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Mr. Giggles

Yesterday Odin laughed on purpose for the first time. He has laughed in his sleep here and there, but he hadn't yet laughed AT something - intentionally - until yesterday. Matt and I sat and laughed with him for a while, and it was incredible.

Of course we were only able to capture a few seconds on video, but he did quite a bit of laughing. Our voices are annoying, but hey, desperate times...

Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day; Matt made a delicious Irish stew (the house smelled SO good!), and Rita stopped by and brought us homemade soda bread (along with other yummy treats), which was the perfect complement to the stew. It was delicious. We also took the opportunity to get photos of Odin and Matt dressed for St. Patrick's Day. Matt got Odin the outfit and Uncle Alex and Aunt Kate sent him the hat.

Odin looking highly suspicious of Oliver

Musings on Motherhood

Next Tuesday, March 12th, Odin will be 3 months old.

I can't even believe I just typed that.

It's astonishing how quickly time flies and how suddenly you realize that those first couple months are in the past. Sometimes I feel like I'm still getting used to the fact that I'm not pregnant anymore; other times I feel like I've been a mother for years. It's a weird pendulum-swinging sensation, where in the course of a day I go back and forth several times from one extreme to the other. It makes the rapid passage of time since Odin was born all the more bewildering.

There was a time in my life when I felt that I didn't ever want to have children, though I changed my mind a few years ago. It wasn't because I didn't like children, it was more because I wasn't sure I would make a good parent. I guess nobody ever knows for sure what kind of parent they will be until they become one. Now that Odin is here and I have gotten used to the idea of actually being a mother, when I look ahead I see that all I can do for my kids (plural - assuming I have one more) is make the best choices I can, love them unconditionally, and try my best to show them the beauty in music, art, kindness, and laughter. I will undoubtedly make mistakes, but I hope I can be honest about my mistakes and use them to teach my children. I want to show them the joy in silliness, that while people can be awful they can also be wonderful, and how to be self-reliant. I'd like to teach them that it's ok to feel sad, just as it is ok to feel angry or happy. How I'll teach my kids all of these things is something I'll have to figure out as I go, but I hope I won't lose sight of the things I think are important for them to know.

It's amazing that this journey is now underway.

Sweet Baby, Happy Family

A couple Saturdays ago, my dear friend - aka my 'little brother' - Mike (world famous for the photos he took of my belly when I was pregnant) came to the house for a photo shoot with Odin, Matt, and me (though the dogs got in on the action, too). There's not a whole lot to say about it except that I am very happy to have good photos of Odin at this age (he was 2 1/2 months old when these were taken), and Mike was so wonderful to do this for us. Thank you, Mikey.

Odin's Birth Story: Episode II

Click here to access Episode I of Odin's Birth Story

So the epidural had me feeling comfortable for a while, but then the magnesium had me hating life. As I began to feel weaker and weaker from the magnesium, I realized how difficult pushing the baby out was going to be (not that I thought it would be a piece of cake to begin with), and I started to wonder how - or frankly, if - I was going to be able to do it. Before the magnesium, giving birth seemed like a tremendous task, but after the magnesium it loomed like an impossible feat. Anyway, once my contractions were really close together I started the pushing phase, and all I could think was, 'This is never going to work' because I was so weak I couldn't even lift my limbs, so how was I supposed to have the strength to push out a baby? With each contraction, I grasped for as much strength as I could find and gave it every ounce of energy I had. Matt had to lift up my head and shoulders with each push because I couldn't do it myself. As time went on, I really did feel like I wasn't going to be able to push the baby out and the doctor would decide I would have to have a cesarean. And actually, that was nearly the case. After over an hour of pushing, it became clear to the medical team that I was so weak I probably couldn't push the baby out on my own, so the doctor used forceps to help Odin out. The use of forceps wasn't something I had even thought about, but at that point I realized I needed as much help as I could get, and if it prevented me from needing a c-section, I was ok with it.

