Thursday 27 December 2012

3 weeks old

petite chaton (i think that's kitten in french) is 3 weeks old today! she's still the best baby in the world. she sleeps every night for 5-6 hours, gets up to eat and goes back down for another 4 or more. she has her dad's lips, feet, and everything, but she sleeps like her mom -- thank god! i have to set an alarm to make sure we get up for that late night/early morning feeding. i don't know many other new mothers who have that "problem." we are a very happy and well rested family and i'm confident we'll get her sleeping through the night as soon as that's allowed.

it looks like today she's developed a blocked tear duct, but i've read all about how to treat that with breast milk, so we'll see if i can clear it up without a trip to the doctor. i hate taking her to the clinic where all the sick, creepy island people go. even the doctor said to spend as little time there as possible.



Tuesday 18 December 2012

bath time!

tiny cat got her first official sink bath today and she really didn't hate it like i thought she would.  she screams when i put lotion on her or wipe her down with a rag or baby wipe so i figured she'd freak out about water, but she was mostly quiet the whole time.  she pooped when we were almost done and then she spit up after i bundled her up in the cat towel she got from nana.  i tried to dress her up in some cute outfits from cassondra, but she's just too tiny for all her cutest clothes right now.  she's eating and sleeping a ton so i'm sure she'll grow like a weed in no time and then we'll play dress up :)

Friday 14 December 2012

1 week checkup

kitten had her first doctor appointment yesterday and she's healthy as can be!  she has gained weight and is over 6 lbs now.  she also grew a half inch to 20.  i've been breastfeeding and pumping, but we've also been giving her formula and i think it helped a lot with getting her plumped up.  she spits up a lot and has at least one full on diaper blow-out a day, but she is just an absolute perfect baby.  she sleeps 4 hours at a time and the doctor said to stop waking her up as long as she doesn't go 3 hours past her feeding time.  grandma and grandpa are here so she's getting all kinds of attention and i'm getting some good naps in so i can be up with her at night.  colby is the absolute best father i could ever want for my baby girl.  even when he has to work in the morning, he will get up in the middle of the night to change her diaper or hold her while i go to the bathroom or get her a bottle.  i'm so very lucky to have this perfect family with him!

Sunday 9 December 2012

kitten is here!

i put off writing my 39 week update until after my midwife appointment, but things didn't go as planned that day!  i went to the clinic at 4pm and everything was going really well.  i mentioned that kitten wasn't moving as much over the past 4-5 days, but we confirmed she had dropped and was in the ideal position for labor, and i felt great.  when veronica monitored the heart rate, i eventually noticed that she was taking much longer than usual and she looked perplexed.  she faxed the results to the hospital and came back and said it was probably nothing but she had never seen that particular pattern and she wanted me to go to the hospital where i'd likely be staying overnight for monitoring.  colby had to leave work early and we only had so much time before the last car barge left, so we threw a bunch of random stuff into the hospital bag just in case.

they were expecting us when we arrived and got me straight into a room and hooked up to oxygen, fluid, and monitors.  we waited several hours for the doctor to arrive, watching kitten's heart rate fluctuate all over the place and occasionally drop scary low.  things started to improve right off the bat so they concluded that i was probably just dehydrated, but i knew it wasn't that.  after a few hours i asked if i could take off the oxygen and not long after that her heart rate began to drop again.  when the doctor did a sonogram, she was concerned immediately about the level of amniotic fluid and began talking about recommending an induction.  i had my heart set on a 100% natural birth, and it all went out the window because we probably had to get her out right away.  the doctor left me hooked up to sleep for a few hours to see if the fluids they were giving me would improve my amniotic fluid levels, but in the morning nothing had changed and there was actually a period of 4 straight minutes of heart decels that were very concerning, so we had to do something.

