It's a Baby!

Our gorgeous girl--Piper Lily Grace Jacobs--was born on July 8, 2008 at 12:54pm, weighing in at 4lbs. 6oz. She is darling, a champion eater, and is packing on the weight with a rapidity that makes us quite proud.

Her birth story is quite a saga--and I do plan to share it with you all, but first must manage to pull out from the current state of exhaustion that has gripped our household.

Suffice to say (for now) that Piper is doing wondefully well, thriving and capturing hearts wherever she goes. I, on the other hand, have had a rough time of it, and my body is not quite through with its epic rebellion--though my fingers are crossed that no further symptons, infections, or maladies befall me for many many moons to come. I feel I've paid my dues sufficiently, and could really use a break. ;)

I'll leave you all with that tease, and will return to share the full dramatic tale sometime soon.

xoxo
tara

My name is Tara, and I am a Contest-aholic...

I just can't resist a good contest, and this would be an awesome prize. ;)

We plan to practice babywearing around here, and choosing what kind of carrier to purchase has been difficult. We'll also probably each prefer, and be comfortable with, different choices. I think I'll end up prefering a Moby Wrap or Mei Tai, and I think Ross will probably find that the Bjorn or the Ergo work better for him. I figured we'd best be able to make this determination once our little girl is actually here to help with the test drives.


Winning this contest, though, would land us a slew of baby wearing options. Can't pass that up! Ya know?!

So, here's the link--shamelessly earning me an extra contest entry:

Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)

Fingers crossed, y'all! ;)

xoxo
tara

Shameless attempt to win a contest...

Win a Bum Genius 3.0 Starter Kit from Nature's Child - Wholesome Goods for Mothers and Babies

But, given my previous posting, this would be the perfect contest to finally win...and, I think I'm due after numerous failed contest entries, right?! ;)

Luck of the Irish

Ross found a big, beautiful four-leaf clover in the yard today. I'm taking it as a lovely sign of good luck and good things to come. And, we're saving the clover for posterity, nestled in Thumper's ultrasound photo album. Ah. ;)

xoxo
tara

And, we're into the home stretch!

Whew...it seems like a long time coming, but we're finally in the last two months of this pregnancy. If you haven't made a guess yet in the Baby Pool, you might want to get in on that action! Click the banner below to make your bet.





So, we're starting to get a bit of the 'nesting' bug around here. Getting some cleaning and organizing done, and starting to think through logistics a bit more. And, we have already secured several of the things that we deem absolutely mandatory to have on hand as soon as baby arrives, though that list is pretty short! (We're going to have a LOT to do and buy when this little person finally turns up!)

I will warn all you non-baby-minded folk that the following gets into a level of detail that will leave most enormously bored. But hey, this is a baby blog! And, for those who have a clue what I'm talking about, as always, I look forward to hearing your opinions, advice, and insight.

So far we've got our Amby Baby Infant Hammock--which we are hoping delivers the promised restful sleeper we would sooo like to have! ;) They come incredibly highly recommended, and tend to work best fresh from the womb--as babies are still longing for the snug fit and rocking motions they experienced in utero. So, our fingers are crossed that this particular purchase (and very tough get, btw) turns out to be worth it. It's nice because it is highly portable, and comes with a travel bag, so we can bring it with us if needed (though it is quite bulky).

And, as I am typing this I learn that our infant car seat w/ base has arrived! That is a an absolute must have if we plan to bring baby home from hospital--since they won't let you leave without a properly installed car seat in your car. We will be bringing our car and seat over to the North Adams Fire Department this week to have some expert instruction and installation to make sure that thing gets in there correctly. I think it'll be made a bit simpler as our new Baby Mobile (the PT Cruiser, if I've failed to mention that baby-inspired acquisition) has the handy dandy latch system in the back seat. However, I am completely ignorant of all things baby seat related, and really have no clue what the hell the latch system looks like, where to find it, or how to use it. So, expert instruction here we come! ;)

Those are the two main priorites we had for advance purchase items. In addition, over the next couple of months we will be acquiring a generously subsidized breast pump through a special program offered by Ross' health plan. Since that is shipped through a separate company, who takes an indeterminate amount of time to deliver the pump, we'll be taking care of that paperwork earlier than later, and probably have it in hand well before the arrival of little Thumper.