It took a few more pushes with the forceps to get Odin delivered, and I remember several things very distinctly from that moment: first, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief that he was finally out, because since it had been over 24 hours since my water had broken, I had started to feel a sense of urgency and I wanted to make sure he wasn't in there too long; second, I remember being concerned because for the first few minutes after Odin was born I didn't hear him make any noise at all. A few minutes seems like a terribly long time when you're waiting to hear your child cry for the first time. The midwife kept going back and forth from where Odin was to where I was, and reassuring me that he was ok, which was incredibly helpful, but I really wanted to hear some kind of noise out of Odin. The midwife would come over to me and say things like, "I know you can't hear him right now, but I promise you he's ok. He has good color and he looks great." Strangely enough, I never did hear Odin cry in the delivery room; actually, neither Matt nor I heard him cry until more than 24 hours after he was born. He made noises and he hiccupped, but he didn't cry at any point when he was with us during his first day. It was certainly not what we expected, but he was healthy and that was a huge relief. After Odin was assessed and cleaned up - and after I had the chance to say hello to him for a couple of seconds - he was whisked off to the nursery, and Matt went along with him so that he could give our families the news that the baby was finally born. When the nurses were wheeling Odin down the hallway to the nursery, they didn’t stop to let our families come over and see him; our family members had just enough time to catch a glimpse of him as they ran down the hall next to him! Everyone was so happy that he had finally made his entrance into the world!

Mommy meets Odin face-to-face

Meanwhile, I was in the labor and delivery room getting stitched up - the forceps had caused some internal lacerations, and then there were external stitches necessary as well. I was so exhausted; between giving birth and being on the magnesium I don’t think I’ve ever been so exhausted. At that point, I just wanted to rest and I hoped I would be able to get some sleep very soon. I was lying there thinking, ‘I can’t believe Odin is really here!’ and feeling groggy. And then, all of a sudden, everything in the room changed. Because Odin was five weeks early, there were a lot of extra people from the NICU in the room when he was born, just in case he had any issues or complications. Some of those people had gone with Odin to the nursery, but some of them were still in the room with me. The doctor who was stitching me up suddenly said, in an urgent voice, “Postpartum hemorrhage.” As soon as those words came out of her mouth everyone in the room got very serious and very efficient in their words and their movement. The doctor called out an order to push Hemabate, a drug that helps blood to clot, through my IV. I was feeling weak already from the magnesium, but I noticed that I was now feeling extremely lightheaded and a little dizzy. I felt like I was going to pass out. The nurse right next to me called out, “BP sixty over thirty.” I remember thinking, huh, 60/30 - that doesn’t sound good. It was surreal; Matt had just walked out of the room with Odin a few minutes before, and everything was just fine. I was thinking, What if I pass out and don’t wake up? How shocking will it be for Matt if he left me here, perfectly fine, and then minutes later learns I bled to death? Did I just give birth to a son who will never know his mother? I realize these thoughts may seem overly dramatic; reading them now I can see how it would seem that way. But if you had been in the room with me at the time, you would have a much better understanding of how serious the situation was, and why I was thinking about the possibility of not getting the opportunity to raise Odin. I didn’t have the energy to panic, but the gravity of the situation was definitely not lost on me. It was scary. I had no control over anything. I am grateful to the medical staff who helped me. I am glad things turned out well, and I consider myself lucky.

There will be one more ‘episode’ about Odin’s birth story, which will include my recovery, his time in the NICU, and bringing him home.

Quick 2-Month Update

I know, you guys. I haven't posted the second 'episode' of Odin's birth story yet. I'm still working on it. But until I get it finished I'll try to post some quick updates and photos.

Coming home from the hospital

I can't believe Odin is two months old already. He has gone from 6 lbs., 5 oz. at birth to 10 lbs., 8 oz. in only two months, which seems like such a huge jump, and he has also grown 3 inches. My tiny boy won't be tiny much longer.

Got milk? He did!

I returned to work on Monday of this week, and while I do miss Odin during the day I have not experienced the total devastation some mothers feel when they first go back to work. I'm so happy that Odin is either with Matt or Pat (Matt's Mom) every day, so I know he is in the best of hands.

