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Thursday, July 31, 2003

So, truth be told, on the way home from last week's ultrasound, Jim & I confessed to each other that if we were forced to say which way we were leaning, we would both have said "boy."

Wednesday, July 30, 2003

It seems that a lot of people find out that we are having a boy and react like we got what we wanted. It's not necessarily that we did or didn't, and maybe its just the fact that I am into sports, it's just odd that we never said we preferred one or the other, but so many people just assumed that we wanted a boy. Mind you, I'm not complaining. To me though, the biggest difference at this point is just establishing who among Bonnie and I will be the "Good Cop"and who will be the "Bad Cop". With a Girl, Dad gets to be completely wrapped around her finger, unable to deny her anything, and Mom plays the "bad Cop". So with the news of a Boy, and the great things that are sure to come with having a son, Bonnie is also basking in the fact that she gets to be the "Good Cop".

Tuesday, July 29, 2003

Man, it was so great to go out for Girls' Night at Chuy's. Their food always rocks, and it was fun to not think about how crappy my day at work ended. (Things had already picked up a little bit when I got home, as Jim talked me in to walking down the block to buy some lemonade from the neighbor kids. "When life hands you lemons...") Before everyone dispersed in the parking lot after dinner, we set the date for Girls' Night in August, so that will be fun to look forward to. I am now on a serious mission to find the bling I've been seeking on Harwin before our next dinner rolls around. I want to get a great big CZ "Anna Nicole" ring like the one Kim has. I need a new purse too, so it's definitely time to make another trip to that side of town.

Getting away from work during lunch, we saw Brett and Liana (another one of the SIX couples due in October) at the gym and we are now making plans to go to a birthing/newborn/etc class together in September. Liana said she is hoping their little girl is not born on Halloween - we're faced with holidays on all sides on Baby Boy Leach's due date. Jim reminded me that this might run in his family, as he was born on Easter Sunday and his brother on Good Friday. Personally, I would like for this pregnancy to go a week into the new year and get all of the craziness of December behind us. But, we know and accept how little control we have over these types of things. Liana also reminded me to get a copy of Baby Bargains. I was introduced to these fabulous books last year with Bridal Bargains while planning our wedding. I consider it required reading for all brides-to-be and am excited for Baby Bargains that I promtply ordered yesterday to arrive. Amazon customers seem to feel the same way about Baby Bargains too.

I think that I might be able to say that today is the first day I felt some movements in my belly that I'm pretty sure were from the baby. It's been odd, not in a creepy way, but just that I'm not entirely sure if that is what I'm feeling.

Queer Eye for the Straight Guy is currently recording, and I'm looking forward to watching when Jim gets home from tonight's CAP meeting. That show has just been cracking me up!!! If you don't have Bravo, I've been told that NBC is airing a repeat of the episodes on Thursday during prime time.
Today, I spent some time adding a link to this site that tracks the number of hits we get on this site and also where they come from (domain, time zone, etc.). Its shocking to see how many hits we get, but how few comments. Over the last few days, we have run into a bunch of our friends who we thought were keeping up with our news via this blog, but weren't. I hope we can figure out who is seeing things as they happen on this blog, and who we need to tell things to, but it is difficult. The other thing is that this page has acted up on us from time-to-time. So we have to refresh it. So any comments or feedback you can leave will help us a bunch!

Monday, July 28, 2003

Today at lunch I wore my maternity bike shorts to spinning class for the first time (purchased brand new on ebay for $1!) Right now I just have to keep an eye on my heartrate (140 is max allowed) but Monique warned that as pregnancy progresses, it will feel creepy when your legs brush your belly while pedaling...

It was great to hear from Janet, one of the SIX people we know due in October. (What the heck was going on nine months earlier???) Funny how both of us skated hockey tournaments during the first month of pregnancy without knowing it! Doc said no cause for concern as (both of) our babies appear quite happy and healthy! Actually, during my first doctor visit when I had to "confess" to things I had unknowingly done during the first month or so of the pregnancy, I was assured that most of my actions (i.e. drinks) had no effect on the baby as it had not yet attached and was not receiving the bad stuff from my bloodstream. Pretty good evolutionary trait for the human race, don't you think?

Saturday, July 26, 2003

Yesterday was so exciting!! Some people say they want to be surprised by sex at the birth, but it is great fun to be able to start using words like "he" and "our son" and not just "baby" and "it." Last night Diane told us about a cool site that lets friends and family guess the birth information. For us, sex is already known, so let us know your predictions on birth date, height and weight for Baby Boy Leach. Our game name is "leachbaby"

Friday, July 25, 2003

Well, we just got back from the Dr. and were able to get a peek via ultrasound. It took the Dr. all of 3 seconds to blurt out "I know what you are having!". IT'S A BOY! We got some still pictures of different views that I have labeled. Never got a still picture of "the money shot", but we got to see for ourselves that it is indeed a boy. At first, it was a little dizzying. The baby was moving all over the place,and the Dr. was trying to catchup to get a good view. After about a minute, he just settled in and crossed his legs and stayed a little more still. According to the measurements we took, he is a little over 6 inches from "crown to rump". This was VERY cool, but in 2 weeks we get to see the 4D Ultrasound which blows this away!
Grrrr. This morning I tried to put on a pair of my regular jeans and they simply would not zip up to the top, let alone button. Halfway was all I could get the zipper. So, those have to be added to the pile of "clothes I will next wear again sometime in 2004." We threw a blank video tape in the car this morning, with hopes that at this afternoon's appointment to check heartbeat, we will get the opportunity to use the ultrasound and take our first peek! Well, really our second peek, but the jellybean picture from seven weeks isn't very revealing! A far cry from what we might see today!