I've been really good about resisting the shopping bug so far. It's been really difficult, and has required some serious self-discipline and restraint. I've been channeling my buying desires into my varioius registry building exercises--it's like filling a shopping cart, without the commitment of checkout--and accumulating an enormous list of bookmarks to be revisited at the appropriate time. This also means that an intense amount of research and comparison shopping has gone on in the last seven months--informed by numerous parenting and baby magazines, discussion board chatter and reviews, recommendations from friends, and numerous google searches.

For instance, after much research and many reviews (both online and from people we know), I'm inclined to use BumGenius 3.0 diapers to get our little person from newborn status through potty training. This looks to be an amazing product, with very satisfied customers. These are the newest technology in cloth diapering--as easy to use as disposable, as reliable, and much much more cost effective. One investment at the outset gets us through all of diapering (though we will probably supplement with disposables, especially at the beginning, when we are away from home, so as to avoid the carry-factor)--about $300 vs. about $4000. And, better for most sensitive tushies (though occasionally a baby will have skin that actually prefers the disposables--so we'll see how things go).

I found a cool website that allows you to take several different brands and models of cloth diapers (including the Bum Genius 3.0, as well as another Bum Genius model) out for a trial test-run. It ends up costing just $10 for the trial, and we can make sure we're satisfied with the experience prior to making the commitment. Not bad. And, if I do go ahead and get that trial pack in hand now, the actual trial period doesn't start until baby comes.

We're figuring out what other things might need to be picked up immediately, and then a bit later, so things go smoothly when baby gets here. Based on the recommended shopping lists from various retail giants, there are about four hundred products we absolutely must have if our little one is to make it to toddlerhood in one piece. Hmmm...I'm not really buying that. I'm more inclined to try to identify those actual must haves, and then see what would be nice to add once we get to know our little Thumper and her tastes a little better.

Fascinating, eh? ;)

xoxo
tara

Let's play a game!

This is a Virtual Shower, after all...so, it's time for another game! (If you missed it, check out the archives for the Bloons game...mad addictive fun!)

This one seems perfectly themed, help the baby get his snack back! There's multiple chapters to keep you occupied, and it's a cute game. And, it comes from Israel--adding a little something to the experience.

Join the Bamba Snack Quest! Good luck!

xoxo
tara

We had better get in gear!

According to a fun little internet predictor site, Thumper is gonna come early...I guess we'd better get on that to-do list pronto! ;)

Here's what they had to say:

Labor Prediction Quiz

Your labor prediction quiz results are below.....

Get your bags packed early just in case you need them. Make sure your partner has a phone available when he's away because this baby just might come early. We predict your baby will come 2-3 weeks early. Your baby will most likely be born in the morning. Justmommies predicts that your baby will weigh approximately 8.0 pounds and that your labor will be about 12 hours long.

This is for entertainment purposes only.

Baby, you oughta be in pictures!

• We had a sleeping fetus, with a scrunched up face that was partially obscured by placenta matter, etc.
• To solve this problem and attempt to get a better shot, we poked, we prodded, we jiggled, I rolled around from one side to the other. Not sure if any of this was having an impact.
• Then Ross decided to try a little music, so he loaded up some Beatles tunes. She Loves You and Ticket to Ride didn't seem to do much either, but when Within You Without You, from the Sgt. Pepper album, played, that seemed to do the trick.
• Just prior to this clip, around when the track was playing, she started to stir, she rubbed her eye with her little hand (there's a photo of this in the post below), and then...
  