Baby Odin has made some huge strides in the last week by sleeping for much longer stretches of time at night, which is truly a blessing. Generally at night he will eat more at once and then sleep longer, usually sleeping for anywhere between 2.5 - 5 hours at a time. He is enjoying tummy time (usually, anyway) and it has been so fun to watch him look at things now that he can see so much. His favorite things to look at are ceiling fans (turned off for better viewing), though ceiling lights of any kind come in a close second. He often strokes my arm or my back while I'm holding him and he loves to grab at things.

Ready to go on an adventure

Murphy and Oliver (the dogs) "check on" Odin frequently throughout the day, seemingly just to make sure all is well. They don't nudge him or lick him, they just sniff the area around him, typically not getting any closer than 3-4 inches from him, and once they're satisfied that he's ok, they leave him alone.

Tummy champion

Matt and I are so in love with our boy, and we've been having a lot of fun being parents. Though sometimes it is also not very fun. But usually it is. I think we make a pretty good team.

Odin's Birth Story: Episode I

Odin Andrew Ball was born at 2:15 a.m. on December 12, 2012. He weighed 6 pounds, 5 ounces, and he was 18.5 inches long. His arrival was a bit of a shock, because he wasn't due to be born until January 14. Since I'd had a normal, healthy pregnancy, I didn't expect Odin to come five weeks early.

My labor really started on Monday, December 10, though I didn't realize it at the time. I went to work that morning, and at around 9:00 a.m. my lower back started aching and I had some pain in my lower abdomen. At 11:30 a.m. I decided to go home. I knew I was having contractions here and there, but they weren't painful or strong, so I figured they were Braxton-Hicks contractions and were no big deal. But all I really wanted to do was lie down. I assumed I was just feeling "off" that day and hoped I'd feel better later on. I responded to all of my e-mails and headed home to rest; for the rest of the day I just laid on the couch and either napped or watched TV. I had a couple contractions in the evening that were more intense, but I still didn't think they were anything to worry about.

Monday night I went to bed and woke up at about 1:40 a.m. because I had to get up to pee; in my third trimester my bladder would typically wake me up twice during the night, and I'd usually wake up sometime around 1:30 for the first bathroom trip, so this was completely normal for me. I went back to bed, pulled up the covers, closed my eyes, and then BAM! my water broke. I leapt out of bed so fast I nearly fell when my feet hit the floor. I was so shocked that I had to sit down for a few minutes and try to wrap my brain around what was going on. I took a deep breath and said, "Okay. That just happened." Although I should’ve waited, I went ahead and woke Matt and let him know I would be calling the midwife to find out exactly what I needed to do. Since I wasn’t having painful contractions I told him we wouldn’t be in any huge rush even if we needed to get to the hospital. I called the midwife and she told me that I did need to come to the hospital, and that because my water had broken I definitely wouldn’t be able to leave once I was there. I hadn’t yet packed a bag to take to the hospital, so I gathered the things I would need and got everything ready to go. Then Matt and I drove to the hospital in the rain.

We arrived at the hospital at around 3:15 a.m. Thankfully I had pre-registered so I didn’t have a ton of paperwork to deal with when we got there. Matt and I were supposed to have had our tour of the birthing center on Tuesday evening, so obviously we didn’t need to attend since I was already admitted to the hospital by then. I got settled into my (huge) labor and delivery room, had blood taken (they needed to know my platelet count so that they’d know whether an epidural was an option for me since I’d had a very low platelet count 1-2 months prior), and answered a bunch of questions asked by a nurse. My blood pressure was surprisingly high (my BP had been normal throughout my pregnancy), but the midwife let me rest for a bit to see if it would go down on its own, and after a couple of hours it was back to normal. I figured I was just a bit anxious from the shock of my water breaking unexpectedly and knowing I was going to give birth five weeks early. A few hours later I was put on pitocin to strengthen my contractions and help labor to progress; since my water had broken, they wanted to deliver the baby as soon as possible, ideally within 24 hours. As the day went on, I did have stronger, more intense (and more painful) contractions, and they started to come closer together as well.

