My Baby has hair!

The first comment Spencer made about his little girl (as she was crowning for-what-felt-like-an-eternity) was "It* has lots of hair!"  True. My baby girl has lots and lots of hair!  This is surprising since I have only 4 hairs on my entire head.  I have a vanity full of overly expensive hair products that make my 4 hairs look like 10.  I've always longed for "sleeping beauty hair."  sigh.  My youngest sister Kate must have stood in the beautiful-hair-line in heaven and consequently has long thick beautiful hair the envy of all of the rest of us sisters. 

In my baby pictures I have little/no hair.  In Spencer's baby pictures he also had little/no hair.  But baby G's pictures have hair pattern similar to Aunt Kate's baby pictures.  We are crossing our fingers that she develops hair like Aunt Kate.  All except Kate who swears that it is more trouble than it is worth.  We don't believe her.  

*remember we didn't find out the sex of Baby G till she popped all of the way out.  Popped is a rather silly word in childbirth.  Replace popped with was pushed and then pulled out.  

The best moment of my life

After the nurses had gone.  After the doctor had sewn me up.  After I’d had days of consistent contractions, six hours of really hard labor and two hours of pushing.  After I’d survived natural child birth.  After I’d fainted from lack of blood.  After Spencer announced “It’s a girl!”  After the first wave of visitors had come.  After I’d spent a few hours looking at her.  After all of that…..came the best moment of my entire life. 

Unequivocally the best moment of my life.  I had never been so happy. 

It was still Baby G’s birthday.  She was 20 hours old.  All family had left and the bustling nurses settled down for the night.  For the first time since the delivery it was just the three of us.  I lay in the bed exhausted and Spencer held little G in the rocking chair by the window.  Out of the window I saw the dome of the capital building glowing against the night sky.  It was cozy.  It was intimate.  It was sweet.    

We were parents!  It hadn’t (still hasn’t) settled in.  But we were trying to get used to the idea.  I watched Spencer bounce and look at little G and he started to give her Daddy’s first lecture.  I tried to write all of the things that he said, but reconstructing the words don’t do the moment justice.  Spencer sat and rocked baby G and told her how excited we were to have her in our family and all of the fun things that we hoped to do with her.  It was so sweet.  It was so wonderful to see Spencer talking to our baby.  If I could watch video footage of my life this moment would be my top request.  I was and still am so grateful for my new little girl and my husband who helped me so much during labor and who adores our sweet baby.  Life does not get better.  

Is the Baby a Boy or Girl?

That is everyone first question when they see me waddling along.  Spencer swears I don't waddle, but I think he is just trying to stay on my good side, which is harder and harder to do the bigger and bigger I get.  


To this question I give my standard response:  "We don't know.  We decided not to find out."

You should see the looks I get.

Shock.  Horror.  Disbelief.

No one waits to find out anymore.  We asked the ultra sound technician how many people didn't find out.  He said 1 in 50.  In our Lamaze class we are the only couple (of 15 couples) who doesn't know pink or blue.  At my work there are 4 pregnant ladies.  I'm the only one with a question mark hanging over her uterus.

How can you dooooo that?  Don't you want to know so you can plan?  What about a nursery?

I can see wanting to find out if you are planning on buying lots of stuff while you are pregnant but I"m planning on buying NOTHING.  Baby is due in 20+ days and so far the baby has the following items most of which are borrowed from my little sister the birthing machine:

• bassinet - I'll get a crib later
• car seat -borrowed
• bike seat - obviously a necessity in this biking family
• breast pump - technically this belongs to me, but as we will be sharing my boobs I'll let baby share claim
• dresser - the old dresser I used as a baby
• 2 blankets - one is yellow (unisex) one is rainbow (also unisex) also belonged to me as a baby
• 1 pair of newborn jeans
• 1 bronco jersey - a gift from my sister back when we were bronco fans
• 1 adorable on the go changing kit - a present from a students mom. 
• yellow booties - also gift from students mom
• the outfit that I came home from the hospital wearing - I can't believe my mom saved it

Realistically before Baby is born I'll have to busy some things, but really I can count those on one hand.

• newborn diapers, 
• pacifier (I'm not a fan of the word binky) 
• package of onesies, 
• socks

Baby will come in the summer so I don't need to worry about warm clothing right away.

As for a nursery.....That is a future post.

As much as we want to make everything perfect for our coming babies - let's face it - a baby will sleep in a box.  It doesn't care what color the nursery is.  It doesn't care if it is wearing designer outfits.

It does care that you hold it, and rock it and love it.  For the first few weeks Baby and I are going to play recluse and get to know one another.  By that point I'll know whether or not to get pink or blue.  Also, although I realize I am being exceptionally pragmatic in this post I do hope by that point our "nursery"  will look a little less like a bike garage.  (future post.)

For us the excitement of being surprised at the birth far outweighed the advantages of finding out before so one can plan.

But the bottom line is....when it is YOUR baby....you can do whatever you want!

So what do you think?  Did all of you find out? or will you find out?  Did anyone else wait to be surprised?

I've come full circle.

I'm 35+ weeks pregnant.

I stare at myself in the mirror in disbelief all the time.   Is that REALLY my abdomen all swollen?  I'm so disproportionate.  My belly which for so long was flat even for a pregnant lady has really started to protrude lately.  I can't see my toes when I look down.

But the worst is....the tiredness is back.

Do you remember how I spent the first 20 weeks of pregnancy lying on my couch or crouched over my toilet?  No you don't remember because I didn't blog for 3 months.  Remember that?!? I tried EVERYTHING for nausea.  I slept 10+ hours a night.  I inhaled ginger.  I killed a chicken and danced with it on my head....okay well maybe not everything...

I haven't thrown up since January.   My morning sickness vanished with the night at week 20.  From week 20 to week 35 I felt great!  I had tons of energy (comparatively) I actually managed to cook dinner, keep the house clean and blog a bit.  It was great.

But now I'm back to that previous self (albeit I"m not as bad).  I'm TIRED again.  I come home and see the couch calling for me.  I go to bed at 8:30 each night.  I crawl out of bed having pushed the snooze button the MAXIMUM amount of times.  I have no energy for cooking or cleaning.

I have to remind myself.  I'm incubating a humane.

Then I think how amazing that my body can do something like that.

And I remind myself that at least I"m not nauseated.

And I only have 33 days left.

Then I'll have the cutest little baby I've ever seen.

Hurray!

Belly pictures 26 weeks!

Me and baby at 26 weeks.

After 4 months of sickness with not even a bump to show I was happy to start poking out at month 5.  I'm feeling great now that I've stopped throwing up all the time.  The baby kicks constantly.  Pregnancy in the 2nd trimester is a world of difference from the first.  The only problem is I high center when I sleep on my stomach.    Ahhh the prices mothers pay.  
P.S.  I'm flying to Germany this weekend.  Any tips on how to survive the flight?  I'm a little nervous!