The Grays

I measure about 13 1/2 inches from head to heels and weigh a pound and a half – about the size of a rutabaga (un rutabaga).  I’m beginning to add on baby fat and my skin is smoothing out.  My hair now has color and texture, as well.

This week mom is feeling BIG for the first time.  She is noticing a difference in the way she sleeps (can’t sleep well without lots of extra pillows and has a granola bar every morning around 4am) and is getting many more comments and friendly, sometimes sympathetic glances from strangers.

I gained 4 ounces this week, weigh just over a pound, and am about as long as an ear of corn (el maiz)!  My brain is growing quickly and tast buds are continuing to develop.  My lungs are also getting stronger – they are developing “branches” and a substance that will help my air sacs to inflate once I hit the outside world.  I still have lots of fat to put on!

Kicks are getting stronger and more frequent, and mom is starting to get lots of awkward ‘belly pats’ from students and friends.   

The first four months of my pregnancy I was completely blown away by the fact that I was not having any cravings for particular foods.  If you know me pretty well than you realize how completely un-Kristy-like this is!  The not pregnant Kristy gets the ice cream, smoothie, Thai food, pasta, sweet/salt craving thing all the time!  I have been known to send Bill out for a pint of ice cream or Smoothie King trip at odd hours of the day before (thanks Bill xo).  Something about the pregnancy hormones balanced out these cravings for quite some time – I continued to enjoy food but didn’t seem to care much about what I ate.

Enter month five. Now the cravings have returned, and in full-force.  It’s not quite how I imagined (no desire for pickles with ice cream yet), but for two days this week I could not stop thinking about eating a piece of sheet cake.  On Thursday my entire body was so invested in this food that I literally spent a half hour thinking about what specific kind of sheet cake I wanted (white with vanilla frosting), where I should get it from, and planning my entire evening schedule and meal around this little piece of cake (which I wound up not getting).

And don’t even think about opening a can of Diet Pepsi (or any soda for that matter) in front of me!  I stopped drinking soda when I started doing Bikram Yoga over a year ago.  It wasn’t easy by any means but I have been successful at substituting water and juice.  Recently, however, if I get even a whiff of soda I have an insatiable thirst for the item that takes hours to dissipate.  Most doctors say it’s perfectly fine to have a glass of soda or coffee once a day.  But a glass?  Are you kidding me?  I don’t do ‘a glass’ of Diet Pepsi – I want the entire 2-liter!  So, alas, it will have to wait…

• Top Cravings: Diet Pepsi; Sheet Cake; Fruit

• Foods I enjoy the most and eat regularly: Cinnamon Raisin Toast with Peanut Butter (my prenatal yoga teacher calls it “pregnant” butter); Macaroni & Cheese

In many Spanish-speaking countries moms refer to their newborns as ‘criatura’ (creature).  This is actually common in other areas throughout the world as well.  I am currently reading the book “The Happiest Baby on the Block” by Harvey Karp.  Dr. Karp, a pediatrician, writes that in many ways babies are born three months too soon.  He argues that during the first three months, our babies are so immature that they would benefit from being able to hop back into the womb whenever they feel overwhelmed, which is understandably often.  Our job as parents is to spend these first three months re-creating the environment of the womb that was home to the baby for so long.

The author gives the following suggestions, the” 5 S’s”, to turn on your babies calming reflexes and mimic the environment of the womb:

• Swaddling – wrapping the baby tightly for 16-20 hours a day
• Side/Stomach – laying a baby on her side or stomach
• Shushing – white noise as loud as a vacuum cleaner
• Swinging – consistent rhythmic, jiggly motion
• Sucking – sucking on anything from a nipple or finger to a pacifier

Dr. Karp’s research is consistent with what I have read from other pediatrician’s and parents.  Bill and I look forward to continuing this conversation with our pediarician and setting up the nursery so that it is ready for the happiest baby on our block!

Beginning this week I am much more sensitive to motion.  I can feel mom move and even dance!  I am 11 inches long and weigh just over a pound – about the same as a large mango (un mango).  Mom and dad are starting to see me jiggle around underneath mom’s clothes and the sounds that my increasingy keen ears pick up are preparing me for entry into the outside world.

Today mom had her monthly check-up.  Because the ultrasounds have consistently measured one week early, Dr. Wolanski pushed the working due date back to July 17th.  Either way I am expected to make my first appearance in about 17 weeks!

The ultrasound facility gave us these (and 60 other) images on a CD.  We also have a video of the entire thing.

Bill and I have had boy and girl names picked out since last summer.  We decided to keep the baby’s name a secret until our little girl is born so that we can keep something special to ourselves for a bit longer.

When I was growing up I loved the names Alexandra, Erin, and Emma for a girl.  I had dolls with each of these names and thought that some day they would share a name with my daughter.  The past few years my love for these particular names has waned and I have found it much easier coming up with names for boys.  In fact, now that we know we will be having a girl we are mulling over our original choice.  We are definitely keeping our boy name for a later date, however…

Below is a list of the most popular baby names in America, as published on the following website (which is oh so much fun – check it out!):  http://www.babynamewizard.com/

*Note:  Our current choice name does not appear on this list