Later in the morning I took a shower and then tried to rest some more as labor progressed. The more pain I experienced, the hotter I became. I had the thermostat in the room turned down twice to make it cooler, and by Tuesday evening all of my poor family visitors were freezing. They each literally had two blankets covering them (see photo of Christi). I felt bad that they were so cold, but if I hadn’t lowered the temperature I think I would’ve melted. By early evening, my contractions had become so painful that I decided to get an epidural. I was very thankful that my platelet count was high enough that I had this option. I can honestly say I don’t remember anything at all about actually getting the epidural – I must’ve blocked the most painful part of the day from my memory; I don’t remember what the person looked like – or even whether it was a man or a woman – who administered it, and I don’t remember sitting up for it. But after a little while I felt soooo much better, and I was spending much less energy on just dealing with the pain.

Unfortunately, around 10:00 p.m. my blood pressure was very high again and the consulting doctor was concerned it might cause me to have seizures (eclampsia), so she made the decision to put me on magnesium to lower my blood pressure. I don’t know if you’ve ever been on magnesium, but it was the WORST. While it did lower my blood pressure, it also made me feel groggy, completely weak (I couldn’t even lift my legs up off the bed), and completely drained any energy I had left after laboring all day. Standard protocol is to keep a patient on magnesium for 24 hours after the baby is delivered, so unfortunately I had a whole lot more magnesium misery ahead of me. The magnesium also made me unable to focus my eyes, so for a whole day after Odin was born I couldn’t see straight; it felt like my eyes were crossed and I couldn’t un-cross them. Needless to say, I was thrilled when they finally stopped the magnesium – after a couple of hours, I was back to normal.

At sometime between 12:45-1:00 a.m. I started pushing. It was hard. I had no energy whatsoever. But Odin did finally make his entrance into the world and his exit from my uterus! I’ll cover that part of the experience in episode two.

Thanksgiving and My 32-Week Belly

Well, it's the Monday after Thanksgiving, and I'm exhausted. But my long weekend was very nice, so I'm not complaining. Matt and I do a three-stop Thanksgiving each year - early dinner at my parents' house, later dinner at Matt's parents' house, and then we spend time with friends at Joe and Sarah's house. It makes for a very long day, but getting to see everybody makes it well worth it.

My pregnancy is going well for the most part; I still feel decent, though I do get tired faster than ever. I will see a hematologist next Monday because my platelet count is so low and has only continued to drop. Probably I'll be started on Prednisone to see if that'll boost my count, and if that doesn't work perhaps a transfusion will be in order. Low platelet count, or Thrombocytopenia, is hardly rare (it occurs in 7-8% of pregnancies), and since I have no history of this problem, it is likely due to the pregnancy (Gestational Thrombocytopenia) and will probably go away within a few months after I give birth. The baby isn't really at any greater risk because of the platelets being low; the main concern (at least for me!) is that if the count drops too low I won't have the option of getting an epidural during labor and delivery. There is also an increased risk of hemorrhage, since platelets are what help your blood to clot. But I'm hoping that the hematologist will be able to get my platelet count up so that by the time Odin is ready to be born, I won't have anything to worry about.

On Thanksgiving, I got Christi to snap a couple of belly photos since it has been so long since I've posted any. On Thanksgiving I was 32 weeks pregnant. (For the record, I don't know why it looks like I have sweaty armpits, because I promise you I didn't, even though my parents' house was as hot as an oven.)

 I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. Can you believe Christmas is only a month away?!

Baby Shower!

Saturday Christi hosted a baby shower for me. It was held at my house, which was really too small for the number of people we had, but it worked out well anyway. Matt and I were very blessed to have so many people come and celebrate with us. Everyone was so generous and we were given many gifts that will be much needed once Odin arrives.

The adorable banner my sister and mom made.

I admit I wasn't as prepared for the shower as I should've been since it was held at my house; I forgot about all sorts of things I should've taken care of before the day of the shower - like washing my dusty wine glasses (I obviously haven't used them in a while, so it didn't even occur to me) and a number of other things that just slipped my scattered mind. I blame pregnancy (I'm told you can randomly blame pregnancy for stuff like that, so I'm taking full advantage while I can). Thankfully I had wonderful family on hand who made all the problems disappear. They were awesome and made the day less stressful for me.