• She opened her eyes (this is where the clip begins), and grabbed her forehead, while making facial movements that alternated between grumpy at having been awoken, yawning, and then calming herself with sucking motions.
• Her chubby little cheek is smooshed up against the placenta, but you can still see her face pretty well in this segment....and we, in our unbiased and completely objective opinions, think she's pretty cute.

Enjoy!

Drum Roll Please!

After much frustration and several thwarted attempts to determine what gender our little Peanut might be, we decided to make the trek into civilization in order to avail ourselves of some recreational ultrasound imaging.

While some scoffed at our desire to ogle our little fetus, suggesting that our need to know the gender was bordering on the unseemly, we would not be dissuaded from our mission. So, off to Brookline we went this past weekend, to visit the retail, entertainment sonogram provider nestled among the trendy shops and funky restaurants.

Stopping first to meet some friends for lunch, and indulge my craving for some kosher noshing--I wanted Chopped Liver, dammit!, we braved the hottest day of the year thus far (101 degrees!, yikes).

Our goal--to get a 3D/4D ultrasound scan of the soon-to-be-Jacobs Baby, with the specific intent to:

1. Figure out exactly what gender little Thumper actually might be. That 70% girl crap just irked us to no end! Inquiring minds must be satisfied!
2. Get a gander at our wee bairn's face, and see if we can spot some family resemblances.

So, after a yummy snack at Zaftig's Delicatessen--my first time, but I'd definitely head back again--we headed over to the ol' Goldenview scanning center, just around the corner.

Within seconds of clambering up onto the very comfy, mom-centric scanning bed (hospitals could take a few notes from these folks), and exposing the belly for the copious gel application, we received the answer to our first question (though the technician had to go to some lengths to educate us on how she was able to tell, as it all looked rather mushy to us):

IT'S A GIRL!!!!
110% Girl...no messing around!

Whew! It's so nice knowing. And, now I can finish my registries--all those items that I was waiting to choose based on gender can finally be selected, and some of the green and yellow items can be replaced too...not that everything must be pink, of course.

And, now we can really dive into the name game with gusto! (Reminder: Got a name suggestion? There's a place to make those in the archives--maybe if I get my act together I'll pull a new post up front so you can all indulge, if you feel the need.) Our list continues to grow, and I'm sure we'll whittle it too...but our plan remains to meet our little Thumping Peanut first, before committing to a name choice. We want to make sure our choice fits the person who comes out.

Anyhoo...back to our adventure in scanning!

Having established that we are having a girl person, it was time for the real fun to begin! On to the 3D experience!

It took a minute to find her face--she's already in the Vertex position, by the way (for the uninitiated, that means head down, getting ready for eventual exit...). And, having found it, we wished for a better, clearer visual, so we began a series of antics to attempt to shift her around for a better view.

We poked, pushed, and shimmied my belly (I paid for this later, I'll have you know). I rolled one way and then the other. And, then Ross had the brilliant notion to motivate her with music. Pulling out his handy cell phone, equipped with a database of music to rival many ipods, he loaded up some Beatles tunes and proceeded to serenade our little fetus.

The scans that accompany this series of events are precious--and soon to be available for viewing, once the conversion to YouTube is complete. Turns out, little Thumper was sleeping, and our various ploys finally managed to lure her into wakefulness. In classic Sleepy Gene style, no less! Ah yes, she is her mother's daughter! ;)

First, one little fist came up to sleepily rub at her eye.

Then her eyes opened, and she grabbed her forehead, as if to say, who sent for these people and their noise?! (This was when Ross had started up a particularly screech-y Sgt. Pepper track.)

Now awake, probably jostled out of a lovely fetal dream, Thumper made the classic 'Sleepy Grumpy Face'--with which we are quite familiar around this household, as not only does Mommy make that face when prematurely awoken, but so, too, does Winston Puppy Pants. It's something of a family trait--clearly deeply ingrained, rather than learned, as Thumper is making it in the womb! ;)

Finally, Thumper worked her way out of her grump with a little soothing suckling, working her little mouth and lips in the cutest little moue. It looked like she indulged in a little yawn, as well.

