Why, yes...

...as a matter of fact, I did swallow a watermelon! And this one is next.

Belly pic: 24 weeks

Today I'm 24 weeks! So I'm theoretically 6 months along, and I have 4 months (16 weeks) left. This week I haven't been quite as exhausted as I was last week, so it's been nice. I've gained 17 lbs so far, which is pretty close to what I gained by this point with hilltot. However, with hilltot I stopped gaining weight in the third trimester due to my gestational diabetes. I'm sure the same thing will happen this time if I am diagnosed with GD again, and I will do whatever it takes to avoid anything close to Madame Zaritska's first prophecy (see my earlier post today)!

I'm a little late posting my belly pic today and I'm tired, so I'm going to keep this short. Happy Friday!

Madame Zaritska better be wrong

There's a "just for fun" website where Madame Zaritska (a virtual clairvoyant) predicts your birth experience based on how you answer a number of questions. All I can say is, holy cow she'd better be wrong:

"The day you deliver, outside will be bright. Your baby will arrive in the middle of the night. After a labor lasting approximately 24 hours, your child, a girl, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 15 pounds, 14 ounces, and will be 18-1/2 inches long. This child will have light violet eyes and barely there blonde hair."

Of course, last time (with hilltot) she predicted a girl too. And I'm not so sure how it will be "bright" outside, as well as the middle of the night. Full moon? Hence the huge baby? And seriously, can anyone see me giving birth to a blonde baby?

I did it again (is that against the rules?) and this is what I got the second time:

"The day you deliver, outside will be sunny. Your baby will arrive in the late evening. After a labor lasting approximately 40 hours, your child, a boy, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 8 pounds, 3 ounces, and will be 20-1/2 inches long. This child will have medium gray eyes and a lot of brown hair."

That sounds a little more reasonable (actually, it sounds a lot like hilltot), although I can do without the 40 hour labor...

Belly pic: 23 weeks

Here I am at 23 weeks! Still chugging along, feeling pretty much as exhausted as I did during the first trimester. I'm not sure if I'm getting more anemic or if gestational diabetes is starting to creep in, but I hit a serious wall every day around 11:30 AM and then again around 6:30 PM. Nowadays I don't even try to catch up with anything during hilltot's naps -- I can barely make it to the couch before I'm asleep myself.

I've also started to think about things we need to do to prepare for this baby. Luckily, we don't need to purchase very much -- we'll be able to reuse hilltot's infant car seat, co-sleeper, and his newborn clothes since we didn't know his gender either and thus have a fair amount of gender-neutral clothing. And if babyhill is a boy, we'll have plenty of clothes for him for a long time!

I'm trying to think of what we'll need doubles of, and so far it seems like a short list: baby monitor, car seat protector, infant diapers, high chair (eventually). I've been looking at the various sit-n-stand stroller options and I like the Joovy Ultralight, but I haven't talked myself into it yet. I plan to use my various carriers a lot with babyhill so that I can push hilltot in his umbrella stroller when we're making quick trips to the store or running errands, but I know that snapping the infant car seat into the stroller is awfully convenient when you don't want to wake a sleeping baby. Then do I put hilltot on my back? Because he'll still be a little too young to walk with me (he'll be ~21 months old). I have no idea. Any suggestions? A lot of people have recommended the Phil & Ted's double stroller, which looks like a really great stroller, but it's a bit more than we're looking for from both a functional and financial perspective. I'm thinking more of the equivalent of a Snap-n-Go -- something to keep in the trunk of my car and use for quick trips. For longer walks, I'll put hilltot in the BOB and carry babyhill in a carrier.

Also, please feel free point out any glaring omissions in my short list of things to get. It seems like an awfully short list. I know I must be missing something really important.

Belly pic: 22 weeks and update

I don't have a lot to report about being 22 weeks along, other than my belly is getting bigger and I'm finally starting to gain weight. Dr. H said that my weight gain is just fine and I'm right on track for 22 weeks along. She also said that I can "probably" go to Boston for my MIT reunion in June, as long as I'm ready to change my plans last minute. Since I had pre-term contractions starting at 31 weeks last time, flying cross-country and staying up all night to party with college friends (um, I did mention this is my 15 year reunion, right??) might not be a great idea. The best we can do is assume I can go and do an ultrasound to check my cervical length the week before.

The big news today is from our ultrasound and fetal echo cardiogram this morning. I was completely stressed out about it, but it seems that things are going really well. The baby's heart is completely normal, the neural cyst is gone, and the baby is growing right on target! All parts and pieces are accounted for, including four chambers of the heart, two functioning kidneys, and a nice strong flow in the umbilical cord. Babyhill was also extremely active, doing some tap dancing and shadow boxing while the ultrasound technician busily kept up. The baby is also currently sitting breech, but that's not a concern at this point. When the tech put the ultrasound wand high on my left side and said, "Here's baby's head..." and then low on my right side and said, "...and here's baby's bottom", I was a little startled about how BIG babyhill already is.

In addition to today's belly comparison picture, I'm including two profile shots from the ultrasound. It's already obvious how beautiful babyhill is, isn't it? Although Chris is a little concerned...this one may have gotten his nose.

Out of sync

According to the various pairs of maternity pants I own, my butt does not keep up with my belly when I am pregnant. You're supposed to buy your pre-pregnancy size, and they make the clothes roomier where necessary. In pants, that means lots of room for your belly (obviously), but it also means a bigger and wider bottom. For some reason, my bottom doesn't quite follow the curve, so I'm cursed with baggy bottom syndrome. It's so bad that the heavier materials (i.e. denim) slide right down. Hence, I wear a lot of skirts during pregnancy. I just hope it stays warm enough for me to start wearing more skirts now! Or I need to find maternity pants made for flat-bottomed girls.

Belly Pic: 21 weeks

21 weeks down, 19 to go! Or less, which is highly probable. I'm still just chugging along. Apparently, babyhill is about 10.5 inches long now and weighs nearly a pound! That's hard for me to fathom, because I feel like my belly hasn't grown since about 14 weeks, and I picture babyhill to be the size of a kumquat or something like that. It's amazing how much less focused I am on this pregnancy than my first. I know it has a lot to do with the fact that I don't have the time to sit and stare at my belly (hilltot has other ideas on how to spend the day). Even though I'm a lot more tired, I'm also glad not to be so obsessed. Of course I still worry, and I still get a thrill when I feel babyhill wiggling around in there, but in general I just get through my day and try to rest when I can.

I have my next OB appointment on Monday, and hopefully I'll find out then whether or not I can fly back to Boston for my MIT reunion in June. I'm hoping I can because I can't wait to see friends, show Chris around Beantown, and get back east to recharge my batteries! Although I enjoy living out west, I miss the east coast and don't get back there nearly often enough. And I'm not even talking about missing my family, which I do, intensely. I'm just talking about soaking up some good ol' east coast vibes while enjoying the people and places. It's good for my soul.

Next Friday is also our next ultrasound and fetal echocardiogram. We'll get to see babyhill's heart in detail and hopefully we'll find out that everything is just fine. We'll also check the flow of the umbilical cord, see what's going on with the neural cyst (I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's simply gone), and check all the tiny babyhill parts and pieces to see if we can find anything of concern. I keep hoping that the doctor will say, "Oh look, everything's just fine. The SUA corrected itself, the cyst is gone, and you have absolutely nothing to worry about." I know that's impossible (at least about the SUA correcting itself) but a lady can still dream.