Oh What a Difference a Day Makes

Happy Holidays!


Amazing how quickly things can change! We've gone from only occasionally feeling Orange Seed (or Clementine as my family has now dubbed her - "more feminine") kick to now having an easier time counting the moments when she's NOT kicking. She has become quite the little mover and shaker in the past week or so and now, not only does her daddy get to feel her kick and squirm on a daily basis, but she even showed off for Grandma Spatz and Aunt Kristen over Christmas. She refused to kick Uncle John, but considering the fact that he threatened her with bodily harm if she didn't perform soon, I can hardly blame her.

It is funny to feel her flip and kick and punch and squirm. Today, she apparently got a great kick out of the rumblings of our jet as it prepared to take off from Richmond International Airport. As soon as the planes engines kicked into gear and the plane began bouncing down the runway, she started kicking up a storm and rolling about so much that her daddy was actually able to feel her flips. I'm a little worried all my swimming has taught her some bad habits - lately she seems to enjoy swimming laps in my belly - kick, kick, kick, flip, kick, kick, kick, flip. People keep telling me that it is all fun and games until she is getting her little feet caught in-between my ribs, but for now, I have to admit that I am loving every second of it. It is the most amazing and miraculous experience in the world to carry around this little being inside you, this little person who will one day be a big person full of her own dreams and accomplishments. There is something beyond words in the magic of serving as home to your child for 10 months. How you can already love this little being who you have never seen, heard, or met is beyond explanation and yet, even now, even this early on, you know that you would do anything to protect them. I can only imagine that the love you feel for them once they are born is positively world-shattering. With every week that passes (heading into Week 25 now!), Chris and I get more and more eager to meet this little lady who will completely change life as we know it. We talk more and more about who we think she will be. What will she look like? What traits will she have? I feel this overwhelming desire to plan for her arrival - prepare her room, begin a college savings plan...I want more than anything to feel sure that we can protect and provide for her. And we can, of course. But, as parents-to-be, we are still eager to begin proving our worth, even now, four months prior to her arrival.

At least we know that she will not come into this world lacking for clothing or toys. Our guest room is already becoming quite the little baby depot and that was only furthered by Christmas. Orange Seed got all kinds of wonderful gifts, first from Aunt Kim and Uncle Seth, who came for a pre-Christmas visit, and then from her Spatz and Duck relatives over the holidays. Aunt Janie and Uncle Dave also contributed to her treasure trove and, for the first Christmas in awhile, her parents had FAR more presents to open than anyone else (score!).

From Aunt Kim:
(Fun with Footprints!)

From Aunt Kristen:

(Utter cuteness in the form of hats!)

From the GrandDucks:

(A blossom-like cap and the softest ladybug slippers)

And from the GrandSpatz:
(her very first Christmas ornament with a very special little note curled up inside)

(A "Quack"-up of a onesie)

(And a beautiful frame that almost made her mama cry)

Equally exciting is the fact that Orange Seed is now well-equipped to accompany us to next year's Steeler's Game:

And there's even hope that her parents might be prepared for her:
Thanks to Aunt Janie and Uncle Dave for providing the funniest onesie ever created:
And personal thanks from Orange Seed, who is already enjoying her new books which mommy is dutifully reading to her at bedtime:
Overall, a wonderful wonderful Christmas. So good to be home. I'm pretty sure Clementine loves visiting her Grandparents' house already.

Confirmation!

Chris DID feel the baby! As we were getting ready for bed last night, she suddenly went into full-on Karate Kid maneuvers and sure enough, Chris placed his hand on my belly and *BAM*, she gave him two big kicks to the palm. I have been telling her all day how proud I am of her, although, I also told her that once she's kicked daddy, it is okay to stop with the roundhouses so that mommy can actually get some sleep. Lesson learned: Baby loves bananas and bananas make baby kick, but while this is a great mid-afternoon trick, maybe bananas right before bed are NOT the best idea. :)

Happy Holidays and 23 Weeks

Orange Seed is 23 weeks old!


I now feel her kick far more often and even feel her roll over every once in awhile - at least, I assume that's what she's doing when suddenly my stomach feels like it has gone on a mini roller coaster ride, while the rest of me gets boringly left behind.