She's a cutey, alright--plump little cheeks, sweet button nose, and darling little lips. One cheek is mooshed up against the placenta in the scans, but it doesn't obscure her adorable little punim. Awww.

I think this was the most fun thing thus far of the entire pregnancy! And, it has struck us anew--Wow! We're having a baby! ;)

Into the home stretch!

It's been too long since I tended to our Baby's little blog, so you can look forward to a flurry of updating over the next couple of weeks. There's been lots of little things going on, and a couple of bigger news items to talk about.

Look for:

• New photos in the photo gallery!
• A new YouTube video--yes! Our little bean is already making home videos! ;)
• Third Trimester woes, trials and tribulations
• And, all kinds of 'Whoa! We're having a BABY! Duuuude....!' moments

xoxo
tara

Bouncing Baby Bean

Today marks the beginning of Week 23 in this journey toward parenthood. Since about week 15 there have been faint, fluttering signs that something is afoot within my uterus. Intermittent bouts of barely felt movement to reinforce the notion that something has taken up residence in there.

I had been primarily feeling these sensations in the wee hours of the morning, shortly after midnight, in keeping with the long-standing tradition, passed down from generation to generation within my family, of night-owl-hood. There is something encouraging about that to me.

First off, it suggests that perhaps this little person will also inherit the remarkable 'Sleepy Gene' famous in my genetic line. A blessing and a curse, the Sleepy Gene ensures infants that sleep through the night from early on...not only sleeping through the night, but also waaaay into the morning--often into the noon-time hour, in fact. Past infancy, once attaining school age, this can often lead to difficulty making the school bus on time, and frequent tardy passes being accumulated despite best efforts to roust little ones from bed on time. And, of course, in later life, Vampiric hours are often kept by those of the Sleepy Gene, leading to all sorts of interesting life experiences and perspectives. The rising of the sun is a sight rarely seen by those of the Sleepy Gene--with the exception of those dawn times witnessed at the end of a long night, just before finally hitting the sack to fall into sweet slumber.

Well, in this past week, the sensations of movement have become more consistent, slightly stronger (not really packing any heft yet, but more definitely movement rather than potentially gas or some other internal gurgling) and a whole lot more frequent. This little tyke is quite busy these days, moving around all over the place, swimming up a storm and, apparently, enjoying a vigorous workout routine. We're not yet to the point where Ross can feel these movements from outside the belly, so for now I am the only one able to enjoy the action.

And, with this added activity, comes some insight into the fetal personality--the jury is out on whether these insights will have any bearing on the actual personality of our little person, as anecdotes fall on both side of the aisle on this one. But, I learned the other night that Peanut seems to dislike having anyone invade his/er personal space.

At bedtime, still one of Peanut's most active dayparts, Winston Pants likes to snuggle and give me big hugs, dogpile style. So, the other night he comes over and curls up against me, with his fuzzy little face in the middle of my belly. Almost immediately, Peanut proceeds to kick directly at the spot where Winston's face was. Hmmmm. Coincidence? Can Peanut tell that Win is there? (I do know, Winston was completely oblivious to Peanut's presence, as he didn't react at all to the barrage of kicks coming at his face from within my belly.)

I shifted around a bit, and sparked Winston to readjust as well. Now his face was snuggled against the side of my belly. Well, whadya know? Peanut starts a new barrage of kicking, aimed once again at the exact spot where Winston's face was resting. Very interesting! It'll be even more interesting to see what happens when Peanut gets a bit more heft behind those kicks. I can only imagine what Winston's reaction will be! ;)

Doula, Doula!

Doulas are some of the most wonderful women in the world, imo. Without exception, all of the doulas (doulae?) I met or exchanged emails with proved to be caring, sincere, compassionate women whose primary desire was to assist pregnant women in achieving an optimal birth experience. Often, these women found their calling following disappointing, sometimes traumatic, birthing experiences of their own.

