And so we begin the final stage...

"By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels. He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world (babycenter.com)."

"Your unborn baby's survival rate outside the womb increases as each week passes. If he didn't open his eyes last week, chances are he'll take his first peek this week. Your baby-to-be's skeleton and muscles are maturing quickly. This week he can turn his head from side to side.

Most of the lanugo has disappeared at this point and your baby may have a full head of hair by now (babyzone.com)."

This is a big week for Bugaboo and Wen. Together they enter into the third trimester, which means technically he will be here in three months, but that could be give or take a few days or even weeks. Last Christmas Eve Wendy was having surgery and being told she only had an 8% chance of getting pregnant. It is amazing to know that a year later we are in the final stage of waiting for our little guy to arrive.

Preparations are being made for our baby showers, and invitations will be going out soon I'm sure. Wendy's sister, with help from my mom and Wen's mom, will be throwing us a shower for our family and some of our Visalia friends and my BFF will be throwing one for all of our friends and the dad's friends and family.

This past week Wendy had her glucose tolerance test. We have our monthly appointment next week and will get the results, but we think everything went fine. She didn't have any adverse reaction to the glucose, or the fasting, other than being hungry.

This coming week I am going to look into labor and delivery classes. Our doctor's office offers one and I hear the hospital may also offer them. I'm also going to try and work on a light exercise plan for me. I know I am really out of shape and I need to get my act into gear to be ready to care for a newborn.

It seems like everything is happening so quickly now and there is no time to put anything off. Any and all loose ends need to be tied up so we are prepared for our life to be turned upside down. This is a little daunting to an O.C.D., control freak, but I'm learning meditation and doing some writing for me to keep me centered.

That's my week 28 report other than Bugaboo and mom are doing really well. The baby moves around a lot, and it's obvious that he is running out of room. Wen is doing fine other than dealing with the pregnancy rash that I talked about last week. It really itches, but luckily it mostly affects her in the evening so she isn't having to deal with it at work. Mom and baby are healthy and we couldn't ask for more.

Your Mission If You Choose To Accept...

You may remember my short lived love affair with pomegranate 7 up last year. I blogged about it here.

Well a couple of weeks ago we found it again at our local Save Mart. This was well before Thanksgiving and pay day so we only purchased one bottle. We figured there would be plenty of time to get more, but yet again we jinxed ourselves. Pomegranate 7 up is nowhere to be found. We've looked at every grocery store, drug store, and at Target. Was this a fluke? Is it not being made this year and Save Mart only teased us with leftover bottles from last season?

I am enlisting you my readers. This challenge is yours. Help me locate a stockpile of my most treasured sparkly beverage, which goes great with a little Malibu rum, and in turn I will provide you with a holiday gift of equal value.

Now to the rules and regulations and yada, yada, ya:

You must be of Pomegranate 7 up drinking age (who are we kidding, anyone can drink this stuff) and able to understand the true value of this soda. You must be able to provide me with the location of the largest display of aforementioned beverage so that I may stockpile for the next year (suggesting I go to 7 up headquarters does not count, this must be a a store in Fresno CA). Family members and friends are free to enter. I don't care who finds my syrupy red drink as long as I get it. The Grand Prize Winner (and only winner) goes to the first one to provide me with the name and location where I can purchase the most bottles. Grand Prize Winner will receive one holiday goody from me. All entries can be left as a comment on this post. There is Pomegranate 7 up to be found and recovered! Happy hunting.

Dinner with Santa

So tonight the wife and I decide to treat ourselves to a dinner out since we're sad about her going back to work after her week long Thanksgiving vacation. We go to a familiar Mexican joint called Sal's that has about the best Mexican food in town. We haven't been seated long when we spot this outside in the outdoor seating. It's blurry because I didn't have my paparazzi camera with me, but that is santa downing a brewskie and filling up on chips and salsa. He was accompanied by a very incognito Mrs. Clause who had dyed her hair brown to fit in. You could tell she wasn't happy being recognized because she kept her head down and hidden even as they walked through the restaurant to leave. Who can blame her really? Santa gets all the credit, everyone loves him. Mrs. Clause is just an after thought. We don't even know her name. All we know is that she's married to Santa.

Any way, apparently it's a lot hotter here than the North Pole because Santa was wearing Bermuda shorts with his flannel shirt and Birkenstocks. Evidentially Santa is also having some circulation problems because he had on his knee high compression stockings as well.

Santa and Mrs. Clause drove off in a 50's model Chevy truck. Here's the really interesting thing. In the tail bed he had some tools, but also 2 huge bottles of Clorox bleach. What's Santa cleaning up? Sounds like a good Dexter episode to me.

Bugaboo is a whole 2 pounds

Bugaboo is growing, and moving, and causing some new pregnancy symptoms. He is about 14 1/2 inches long and weighs 2 pounds, which is about how much a head of cauliflower weighs.

Babycenter.com says, "He's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and perhaps even sucking his fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if he were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother him, so just relax and enjoy the tickle". Babyzone.com says, "Your baby's lungs and brain are beginning to mature. Although he'd have a good chance of survival if he were born now, he could use a few more weeks of growing. Added layers of fat are continuing to form. These layers will help your baby regulate his temperature once outside the womb and help keep him warm".

So as much as mommy would love the chance to meet him, I am happy to let him stay in the oven a little longer. Today we officially reached under the 100 day mark with 99 days left until our due date. I also realized that Bugaboo's due date is exactly one week before Wendy's birthday. I have a feeling we'll be celebrating a little differently this year. Hopefully we'll be dealing with sleepless nights and gazing at our newborn. Mommy couldn't wait any longer past March 15th, ugh.