Christi did a wonderful job planning everything; I know she put a lot of time, effort, and worry (not to mention money) into it and I'm so grateful for all her hard work. It was great to have everyone together, but we even received gifts from friends and family who couldn't make it to the shower, either because they live far away or because their schedules didn't allow them to attend. It was so thoughtful of them to send gifts along even though they couldn't join us.

My friend Tammy made an awesome football-themed diaper cake (check out the football rubber duckie on top!), which was cleverly stuffed with bath toys, a hooded towel, and washcloths.

Diaper cake, Brittany & Christi, and Mom!

Matt and I received everything from baby clothes, blankets, toys, bottles, diapers, and books to a pack-and-play, travel system, rocking sleeper, high chair, baby monitor, and breast pump. And lots in between, too! Most importantly, it was just another instance of our friends and family showing us support and encouragement, and being excited for us. People have babies every day; most of our friends and family have had the experience themselves. So for everyone to still be excited for us (and with us) is awesome - it makes the experience so much more fun for us, whereas if everyone was all, "been there, done that, no big deal" it wouldn't be as much fun to share the experience with everybody.

Truth.

Here's a look at my 7-month belly (yes, I'm getting good mileage out of that dress) - sorry I don't have a better one at the moment:

The trifecta: 7-month belly, pale legs, and giant blue Santa sack.

Delicious cake, pretty ladies, and wee favor plants.

I had a great time at the shower, and I thank everyone who attended, helped out, brought food, etc. Thanks again to Christi, who put so much into it so that it would be special for me. It was a fun day for us, and it only got us more excited about meeting baby Odin!

29-Week Belly...Best I Could Do

Although I am 30+ weeks pregnant now, the latest photos of my belly are from Mike and Katharine's wedding, which was on October 27th (when I was 29 weeks). First of all, I have to say that it was a beautiful wedding and I couldn't be happier for my 'little brother.' I'm so proud of him and I'm happy that he married a wonderful woman in Katharine.

Here's a shot of Mike and me taken just after the wedding ceremony. It's the closest thing I have to a recent belly photo, even though it's not taken in profile. Maybe once Mike gets back from his honeymoon in Hawaii (lucky duck) I can get him to take a proper belly photo for me.

Thoughtfulness, Blessings, & Generosity

Last week hurricane/superstorm Sandy rolled through. Matt and I were very lucky that we didn't experience any damage to our house; in fact, we never even lost power, which was not typical. We had only a small amount of water leak into our basement, so we're very grateful that things weren't worse, especially when not too far away there was much more damage. Due to the storm, Matt and I were home from work last Monday and Tuesday, and one of those days we got a surprise in the mail. Actually, it was two surprises, in the form of gifts for baby Odin. We weren't expecting anything in the mail, so getting to open the two packages was sort of like Christmas (I mean, who doesn't like opening presents?)!

The first package we opened was from Kate and Alex, Matt's sister-in-law and brother, who live in Portland, Oregon, and have an adorable 17-month-old son named Mac. They randomly sent us this little outfit at which I can't stop "aww-ing." (The onesie says "Cuddle" on it in red letters.)



The ears! The feet! So much cuteness!

What a sweet and thoughtful thing to do to surprise us and provide an adorable little outfit for baby Odin. Since he'll be born in the winter, I'm sure he'll get to wear this a number of times, and I can't wait to take pictures of him in it.

Our next package was from an entirely unexpected source. A coworker of mine sent us a gift box (which contains an assortment of small baby items) from Citrus Lane, along with a 3-month gift subscription, which means we'll also be getting boxes in November and December! This coworker isn't someone who works directly with me - she doesn't even work in the same area as I do - but she is a real sweetheart; obviously she was under no obligation to think of us and do something so kind and generous, but she did and for that we are so appreciative. Here's what was in box number one:

It included a swaddle blanket, little lamb rattle, Bathtime Baby wash, gripe water, and a kit for making a hand/footprint keepsake. The fun part is that since we'll get a box monthly for the next two months, we'll get to be surprised twice more by what we find in the boxes. What a great way to try out different baby products! Hooray for having such generous and thoughtful people in our lives - we are very blessed!