I am so happy to have found a wonderful doula, named Kristen. She is vibrant, intelligent, and enthusiastically committed to the mothers' she assists. Not only is she well versed in the traditional doula skill set, but she is also studying to become a mid-wife, as well as taking nursing courses. She impressed me with her breadth of knowledge, wide array of skills, and dedication to providing a comprehensive and holistic array of services to women and mothers.

And, let's not forget the assistance she offers to the hubby's too! With her help, both Ross and I are confident that our birthing experience, and first few weeks with baby, will be smoother and better than without her.

I'm looking forward to taking advantage of Kristen's acupressure and massage skills, as well as her assistance in maintaining a nice zen-filled state of mind throughout the full experience. And, we'll see how she does in helping Ross find a similarly mellow mental state.

It's like we have our very own pregnancy guru! Om.....

'08 is Great!

Every so often it strikes me that it is pretty cool that Peanut is due to enter the world in this particular year. Momentous things are afoot, and positive predictions abound.

For the first time in history, we have an election cycle with both a black man and a woman as truly strong, viable candidates. These were both things that we often questioned ever seeing in our lifetime--and here it is happening. I love the imagery of watching the face of politics shift with a newborn snuggled in a sling.

2008 is the year of the Rat. Now, on the face of it, that may not sound so appealing, I grant you. (Then again, few of the zodiac animals are particularly flattering, in my opinion. I would happily take a majestic lion figurehead over a brutish bull, y'know?) But, it's actually a pretty encouraging horoscope--hard-working, ambitious, successful, and loyalty inspiring. Not bad! ;)

Of course, the highly organized and perfectionist personality traits would be interesting in this household. And, it gets really interesting when you combine the Year of the Rat with the Virgo sign of the Zodiac (EDD of 8/23/08, if you missed early announcements).

Virgo personalities also display perfectionism, organization, and intensity. Not to mention they too are analytical and loyal. So, this baby gets a double dosage of these traits. Yowzah! It's gonna be interesting around here! ;)

And, depending on what actual day our little one makes an appearance, the Birthday Book suggests some fairly distinct differences that sway from one end to the other of the Virgo bandwidth.

Ross has August 27th in the baby pool...and it actually seems like those born on that day pretty much combine his and my personalities into one person. So, now we're rooting for 8/27/08.

But, back to 2008. It boasts a leap year, an Olympic event, the aforementioned Presidential elections, and, of course, the imminent arrival of a future over-achiever! It's all good.

xoxo
tara

No News is Good News!

Well, I guess this is the relative bliss of the 2nd trimester I had heard so much about. However, if it is, it is sorely lacking in the 'return-of-energy' department that I have been repeatedly promised. Harumph.

Don't get me wrong, I am very happy to be in relative physical comfort--for the most part, anyway. I mean, let's be real here, nary an hour can pass without some kind of bodily reminder that I am basically an organic construction zone.

I've definitely developed intermittent crankiness. No point denying that, as Ross would be behind me, making faces and frantic hand signals to the contrary. (I've caught him doing it.) ;)

And, pregnancy brain has a fairly strong hold on me. It seems to be a combination symptom: part zombie-fatigue and part hormonal fog. Kinda fun, kinda frustrating--depending on the hormone of the moment, it seems.

Ross is proving to be Superman, and is leaving all other poor preggo-hubbies in the dust. He's upped his Personal Chef game to new heights, and embraced a newfound enthusiasm for nutritious menu planning. And, unbelievably yummy. I am completely spoiled...aaaahhhh!!!

And, we're learning cool things. For instance, did you know that heartburn can be alleviated with a couple of bites of papaya? It's true! And yummy. Note: not too much, or you undo the benefits and can make the heartburn worse!

Ross has baked digestion-assisting cookies--yummy and effective! Again and again, we've demonstrated that geekery triumphs over adversity. ha!

