33 Weeks: Wow!

I've been a delinquent blogger lately, but life has been just crazy enough to completely consume my quickly declining energy stores! I'm going to do a catch-up post very soon. For now, though, the update from babycenter.com:

"This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood."

First of all, excusez-moi, but sweet Baby Andrew never looked like an alien. Just so we're clear.

Second, a pineapple! Yay! That's more like it!

Third, Dr. G says my tummy is measuring ahead of schedule, so we may have more than a 4-pounder on our hands already. And he says Andrew's still breech, which I knew, since his perfect, non-alien-like head pokes out, just under my rib cage (it's kind of nice to be able to pat his little head). Dr. G said that if Jacob were conducting an office pool with bets on delivery day, he would now have strong insider information favoring December 16. But we'll see; maybe Andrew has a tiny bit of procrastination in him, like his mama. Flip, baby, flip!

32 Week Update

Yesterday we hit 32 weeks. It's starting to sink in how close we're getting!!!

Babycenter.com has the following update on Baby Andrew's progress:

"By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb."

Seems like we've pretty much gotten to the point where weight gain is the name of the game. I'm doing my part!

*Tight* Being the Operative Word

It's legitimately cold up here now...39 degrees, as I type. So my maternity dress wardrobe now requires the addition of maternity tights. Dum da dum dum dum. The idea of maternity tights is all well and good, but I have a bit of advice for those of you who may not have had the pleasure yet of needing maternity tights in your third trimester: look for the package with the label "Magic Elf Included for Easy Product Application!" Otherwise, if your husband has already left for work (or if you have an ounce of dignity left and would prefer not to have him hoist your hoisery for you), you'll be left rolling around on the bed, trying to find a position from which your hands can reach your toes with sufficient room for manipulation of said product. This is surprisingly much harder than you might think. And tends to leave aforementioned 3rd trimester-er panting for, say, a good five minutes.

***Edited to add: From the comments left in response to this post, it appears that I left the impression that such a thing as a tights assistant magic elf actually exists. If only! As Sarah Palin would say, I guess that was my lame attempt at a joke. :)

31 Weeks!

Courtesy of Babycenter.com:

"This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy."

Yes, Baby Andrew is definitely moving a lot--bouncing off the walls, in fact. I try to visualize what movements he is actually making in there, but it's hard to imagine how he moves so quickly and in so many different directions! I think we're going to have a boisterous little boy on our hands--and I can't wait!

Below is the newest picture I have of Baby. He was exactly 28 weeks gestation when it was taken--I've been waiting on the in-house engineer (Jacob) to install our new printer/scanner, so I could post it. Isn't he cute? The curly-cue think you see in the background is the umbilical cord. Pretty cool, huh?

I returned to the doctor Monday, since I'm now on the 2-week visit rotation. Dr. G took another peek at Andrew and he's still breech. Chances of a flip are now about 30%, so it's looking more and more like December 16 will be the day!

In mommy news, Dr. G sent me to an orthopedist to check out the intense back pain I've been having the past few months. The orthopedist has put me in physical therapy, and I'm very hopeful that this will make the difference!

Lily's First Four Days

I promised lots of pictures of little Lily, and I'm delivering! We'll start from the beginning.

Charles, announcing the birth of his daughter, Lillian Rose, to the throngs waiting at the hospital door. Aunts, cousins, siblings, parents and grandmothers all rejoiced!

The newly minted grandmothers start the calling tree and admire the pictures of Lily that Charles brought out on his camera.

A while later, the adoring masses are let in to see the littlest Sullivan. And she is SO cute! And so pink! And so tiny!


The happy couple, enjoys their new addition!

The new parents let us all take turns holding the baby. Grandmamas first!

And then the granddaddies!

And then I got a turn!

And we pretty much spent the rest of day one just watching Lily breathe and squirm and cry and sleep. It was wonderful in every way!

Day two was just as much fun! Charles and Kimberly were old pros by this point.

Lily and I enjoyed a very productive burping session.

And we all spent a lot of time just watching Lily be angelic. Aren't those just the biggest eyes you've ever seen on a baby?!

On day three, it was time to move out. Mommy and baby were ready to go!

Look how she curls up her little hands!

Pink Lily Rose!

You might say Lily didn't particularly enjoy being strapped into her infant carrier. After a 9-month stay at the spa, who can blame her?

But once she was safe and sound and snuggly, all was well.

Set to go! Strange as it seems, the arrangement below is hospital protocol for the departure.

Those hands!

Charles and Kimberly report that night three was spent awake...in its entirety. But by the time we visited this afternoon, Lily was peacefully slumbering away. Let's hope she'll give her parents a little more of this tonight!

The Big 3-0

Baby update, courtesy of babycenter.com:

"Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and he weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds him, but that volume will decrease as he gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. His eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after he's born, he'll keep his eyes closed for a good part of the day. When he does open them, he'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means he can only make out objects a few inches from his face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)"

Having read this, I made sure to get real close to little Lily's face this morning to give her a big smile from her Aunt Elizabeth. :)

Welcome to the World, Lillian Rose!

Charles' and Kimberly's beautiful baby girl, Lillian Rose, made her way into the world yesterday morning at 10:47. Lily's a tiny little thing at 5 pounds, 12 ounces and 19 inches long. But she's just perfect and has the sweetest face! Mommy and baby are both doing well. Many pictures to follow later. Congratulations to my brother and sister-in-law!!!

Let's Go, CAPS!

Last year, Jacob and I became big fans of the Washington Capitals, the NHL team that plays home games about a block from our building. And now hockey season is here again!


My firm has tickets on the club level that they let attorneys use, if they don't get used for clients, so we've enjoyed many games from these very seats!

The Caps had a great season last year and even made it to the playoffs for the Stanley Cup, but for some reason, every game we attended was a loss. We went to an exhibition game Friday night and finally saw a victory! It was a good one, too: 5-1. Yay! It's good to know we aren't bringing the bad luck.

And if kicking is any indication, the littlest Caps fan loved his first game!

Happy birthday, Jamie!

Happy birthday to sweet Jamie Marie! Hope you have a wonderful day and a very happy year!

Movin' Right Along

We've now hit 29 weeks! From babycenter.com:

"Your baby is growing rapidly now. This week he weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is getting bigger to accommodate his growing brain — which is busy developing billions of neurons. Every day, about 200 milligrams of calcium is deposited in your baby's skeleton, which is now hardening. With this rapid growth, it's no surprise that your baby's nutritional needs reach their peak during this trimester."

Wow! That's a lot of baby! No wonder my tummy sometimes feels like it's going to bust right open!

Give me an "A"! Give me an "N"!...

I'd been eyeing some painted wooden letters to spell out Andrew on the wall of the nursery, but they seemed awfully high-priced for what they are, so on Sunday, Jacob and I set out for the Michael's in Northern Virginia. I was delighted to find plain, white wooden letters, just the size I wanted, and with A,N,D,R,E, and W all available (you know how hard that part is sometimes)!



I grabbed the letters and a few new paints, and got settled in at home for a good ol' craft project! Here they are with their new base colors applied:

And here they are post-polka dotting!

I'm really pleased with how they turned out. They just need one more coat of varnish and they'll be ready for hanging!

Ode to a Bellybutton Lost

What was a hole before—
‘Tisn’t anymore.

Where there used to be a dent—
Now there isn’t.

The button of my belly’s gone flat—
Not sure what I think about that!