Wednesday, July 23, 2003

Everyone that has gone through a pregnancy (mom or dad) is adept at counting in weeks, and in keenly in tune with what those numbers represent. To tell most of my friends I am 19 weeks along means very little - they could do quick math to figure out that is about four months. But to someone who has been down this path, that number indicates much more. "Have you felt the baby moving around yet? If not, it will be any day now!" or "Almost time for the big ultrasound, huh?"

We have started to wade around through childcare options. Pretty pricey no matter how you slice it, and pretty important decision too. The vast majority of our friends with toddlers chose to stay home, but slowly we are finding more and more people who have been down this road and have some helpful information and experiences to share. Recommendations are appreciated!

Tuesday, July 22, 2003

HOORAY! Just got a call from a nurse at the dr.'s office letting us know that the results from last week's AFP bloodtest (screen for spinal chord deformities, Down Syndrome, and other chomosomal defects) all came back negative!

Monday, July 21, 2003

Coming back to work after a long weekend is never fun, especially with a meeting-packed Monday. West coast trip was a nice break - including a great 14-hour day traveling all of the way down to Big Sur and back to SF. Stops along the way included cute town of Capitola with early morning surf class in progress, Castroville - the artichoke capital of the world!, Monterey and a few hours at the aquarium, followed by 17-mile drive at Pebble Beach, then down for dinner at Nepenthe before the ~150 mile drive back to Burlingame. Whew.

Today is the first day of wearing maternity pants at work. Sigh. I can still fit in to my regular pants, but they are not very comfortable. And the marks around my belly probably means that it's not a good idea. Still going quite well picking up a few pieces of clothing here and there on ebay. How great to be pregnant at this time and have such a great resource for new & used maternity clothes at great prices!

Friday is another heartbeat check for the baby - I will be into my 19th week at that point. A friend who visits the same Dr. said that sometimes "R" would sneak her in to the ultrasound room during her pregnancy. We are hoping to be so lucky and perhaps find out the sex a bit earlier than planned. If that doesn't work out, we should know a lot more in mid-August when we have the scheduled ultrasound visit! How exciting. I told that I should feel the baby "any day now" but I haven't just yet. At least not that I'm aware of. Maybe today - who knows...

Wednesday, July 16, 2003

I was reminded listening to the radio this morning that I forgot to tune in to the new Bravo show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy last night. I just set up the recorder to capture a couple episodes while I'm in San Francisco for the weekend. It sounds like a hilarious combination of Trading Spaces and What Not to Wear. Can't wait to check it out!

I'm a bit nervous about flying this afternoon because my only pregnancy barfing so far was on a plane. But, me getting sick on a plane, although rare, is not unheard of. And that was before I learned to take my prenatal vitamins in the evening, so I had one in my stomach just an hour or so old. I'm sure this time everything will be just fine.
Last night's mid-summer classic was quite a show. Jim and I were talking over the weekend how cool it would be to get a chance to attend the All Star game when it is hosted in Houston next summer. Then we backed up and realized, "holy cow - we'll have a six month old kid by then!" Life will certainly be different!

I'm a bit tired this morning as I woke up three times during the night (12:25, 4:30, 6:50) to go to the bathroom. I read on a fetal development chart a week or two ago that the baby has now started making urine, so I get to pee for the both of us - grrrreat. I really can't complain too much, because compared to other pregnancy stories I've heard, I'm doing pretty awesome. Knock on wood - not feeling ill (prenatal vitamins made me feel awful, but once I figured out to take them right before bedtime life improved drastically) not too tired, and generally unaffected except for getting a pooch in the belly! Sometimes I wish I "felt" more pregnant, but then I quickly remember that most of those feelings are negative ones, so I'm quite content with how things are progressing so far.

Tuesday, July 15, 2003

So, I've been thinking about setting up a blog for a while now, but Katie's suggestion and information finally convinced me. When we first found we were having a baby, I thought it would be fun to chronicle the upcoming months, but since we hadn't told anyone at that time, it wasn't realistic to start the blog yet. Well, now the cat is out of the bag, and my belly has certainly "started to pop out" within the last week or so, so there's no real hiding any longer. I wore maternity clothes (well, ok, a maternity tank top) out in public last weekend and it just felt odd. I was definitely feeling out of my element wearing maternity clothes at Sam's Boat on Saturday night. We were sitting outside, so smoke was minimal, but it just didn't feel right. I mean, if I were really obviously pregnant at this point, I bet other people would be pointing "look at the pregnant lady at the bar" but just because I'm not huge yet didn't make me feel more comfortable.

Why do some people react so oddly when you tell them you are pregnant? Some ask rather personal questions like "were you guys trying?" and some ask rather silly ones like "are you guys excited?" Some people start talking in soft voices... as if you are possibly still keeping a secret even though you are openly talking about it in public. But most people are just genuinely happy and excited for us.