Week 21: Carrot

As my belly continues to grow — and I continue to bump into things forgetting that it's there — it's nice to note that I'm more than halfway through the pregnancy. Baby is moving a ton these days, kicking and punching from the inside... probably in preparation for its dealings with Ellie :) Our toddler hasn't quite learned what it means to be gentle with her toy babies, as she's constantly throwing them and dropping them on their heads. She also keeps forgetting when mommy asks her to be careful around the belly, so the baby is likely practicing its defensive maneuvers these days for when Ellie steps on or digs her elbow into my belly.

Here's this week's baby update from the experts:
Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now.

Turning 30

I had a great birthday weekend, starting off early this past Wednesday when Ellie and caught the bus over to Purdue to check out this free show on the union lawn. The performers, called Australia's Strange Fruit, did their routine from atop 25-foot poles. Pretty impressive.
Brian, Ellie and I got a pizza and picnicked on the lawn during the show. It was so fun!

*p.s. loving the cheesy "grin" that Ellie gives these days when we ask her to smile for the camera :)

I didn't get more pics from the rest of the weekend but we filled it with: trips to the park, a visit to a new West Lafayette children's store where Ellie got to see Elmo (a 6-foot-tall, kinda freaky version of him...) and a night out for mom and dad. Turning 30 isn't so bad with all this fun stuff going on!

Italian Fest weekend

Ellie attended her first Collinsville Italian Fest this past weekend. The festival was a staple in Brian's childhood, so this trip was a big deal. She had a blast at the parade and both Ellie and mom are enjoying all of the candy that she collected during the event. :) We did discover what a nightmare it is trying to navigate the crowded streets of a festival with a toddler, who insisted on walking on her own, tried to eat random things off the ground, etc. I don't think it would've been any easier with a stroller. Next time we're there we'll have to pick a less busy time of day. But the food was awesome once we got to it!

Ellie also got to enjoy some ice cream cake to celebrate mom's and grandma's birthdays -- both coming up later this week.

And she spent some time at the park with grandpa and grandma. The swings were her favorite... surprise, surprise.

And the best part of the weekend was the four of us (Ellie, too!) completing the Italian Fest 5K race on Saturday morning. It was only Linda's second 5K and she ran the whole thing AND shaved 3 minutes off her time. We are so proud of her!

Sick bay

I'll get new pics from this past weekend up later today, but just a quick post to say that Ellie is sick. It's probably a cold of some sort but her fever has been high since Monday afternoon :(
Last night she was up a couple times, which gave us the opportunity to get some more Tylenol in her. The second time she woke up, around 3 a.m., I think she was a little delirious from the fever because she kept babbling the whole time and stringing random thoughts together. Poor baby girl. Hopefully she kicks this soon, but for today it looks like Brian will be taking some sick time to keep her home from daycare.

Week 20: Banana

Halfway there! I'm thrilled to be marking the 20th week of the pregnancy and to be feeling good :) Here's the latest info from the experts:

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)

He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

Where's your?

Ellie showing off her knowledge of body parts... and her affinity for poking mommy's growing belly.

It's a...

Baby! The ultrasound today couldn't tell us whether it's a boy or a girl growing big and strong in my belly. The tech tried moving me and prodding the baby, but he or she was in such an awkward ultrasound position that she just couldn't get a good look. But the great news is that everything looks good with Baby #2. We got some great pics of the little face and hands. (I'll try to get them up on here later.) And it was amazing to see all those body parts -- most of them, anyway! -- and both hear and see the heart beating. We're in awe.

Baseball and ice cream

Brian and Ellie stopped by a baseball game in the stadium at the park on Sunday morning, and she liked it so much that we had to go back for more that evening. By pure luck we came across a Cards-Cubs game (!).... though the players were a little younger than they look on TV.
Ellie liked exploring the baseball stands as much as she liked watching the action on the field. The funniest part of the evening was when we went to leave in and Ellie shouted "Bye-bye baseball!"... and then, "I shouted 'bye-bye baseball!'"

And her favorite part of the evening was the stop at the ice cream shop on the walk back from the park. Ellie loves any ice cream with chocolate chips in and spends most of her time digging them out to eat first.

Mint chip!

Week 19: Tomato

More to come after tomorrow's ultrasound!! SO excited to see our little one, even if he/she isn't feeling so little in there these days :) I'm up about 10 pounds for the pregnancy so far, which I'm happy with considering I'm almost at the halfway mark. I'm fitting into more of my maternity pants, but some are still too big. I'm sure that will change soon. I've been marveling at the size of my belly recently but I've also been reminding myself that there's so much more to come!

Here's the latest on #2's growth:

Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

Counting-ish

Another video to start off the week. One of Ellie's latest tricks is counting to 10. What a smart girl! She also is singing "Twinkle, twinkle little star" and getting most of the words right, but I haven't been able to get that one on camera yet!

Video randomness

Here are a couple random, but fun Ellie videos for your Friday.



*You'll hear her ask for "My boyfriend's back" in the first video, which we'd just finished listening to three times in a row. She's obsessed with that song.

Fashion show

Ellie decided to model some of the new dress shirts I bought for Brian the other day. She thinks they look pretty good!

Week 18: Bell pepper

We're excited to be just a week away from the ultrasound! Oh, and the current sentiment from Brian is that we're going to find out the baby's sex at that appointment... Getting excited!
I've been feeling good and seem to be mostly recovered from the ligament I pulled in my side last week (while lurching up from bed to turn off the alarm... oops).
I don't want to jinx anything, but I've been amazed at how well things are going in this pregnancy and how *relatively* relaxed I've been. I guess I'm just too busy with Ellie and everything else in life to spend as much time worrying about every little thing I eat, drink and do while carrying #2. Obviously I'm trying to take good care of the baby and myself, but I have a cup of coffee every few days and the occasional glass of wine, for example. I was so strict on myself in the last pregnancy, but I'm trying to be a bit more relaxed this time around. I think it's helping with the mental part of pregnancy, for sure, because time seems to be flying. I'll need someone to remind me of that around week 34 :)

Here's what the experts are saying this week:

Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

Labor Day weekend

We didn't travel this past holiday weekend because I had to work on Saturday. But my mom decided to come down for a visit and we had a great time! Sunday was busy with church and a trip to the park, even though it was a bit too chilly to go swimming one last time before the pool closed for the season. We still had fun visiting the ducks and letting Ellie order us around the park.
Who armed the 2-year-old with a canon?

And Monday, when it was even colder (!), we went up to Delphi and visited the Wabash Erie Canal Park. They have a replica canal boat and a bunch of other historic stuff there, but most of it wasn't open until the afternoon when Ellie had to be home for her nap. We still enjoyed a walk on the canal trails.

And Ellie enjoyed visiting a new playground!

Double-slide time with daddy!

The shadow

I snagged this picture from a friend's blog because she noted a funny shadow. This is a picture of Ellie and her friend Colin playing at a recent kids event we visited in downtown Lafayette... But the photog also captured my shadow — looking very pregnant — in the picture! I don't think my bump is that big yet, but it has grown quite a bit in just the past 10 days or so.

Cornhole champ

Ellie spent some time practicing her cornhole skills after we returned from the pool last Sunday afternoon. I decided to play it with her on Saturday during our camping evening and joked that maybe I'd finally found someone I could beat in the game. Ellie promptly sunk her first shot in the hole. I guess I'm officially the worst cornhole player in our family!
...Of course sometimes Ellie gives her beanbags a little help getting through the hole on the board...