Last night was the Winter Wallop, as the news stations have dubbed it. Here in NYC, we got only 8-12 inches. Only. In DC, this would have shut the city down for days. In fact, we hear VA got around 2 feet and is, indeed, completely shutdown. Here in NYC though, you wouldn't think 8-12 inches of snow was any different than an afternoon rain shower. The roads were pretty much cleared this morning, the shops were open, and everyone was out walking around as though nothing had happened. Actually, even more impressive, they were acting about the same at 1130 last night as the blizzard went into full effect. Kim and Seth were here this weekend, so despite the storm, we went into the city last night for some touring in Rockefeller, a show off Broadway, and a late night dinner. It couldn't have been more than 20 degrees and the snow was coming down in sheets. Watching the city turn white - yellow taxis taking on a new color and quickly blending into the snowy backdrop, just their headlights shining out from the cloud - was incredible. Every photo we took shows more snowflake than anything else. Sitting at dinner at 11pm, we watched people walking by outside. These New Yorkers are hardcore. In Virginia, a couple inches meant that the city went into apocalypse mode, not one person to be seen on the roads or sidewalks. In NYC, it just means you pull your scarf a little tighter, you pull your hat down a little farther, and you power through, boots a-stompin'. As we gawked at the taxis spinning out on Broadway and the people's umbrellas blowing inside out and filling with snow, a guy went pedaling by on what looked to be an old school ten-speed and we all suddenly felt far less impressive than we had while trudging down the streets a few minutes earlier.


This morning, the sun was out and though it was still cold, the snow had stopped. This meant Seth and Kim were actually able to leave, which meant that my dreams of keeping them trapped here a few days longer were crushed. Alas...



On a less interesting, but highly important note, see that coat I have on? That is my brand new, puffier than puffy, warm beyond your wildest dreams, winter maternity coat. It showed up fortuitously the day before the big snow and I may never take it off again.

But back to the story...only two more days til we head to Williamsburg for Christmas. Today, we THINK Chris may finally have been able to feel Orange Seed kick for the first time. Unfortunately, after the first kick where I managed to place his hand in time, she got stage fright and froze up. No more kicking. So we don't have real confirmation, but if he did...how exciting! I'm trying to bribe her with promises that her Daddy will love her EVEN more if she proves that she's got some major soccer skills brewing. So far, she doesn't seem to care. Part of me is disappointed and part of me wants to say "Thatta girl. Don't you fall for bribes and false promises. Be you." Could stubbornness be in her bones? Where in the world would that come from?

Fa La La

Ahh, Christmas season is finally here. Though most of our Christmas decorations stayed boxed up down in Virginia, I did manage to bring up our tree ornaments. Thank goodness, because it just doesn't feel like Christmas without our annual trip to the tree market, followed by a sparkling Christmas tree getting set up in the corner of our living room.

Admittedly, the tree market was a little bit of a disappointment this year...outside a beautiful old church, lots of kids helping out the older folk...so promising. And then you walk inside the church and it is like commercialized Christmas just smacked you in the face. This is no ordinary Christmas tree market. The church pews are gone and in their place are row after row of tables full of bells, bows, ornaments, wreaths, and any other Christmas decor you could possibly need. Despite the location, the market actually has nothing to do with the church. Of course, we only found this out after buying the tree. So much for doing good in the process of purchasing.
But, the tree is here, the tree is beautiful, and the Christmas spirit can carry on. Kudos to Chris for carrying the monster Christmas tree up four flights of very narrow stairs. I think he even did it without hurting himself or the tree. We won't mention what happened to one of the fire alarm lights in the stairwell. In any war, there are liable to be some casualties.

So, a beautiful tree...


A beautiful hearth...


And one cheesy, but irresistible "Our Pregnant Christmas" ornament. If you are appalled, blame it on the pregnancy hormones. If you approve, you are a good friend and Santa will bring you an extra big gift this year.

And Also...

It is time for more belly pics!

I have been having trouble nailing Chris down to conduct my photo shoot for me, so I tried to snap a few myself. They aren't great, but Chris has promised to act as official photographer soon, so we should have better ones shortly. But, for now...

21 Weeks and 2 Days


I feel like the clothed picture looks more true to reality. Some of the bared-belly pics look so BIG and I am still wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans (skinny jeans even!), so my belly can't really have popped yet, can it?? (Denial...it ain't just a river in Egypt)



That said, at least the belly now looks pregnant rather than just well-fed or bloated! "Orange Seed's Home", as Chris calls it, is starting to look pretty legit.

