Almost September ... In Maryland!

After many weeks in the camper, a rushed drive cross-country, and a hurried week of unpacking, we are almost ready to call Maryland our home. What has changed since my last post? Well, the baby's moving more and I can, occasionally, feel him or her. Isabel is still excited to be a big sister. I have returned to work, Rob has returned to the road, and Isabel is basking in the greatness of back-to-back weeks of Nanas visiting. Hopefully, school for Isabel starts next Tuesday and then we can all have a more regular schedule.

About the baby... 19 weeks:
Our favorite womb-hijacker is suddenly huge, at 6 inches in length!

This week he/she starts bulking up and packing on the grossly named "brown fat," he'll need to keep warm when he gets evicted from his comfortable uterine home.

Vernix, a milky white coating that protects your baby's skin, appears all over your baby's body to keep his skin from getting pickled in the amniotic fluid... Under the vernix, a fuzzy layer of hair called lanugo now covers baby's body.

Good news: Your baby's kidneys are fully functioning and producing urine this week. Bad news: That means there will be lots of diapers in your future. But so far you're safe—at the moment the pee just passes into the amniotic fluid.

He or she now weighs about 8½ ounces and measures 6 inches, as long as a turkey sub from Subway on warm, delicious Italian Herbs and Cheese bread (or Honey Oat bread, or Oregano bread or ...)

It's a Girl, it's a Boy,...

No, it's still unknown. This past check-up was your standard "let's hear the heartbeat and answer any of your questions." I'm sure that it is important and all but I really just want to focus on my job not taking off for three hours to have 5 minutes with a doctor that's not delivering our baby. But, I digress...

I have an appointment scheduled in Maryland for September 7th so we better be there by then! That's the goal at least - leaving something between August 22 and 29... Still TBD but at that next appointment, we should definitively learn the gender. Woo hoo!

17 weeks (that's 119 days) - "the belly" changes daily so some days I look bigger than others. Today, for instance, completely small and it looks like I ate a little too much last night. However, and I'm not quite sure how this happened but I've gained about 10 pounds (!) since getting pregnant back in early May. I do not think it looks like 10 pounds but Rob will have to confirm or deny that (to be truthful).

Fun facts about Momma at 17 weeks?
Yes, I'm feeling the bubbles this time whereas last time? No bubbles. I also feel like this baby is very low in my pelvis compared to Isabel. Indigestion has already (sigh) started occurring, versus third trimester before, but it's milder so definitely manageable. Overall, I'm feeling good and wish I got more exercise in (hit the gym about 4 times a week for 20-40 of cardio and 5-10m of light weights -- I'm tired!) but I still have some good muscle tone in legs and core so that makes me happy. I cannot wait to wait a ridiculous bikini in Florida and just be big and not care. Now, for the stuff you all really care about...

Fun facts about Baby Brady at 17 weeks?
I've got an onion. That's right s/he has lots of layers (Shrek anyone?). Given that onions are of various size, that translates to about 5 inches in length. (Crazy to think that I was born just a short month or two after this point.) Coincidentally, the littlest one is also a 5 in weight ... 5 ounces. I know what you're thinking - how much is that really? Well, if you convert into dry measure, it's between a 1/2 cup and 3/4 cup (which seems miniscule).

"Their little limbs have nearly reached their proper proportions and will continue to grow evenly with the rest of the body from here on out. They're now becoming capable of hearing and reacting to sounds even though their ears are not yet structurally complete or fully functional. Meanwhile, different parts of our mini-Einstein's astonishingly complex brain are developing to process our little one's hearing and other senses, (you know, sight, smell, taste and touch)."

14.4 Weeks and A New House!

Potential tenants? Check! New house acquired? Check! Moving date set? TBD!
Our new home is in Elkridge, MD, officially a suburb of Baltimore but also convenient to DC. It has three bedrooms with a room for Rob's cave aka Office aka "Where Megan throws all his shit when she's frustrated at the state of the house" and a finished basement/play area. Much room for visitors! While neitherhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif Rob nor myself have seen it, we are very excited to move into it officially (especially since we are paying for it!).

In related news... I'm still pregnant. Yippee! Anyway, I just wanted to write because it has been a while and also provide some fun facts about the size of the baby. Everyone but me still thinks it's a girl but I still call it a "he" so I guess we will see! In approximately two weeks, we will know if it's a "Robert" or "Baby Girl #2."

Fun Facts about the Baby
Our baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another.

In other news: Our baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

Vedauwoo!

Ah the wonders of technology! I write this from Vedauwoo, Wyoming, overlooking I-80, with my family. We are here from some "R N R," climbing and restoration after a chaotic week. Officially, we are in the second trimester and are starting to share the good news. Isabel has shown some great skills as a budding climber. Mommy mostly watches but not because of the pregnancy but becaus of ill fitting shoes. Rob, as usual, is in his element and I look forward to us doing this in Maryland.

12 week check-up and continued chaos

A crazy weekend is over and a semi-chaotic week is in my midst. Rob is almost to the east coast; Isabel had her first major accident (requiring glue to close the cut); I have a super important presentation to C-level executives tomorrow, with no formal clothes nor presentation prepared. On top of this, I've lost the dog twice in the past five days. Sigh. At least the baby is healthy - check out the picture! He/she is waving. At 12 weeks, he/she is about 2.25 inches, weighing about .5 ounces (about the size of a lime).

"The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. With the most critical development behind the fetus, the chance of miscarriage drops considerably after this week."

Almost to safety...And, Welcome to Hell Week

So, my next appointment is Monday and is approaching quickly. Unfortunately, I have an entire house to finish packing by Saturday afternoon (and Rob is out of town). Never fear! I think I'm just over-estimating. It's mainly just the stuff that we use day-to-day that's left *or* stuff that we're donating... That huge donation pile gets in the way a lot!
On a related note, I'm am frustrated with the house, on the whole. Isabel and I returned from work/school/long weekend of camping last night about 7pm and (1) the TV remote had stopped working over the weekend (much to Jenica's annoyance! I would have been annoyed too) and (2) the kitchen light bulbs (both of them are dead). Replace the light bulbs and the tv remote batteries, right? No problem! Except...
The light bulbs are those stupid pin light bulbs that you cannot find anywhere, so you have to (a) replace the fixture or (b) order the replacements online. GRRR. Second, the tv remote was still broken after replacing the batteries. But, alas, I remembered we had two remotes!! Aha! So, I put the new batteries in the "never-been-used" remote and then spent about 20-30 minutes trying to configure (that's right, configure...) the dang thing.
Oh yeah, and while this is happening, I'm exhausted, the house smells, I smell, Isabel smells - I just wonder if I would have had more energy if not pregnant. Maybe then I would have packed up the remains of Rob's office instead of sitting on the couch, eating a fudgsicle, and watching Covert Affairs before bed.
Until next time! My goals for this evening?
A sane commute home, a frozen meal for the family, a boxed up office and linen closet. Maybe even a load of laundry but let's not be too hasty.
To be continued.

11 Weeks!

No, that is not our baby but I thought the image was pretty cool. I've been showing Isabel the weekly images of the baby. Apparently, it turned into "our baby" this week.