Crafty Parents

As Dad is working diligently on the crib, Mom is sewing pieces for Spawn's room. Here is a picture of the laundry bag. She is making a diaper bag to match. It's super cute, and it's going to look great with the bedding (Kenneth Brown Monkey Vines pattern, which you can see at babiesrus.com).

Email test

This is a test email post. I'm sending this to the blog from the email on my phone. If it works, it will be a pretty cool way to post pictures immediately after Spawn pops out and becomes Tommy Spawn...

Ultrasound at 24 Weeks

Today was my follow-up ultrasound, 24 weeks 1 day according to the new due date. But as you can see from the ultrasound pics (below), Spawn was measuring 23w5d or 23w1d. I don't know anymore...he's due sometime in June!

Everything was fine, she got the pictures of his heart that she didn't get last time. He was doing his normal dance around bit... Staying still isn't really his strong suit.

She confirmed (again) that he is a he. And she printed out a picture to prove it.

I asked her at the beginning to print out some more "typical" ultrasound pictures for Daddy Monkey, so far away, so she got some shots that I actually can understand this time. I spent some time this evening wrestling with the scanner (and then wrestling with Punk Kitten who insisted upon sitting on the scanner repeatedly...yes, I took a picture of that too!) and I can now post the pics, in all their black and white glory.

Face, hand and upper body
Downward Facing Dog! Spawn is a yoga master...
You can see his head, spine and what I think are legs, folded up.

24 Week Ultrasound

Feet!




Leg, pecker, Leg
Face and rib cage (and hands I think)

Monkey in Mummy-Land

Russ was in Egypt for work. Here are two pictures of his trip. One is a shot of the three great pyramids at Giza. There was a really bad haze, but you can make out the three of them. When they were first constructed, they were covered with polished limestone to make them smooth on the sides and the tops were coated with gold. The idea was for the gold to blaze in the sun so it would look like individual suns with rays coming down the polished sides. The other is of Daddy Monkey in front of both a pyramid and a Sphinx, again at Giza.

New (Old) Official Due Date

Based on the ultrasound 2 weeks ago, the NP moved my due date back to my orginal due date, which was June 16 (with the undestanding that due dates are +/- two weeks, of course). So now I have magically jumped forward to being 23 weeks along, with"viablity" happening next week (meaning, the point at which the baby is more likely to survive if born early).

I also signed up for the extra ultrasound at 24 weeks (which is now next week), so that is next Wednesday morning. Hopefully, I'll get better pictures and can post them!
Spawn still wiggled around and made the heartbeat finding somewhat difficult, but not too bad this time.

I've been told to try to put my feet up during the day (I did mention I was a teacher, but she still felt that it was a possibility. Maybe next time I'll bring a picture of my classroom so she understands!) and then again when I get home in order to help with swollen ankles at the end of the day.

That's about it, I think!

Julie, the pictures below are of my chopped hair, ready to be donated, and a shot of Tiff, Aly and I paying avid attention to the LONGEST walking tour in the world in New Orleans (in which you can see the long hair).

Valentine's Day with Spawn

Dad sent some more pics of the crib, which I'm posting here.

My next appointment is Tuesday at 8. They tend to be really quick. Find the heartbeat (chase Spawn down), everything okay? great, make your next appointment... But I'm also going to be asking about the change in due date that the u/s tech recommended, and giving my best persuasive speech for another ultrasound at 24 weeks, so she can see the ventricles of the heart a little better.

Now that I recognize the odd feeling as Spawn moving around in there, I actually feel him quite a bit. Not all the time, or anything, but every once in a while. Daddy Monkey sent us flowers, but as of right now, my neighbor still has them (I was out when they were delivered and I haven't managed to catch her at home yet).

Crib

Dad has been diligently working on the crib in his frosty Woodbridge garage, and here are some pictures to prove it!

I'm not sure, but...

I think I maybe felt the baby move. It didn't feel like butterflies. Or gas bubbles. It felt like there was something in there, moving around. I felt it two times in the span of about 5 minutes, and the ways I was sitting, the band of my pants was really tight around my abdomen, so maybe he was saying, "Hey, a little room in here, if you don't mind".

Or maybe I'm going crazy and it really was just gas bubblies. Or a butterfly inside my uterus. With me, you just never know...

20w Ultrasound. Or is it 21w?

Today was the big ultrasound, and the tech said everything looked fine. She couldn't see the ventricles of the heart well, so she's recommending another ultrasound at 24 weeks. I won't complain! Not that there was a problem, she just wanted a clearer picture. Even that is up to the doc, though, they may not agree and order the next scan.

The pictures are awful, though. You can't really see anything! She was also more concerned about doing what she needed to do then actually explaining anything I was seeing. I couldn't really tell what anything was, so that was kind of sad. I guess I'm just spoiled from my 3D ultrasound, where the whole purpose was to look at my baby and ooh and ahhh!!

She did confirm that it was a boy. Her comment was "what a man!", but she probably says that to all the girls...

I asked her if my due date would be moved, and at first she said that doesn't generally happen, then when she got more measurements, she did say that my original due date (6/16) looked more like how he is measuring than the 6/25 date. But she doesn't have anything to do with changing the date, the NP/doc has to do that, but she wrote it down as a recommendation. I guess I'll find out on Feb. 17, my next appointment.

So, no new pictures :( They're just not even worth scanning in, you can't see anything. Maybe she won't be in such a mad rush at the 24w one (if it is approved). I'll definitely go back for another 3D one, though. For $60, enjoying the time looking at Spawn is worth it! (Plus much better pictures!)

Haircut and a bit o' the baby bump...

Here are some pictures of my new haircut. I haven't measured it yet to see how many inches it is, which will affect where I can donate (Locks of Love needs 10, while Great Lengths only needs 8). In the picture of the top of my head (I was trying to get the color better) you can see baby bump down under... More on Wednesday after my 20 week ultrasound!