Week 28: Overdue Musings and Art Update

Things have been busy, so I wasn't able to get it together enough to post last week. My most recent appointment with my midwife was a week and a half ago, and everything was right on target - my rate of weight gain, the measurement of my belly, and Odin's heartbeat were all perfect. Now, at 28 weeks pregnant, the weight gain is starting to show in my face, which is a bummer, but I really should just be grateful I went this long without my face blowing up like a balloon. Usually if I gain any weight at all, the first place it is noticeable is in my face, and unfortunately there's no disguising that.

The countdown is on - 12 more weeks before baby Odin is born. 12 more weeks of carrying around extra weight and bumping into things with my belly. I have to say, there are some pregnancy-related things I am looking forward to getting rid of, like back and sciatic pain, but I have really enjoyed pregnancy up to this point. I know I haven't hit the difficult/uncomfortable part yet and that it'll get worse before I give birth, but it has been a wonderful experience to see and feel Odin moving in my belly and to know that I'm protecting and caring for him until he is born. Plus, the whole pregnancy process is still so fascinating to me; it's bizarre and amazing.

While the nursery is still in a state of disarray, here's a look at the five canvases I painted to hang in there. As I said before, I am not very artistic at all, but I thought it would be fun to make some art for the nursery, just as a personal touch. I wanted something colorful but also simple, since my art skills are so lacking. I decided to pick up some cheap 8" x 10" canvases and paint background colors on them, then trace silhouettes of animals on them and paint them in different colors. It was pretty simple, but it took a bit of time since I had to go so slowly when painting the animals.

Here are the canvases with their colorful backgrounds (and a strategic photo-bomb by Oliver):

And here they are with the animals painted on them:

Not perfect, but the best I could do. Also, if you look closely in the upper right-hand corner, you'll notice a second photo-bomb, this time by Murphy.

There is nothing detailed about these animals, they are just the silhouettes, but I thought they'd be cute and add some color to the nursery. Matt thinks that because I deliberately painted the animals colors that they're not in real life that Odin will grow up thinking that elephants are green and giraffes are purple, etc., but I have faith that Odin will be able to figure it out.

New belly photo coming soon!

26 Weeks and Counting

I'm just checking in here; I am working on another post but it won't be ready for another couple of days. So in the meantime, here's a brief update for week 26.

Matt and I still haven't come up with a middle name for Odin. Honestly, we haven't even discussed it lately. Our calendars have been pretty full and I guess it's just not at the top of the priority list. But I'm sure we'll come up with something before the baby is born.

The nursery hasn't been painted yet; I still need to get all the stuff out of the room so we can paint the walls and then clean the floors. I've gone through some of the stuff in there (there are a lot of old papers in that room that can be recycled or shredded, so I wanted to go through those things and get rid of as much as possible), but there are still a number of boxes and small storage bins that need to be moved out.

A week ago I started the last class I'll take before I give birth. It's an 8-week class, so it will end just after Thanksgiving. While I am happy about knocking out another 3 credits before Odin comes, I am certainly not thrilled about having to manage school work while also trying to get things in order at home, not to mention getting ready for the holidays.

Speaking of getting things in order at home - I have just over a month before my baby shower happens AT MY HOUSE. That means there are a ton of things I want to get done before then, like small projects and a thorough cleaning, but also because there are likely to be enough people in attendance that I need to make my basement look decent as well as the main floor of the house (we're going to have to make it a two-story party!). This might not sound like a big deal, but my house is only one floor and the basement, so there is nowhere to store extra stuff that I might want to move out of the way. The house won't look perfect regardless of how much time I have to get it together, but I'll do the best I can to make it comfortable for guests - I hope they'll cut me some slack.

Odin has been very active the past few weeks, often making my stomach jump noticeably. Feeling him move is one of the few things I will really miss about being pregnant. It's just such an awesome experience.

