, things are going well. We went to the doctor yesterday and she listened to Quinn's heartbeat and proclaimed him beautiful. I couldn't agree more...
Now, for your stimulating Week 24 Update:

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.
On the other hand, after reading that his skin is translucent, maybe I can wait to meet him for a bit :-) I have started to feel him regularly, but Turner still hasn't felt him move.

I actually think Garcia may have felt him as he spends a lot of time rooting around with my stomach. He does it gently and it is quite odd as he is completely focused on my stomach not on me when he does it. I've decided he and Quinn are bonding early. Darwin remains completely unaware, though he does love my newfound penchant for cereal eating as he gets my left over milk.
Hope all is going well with you. We're looking forward to seeing the Greenville crew soon.
Love,
Jessica

Week 23 Update and a little rambling...

WEEK 23:
Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

Warning...the next bit may be fueled by my wacked out pregnancy hormones....Sorry if it is a little on the schmarmy side...Now for a quick disclaimer, this is NOT Quinn, but it is what a baby looks like at 18 weeks, so Quinn looks even more like a little bitty person than this guy does. Kind of amazing isn't it? That Turner and I could create this? I truly feel like one of the luckiest people in the world to have a phenomenal husband, 2 semi-perfect dogs, great family and wonderful friends and to have a Quinn on the way. A girl couldn't get much luckier!

Updates from Turner

Hey all,
I have been letting Jess do most of the talking because I've been so busy lately that I really just haven't had time! She's been extra sleepy and she gets tired so easily, that she just can't help out like she used to, so I get up early and go to bed late and work hard in between. Here's what Jess was doing Saturday morning:





I wanted to beat the heat and get out and do all the yard work and clean the house and do the laundry and paint Quinn's room and move the office and build a ceiling fan out of cardboard, twigs and glue (I know it doesn't sound like much, but I decided to take it easy this weekend). I also needed a haircut, which Jess usually does, but I didn't want to wake her. So, I got up early and gave myself a haircut!! What do you think?? I think I may have missed one little spot, but pretty good for my first time!





Actually, things really are going great. 5 Months ago it seemed like we had a mile long list of things to buy and do and it's amazing how short that list is now. It was a great feeling to finish the baby room (Couldn't have done that without Craig, Kari, and Corbin!! Thanks again!) and put all of the furniture in place. There's still plenty more to do, but it's great to see how far we've come. We're both incredibly excited and can't wait for him to get here. Here are a few preggo pictures of my beautiful wife just so everybody get's an update:




She's still feeling great and she looks amazing. So far, this has been an incredible experience and it keeps getting better. It's hard to believe that we'll have an extra little man wondering around the house in just a few short months!

Thanks to everybody who reads this for all of your help and support. Quinn is going to be one lucky kid to have all of you!

--Turner

A little more progress...

So, after a long, hot weekend, we've made a little more progress on Quinn's room. We had talked a lot about sanding down Turner's old bedroom furniture and painting it white. However, the temperatures haven't been conducive to much outdoor work so after some thinking, we decided we might try it with the furniture as is. It's kind of 70's looking, but on the upside, it kind of goes with the decor of the room. Anyway, let us know what you think of the regular-old furniture in the room.

I know we've shown everyone the paint job, but we also have acquired a gliding recliner for his room (in case we wind up spending some quality evening time there). We decided to go with something a little less baby-ish and a little more everyday furniture-ish as he won't be a baby forever. And we got lucky and found this for less than a lot of the plain gliders. Oh, and this is what it looks like with a Darwin in front of it.

Here's a shot of Garcia (and Darwin's burro ears) in front of where the crib will go. I put the bedding in the corner just to show the colors in the context of the whole room. (Cause I'm crazy :-)

This is just another shot of the tall dresser and the chair. We're thinking about getting a bench to go to the right of the dresser with a few of those collapseable storage baskets for toys and such.

And finally, this is a good shot of the room (with Garcia) and the new rugs. The little round rug goes along with the pattern of the bedding. The mirror on top of the dresser is also new (though I think we'll hang it eventually instead of leaving it precariously perched there). I think the room is starting to come together. When we get the crib and can put the bedding in, we'll send more pix. Let me know any thoughts you have!
Love to all,
Jessica