Saturday, January 26, 2008

Kung Fu Baby!


We've got a little kung fu kiddie in there! One week ago, at 18 weeks, I felt Little Hittle kick for the first time! I was pretty confident that I was feeling kicks, but they are so slight that it took me a few days to be sure. Some people describe a kick as a butterfly flutter, but to me, a kick feels more like a twitch. Little Hittle seems to kick the most after I eat and in the late evening. It is so amazing - I'm still in awe of our little creation.

Today, at 19 weeks, Brian got to feel the kicks for the first time too! It was so exciting for us. Little Hittle was kicking to some music Brian was playing on Pandora. The first kick Brian felt was to Yogi's song "Weakened" which is about being weakened by love and being brought to your knees...and Little Hittle did make Brian melt...it was a fitting moment.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

The Red Bird Dream

In general, I tend to have vivid dreams. Even so, I’ve noticed that I’ve had even more elaborate, vivid dreams since becoming pregnant. Most are not noteworthy and don’t stand out to me upon waking, but occasionally they do.

I had a dream the night before last that really stuck with me. I was looking out my window and saw a large, red bird. The bird grabbed a big, yellow fruit by its beak and put the fruit into its nest which was full of other red birds. That was it… I just remember watching the scene and being almost enchanted or mesmerized by it, and then it was over. Upon waking, I kept thinking about the dream... as simple as it was, it really stayed with me. So, for kicks, I decided to check out online what the dream meant. (If you Google "dream interpretation", you'll find a bunch of sites). I looked up "bird", "red", "nest" and "fruit". Here's what my dream was about:

  • Bird: 1) Birds are usually considered a very good omen for the dreamer to receive and this is doubly true if the birds are brightly colored, singing, and flying about (sleeps.com); 2) To dream of a chirping and/or flying bird, represents joy, harmony, ecstasy, balance, and love. It denotes a sunny outlook in life. You will experience spiritual freedom and psychological liberation. It is almost as if a weight has been lifted off your shoulders (dreammoods.com).

  • Red: 1) A deep, blood red is usually a portent of good news to come. It is also the color of passion and of anger and could be a warning to stay cool and keep your temper under control (sleeps.com) ; 2) Red is an indication of raw energy, force, vigor, intense passion, aggression, power, courage and passion. The color red has deep emotional and spiritual connotations (dreammoods.com).

  • Nest: 1) To see a bird's nest in your dream, signifies comfort, safety, and protection. The dream may also symbolize new opportunities. Alternatively, it also means emotional dependency (dreammoods.com).

  • Fruit: 1) Cultivated fruit, such as an orange, is a lucky omen and promises a period of growth followed by fruition (financial gain) if it is ripe (sleeps.com); 2) : To see fruit in your dream, signifies a period of growth, abundance and financial gain. Fruits generally represent lust and sexuality (dreammoods.com).

And, I thought all it meant was that I was hungry during the night and haven't been eating enough fruit....

Monday, January 7, 2008

Ultrasound - 16 wks 2 days






Today we had another ultrasound - we love checking in on our Little Hittle! Everything went great. The heart rate was a strong 143 bpm and Little Hittle is estimated to weigh ~6 oz., which is on the large end of normal for this stage of gestation. As Brian put it, our baby is equal to "half a can of Coke"! The doctor didn't officially measure the length of the baby (since at this point they start monitoring the baby by its weight instead of its length), but the doctor estimated that the baby was measuring about 5" crown to rump, plus another couple of inches for the legs... which makes our little baby long and very skinny!

Above are a few pictures from the ultrasound. The first two are the same picture, but I labelled the second one so you would be able to tell what you are looking at. In this picture, Little Hittle is actually looking our way - the head is not a perfect profile, but rather is slightly turned in our direction. You can see both eyes, the nose, the mouth, the left ear and left cheek, etc. That's its hand up near its face, and you can also see its belly, legs, and the umbilical cord. In the third picture, you can kind of see from the side that Little Hittle was crossing his/her ankles. And, in the final picture, you can clearly see Little Hittle's left hand waving at us!

Saturday, January 5, 2008

The Beginnings of a Belly - 16 weeks



We've officially completed our fourth month and as we enter week 17, my belly is finally starting to show! It really depends on what kind of clothing I wear as to whether or not you can tell. If it's a tight shirt, I show a small bump, but if it's not tight, you still can't really tell. But, the belly is there and this picture proves it. I tend to have a smaller belly in the morning and a bigger one in the evening - strange, but true! I've gained about 6 pounds so far and my waist is now measuring about 27-28" around. I'm still feeling good, although lately I'm a bit tired and have been getting the pregnancy stuffy nose (apparently, high hormone levels soften and swell mucous membranes including those in the nose)!

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Noah's Ark Jigsaw Puzzle



My father, like his father, is a master at all types of puzzles... crossword, sodoku, jigsaw, even riddles. He can actually do the crossword puzzles where they don't give you the grid to fill in - you actually have to figure out the grid for yourself (undoubtedly the hardest type of crossword puzzle out there). While I still refuse to enter the world of crosswords, I do like other types of puzzles. So, while he and his girlfriend, Anne, came for a visit over New Year's, we bought and completed a great 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle of Noah's Ark. (Just like our Heifer Gift Ark)!

The real kicker of doing jigsaw puzzles in my family is that you're not allowed to look at the picture on the box. Aside from the 15-second glance at it on the store shelf in order to pick it, we didn't look at the picture once, which makes completing the puzzle that much more challenging and fun! You should try it that way the next time you do a puzzle. My Dad, Anne, Brian and I all contributed to the puzzle and we all liked it so much in the end that we're planning on framing it and putting it somewhere in Little Hittle's room. (Click on the image in order to see it in detail, it's really great).

Happy New Year 2008




Brian and I were so elated to ring in the new year. 2008 is going to be the beginning of a new, exciting, and perhaps sleepy chapter of our lives that we are really looking forward to. When the clock struck 12midnight, Brian showered me with kisses and had such a content look on his face. I feel really lucky - he's going to be such a great dad!

My Dad and his girlfriend, Anne, came to visit us and stayed through New Year's. We had such a wonderful time and hated to see them leave. The four of us spent New Year's Eve celebrating with the family of Brian's great high school friend, Brandon. (In the pic, Brandon is second from the left, next to his fiance Elizabeth). We love spending New Year's with them and do so every couple of years. After an evening of a lot of wine, etc. (I had the sparkling apple juice along with the kids!), we rung in the new year with a game of Texas Hold 'Em Poker. Brian and I are novices and we lost it all by about 2:30am, but since the ante was only $5, we had a lot of fun playing big and bluffing all we could!

I wish all of you have a healthy, happy, and bright New Year 2008! Now, I need to go finalize my list of resolutions...