In other news, movements are starting to get a little stronger--still tending to occur in the wee hours. They aren't to the point of being true kicks yet, though. Supremely weird & slightly disconcerting. Even weirder and more disconcerting--though oddly intriguing and appealing--is the preggo sport I've just learned of: Belly Poking! Ladies a couple of months ahead of me are indulging in highly amusing games of "Poke the Fetus." And, reactions vary, it seems. Some kick back at the point of poke-age. Some try to swim away from the source of poking. Still others seem to poke back. Int'resting. I'm not really into sports much--but this one may prove irresistable. And, it's a team sport! Baby Daddy can play too. :)

For some reason, we are more thrown by our last u/s prediction of "70% Girl" (*see previous post for details) than we would have been with a simple 'we can't tell what the gender is' pronouncement. So, we have been seriously considering going for a 'Uterine Glamour Shots' session at a retail ultrasound provider to get some clearer images and, hopefully, a more accurate assessment. Not to mention the 8x10 glossies and Memory DVD! ;) Truly tempting. We'll see. We've already narrowly resisted many such temptations. Like, for instance, the Doppler Fetal Heart Monitor that we could have rented for a few months to enable checking in on the heartbeat from time to time to make sure all was well in there. We weighed the pros and cons, and opted to pass. This time, the temptation--and addition to our ultrasound scan photo gallery--may prove impossible to resist.

So, there's a whole bunch of assorted non-news items to keep y'all up to speed on the slow and steady progress going on around here. We'll get to work on adding some new imagery soon--we still have the less-than-thrilling u/s scans from last time to load in. And, I'm thinking it's getting to be time for some belly documentation! ;) No promises that I'll share those though! We'll see how they turn out first. ;)

xoxo
tara

It's A....................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What, now?

We went for our 'Big' ultrasound...the one where all the key measurements are taken to assess fetal development. This is also the u/s that confirms or adjusts due date, as well as the potential opportunity to check out the gender of the baby.

It's been the question on everyone's minds, and we've certainly been curious ourselves, so we have been looking forward to taking this particular diagnostic test for quite a while.

Now, to prep ourselves for potential disappointment, and because it happens quite a bit, I had been joking that our little Peanut would likely prove ornery about showing the goods. I pictured a contrarian fetus crossing its legs, bringing down its hands and hiding behind a privacy bush specially erected to thwart our prying eyes.

Well, it turns out we actually got a semi-OK look, not the best angle, and grainier than usaul visuals. So, our u/s technician announces that, based on what he was seeing we were having...a....

70% Girl.

Huh?!?

Not sure what to make of that, folks. I've been thinking girl myself from the get-go...though according to the baby pool many of you are getting a boy vibe.

So, I guess we're back to wondering and hypothesizing around here. And, scheming on how to get ourselves a coveted 3D/4D ultrasound now to get a really good look inside to see what's going on in there! ;)

In the meantime, keep a lookout for new photos from this last round of scans. Coming as soon as my Scanner Man gets around to it!

xoxo
tara

Get in on the Baby Pool!

For those who missed it down at the bottom of the page, now's your chance to place your full bet--while we're all fully in the dark. Because, come Wednesday we may know what gender we're brewing in there. Oh, the suspense! It's been 18 weeks waiting for this tidbit of info, and we're hoping Poindexter Peanut is neither shy nor contrary when it comes time to flash the goods! ;)

So, for the full baby pool betting experience, now is the time to get your bets in, folks! Once we know the gender--assuming we do--you can still place a guess on date and weight and length, but that last column (or first, as the case may be) won't be as much of a mystery....though I do hear that occasionally the prediction is wrong, so who knows!?!

Anyway, my point is: PLACE A BET!!!! ;)



And, check back in later this week for new, gripping photos of Peanut's BIG Ultrasound! ;)

Every party needs some balloons!

So, here are some to entertain, amuse, and possibly challenge and obsess you! Just click the image to open a balloon-y game in a new window! Have fun!

Um....Okay.

