What a week!

This update is a little overdue, but it's been an exciting week for us with much to tell.

Getting our kicks
Last Tuesday I felt my first unmistakable kick and since then I've been feeling him more and more throughout the day.  Either he's becoming more active or stronger or both.  The kicks haven't kept me awake or woken me up yet but they have kept me from taking full advantage of the snooze button the past few days, as the alarm apparently wakes baby up too and he starts kicking.

Last week baby was limiting most of his kicking activity to the late afternoons when I'm still at work, so Kevin wasn't able to feel the kicks.  I think the first and only time he's been jealous of me during this pregnancy was when I told him that I'd gotten to feel kicking and he wasn't able to yet.  Fortunately he didn't have to wait long though and was able to feel the little guy kick for the first time on Saturday, and most days since.

Alejandro
Friday our good friends Marko and Nicole got a wonderful, life-changing phone call.  They've been hoping to adopt a baby for awhile and got the wonderful opportunity to do just that when a birth mother in Arlington chose them from among several potential adoptive families for her newborn baby boy.  They had to rush out to get a carseat, bassinet, and all the other baby essentials, but on Sunday they got to take little Alejandro home.

We had already asked them to be godparents for our child, and they returned the honor by asking us to be Alejandro's godparents.  We got to meet the little guy Tuesday and he's beautiful!  We'd have been excited for them whenever they adopted, but it will be really fun and special that our sons are so close in age.  No doubt they'll get into plenty of mischief together!

How do you spell relief?  Wish I knew...
I've had a few episodes of heartburn recently but today's has been especially painful.  I haven't read Dante's Inferno but I'm beginning to suspect one of the layers of hell might involve severe heartburn.  I've taken Pepcid and Tums (practicioner-approved) and the heartburn's better but still there.  Very much hoping this is an occasional thing and not a sign of what I have to look forward to for the next 16 weeks.  16 weeks could feel very, very long at this rate!

Making introductions


We've had a name idea for awhile but were still mulling over it, but now we've decided to make it official.  Our little boy will be Daniel Scott Williamson.  Why did we pick that, you ask?

Daniel is my maiden name so it honors my dad's side of the family (Mom's side is covered since her maiden name was Williams and our last name is Williamson).  In particular, the name will be a special connection between our little boy and my paternal grandfather, DadDad, who served in World War II and was called "Danny" or "Daniel" by the men who served with him.  I've looked up to him since I was little and remember choosing him as the subject of an essay on "someone I admire" in junior high.  He's 92, so our son probably won't get to know him well, but I hope he'll be proud to hear about his namesake.

The family connection aside, we also like the name Daniel for its meaning.  It's Hebrew for "God is my judge" (the "El" suffix being the Hebrew name for God), and in the Old Testament Daniel was a Hebrew prophet who rose to great success as an advisor to the Babylonian court because of his skill in interpreting dreams.  Eventually he was persecuted for his faith in God and sentenced to death by being sealed in a lion's den, but emerged unscathed because of God's protection.

Scott is Kevin's brother's name.  Kevin and Scott's middle names both honor an uncle, so we're continuing that tradition with our son's middle name and honoring Kevin's side of the family.

So, our baby is Gunior no more.  From now on, he's Daniel.

Next week
Monday we have our next appointment with the midwife and it'll be an eventful one.  In addition to another sonogram, I'll also have to take a glucose tolerance test to screen for gestational diabetes which will entail drinking a sugar solution then having a blood draw an hour later to see how my body is processing the glucose.  Good news is I don't have to fast beforehand.  Hopefully I'll pass the test with flying colors and won't have to take the more rigorous followup, which involves a series of blood draws over 3 hours after drinking the solution on an empty stomach. 

We're looking forward to seeing Daniel on sonogram again, it was so neat to see him moving around last time and get that glimpse into what his life is like right now.  I hope he'll let us get a good view of his face this time, last time he had his hands in the way.  Come on buddy!

Today's song dedication: Alive and Kicking

We had an exciting milestone today.  This evening, about 5:20 or so, I was sitting at my desk at work, hand resting on my belly, and it happened.  I felt an unmistakeable kick from the little guy.  I would have felt it from within even if my hand wasn't there but I was able to feel it on my hand too.  Hopefully he'll do it soon when Kevin's around so he can feel it too!