As for me, I'm doing well except for near-constant back pain. It doesn't seem to matter what shoes I wear, how I sit, how often I stretch and move, it just hurts. And the pain wakes me up in the middle of the night, too, but that's not a huge deal since I usually have to get up to pee anyway. My belly is still looking the same as it did a couple weeks ago, so I'm not planning to do another belly photo until next week.

Coming soon will be a post about the five small, simple paintings I'm working on for the nursery. They are my very humble attempt at putting some personal art in Odin's room.

24-Week Sonogram: Disappointment and Relief

Yesterday morning I had my 3-D sonogram at work, but unfortunately baby Odin wasn't in the mood to be on display. When we started the sonogram, Odin's head was on my left side and he was facing down and towards my spine, so there was no way to get a good view of his face. Plus, he had his face smushed up against the placenta, meaning there wasn't much amniotic fluid between his face and the placenta (the more fluid, the better the image you get). I tried to get him to change positions by rolling onto each of my sides and poking at him. And lo and behold, he did change positions, but we quickly realized that while his head was then on my right side, he was still facing down and towards my spine. And his face was still smushed against the placenta. Aargh.

It was a bummer not to get to see much of his face in 3-D, but the sonographer did take a lot of time checking Odin's anatomy in 2-D and he said everything looks good. But that baby just did not want to cooperate with us! At one point he had turned his head a little bit so we were looking almost at his profile, and he lifted his arm up in front of his face the way you would if someone shone a flashlight in your face while you were trying to sleep. He was determined not to let us get a good look at his face; I guess he wants to keep us in suspense until his big birth day reveal.

Odin's head measured at 26 weeks instead of 24 weeks, which only added fuel to my hunch that he is going to come early by about 2 weeks. I've had that hunch for a while - though I don't really know why - and after having two sonograms where the tech commented that he is a little big, I feel even more sure that he'll show up closer to New Year's Day than MLK, Jr. Day.

Here are the three images of his face we were able to capture (we never got a still image with nothing in front of his face; first it was the umbilical cord and then there were just random things blocking part of his face, as you'll see in the photos):

Forehead, eye, nose, upper lip. That's about all we got. He's definitely got Matt's nose.

An unsuccessful attempt at a more straight-on look.

I think he looks quite comfy in this one.

So while I was disappointed that I didn't get to see his handsome little face very well, I was thrilled that everything looked normal and I could see that he's still growing well in there. I can honestly say, though, that I hope he's not always as uncooperative as he was yesterday! Maybe he takes after Matt in more than just the nose department. :)

A Very Quick Update

I was supposed to have my 3-D/4-D sonogram this morning. However, it had to be rescheduled (major bummer), so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will happen this Thursday morning. I hope to have images and perhaps a video to share with you all then.

In other news, I've decided on an art project for the nursery that involves me creating a number of canvas paintings (very simple ones, though!) for the room. We'll see how that turns out - I'm no artist by any stretch! I'll let you know whether I succeed or fail. Probably the latter, but I'm staying optimistic.

Also, why is it so difficult to find a rocking chair for the nursery that I like AND can afford? Good grief, what a hunt for a chair. As I said in a previous post about the nursery, I do NOT want a glider chair; I am looking for a much simpler, more modern-looking chair; something I'll actually use elsewhere in my house when it is no longer needed in the nursery.

Dorel

Of course this Dorel chair isn't available; I could've gotten it at Walmart for $90. It would have been so simple!

Jasper

This Jasper chair is available for $200, and I like the lines of it, but it is a tad wider than I would prefer. It's still in the running though; I haven't ruled it out just because of my width prejudice.

Holden

The Holden chair is available for $200 as well, and is clearly not as wide as the Jasper chair. The potential issue is that the back is reclined quite a bit; product reviewers noted that it is reclined way too far to comfortably feed a baby. Granted, I could always use a pillow behind my back to help with that issue, but the reclined chair back is the reason for my hesitation on this one. Otherwise I love how it looks.

