5 months and a little bit of attitude

Maggie reached a new milestone today:  defiance.  All day today she was cantankerous and proud of it.  For the last two weeks, this little girl has LOVED her rice cereal, but today it took me three different attempts to get her to eat it.  Thanks to a week of antibiotics for her poor little UTI, she's learned to spit out medicine (and now rice cereal) and turn her head away to avoid my approaching syringe or spoon.  All the while, she is looking right into my eyes with a wry little smile. 

Her other new trick is to make an L-shape with her body and her legs while on the changing table or in her crib.  (This position is not so new. See picture from mid-February.)  She then slams her legs down over and over again and can't help but smile and coo at her own latest amusement.  This is not so funny when I'm trying to administer meds to her diaper area (also thanks to the antibiotics her flora is imbalanced).  She seems to favor her left hand, although I know this can change over the next several months/years.  So while I am trying to calm her crazy legs, she figured out that she can take her left hand to touch her feet and then naturally decided to "help" me spread the diaper cream.  Eesh!  And all this bouncy leg movement seems to get things moving for her.  I went through 3 diapers in 5 minutes and countless wipes as I *attempted* to clean her hands of the diaper cream before she decided to put them anywhere else on her body.

Buddy and Sadie have really begun to enjoy the baby.  They know better than to play with her toys, but are really interested in Maggie.  On Saturday Maggie was giving Sadie some pets on her face (and eyes, ears and nose) in a very gentle and sweet manner.  I couldn't believe she was so deliberate.  And then...she grabbed Sadie's neck.  We're lucky Sadie's been around kids forever and were thankful that she just sat there patiently while we gave Mags the old "no."  And Buddy who is normally wild is really mellow around the baby and even put his nose and front paws on the bed the other day before jumping up to see where Maggie was sitting.  After he jumped up on the bed, I gave him a few snaps to get on the other side of me.  Wonder of wonders, he jumped off the bed and walked around to the other side, jumped up and settled down.  For those of you that haven't witnessed the "storm before the calm," this is excellent behavior for BudBud.  One day, we'll get that on camera.  I should also note that my family, specifically my sisters and my mom are very nervous about the dogs getting close to the baby.  I hope that by writing about this now, I ward off any ill-fated dog-baby stories.

Finally, Maggie and I were on the 5 o'clock and the 6 o'clock news tonight on NBC.  We were interviewed about the unsolicited newspaper subscriptions that our neighborhood receives from a local Spanish publisher.  It's a total waste of paper, printing supplies and marketing $$$.  Even if they're recycled, it's superfluous from the get go.  While we are home, she is very vocal and emotive.  When we are out to eat, grocery shopping or trolling the mall, she is very quiet and enjoys looking around.  At this point, I'll count my blessings.

Easter Bunny

Thanks for the Easter Bunny for Maggie!  She loves it!  See you in a week or so.  

She had her 4 month checkup today and is now 12lbs. 9oz.  

Just 2 days to go! I posted some photos here because I cannot post to Kodak from my work computer (and I can't use our home computer at present). We took these on Sunday night and hope you enjoy! Still feeling great and enjoying the last days of the pregs.

I go in tomorrow for my 40 week checkup and the doctor will tell me when we'll induce if I've not gone into labor already. Getting the house ready for the baby and for Christmas has been so much fun. We bought our tree this weekend and are planning to finish all of the holiday decorating ASAP!

Week 32, 4 days

I had my 32 week checkup today, a few days early. The baby wasn't moving around like normal, so I called the doctor for some reassurance yesterday and did my kick counts. She asked that I confirm that I had 15 kicks in 30 minutes. The kicks were so much softer yesterday, but I could feel them. But again this morning, all of the movement was very subtle. I called again today and the nurse said the doctor was in surgery all day, but that they'd get me in for a biophyscial and a non-stress test.

