Bumpdate: Week 21

Confession: week 21 left me exhausted. We're in the trenches of the "end of fiscal" crunch at work, and it has resulted in many long days and nights - which, when you already aren't sleeping well, compounds on itself to equal one very tired pregnant lady.

We're also down two (TWO!) brains at work at the moment (thanks to two very special, very loved little ones who've recently joined the world), so my already preggo-functional brain has been on overdrive. Just picture a lot of whirring and "spinning wheels of death." For example, I forgot the word for "nursery" the other day and ended up having to tell The Boy about an idea I had for the "room where the baby sleeps."  This kid better come out super smart since she's stealin' all my mojo. 

That said, a majority of my memory for last week is fuzzy as best, so, rather than try and give you half-details on what may or may not have happened, we'll just stick with a simple bumpdate for this week. 

We switched to a new measurement this week - head to toe length - which means baby's "size" shot up quite a bit! Finding the right length in a veggie was tricky (picture me walking around the produce section with a small, pink tape measure checking different options...I'm sure I looked as crazy as I felt). It's a memory, right?

My favorite part about this week, by far, has been feeling Tiny kick. For a while, it was a guessing game as to whether what I was feeling was baby or not, but there's no denying it at this point. It's been highly distracting, since, whenever I feel her, I just want to stop whatever I'm doing, sit still, and focus on her. I just keep telling myself that these moments go too fast - work and laundry can wait.

It's both reassuring and exciting to feel those regular little reminders that she's healthy and growing, even when I can't see her. Grow, little girl, grow! (But then stop promptly and stay a baby forever, okay? Thanks.)

So excited to meet our little wiggle worm. Baby Girl, you are so loved already.

Bumpdate: Week 20

We got a crash course in "sick kid" parenting this week, and let me tell you, I'm not a fan. The helpless, can't-explain-why-this-is-happening, scared feeling is not my favorite thing. The Boy didn't handle it much better (he dislikes when he can't fix stuff). We're gonna be a sad pair when Baby Girl gets sick. 

Thankfully this week it wasn't Tiny - it was one of our fur babies. Our youngest, Gallifrey, has a propensity (like most goldies) to eat things that aren't, well, edible. Eatable, sure. Edible, less so. She particularly likes wood chunks fresh off the fence, small pebbles, bright pieces of plastic, and her blanket (apparently). Add the elements of puppy energy and endless optimism, and you have a perfect storm for gastric obstructions. 

The little goat ate a chunk of her blanket, it got stuck in her tummy, and she couldn't keep food down. We finally decided to take her to the vet after she refused dinner one night (pretty much a sign of the impending apocalypse), and the vet confirmed our fears: she needed surgery. 

They were able to get her in that day, but had to keep her overnight. We were all sorts of pathetic that night, waiting impatiently for the next morning when we could pick her up. The vet said she came through the surgery fine and was doing great in initial recovery...and then we got her home and realized that "great" was a relative term. Poor baby couldn't find a comfortable spot to lay down so she just spent hours pacing and panting and standing and looking sad. She finally collapsed and slept for a bit, but getting her to bed that night was impossible. I don't think any of us slept. 

That was Saturday. She's much better today, but the weekend was rough and eye-opening. Sick babies are hard to care for when a) they can't tell you where it hurts, and b) you can't explain to them that it WILL get better. Thankfully Tiny will eventually speak English. 

Other than that traumatic event, the week was a good one. We had a fun little cookie gender reveal with our small group from church and we went to a movie for the first time in AGES - the new Avengers. Our daughter is destined to be a geek now - her first movie was a Joss Whedon Marvel. 

We have zero qualms about this. 

Speaking of Tiny, we've hit a slightly scary point of having fewer weeks to go than we have in the bank. We're 21 weeks this week...leaving 19 til her due date! Eeep! Thank goodness for the second trimester and the energy it brings - we still have ALL THE THINGS to do. 

In the mean time, here's a bumpdate!

We've loved using our baby banana's name this week - it makes it that much more real that we're going to get to meet her (an actual, tiny person) soon! So do the kicks, which I'm feeling a LOT more of these days - girl's a mover, and I'm not mad about it. 

I'm definitely looking forward to this long weekend - we need both the rest it will offer and the time to finish a few things around the house. Project updates to come!

Hope y'all enjoy your Memorial Day weekends, too! Til next time!

Gender Reveal: It's A...

GIRL!

Y'all! We're having a little girl!

We are so excited! Also, a little surprised. By the time we got to the actual reveal, both The Boy and I had pretty much convinced ourselves that we were having a boy. Clearly, our guts are not to be trusted. 

We didn't do a big reveal, just a small thing at home with our immediate family. Momma was in town, and we had everyone else join us via Google Hangout so we could all see the reveal live. I love that technology let me have all of my favorite people in the same room, even if we live hundreds of miles from each other. It made it all so much more fun. 

At the ultrasound appointment, we handed our tech two Ziploc baggies, one with a balloon labeled "Boy," and one with a balloon labeled "Girl," and once she knew, she swapped out the boy and girl cards for "Yes" and "No" cards. We had the "Yes" balloon filled on our way home and waited for the rest of the crew to join us via webcam. 

Once we'd taken a final vote on what we all thought, we counted to three and popped the giant balloon. I'd prepared myself for a loud noise, but not well enough (those things pack a punch!) The look of surprise on my face below changes from "Holy cow that was loud!" to "Wait, why is this blue confetti pink?" to "Oh! We're having a girl!"

My face in that last picture pretty much sums up my emotions for the next hour or so. It's weird to go so quickly from "We're having a baby!" to "We're having a little girl!" I don't know why it feels different to know who she is, but it does, and it's taken some time to wrap my brain around it.

There was pink confetti EVERYWHERE. In my hair, in Paul's hair, on the wall, on the cat, in between the blinds. We're still picking up confetti, but it's a nice reminder each time I clean up another piece of pink paper - WE'RE HAVING A LITTLE GIRL!!!

Baby Girl, we love you already more than you'll ever know. Your daddy and I simply cannot wait to meet you!!!