Tonight Bugaboo had one of grandma and grandpa's famous oranges. They have been in our family for years. He must have liked them because he was kicking away after having one. It's weird how before he is even born we can carry over family traditions.

Bugaboo has brought on a new symptom this week. Wen has received the dreaded hormonal rash. It is mostly on her torso, but also on her hands. It is small bumps that itch worse than anything and her hands feel like they are on fire along with the itch. It is completely normal and happens to 1 in like 160 pregnancies. You can't really do anything for it other than use topical creams and lotions. The good thing is once she delivers the symptoms will subside. The bad news is she has somewhere around 99 days left to deal with the itch.

This week we also celebrated our last Thanksgiving before Bugaboo arrives. I'm anticipating holidays looking a lot differently next year. We have always said we don't want to tote our kids all over making multiple stops so we are talking about having holidays at our house. It may be tight with the move, but the important thing is having all the family together with our new son. We shall see what the future holds. For now we'll manage getting through this holiday season with a wife getting closer and closer to delivery and a move on the horizon.

26 Weeks and Full of Dreams

A lot is going on with Bugaboo in week 26. Babycenter.com says, "The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel". Babyzone.com says, "This week your baby-to-be opens his eyes for the first time. He'll open and shut his eyes as he gets used to his new ability. Your little one is still on the small side. His body may look fully formed on the outside, but inside there's fine-tuning taking place, including his lungs and his brain. Your unborn baby still has some growing to do"!

Pregnancy is in full bloom in our house. Wen looks pregnant, she has cravings, there are movies that are just not allowed to be watched in this house right now....hehehehe. Yes, I know, most spouses would find it wearing to indulge a wife's pregnancy cravings or turn a movie off because it's too emotional, but I'm loving every minute of it. For me it is the external part of pregnancy that I can experience with Wendy. Last night as the baby was kicking she lifted her shirt a little and I was able to see him kicking away. What a beautiful sight. This week Bugaboo will start opening his eyes, he's becoming stronger and stronger, and you can't help but look at his little face and admire the life God has brought into being.

We had brunch with the dads today and I imagined us sitting there oooing and awing over our son together, later introducing him to the fine taste of portuguese chorizo (linguica), and eventually watching a Sunday football game with him. We have been blessed with a beautiful family and I can't wait for our son to join us and make it complete.

Just some thoughts and dreams of a soon-to-be-mom.

Bugaboo is 13 & 1/2", wow!

This week Wendy is in week 25 of her pregnancy. Here is what pregnancy.baby-gaga.com says is going on this week: "Your little grower’s physical proportions are evening out at this point and most of their remaining development will largely be weight gain and lots and lots of nervous system development. The good news is: if your child is born premature now they’ll be more likely to survive without too much trauma as their lungs began to produce “surfactant” last week, which means their tiny respiratory system is getting stronger with each passing day. Yes, now’s a good time for a minor sigh of relief and a quick pat on the back. All that hard work and conscientious living is really getting your child prepared for a healthy delivery. Keep up the fabulous work mama! This week they’ll be scootching slowly out of the old breech position and start rotating (already!) into a better position for exit during their birth. Their head and feet are slowly rotating so that the head is pointed down towards the birth canal. Time is short (or really long, depending on who you ask)—just (still!) 14 weeks left before you can go back to being a single-resident human".

I'm sharing a new picture with you that was captured last week after a brief scare we had on Wednesday. We were out registering at Target with the dads and Wen started having some abnormal pains in her abdomen. Later that evening Bugaboo wasn't moving as much as normal so we called the doc. She had us do kick counts and that was fine so we had a follow up appointment Thursday morning. During the exam the heartbeat was strong and the doc thought Wen's cervix was fine, but she sent us for an ultrasound just to be safe. We had the ultrasound a little later that afternoon and got to see the little boy who had caused such concern. He was swimming around and yawning acting like nothing ever happened. We saw the doc yesterday and found out that Wen's cervix is above average. Everything is going as it should and we are all breathing a huge sigh of relief.

This week Wen has started having the heartburn and back pain that is normal in the stage of pregnancy. Now we just need to find some solutions to her pain. She can take Tums and Prevacid for the heartburn and we'll start working the pillows to give extra support.

We are also closer to finalizing our baby showers. I think we have the dates now so that is one less thing to worry about. Now just to take some time to stop and breath and revel in the miracle we are experiencing, like our last holiday without kids. Oh how things will change next year!

Bugaboo reaches almost 12 inches!

"Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon (babycenter.com)."

The other thing that babycenter.com says is that we are only 4 weeks away from the third trimester, only 4 weeks away from the last 1/3 of the pregnancy. This second trimester is just flying by. Tonight we went to Babies R Us and finished our registry. We still need to register at Target for some things, but the bulk of registering is done. Soon it will be the holidays, then baby showers, and somehow we'll blink our eyes and we'll be stepping into delivery. Everyone always says how quickly a pregnancy goes and you don't believe them until you are questioning where time has gone. I'm doing my best to help keep us organized and on top of things so we are prepared. That is mommy B's job; not as hard as pregnancy, but it has its stress producers as well.

Wendy is doing well. In a week she will go back to the doc and it will be time for her glucose tolerance test. We're not worried though because she has had good sugar levels throughout the pregnancy so far.

Daily I look at her in profile and I'm filled with butterflies. I feel so blessed to have found the love of my life and to have our baby on the way. We have two of the best dads you could ask for for our son and an excited and welcoming family to boot. We've come a long way in the five years we have been together.