at 9:05 am on thursday morning, we began pitocin induction despite the fact that i was not dilated and only slightly effaced.  i had zero hope of anything but a c-section when we started out because i've heard all the horror stories.  i tried to stay calm and nap, but there were women in rooms on both sides of me giving birth and not handling it very well at all.  one woman was literally howling the exact way sebastian does when he's super upset about me leaving.  the other one was screaming and wailing and had a screaming toddler with her also.  as the day went on, things progressed surprisingly well.  i went from 0-2 and then to 4 within a couple hours and without feeling a single contraction.  when i began to feel contractions, the nurse offered me demerol for pain and i went ahead and took it.  i didn't expect it to be so strong, but it pretty much sent me to outer space for a while and next thing i knew i was at 8 and my water broke on its own.  at this point, i was f'd up, in pain, shaking violently from the demerol, and starting to feel like epidurals were pretty awesome and i might want one.  turns out my insurance doesn't cover that and we'd have to come up with $1200 up front so i accepted my fate.  colby, however, couldn't stand to see me in pain so he set out to acquire $1200.  even if he had been able to, there wouldn't have been time because i was ready to push shortly after that.  colby says i pushed for 2 hours, but it seemed like about 45 minutes to me and honestly wasn't bad at all.  i didn't scream or cry, i didn't poop, and i only had one minor internal tear.  i was able to get immediate skin to skin and delayed cord clamping.

colby was so supportive and excited the whole time and i couldn't have asked for a better partner.  he kept telling me that what i was doing was amazing and thanking me for going through it for us.  he got to touch kitten's head while she was coming out and even though he had said he didn't want to, he jumped at the opportunity to feel and cut the cord.  it wasn't the birth experience we planned, but i have to say it was awesome!

catherine amory thompson was born at 6:39 pm on 12/6/12 after 9.5 hours of labor.  she's a petite little cat at 5 lbs 12 oz and 19.5 inches long.  she's absolutely the most amazing thing ever and we're so ridiculously in love.


Thursday 29 November 2012

38 weeks

i'm a day late on this update, but kitten little is 38 weeks!  i saw our midwife yesterday and she said kitten is somewhere around 6 lbs and will gain a half pound a week so she'll hopefully be 7-7.5 by the time she arrives.  all her organs are ready for the world so it's any day now and we are so ready to meet her!  colby is more nervous about labor than i am, but we're both totally pumped about being parents.  i'm still comfortable, sleeping through the night, and haven't seen any stretch marks.  my face is pretty puffy, i've gained 25 lbs, and my hands are stiff from pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel and a little swelling, but all that is minor and i really can't complain.  i was very tired today for no real reason.  i woke up at 7 to spend time with colby before he went to work, and then i started playing christmas music and planning my day, but somehow i lost my motivation before i ever got started.  i ended up taking a nap and accomplishing nothing.  hopefully i'll be less of a sloth tomorrow.  i haven't officially nested yet so that needs to kick in soon!

i'm slightly disappointed that it's almost over and i haven't had any of the classic pregnancy stuff that people talk about.  i was sort of looking forward to weird cravings and baby brain.  i'm extremely thankful that i'm not having any crazy emotions or any of the negative things, so i guess i should just take my uneventful pregnancy and be happy with all of it.

TONS of gifts have been arriving every day and our coworkers also threw us an absolutely amazing shower, so i will try to do a big post tomorrow about everything with a million pictures.

xoxo

Wednesday 21 November 2012

37 weeks

guess who's full term today!  she should weigh over 6 lbs, but that can vary quite a bit at this point.  assuming my due date is accurate, her lungs are most likely ready for the outside world if she decided to make her appearance.  i still feel great and she seems snug in there, so i'm not in any rush to get her out.  she's head down but hasn't dropped and i'm not even feeling any braxton hicks, so it looks like she's in there for the long haul.  i want her to wait until my mom gets here anyway.  i'm comfortable and sleeping well, aside from a good bit of heartburn, but i'm no stranger to heartburn.  i've been taking prilosec regularly for 5-6 years and stopped because of pregnancy so i can't say it's kitten's fault i'm burping up acid.

we had some more trouble with our island car this week, but it ended up only being a corroded wire.  the guy cleaned it up and made sure it was connected fully and the shop didn't charge us because they said they should have checked that when they replaced the starter anyway.  we are so thankful for the rare kind and honest people on this island.  this really is our caribbean mayberry :)

Sunday 18 November 2012

more kitten stuff!

i was expecting a couple packages from angel when i checked the mail yesterday, but instead i got a surprise package from my cousin rachel!  i especially love the little corduroy skirts and we cracked up at the h&r block onesie.  aunt grace knitted kitten a super cute blanket and sebastian has already tried to claim it :)

i also got around to taking some pictures of the cube storage we set up and a couple things we got from cassondra, like this st. patty's day outfit with a 4 leaf clover on the booty and some little plaid skirts i've already started planning outfits around!
all the rest of the pics are in the kitten stuff album.  enlarge the pics and the descriptions are at the bottom.