When I went in at 2:00 PM today, they immediately did a sonogram and discovered that this little baby is breech! I think there is still ample time and hopefully enough room for the baby to turn, so not to worry.

http://www.babycenter.com/0_biophysical-profile_1276703.bc

We could see the baby's full belly (a good eater) and the baby's mouth opening and closing for breathing. Our little one is measuring 4lbs, 3oz and is in the 26th percentile for growth. I'm so happy I went in--I knew something was different, but I couldn't know what! After the sono, they hooked me up to a heart rate monitor with the clicker. Jeff so sweetly held the monitor in place as the little bugger kept moving around. I had to click the button each time I felt movement. Overall the babe scored a 10 out of 10 for the biophysical, but at least I know now what these new movements feel like. Even when they were doing the sono and we could see the baby moving its arms and legs, I couldn't feel anything. So, it must just be the baby's orientation.

On a side note, they still are showing my due date as 12/11. I like 12/10 better, since they told me that first... :)

98 Days to Go

I can't believe I'm under 100 days. With *only* 98 days to go, I suppose it's time to kick into gear on all the pending items. We're working a little bit at a time to get things ready, but this latest milestone will get things moving even faster.

I'm 26 weeks today and still feeling great. Jeff is in Kansas today and tomorrow. He's not been traveling as much, but does head to Madison this week. We also start our kitchen work next week on Monday. This will add a little extra stress, but as with the baby, the end result will be fabulous.

Facebook has captured some of my time last night. A friend of mine is now on there and it's fun to connect up with friends and family all in one place. I just can't commit to updates here or on my facebook page. I really need to post some photos. Maybe later.

August Update

This month, the baby had many in utero firsts, including the CU/CSU game watch party tonight. So many kicks! I'm sure the baby will be a fan. We also went for a long bike ride today on a paved trail and hung out by the pool. Everything is still moving along smoothly. I had my 24 week appointment this week (moved from last week) and the heart rate was at 156. I'm not sure if I believe that above 140 indicates a girl; everyone is telling me it's gotta be a boy with the way I'm carrying. Apparently, I don't look any different from the back, only the baby up front.

We were in CA for a quick weekend visit for Becky's birthday and to see Larry & Liann who were visiting from Washington. Such a great time! We swam more at my parents house that we have all summer. The weather was so nice and it was calming to be away from the busy pace of Dallas. Becky gave me a suitcase full of maternity clothes, which is so nice for the next few months.

The dogs are great. Last night we were visiting with Alan & Rita and their twin boys who will be 3 on October 10th. As the boys ran around on the hardwoods, Buddy was very barky. He'll have a lot to get used to with all of the baby noises. Sadie on the other hand is still pretty mellow. We bought them a new crate that has 2 doors. This will work perfectly for the new kitchen and laundry area where they'll have their own little carve out area that this crate will fit into just so.

The kitchen remodel begins on September 8th and should be finished by Thanksgiving. We're keeping our fingers crossed. For the baby, we're 101 days away from the due date. Lisa delivers on the 12th of September and Becky is due October 15th. Lots of timeline to track! Until next month!

Catching Up

Today is Jeff's birthday. He's so excited to be a dad. :)

Must be better about posting! I've just past the half-way mark last Wednesday and had my 20 week ultrasound. Everything is progressing just perfectly. I never experienced any morning sickness, trouble sleeping, heartburn, etc. Oh how nice this will be if this easiness continues! Up until last week, I had felt the tell tale flutters that our baby is moving around, but just at just about 20 weeks, I could feel more of a kick. I tried to get Jeff to feel it, but of course, the Bean wasn't up for performing. I suppose the defiance starts early!

We've mapped out the baby's room, but haven't really moved any heavy pieces around. We put the my desk/sewing table into the office with the other desk to make room for the crib. We also bought a glider for the nursery. I think I might like that more than the baby will like it!

It's so hot in Texas; we almost broke a record yesterday from 1924. We hit 105, but the record was 106. Today is also supposed to reach 105.

I've not really had any food aversions or cravings yet either. I'm not generally a sweets person, more savory, but I've been more open to little treats from time to time. And I really enjoyed having a virgin bloody Mary, but I've always liked tomato juice.

That's it for now. I'll commit to posting more regularly my thoughts and pics. Enjoy!