Just for fun...clearly not the most psychic blog thing in the world! Anyone else wondering their status? Don't rely on this for an answer! ; )

You May Be Pregnant

Yup, you could be preggars! See a doctor to confirm, okay?

Are You Pregnant?

Only 158 days to go!

Or, so says my tracker gizmo... Yup, four months have ticked by and we're into the fifth. Here's the lowdown on how things have been going thus far, and I'll swing in regularly to keep things as up-to-date as exhaustion allows.

Well, first off, I should give y'all some background. We started 'trying' sometime around the end of August. Interesting experience, after a lifetime of successfully employing a finely honed, multi-dimensional, and somewhat paranoid, pregnancy prevention plan to actually set about to actually get pregnant. So odd.

And, of course, never having tried before, we had no idea what kind of potential obstacles to conception might exist...those eggs have lived, ya know?

So, after we experienced our second round of swinging and missing, I decided it was clearly time for a gadget. Not that kind, got that covered. ;) No, it was time for a fertility monitor...time for some scientific guidance, a technological advantage, a new toy to play with that signified the seriousness of this endeavor. Or, as Ross prefers to look at it: Time to spend some money! In short order, a fertility monitor and packet of test sticks were ordered and delivered to the front porch. Aaaah.

This is when I learned that I am completely untalented in the pee-on-a-stick arena. Sigh. The monitor requires that you adorn a stick with your first morning expellation, and further demands that this occur at roughly the same time every morning. Those who know me well can already predict where this is going. And, yes, twice in a 30-day period I managed to miss my 'pee window' by failing to rise before the close of said window--generously (we thought) set to end at 1pm. (Head bowed in pseudo embarrassment, yet tilted with a small dash of pride.)

My favorite pee-on-stick failure, however, was the time when I was groggily still unwrapping the stick when I realized that the opportunity had passed and was awaiting launch to sewerland. Ah well. Note to self: unwrap sticks before ascending throne. This error, at least, was not repeated.

Anyway, some may not be familiar, but the fertility monitor is pretty useless the first month you use it. During this time it is busy figuring out what hormonal levels are normal and calibrating itself so that starting in the second month it can alert you when fertility time is on the rise, peaking, and waning. So, cool...good to know, right? Meanwhile, during that first month, as far as the monitor is concerned, we were a nice level of high-fertility (not peak, mind you, but definitely high) for weeks on end. Hmmmm.

When the monitor cycle was entering into it's 30th day, we raised an eyebrow, but carried on...I mean, I was never particularly great at tracking these things...a general idea of what was expected to happen when, but not precision-oriented. So, who knows, I could have a 32 day cycle for all I know. Well, after a few more days of this, Ross started suggesting that perhaps I might want to pee on another kind of stick some morning soon.

I resisted...I was pretty sure I was PMS-ing, so why waste a stick? We only bought 3 of those, after all...why blow one when clearly there was no way.

A few days after that, on a whim, and slight twinge of 'maybe,' I decided to indulge the curiosity--if only on the theory that disproving the condition would encourage my monthly cycle to get on with it already. So, I peed on the EPT stick and waited to see what happened. According to instructions, this particular brand gave one line (no) or two (yup, knocked up!). I got one very strong line...and then one very, very faint one. I declared us not pregnant. Ross begged to differ, and went online to gain evidence to back up his argument.

So, next day we went for round 2...this stick said the same, faintly positive, thing. Hmmm... But, I'm good at denial, it turns out--despite a lifetime of stark realism. So, off to the Dr. to see what's what. Even with their confirmation, it did take a while before full coming to terms set in. I'm a Taurus, we're stubborn. ;)

This all went down during the week between xmas and New Year's. During this time, and still, to a lesser extent, now, I've primarily contended with extreme exhaustion, intense appetite surges, unflagging heartburn, vicious gastric issues, and a preference to remain unmoving on the couch. I've also had bouts of searing pains, sore muscles and hips, intense back pain, migraines, congestion, and 'pregnancy brain.'

