20 Weeks

We're officially halfway to the finish line. It's hard to believe! The time has flown by. This time, I have much less time, energy, and mental space to focus so fully on being pregnant as I did when pregnant with Conor. It's not as if I'm counting down every day and week as I did last time. When someone asks how far along I am, I actually have to stop and think about it. As a result, it seems like the pregnancy is going at warp speed!

At this point, the baby is about the length of a banana. She's definitely working out her arms and legs -- I feel evidence of that quite often. She's also practicing her swallowing.

It's been a pretty eventful couple of weeks around here -- Christmas and New Year's, Jimmy and Leah and Mom and Dad all in town for the holidays, and two snowstorms with snow fall totals close to 2 feet each. Conor had a blast getting to see all of his family so much around the holidays, but it's good to get back into the routine, as well. He was having many more tantrums and having to visit time out a lot around the holidays, and he seems to be back to himself now that things have calmed down. It's amazing how much they pick up on all the craziness around them and translate that into their own craziness.

Conor continues to be very excited about his little sister. He already gives the baby lots of hugs and kisses. I think he's going to make a wonderful older brother.

Keep sending your name suggestions if you've got them! General consensus seems to be that girls' names are much more difficult than boys' names, and we're definitely finding that to be the case. We have a front runner for right now but nothing we've officially decided on. I think it's going to a take a while for us to really commit to anything.

Dad's Corner: Laying Down Some Ground Rules

A daughter can be a father's worst nightmare.  However, I have a plan.  What follows is a rough draft of a contract between me and my future daughter Chicquita (we're still working on names).  The trick is that it stipulates her implied consent by the act of her being born.  So, fingers crossed, if all goes well and she arrives safe and sound, she is agreeing to these rules:

1.  No dating until you are 16.  At that point you are allowed to call a boy once per week while the phone line is monitored by me.  At 18 you can see said boy from a distance of 100 yards (you're young and have good eyesight, it'll be like he's right next to you).  At 20 you can sit next to said boy at a movie of my choosing.

2.  Said boy in rule 1 will be hand picked by me.  Clarification: hand picked means I pick him up with my hand and toss him out if he tries any funny business.  Clarification:  funny business is anything.  Anything at all including breathing your air.

3.  Certain clothing items are prohibited.  The following is not a complete list: no bikinis, skirts, skorts, tight jeans, short shorts, medium shorts, capris (I just don't like them), belly shirts, tank tops, or anything with writing across your derriere.  This leaves a multitude of choices: sweatpants, sweatshirts, sweaters, and mom jeans to name a few.

4.  There is no such thing as a nice boy.  They are all evil and should be avoided.

5.  No batting your eyes at me when asking for things.  It is considered cruel and unusual punishmet and is prohibited under the Constitution.

6.  Tattoos are a funny thing.  Get one and I will disown you.  Funny, isn't it?

That's what I've got so far.  I have a few months to iron out the details.  Dads out there, do you have other rules to suggest?

Speaking of names (can you say that if what you're "speaking" of was mentioned paragraphs ago?  How about if you're not actually speaking?  Maybe it depends on how fast you're reading this).  We will begin accepting name suggestions.  Leave them in the comments here, on Facebook, or email either one of us and we will post them along the right side like last time.  Start sending suggestions!

It's a...

First, let me say that I firmly believe that asking a pregnant woman to drink 24 oz an hour before her appointment, having her drive to the office, and then sit in the waiting room for 30 minutes should be deemed cruel and unusual punishment. Thankfully, as soon as the ultrasound tech saw my bladder on the screen, she sent me straight to the restroom.

Now, the news you've all been waiting for. It seems that our friends and family are rather insightful. The masses were right with Conor, and you're right again this time. It's a girl! We're absolutely thrilled! Of course, it means we'll need a whole new wardrobe for this baby, and choosing a name could be difficult (we couldn't agree on a single potential girl name for Conor), but despite those things, we just couldn't be more excited! Conor is as excited as he can be as well, continuing to profess that he wants a little girl. Soon enough, his wish will be granted!

Other than that key piece of information, the ultrasound revealed that everything is just as it should be. With Conor, there were a couple small "red flags" that led to follow-up ultrasounds, but this time around, everything looks perfect. She has two arms, two legs, a fully functioning heart (beating about 153 beats per minute), perfect kidneys, and all that fun stuff. She was also deemed a genius, just as Conor was at this early stage. The cerebellum is supposed to measure the same number of centimeters as you are weeks along in your pregnancy. In our case, that would be 18 centimeters; her cerebellum measured 20 centimeters. Clearly, her genius status cannot be denied! The ultrasound tech said she'll probably be on the bigger side, but she also said that about Conor, and he ended up being under 7 pounds, so we'll see. Currently, she's measuring in at 10 ounces, which puts her about a week or so ahead of schedule. The only thing that was a little bit off was that the baby was sideways across my stomach. Most of the time, they're head down. Obviously, if she's still like that at delivery time, that poses a problem. However, the ultrasound tech said that babies change positions all the time at this early stage, and we really shouldn't be concerned at this point.

So, get ready! Baby Girl Pape is on her way!

Big Day!

Tomorrow's the big day! We get to find out whether this little amorphous being is a little boy or little girl. Assuming the baby cooperates. We can't wait to find out. Mike's recently gotten on a kick to start thinking about names, but I just don't have it in me to start thinking of names until we know whether it's a boy or a girl. The polls are currently showing that the overwhelming majority of you think this little one is a girl. Our informal polls over Christmas dinner and such proved similar. Interestingly, both Mike and I think it will be a boy. But we'll see soon enough! We'll be happy either way - it's thrilling just to be able to finally think of the baby as a person, regardless of what kind of person it is.

Conor has begun to understand a little bit more about the baby. When we ask him what's in Mommy's belly, he can now say (most of the time) "Mommy baby." Today, we asked him if he wanted a little girl or little boy. He said "little girl," so he's hoping for a girl just like the rest of you! I then asked him what he thought we should call the little girl. He replied "Phone." Interesting choice. As I'm writing this, I'm now realizing that he was literally thinking of CALLING the baby and therefore naturally replied that we should use a phone! Funny kid.

In other exciting events, I've been feeling the baby move for about 2 weeks now. Mike got to feel the little kicks for the first time last night -- much earlier than he was able to feel Conor move, so that was exciting.

So -- if you haven't voted yet, vote now. Only hours left until the polls close! Keep your fingers crossed that baby cooperates and shows off whatever is between those little legs. And be sure to check back tomorrow to find out the big news!! We can't wait to share the news.