News from the front line: 22 weeks in

Used to be when I was out somewhere I didn't really notice babies, unless I heard them crying.  Now every trip to the grocery store, mall, or anywhere else is a chance to do some homework and check out strollers and infant car seats live and in action.  It reminds me of starting driver's ed: all the traffic signs and signals had always been there but I had seldom paid attention to them.  But once I started learning to drive, I couldn't help noticing them every time I was on the road (which is a good thing!).  Now with a little one on the way, every trip out is an opportunity to see what works and what doesn't in the land of baby gear.

Tonight's trip to Kroger provided an example of each.  First, I saw a couple with their baby in an infant car seat in the grocery cart.  I kept sneaking furtive glances to see what brand the car seat was and how it fit in the top of the cart.  It looked like our car seat brand but I couldn't ever get a good view of the label.  I also saw a mom schlepping her big travel system through the aisles and carrying her groceries in her hands.  Needless to say, that didn't seem like a very good system!
Speaking of car seats, we pulled the trigger and bought one today after much research.  We were out running errands and were near Buy Buy Baby.  The car seat we want isn't available in store at Babies R Us so we thought we'd see if BBB had it and if they'd take our BRU 20% off coupon.  Yes on both counts, and the helpful sales guy (who seems to have a Masters in strollers and car seats!) even carried the floor model out to our car and showed us how the base attaches to the backseat of the car.  This car seat will hold our little guy till he's 30 pounds and is top-rated for safety.  So, cross one big item off the list.  Here's what the kiddo will be riding in:

Last weekend we went to a wedding reception celebration for our friends (and next-door neighbors) Marinda and Brian.  It was a great party and a chance for me to wear my cute new maternity dress, which I bought at Kid to Kid, a local consignment shop, for $5.  With Amy's wedding in San Fran coming up in May, I'll have at least one more opportunity to wear this one or another I bought.  This one's so cute, I'm actually disappointed I won't be able to wear it post-baby.

Here we are all dressed up:

In other news, the belly continues to get bigger.  I suppose being short-waisted, there's not much place for the belly to go but out.  But looking at pictures for the last few weeks, you can really tell that the belly has really started showing and growing within the past month or so.  Weight gain is still pretty reasonable, about 13 pounds, and seemingly pretty much all of it in the belly area.

Here we are:

At my office we have a tradition of celebrating birthdays, holidays, and sometimes just Fridays with a food spread.  This past Friday was a coworker's birthday in my area so we celebrated SBA-style with tons of food.  I made a fruit salad with fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and bananas, and another coworker brought in fresh pineapple.  The token healthy selections went over quite well but were outnumbered by the breakfast casseroles, quiches, and desserts.  Everything was delicious, but the hit of the day was a fantastic homemade sopapilla cheesecake.  It was so good I wanted seconds.  Since everyone expects the pregnant lady to eat a lot anyway (as if "eat for two" means "eat for two linebackers") and I was, after all, wearing elastic waist pants, I splurged and went for that second piece.  While I wouldn't want to eat so heavy every day, may as well play the pregnancy card to splurge once or twice, right? ;)

You've got male!

We had our sonogram yesterday morning and got to see the baby for the first time since week 8.  And we can stop referring to the baby as s/he or it, now we know it's definitely a he.  At first he was a little shy to show his boy parts but with a little coaxing the sonographer was able to get a good view.  He has long legs and wasn't shy about kicking them.  We also saw him wave his hands around, yawn, touch his feet, and suck his thumb, and I think he might have even given Mommy a Gig'em sign ;)  He had his hand in front of his face a lot so we couldn't get a great profile shot of his face but hopefully we will next time.



We met with an OB afterwards (the practice requires one meeting with an OB, the rest can all be with midwives), and he noted a few spots on the sono which he said were not of great concern, but that we will follow up with in 4 weeks with another sono.  At that visit I'll also do my glucose tolerance test to check for gestational diabetes.  All in all, the doc said the sono looked very good.  The baby's size and weight, my weight gain, the amount of fluid, and my blood pressure all looked good.  Given that, we expect that all will be good on the next sono.  He said he saw no reason why I can't travel up until the last month (which means we will be able to go to Amy's wedding in San Fran in early May!) and also that I was a great candidate for a natural birth.  So, good visit all in all.

I think Gunior must not have cared much for the sonogram though because ever since then, he's been camped out right under my left ribcage.  It must be comfortable for him, but not so much for me.  I'm hoping he will realize soon that he has lots of other real estate to enjoy and will decide to spread out some!