On the up side, I've managed to completely avoid any morning sickness whatsoever. Yea! My skin and hair look pretty much the same as ever--maybe slightly better skin, slightly more frustrating hair. And, I've had a great time enjoying the enhanced, somewhat insane dreaming experience that accompanies this condition. I mean, I've always been blessed with intensely detailed, visually stunning, and entertainingly plot-heavy dreams...but, WHOA!, these are some out there dreams I am having. (One of my favorite, and only, baby-related dreams was the one where I gave birth to a golden retriever puppy with a minor birth-defect (one of its nails was malformed and needed corrective nail-optomy performed). So cute!)

To this point, all of our tests have gone very well, come back completely normal and with encouraging odds. We've gotten to see the Peanut swimming and lazing several times, and had heartbeat checks that all sounded great. Our next ultrasound is scheduled for next week--it's the 'big one' where we may learn what gender we're cooking up, assuming Poindexter Peanut wishes to share this info. We won't be surprised if our fetus proves to be a bit of a rebel, and crosses legs and hands over the crotchal area. ;)

Thank goodness I got a bunch of maternity shopping in last week, because I have definitely begun to pop. For weeks it has looked like I've been letting myself go, pigging out and drinking beer by the keg...finally, it's begun to morph into a more rounded protrusion. It is still possible to mistake with a beer belly, but at least the maternity clothing I got (all supremely cute) manages to frame it in a more positive light.

Aside from the new wardrobe, my favorite pregnancy purchase so far is definitely shaping up to be the pregnancy pillow. It has made sleeping SO much more pleasant. And, now that I'm attempting to spend the majority of my time maintaining proper preggo-position (left side), it's a lifesaver. Winston likes it too...he's pretty good about surrendering it to me when it's bed time, but I can tell he wishes it were his. ;)

So, that pretty much brings y'all up to date. I went on a bit more than I planned, if you made it all the way through, you get a Virtual Shower Brownie Point and big hugs from me for being such a caring, supportive friend! Makes me want to cry! Oh, did I mention the occasional tears brought on by sappy movies like--I kid you not--The Cutting Edge?!? Sigh. I try to get a hold of myself, but damn, them hormones are powerful things!

I'll try to keep you updated as things progress!

xoxo
tara

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You know you want to...

A pregnant belly enters a room, and lo and behold everyone's an expert with advice to offer.

And, hey, we do our homework, but that doesn't mean we know it all. We can parent furbabies like nobody's business, but the human variety is a bit of a mystery around here. ;)

So, let's hear those gems of insight, those pearls of wisdom, and those tales of baby wrangling genius that might prove useful some pre-dawn morning when Darlin' Baby Jacobs is howling inconsolably and the desperation is setting in. Who knows, by then we might just be willing to try anything!

Offer it up, folks! This is your advice forum...

The Name Game

You know you are dying to weigh in on this one...and we enjoy the endless amusement of critiquing name submissions...so, go ahead! Get creative! Just remember, we reserve the right to scoff loudly, boo heartily, and generally disregard all names that fail to meet guidelines. (What guidelines, you ask? hmph, that's personal!) ;)

That shouldn't hold you back from throwing them out there...you never know, we may just be persuaded by one of your genius suggestions.

Once we get a decent list going, we hope to evolve this into a poll. Who doesn't love a good poll? Woot!

Place your bets!

Your guess is as good as mine. So, shimmy on up and take your best guess. Is it a boy or a girl? What day will the grand entrance occur on**, and at what time? How big a bruiser do we have swimming around in there? And, the question that's been haunting us since we first started standing next to each other in public (yes, America, we know we're tall!): how long will this string bean turn out to be?

Get in on the action, folks! Grand prize is the satisfaction of proving your psychic abilities once and for all! ;)

**Now, to be fair, and because we all know no self-respecting baby ever arrives on the due date, we feel we should disclose that the Predictive Wheel of Expectation declared that Peanut is due on August 23, 2008.