Pillow Fort

So, the question is...how do you fit your pregnant self, your husband, and approximately six pillows into one queen size bed? After being down with the flu for the past week and then having Chris out of town this weekend, I had gotten used to having enough bed-space to make myself a comfortable little pillow fort each night. One pillow under my head, one under my shoulder, one under my belly, one between my legs, one tight up against my back. So comfy. Like a supportive little cocoon of happiness. But then last night Chris came home and while I was eager to swap out my pillows for him, come to find out...*GASP*...he is NOT as comfortable as the pillow fort! I didn't have the heart to try to force a big down-filled barrier between us, plus I'm not totally convinced that we're all going to fit. It is either time for a king size bed (like THAT would make it up the four flights of narrow stairs) or it is time for some feasibility trials. How many pillows can share the bed without us being a)so far apart that we don't even know we're in the same room and b)so squished on the bed that the whole comfort factor of the pillows fluffy-goodness is completely negated?

Ah the trials and tribulations of being pregnant...

20 Weeks - You're Still Growing, You're Still Glowing...

First off, let me just say that it is darned hard to take a picture of a glossy photo without the new picture coming out looking all hazy and warped and horrendous. If you cannot even tell that the below pictures are of a baby, I apologize. I did my best, I swear. And if you see an adult arm, head, or other body part looming in the background, do not be afraid for my uterus. That is merely my reflection in said original glossy photo.

Yesterday was Orange Seed's official 20 Week check-up, although I'm technically closer to a full 21 weeks at this point. The official appointment was way better than the ER appointment though, for a number of reasons. First off, I really love the ultrasound technician at our doctor's office. She is friendly, hilarious, and always willing to slow down to explain exactly what you're looking at and what it means. That was especially important this time when the baby's skeleton was suddenly visible, a glowing line of ridges that looked a lot like the aliens from The Abyss. (If you get that reference, bonus points for you) When one's baby has suddenly grown a luminescent map beneath its skin, one tends to want an explanation. Second of all, the ultrasound at the doctor's office goes a lot slower, so you get the full explanation of "This is the baby's brain. These are its kidneys. These are the baby's femurs and these are the baby's butt cheeks. Look at those cute little butt cheeks!" Gotta love it. We even got confirmation that Orange Seed is indeed a girl. The picture was pretty clear, although it didn't make it into the set of print outs. I guess the tech wanted to save Orange Seed the embarrassment of having us break that one out in front of her boyfriend sometime 15-16 years down the road.

At any rate, the important news is that all is well and Orange Seed is growing exactly as she should be. She weighs 11oz now, so she should be hitting the 1lb mark soon. Holy reality! She's also getting very long - about the length of a large banana. And I finally know where she is! The tech was nice enough to point out that she is lying diagonally across my abdomen, head near my right ribs and legs near the lower left side of my abs. She was also nice enough to point out that if I feel "kicking" high on my left side, that is actually my bowel and not the baby.

...

Some things you just do not need to know.

In this one, 20 Week Orange Seed looks not too different from 12 Week Orange Seed. Same little round belly, same curled up legs and arms. One would think, "Oh, she hasn't changed at all."

In this one, I think you start to see the differences. You can just make out that glowing skeleton I was talking about and you can see how her arms have gotten longer and thinner and her little fingers are starting to grasp about for something to hold.

Speaking of something to hold...the Ultrasound technician was pretty proud of this one. Orange Seed has apparently discovered that she has two hands and *GASP* they can GRAB EACH OTHER. Oh the miracle! The happiness! We watched her do this over and over again, like every time was a new revelation.

And lastly, I know I'm biased, but tell me this kid does not have a cute profile, even in the womb. I didn't expect to think my baby was cute before she had actually emerged into the world, but after this picture...I'm sold.

Happy Feet

So it appears that Orange Seed likes being referred to by the proper pronouns. Ever since we found out that she is officially a girl she has been kicking and moving like mad. I picture her previously lying in there, arms crossed, pout on her face, thinking "If these people don't quit calling me "him", I am never coming out!" But now that we are referring to her only as she deserves, she is happily dancing around as though we had given her the greatest gift on earth.

Either that or she just really likes all the leftover turkey I've been feeding her.