Chevron

The Chevron chair looks a little wide as well, but it doesn't really matter because I am not paying $700 for a rocking chair for the nursery. Sorry, I'm just not.

Ikea Poang

The Ikea Poang chair would work if the back wasn't reclined so far. It's available for between $69 and $219 depending on the finish and the fabric. I sat in one of these a few weeks ago at Ikea, and decided it really did lean back too far.

There are a whole bunch of other examples I could show you, but the story so far has been the same - they're either not available, reclined too far, or too expensive. For instance, I found one I really liked, but then found out it was on sale for $1,566. A little steep in my book. My backup plan for if I really never find anything that is close to perfect is to buy a cheap wooden porch-style chair, paint it a fun color, and put simple cushions on it. But for now, the hunt is still on...

23-Week Update: A Look Back, Upcoming Sonogram, & Baby's Name

Tomorrow I will hit the 24-week mark in my pregnancy. It seems impossible that so many weeks have passed by already. It's strange to look ahead and think about all the things I need or want to get done before the baby comes. But it's even stranger to look back at my pregnancy experience thus far. I am so used to feeling the Peanut move now that I get paranoid if I don't feel him move for a while. I've gotten to the point where I've accepted the fact that I just can't lift heavy things and I need to ask for help when I'm working on something that requires more physical exertion than I can handle. Sleeping through the night is a completely foreign concept, and back pain is a daily nuisance. I don't mean to complain; I have not yet experienced anything that isn't completely normal in pregnancy, and I'm grateful for that. It's just interesting for me to think about the things that have shaped my pregnancy experience up to this point.

Speaking of hitting the 24-week mark tomorrow, I set up my next sonogram at work (which will most likely be the last one I have) for next Tuesday, September 25th. Just as I did when I was 10 weeks along, I have the opportunity to have a 3-D/4-D sonogram done here at the college. Now that I'm much farther along in my pregnancy, the images will actually look like a 'real' baby and not just a nub with arms and legs. I am, again, so excited for the chance to see what he looks like, and to just watch him move around.

Let us recall the images from previous sonograms:

8 weeks                                              10 weeks                                                    19 weeks

Who knows what the 24-week set of images will look like - all I care about is getting to see him! I will, of course, share images (and video, if I have one) here next week so you can all see him, too!

In other news, Matt and I finally agreed on a name for the baby (well, a first name - we're still working on a middle name)! We chose the name Odin. We like the way Odin sounds, and while it isn't especially common, we don't think it's especially weird either. For those of you who don't know, Odin is the name of a god from Norse mythology. In fact, he's Thor's father (I totally vetoed Thor for a name, but then suggested Odin instead). I've gotten some mixed reactions to the name (one person made a puzzled face and asked, "Is it a family name or something?"), but we love it and have been referring to him by name for about a week now. That's all the news I have for now, but check back next week for sonogram photos!

Belated 22-Week Update

I meant to post an update last week, but time simply got away from me and it didn't happen. My bad.

Check out my crib, y'all.

Matt and I did take a trip to Ikea over the weekend and were able to look at the potential nursery crib and dresser in person. It was definitely a worthwhile trip, because while we loved the crib (we've decided it's the one we want), we found that the dresser was too tall to be used as a changing table. So we're back to the drawing board on that one, but I doubt we'll have too much trouble finding something. Plus, since we know now that the one dresser won't work, we have plenty of time to find something else. Strangely enough, we actually left Ikea with only a trashcan. I don't think I've ever gone there and left with only one thing. I also looked at a rocking chair there, but the back of it leaned back so far it wasn't exactly a good fit for nursing. If all else fails, I'll hit up a Cracker Barrel in the dark of night and swipe a chair off the porch.

Baby has been moving a whole lot lately since he is still at a size where he has plenty of room, and being able to see him move in my belly is strange but incredibly cool. I love when Matt gets to feel the peanut move.

And, as promised, here is the latest belly photo, taken last Thursday when I was 22 weeks (thanks again to my surrogate little brother Mike Scrivener for the photo).

I'm hoping to get my 3-D/4-D sonogram scheduled here at work; I'll share some images/video when I get them in the next couple weeks.