Baby's Day Out (29 weeks)

28 weeks down, 12 to go!

Baby and belly are getting bigger! Baby is about 2 1/4 pounds and 15 or 16 inches long! Baby is in the peak moving stage these days--very obvious to mom, dad, and anyone who puts their hand on the belly. A lot of the movement is stretching arms and legs out, evidenced by elbows and feet visibly protruding out of the belly! Little Foot is going to get too big for his/her space soon and the movement will calm down then. Sometime soon Baby should figure out whether he/she wants to be head down (vertex--this is the right way for babies to come out) or feet/butt down (breech--this is the wrong way for babies to come out). Then Little Foot will most likely stay in that position for the rest of the pregnancy, just kicking and punching to remind us he/she is there.

We are continuing to accumulate a pile of baby stuff in our bedroom. It now includes a stroller and a bathtub, a bunch of clothes and blankets, a musical giraffe, and a couple of toys. Soon it will have to be split into two piles when we can't open our closet door anymore. We are expecting to add a giant pile of cloth diapers to it soon. Our medical school class is hosting a baby shower for us on April 27th and they are pooling together to purchase all the cloth diapers we will ever (hopefully!) need! If you want to see the fancy-schmancy diapers we are going to be using, check out www.cottonbabies.com. The diapers are called bumGenius! one-size diapers. We think they are pretty sweet. And Cotton Babies is a neato company run by a mom and dad who love cloth diapering. My favorite thing about their company is that they support overseas missionaries who have young kiddos by giving diaper grants to them. How cool is that?! Anyway, check out our awesome diapers.

Mom: The picture above on the right is what I see looking down at my feet. I actually have to lean over to see my feet a little bit. That is a new development.

I am amazed at how strong Little Foot is these days! He/she seems to like stretching out and then staying that way. I do a lot of "encouraging" him/her to move over (translation: pushing back to make the big lump go away). :) At night when I wake up Little Foot is usually awake too, making it hard to go back to sleep sometimes. I haven't been sleeping very well for the past few weeks--I usually wake up at least once or twice and have a hard time falling asleep again. I suppose this is just getting me ready for many sleepless nights with a crying hungry baby...

Yesterday we went to a friend's birthday party where there were 4 babies under 4 months and 2 pregnant ladies! I guess it's the age when people start to have babies (though admittedly we are the youngest of our friends in Duluth who are having a baby, so don't worry St. Olaf or med school friends--you're not behind schedule). It was so funny with all these babies around, moms breastfeeding in the living room, carseats overflowing in the porch, and diaper changing left and right. Hard to believe this will be us in less than 3 months! Perhaps we'll have to start a countdown one of these days.

For those of you who are interested: I have gained 15 pounds so far. This is right on track--I am supposed to gain 15 pounds in the first and second trimesters. We enter the third trimester this week! The home stretch (or at least the last 1/3 of the pregnancy) is here!

Dad: Meanwhile, while all the preggos were chatting it up inside, the boys were out playing and grilling. I can't wait to spend our last summer in Duluth in this fashion. We will have 2 and a half months "off" starting July 7th when our affections will shift from medicine to some much needed R & R. So feel free to drop in anytime if you're not afraid of Baby.

By the way, the delicious looking cheesecake in the photos above is homemade by our favorite neighbor Svetlana who hails all the way from the Ukraine and just happens to be a pastry chef! She likes to bake us little nuggets of goodness periodically, and we are happy to take them off her hands for her (and put them in our bellies! and on our bellies, hips, butts, etc...)

Well, spring has sprung and its time to get out!

April in Duluth - 26 1/2 weeks

When I say April, what do you think of? April showers? Spring flowers? Young lovers skipping through the park? Pick-up games of ultimate frisbee? 10 inches of new blowing snow!?

Thats right, just when we were preparing to welcome the blooming of the early spring crocuses, we get hammered with a heavy cover of white. We have already put the snowshoes and shovels in the basement! Whats the deal!?

Sorry to all of you who have been anxiously awaiting new belly pictures. We took a break from posting them so Kristi's family would be surprised, which they were, but as you can see above, now we're back in full force. As Kristi's belly continues to grow and defy gravity, we are all loving to feel the baby moving, hear the heartbeat, and play the musical giraffe for Baby. We recently received a "fetoscope" from our doctor here in Duluth. Its an ancient piece of obstetrical equipment that docs used to use to hear Baby's heartbeat back in the day before the doppler machines (the electronic heartbeat monitor). It looks like a regular stethescope, but the bell of it is connected to a tube that leads to the doctor's forehead. It is supposed to enhace the sound and allow the doc to "hear" the heartbeat transmitted through the bones of his/her head. But I have to say that one looks ridiculous using it! (We'll post pictures later).

Baby is almost 2 pounds now and 14 1/2 inches long. We are approaching the beginning of the third trimester (in a couple weeks) and Baby is working on putting some meat on those bones, but he/she isn't too preoccupied with growing the length much these days (pretty much the same thing Kristi is up to!).