Wednesday 14 November 2012

36 weeks

super kitten is 36 weeks today.  she weighs over 6 lbs (like a crenshaw melon) and who even knows how long she is at this point!  a woman on my birth board just had a 7 lb 8 oz baby at 36 weeks, which is absolutely terrifying.  i'm all about a natural birth, but if this cat gets over 10 lbs i'll be begging for a c-section, not even going to lie about it. 

i still have no stretch marks, but my belly button has been feeling realllllly stretched out lately and i can see the bottom of my piercing spreading so there's just no way i'm making it to 40 without some permanent structural damage to my navel.  i've had several people tell me today that i look small and they're surprised i'm due so soon.  the lady at connections (that's where our PO box is) told me to chill out because i have plenty of time left.  i told her i'm full term next week and she was shocked.  i love it!

this is a crenshaw melon and i can't say i've ever seen one before.  she'll be a pumpkin soon!
today is my last day of work.  i had to quit for reasons beyond my control and i'm not too happy about it.  colby is more than happy to support us, but i still haven't adjusted to feeling like a freeloader.  i've been looking into extreme money-saving measures because our power bill is regularly over $500.  i might take a babysitting job for the next few weeks that will hopefully turn into something i can do after kitten is here and save us from having to spend any money on childcare.  i'm also getting started on a christmas ornament project to bring in some extra cash.  i collected some really nice corals from drunk bay to make ornaments for myself but then several friends told me they would like to buy some from me, so i'm pretty pumped about that!

Monday 12 November 2012

35 week pics

colby and i had the day off together yesterday so we went out to leinster bay and then all the way down to salt pond and drunk bay.  we did a little bit of hiking and now my feet are sooooore.  still no swelling, though!  we spelled some stuff in the coral rubble and took pictures for a future potential art project.  we also collected some pieces of coral to make christmas ornaments for our beach theme decor.  mom sent me a glue gun so now i just need glitter and i'm on my way to awesome!

 can you believe that kitten's due date is exactly 30 days from today? :)


Wednesday 7 November 2012

35 weeks

our little kitkat is 35 weeks!  there's at least 5 1/4 lbs of baby in me right now, probably more!  i can't believe it's almost over.  as of this week, we are officially ready.  thanks to our amazing moms, we now have a car seat, bath tub, pack n' play, and a pretty solid collection of diapers and wipes.  we could have her tomorrow and be ready.  hopefully she cooks for a few more weeks, but it's nice to feel prepared.  we still need some little things like diaper rash cream, nail clippers and a carrier since we're not doing a stroller, but we can survive without having those things right away as long as we can get her home and have somewhere for her to sleep. 

i've been holding off on washing her clothes, but i think it might be time to go ahead and start on the 0-3 month stuff so i can at least see how much we have.  i'm having a really hard time finding storage baskets to go in our cube storage unit.  i've found some on walmart and some on amazon and neither will ship here, so i'll have to get some help on a workaround i guess.  it seems silly considering they are $4 apiece, but this is the island life!

and speaking of island life, things are looking up since my last whiny post.  when i took the car in the other day, i ended up waiting nearly 4 hours and talking to the sweet owner the entire time.  she has been so good to us with all the work we've had done so far, and this week was no exception.  when it was all said and done, we paid $24 for just the parts and they didn't charge us for labor.  they fixed the coolant problem ($14 hose with a massive hole in it) as well as a screw that was loose and causing the car to idle hard and stall.  i went ahead and got us a new gas cap too, so we're 100% ready to list this thing for sale FINALLY, and then we can upgrade to something a little more reliable and safe for kitten pants.

