16 weeks
Today, my baby has reached the size of an avocado, my all-time favorite fruit, at 4 1/2 inches long from head to rump (really, is there no better term than rump?). Another source says he/she is already 7 inches head to heel, like a carrot. A CARROT baby!
The growth is clearly happening as my belly continues to grow like crazy. See?
I kinda love it.
Our baby is apparently looking more and more human each day, according to the weekly newsletters I receive. That's nice to hear. Baby's legs are finally longer than his/her arms, the ears have moved to the side of the head (they were on the neck), and eyes have positioned themselves from the sides of the head to the front of the face. Woah. I never knew these body parts started out growing elsewhere, and that kind of weirds me out. Talk about miracle of life.
I'm about at the point where I can't sleep on my stomach anymore, which depresses me as it's my favorite way to sleep. My second favorite is on my back, which is also a no-no, so I'm trying my hardest to get used to side sleeping. It's not going so great, but a pillow at my side does help.
Jon and I have started talking baby names, which is a daunting task. The pressure of naming another being for the rest of their life, from an endless list of options! Fortunately, we agreed on a boy's name when baby was a mere thought. But the girl's name is not proving to be so easy. I have a name that I just absolutely adore, but Jon isn't thrilled by it. He has one that I don't like. So instead, our conversations are utterly unproductive and ridiculous and go like this (which Mandy was (un)fortunate to witness):
J: Why don't we name her Mary Jane? We can go with a marijuana theme (our last name relates to cannabis).
L: Um, no way.
J: Why not? Or how about Coke? Coke <our last name> sounds great! It'll be unique.
L: long eye roll
J: Pepsi! Or maybe Mt Dew? I love Dew.
L: Please just let me name our girl what I want to name her (if she's a her)!!
If you don't know my husband and think he is serious, he's not. But beyond vetoing my favorite choice, we haven't made much progress. Guess I should stop talking to baby using that name I love, though I am stubborn enough to think that I'll win him over on it eventually. Another name conversation days later he suggested the same name as my aunt's dog, which is cute and totally a human name but just not for me, so then naturally came Buddie (my childhood dog). Backstory, we were told we had purchased a male dog, so we named it Buddy and never looked at the "parts." Much to our surprise, the vet a couple days later told us he was in fact a she, so Buddie with an "ie" it was. (Embarrassing. Lesson learned, check the gender yourself). But yeah, no...my baby girl, if she exists, will not be named Buddie.
Someday we may make it to actual serious conversations about this, otherwise I totally call naming rights after I deliver.
In other baby-related news, we started cleaning out what will be baby's nursery, and I wore my first maternity (belly-hugging) shirt. It's all starting to get really real. Where are we going to put all of our stuff that was stored in that room?? It's times like this I wish we had a basement.
I realized today that this blog has totally become my pregnancy journal. I guess that's ok, as it's always been my place to document stories and occasions. I shouldn't worry if it bores anyone because I'm doing it for my own benefit and frankly you could stop reading if you hated it. The sharing it with others part DOES keep me accountable to doing it, as my drawer of half empty journal notebooks would attest. So here I am.
The growth is clearly happening as my belly continues to grow like crazy. See?
I kinda love it.
Our baby is apparently looking more and more human each day, according to the weekly newsletters I receive. That's nice to hear. Baby's legs are finally longer than his/her arms, the ears have moved to the side of the head (they were on the neck), and eyes have positioned themselves from the sides of the head to the front of the face. Woah. I never knew these body parts started out growing elsewhere, and that kind of weirds me out. Talk about miracle of life.
I'm about at the point where I can't sleep on my stomach anymore, which depresses me as it's my favorite way to sleep. My second favorite is on my back, which is also a no-no, so I'm trying my hardest to get used to side sleeping. It's not going so great, but a pillow at my side does help.
Jon and I have started talking baby names, which is a daunting task. The pressure of naming another being for the rest of their life, from an endless list of options! Fortunately, we agreed on a boy's name when baby was a mere thought. But the girl's name is not proving to be so easy. I have a name that I just absolutely adore, but Jon isn't thrilled by it. He has one that I don't like. So instead, our conversations are utterly unproductive and ridiculous and go like this (which Mandy was (un)fortunate to witness):
J: Why don't we name her Mary Jane? We can go with a marijuana theme (our last name relates to cannabis).
L: Um, no way.
J: Why not? Or how about Coke? Coke <our last name> sounds great! It'll be unique.
L: long eye roll
J: Pepsi! Or maybe Mt Dew? I love Dew.
L: Please just let me name our girl what I want to name her (if she's a her)!!
If you don't know my husband and think he is serious, he's not. But beyond vetoing my favorite choice, we haven't made much progress. Guess I should stop talking to baby using that name I love, though I am stubborn enough to think that I'll win him over on it eventually. Another name conversation days later he suggested the same name as my aunt's dog, which is cute and totally a human name but just not for me, so then naturally came Buddie (my childhood dog). Backstory, we were told we had purchased a male dog, so we named it Buddy and never looked at the "parts." Much to our surprise, the vet a couple days later told us he was in fact a she, so Buddie with an "ie" it was. (Embarrassing. Lesson learned, check the gender yourself). But yeah, no...my baby girl, if she exists, will not be named Buddie.
Someday we may make it to actual serious conversations about this, otherwise I totally call naming rights after I deliver.
In other baby-related news, we started cleaning out what will be baby's nursery, and I wore my first maternity (belly-hugging) shirt. It's all starting to get really real. Where are we going to put all of our stuff that was stored in that room?? It's times like this I wish we had a basement.
I realized today that this blog has totally become my pregnancy journal. I guess that's ok, as it's always been my place to document stories and occasions. I shouldn't worry if it bores anyone because I'm doing it for my own benefit and frankly you could stop reading if you hated it. The sharing it with others part DOES keep me accountable to doing it, as my drawer of half empty journal notebooks would attest. So here I am.
This is the perfect place for you to document your pregnancy! I love reading it and certainly don't find it boring! I can just imagine the conversations you both are having about names...it's not easy but something will just click when the time is right (and perhaps that will be the girl's name you love!!). J just might need time to warm up to it! :)
ReplyDeleteLooking great!!!! (P.s. Who told you you couldn't sleep on your back anymore? Or is it just uncomfortable?)
ReplyDeleteMy OB. Apparently it's not advisable after 1st tri...weight of uterus can rest on major vein and restrict blood flow to baby or from my lower body to heart. It's ok if I accidentally lay that way a little in sleep but I should get in habit of side sleeping anyways. It might be way precautionary.
DeleteI remember that precaution but didn't think it started that early...huh, so funny how advice differs from OB to OB! I'm learning something new every day!
DeleteYeah, there's all sorts of differing opinions and recommendations out there for sure!
DeleteI love reading these! I even read your conversation part aloud to Pat and we were both laughing!
ReplyDeleteYay! I just caught up on all of your recent posts. I love when blogs turn into pregnancy journals. I did that with Isla and then dropped the ball with Brev. I regret not being able to go back and read all about my pregnancy with him! Oh well.
ReplyDeleteI'm a stomach sleeper too and I had such a difficult time getting comfortable. Just wait until your belly is enormous and getting in and out of bed is like a 10 step process! ;) Oh, and it is possible to talk husbands into names they don't like. Andy really hated the name Isla at first... Otherwise Babycenter has a name feature where you can type in a name you like and get names that are similar. Maybe that would be a good compromise if you are both struggling to agree. Good luck!!