17 Weeks!

It's hard to believe that we've already reached 17 weeks. In just a few weeks, we'll be halfway there! Wow. Better start on that nursery, huh? Today, daddy's doing schoolwork and mommy's going through maternity clothes borrowed from a friend. Maybe we'll get to the nursery in February.......

I think you can really start to see baby growing now. Take a look at this morning's shot:

We had a doctor's appointment on Thursday and it was very uneventful. Quite boring, actually. Weight, blood pressure, baby's heartbeat, done - see you next time! Next time will be a bit more fun when we have our ultrasound (we kind of miss having ultrasounds every week:)

Alysia

16 Weeks and Cross-Country Skiing

Another week has passed! Baby continues to grow and is every so slowly taking up space in my belly. That "holy cow, is that my stomach?" feeling hasn't ocurred yet -- I'll let everyone know when it does:) Here is the picture from this morning:

We got a big snowfall yesterday and took advantage of it with our first cross-country skiing expedition of the year this morning. The weather warmed up a bit and it was sunny and peaceful. Here's Mike looking pretty:

Alysia

Below Zero Degrees Weather vs. Babies 'R Us: Which is More Bearable?

As if the recent weather up here isn't bad enough, I decided to suggest going on our first trip to Babies 'R Us on a day when the low temperature was -4 degrees. This juxtaposition (fancy word, huh?) of experiences brings up an interesting question: Which is more bearable, the bitterly cold weather or a long day at Babies 'R Us? Of course, these are completely different, but it's amazing how much they have in common. Let's see how the two compare...


Weather: I can at least lay down under a pile of blankets and take a long nap since the weather eliminates the feasibility of almost all other activities.
Babies: Walking around the store and looking at 20 different versions of the same product really makes me sleepy, but I can't really fit into any of the display cribs (trust me, I tried when no one was looking), so there goes my nap.
WINNER: Weather (I really like naps).

Weather: We discovered this winter that very low temperatures cause a part on our car (might be something in power steering) to squeal very annoyingly when we take bends or when we approach idling.
Babies: Reminds me that in 5 months, a high-pitched squeal will awake me in the middle of the night, every night, for a long time...
WINNER: Weather (I can shut the car off).

Weather: Reminds me that we'll have great times this summer when the weather is beautiful.
Babies: Reminds me of all the fun we'll have after the baby is born...which is also in the summer!
WINNER: Babies (Double the fun this summer).

Weather: Shoveling 1 foot of snow in 10 degrees for 45 minutes is just about the worst way I can think of to spend my time.
Babies: Labouring for 20 minutes trying to figure out how a display model high chair folds up in the convenient, compact way that is shown on the box, while people walk by and laugh at my confusion. (This is 100% true - no exaggeration)
WINNER: Babies (If the people walking by also knew that I am an engineer and I work at Dow, I think that Weather would win...)


Well, it looks like this is a rather close contest! I think that I'll have to declare Babies 'R Us as more bearable, especially since we woke up this morning with the house at 51 degrees because a part on the furnace broke during the middle of the night. Fortunately, a technician came out first thing in the morning after I called for help, and it was a rather simple fix. (He didn't give me an exact price for the part, which makes me a little nervous...)

In all seriousness, we had a nice time yesterday thinking about the excitement of this summer and preparing for our next step in life. We also got a great deal on an Eddie Bauer outdoor swinging bassinette that was on clearance ($25)! It has an overhead solid cover for shade and a front screen cover that can be lifted up to keep bugs away. This will really come in handy when we want to enjoy sunny summer afternoons on the back porch.

Until next time...

- Mike

It's -4 degrees, Let's go Swimming!

As most folks around the country know, the arctic cold is keeping things quite frosty this week! Yesterday morning, it was -7 degrees when we left for work (we know this because we recently bought ourselves an indoor/outdoor thermometer as a form of sheer torture in the winter). Today it warmed up to -4 degrees. So, I figured it was the perfect day for a SWIM!

I've been looking for some exercise, besides walking, as I'm used to being quite active. I read that water aerobics provides great prenatal exercise, so I signed up for a pass at the local community center. I plan to try out a few different classes with the hope of taking about 3 classes per week. This morning was my first class and, as expected, I was the youngest one in the pool. I would venture a guess that the average age (besides me) was 70. Haha! Oh well..... I'll keep doing it anyways because it's good for me and baby.

15 Weeks and an Active Stomach

Here is the 15 Week picture of baby's growth:

As you can see, baby is not incredibly pronounced yet in a tell-all "bump", but seems instead to be slowly taking up room all around my mid-section. I've started wearing maternity pants this week WHICH IS WONDERFUL. No need to have more discomfort than already experienced!

They say you may start to feel the baby move sometime between 14 - 20 weeks. With your first, it's not so easy to tell if what you're feeling is really baby...... but my stomach was so active yesterday with feelings I'm not used to. Sort of like growling (without the noise) and little "pops" at random times and spots in my tummy. Hmmm.......... I'll keep paying attention to see if this was a momentous day or not - haha.

Alysia

A Challenge

I am still eating more than Alysia, but only by a small margin. She's making me put signifcant effort into maintaining my eating superiority - I'm afraid that it won't last much longer. This is, without a doubt, a challenge to my manhood. I might have to start training for a marathon just to keep my competitive apetite edge.

Alysia's eating 5 or 6 times per day, although most are "snacks" because she can't eat as much in one sitting as she used to. Most of her meals & snacks are still incredibly healthy too, like fruit, cheese, or yogurt. I'm waiting on the transition to more "typical" pregnant food like deep-fried pickes or pork rinds.

Our first visit to a nursery store (Babies 'R Us... what else?) is officially going to occur next week. Impressively, I'm the one who suggested it. I figured that mid-January in Michigan is a fine time to spend some quality time in this effort. We plan on starting our registry and scouting out a style of furniture to buy. (Since this is the first grandchild for both of our families, I think that we'll go for the high-end items!)

Wish us luck in keeping warm next week - it appears that we'll get our first "Arctic blast" of the season up here. A few days next week will have a low of about 1 degree.

Until next time...
- Mike

Weeks 13 and 14

Here are the Week 13 and 14 pictures of baby's growth. Baby is about 4 inches long now, although still hiding VERY WELL!

Alysia

Mother's Nurture?

The Christmas holiday was wonderful! We enjoyed spending time with family and friends for a week and a half. Unfortunately, the holiday presented me with my first opportunity to be "a mother". The flu, or what we formally deemed as the "Bubonic Plague" made its rounds during the entire visit with my family. One day, a cousin down...... next day, a husband down....... next day, a brother down...... Needless to say, I was not interested in falling victim. Thanks to my mother's Lysol, avoiding family members for days, my prenatal vitamins, and a "mother's nurture", I avoided the Bubonic Plague and lived to tell the story.

Here are some wonderful pictures of the holiday before the plague forced quarantine:

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday as well!

Alysia