Monday 5 November 2012

island car

when people ask if i love living here i always say without hesitation, "YES, i love it!"  it's amazing and totally worth it, but it's certainly not easy or everyone would live here.  lately, i have to admit, it's starting to wear on me.  things are starting to lean toward more trouble than it's worth territory and i hate that feeling. 

a few months ago, the starter began having problems in our car.  we learned that you can bang on it with a tire iron and it starts right up, so we did that for awhile instead of spending the money on the car when we have a kitten on the way.  finally, it got to the point where we couldn't count on it starting at any time and colby developed a fear that i'd go into labor and the car wouldn't start, so we bought a starter on st. thomas and had it put in at a shop here.  during that process, we went ahead and bought new spark plugs, a PCV valve, and valve cover gaskets to prevent a small oil leak problem we were having, and we paid a local guy to do that work since it all seemed pretty routine.  this guy has a reputation for being an excellent mechanic as well as a drunk, but our neighbor uses him exclusively and says his work is great so we took a chance.  huge mistake.  he replaced the plugs but left 2 disconnected, unplugged some random tube, and then claimed the PCV was the wrong part -- it wasn't.  fortunately, i only paid him $40 and a can of coke.  colby had to drive the car, shaking violently (the car, not colby), to the shop to fix all that crap and we went ahead and had a new battery installed.  when we picked it up, feeling good and planning to sell it, it developed a random stalling problem which we've simply been dealing with for now.  last night, it started steaming because all the coolant is spraying out under the hood and the engine is overheating.  all of this is in addition to the body work we had done from colby's accident.

i'm taking it to the shop today for another round of work, but it's like... what's next?!  if there's any positive to come out of this, it's that colby and i are learning a lot about cars, but COME ON UNIVERSE, give us a break.  our little kitten is due in just over a month and we need at least a semi-reliable car and a way to afford her diapers without spending hundreds of dollars every week on our stupid suzuki sidekick.  i won't be working for a couple months and although colby will be making more during peak season, there's no room for unexpected large expenses.  can we just please catch a break!

Sunday 4 November 2012

34 week pictures!

i got so much bigger since last week!  my face has reached the point where there isn't a single photo i like out of the 100 we took, but there isn't much i can do about that :(


6 new pictures! (with a little colby, too)

Wednesday 31 October 2012

34 weeks

sweet kitten is 34 weeks!  she should weigh somewhere around 4 3/4 pounds, like a cantaloupe.  she's at least 18 inches long but it feels like twice that considering she's somehow able to kick and punch me everywhere all at once.  we have 42 days left until her due date and i'm still mostly wearing my regular clothes.  i don't want to jinx myself, but i don't have any swelling or stretch marks.  i do have some pretty bad lower back and hip pain that is starting to impact my sleep, but if you know me at all you know i can sleep through anything.

we continue to be showered with gifts on an almost daily basis every time we check the mail.  cassondra sent a big box full of super cute outfits and various baby necessities.  we also received the adorable pack and play my mom sent and an epic care package full of oreos, cake mix, frosting, canned pumpkin, and fall/halloween decorations, which i immediately set up to go along with the stuff that colby's mom sent the week before.  i've been burning pumpkin spice candles every day and several surfaces in our apartment are now covered with fake leaves, pumpkins and skeletons.  and speaking of leaves, i got the sweetest little package in the mail the other day from leann full of actual fall leaves from illinois!  i haven't gotten around to taking pictures yet, but there will be a photo bomb post soon, i promise.

it sucks being so far away from everyone, but we feel extremely lucky and loved to have so many amazing people caring about us and our baby cat!!!

xoxoxo

p.s. i never got around to posting the 33 week pics because i didn't care for any of them, but i did upload a few to the photo album.

Wednesday 24 October 2012

33 weeks

baby kitten is 33 weeks and they say she weighs as much as a pineapple.  her bones are hardening and she continues to fatten up those big baby thighs so i can tickle them!  her due date is 49 days from today.  how crazy is that?

i'm a little late getting this posted because colby and i spent the day on st. thomas.  we went to tour the hospital and honestly it feels like a setback in my confidence regarding our birth experience.  when i called the hospital i was transferred 4 times just to get to labor and delivery, and everyone i talked to seemed to be resistant to the idea of us touring even though that's a normal thing people do all the time.  when we got to the hospital, everyone was rude and unhelpful.  the midwife who showed us around seemed nice at first, but was condescending as the tour went on and we asked more questions.  she reminded me repeatedly that things don't go as planned, yet she was the one to suggest having a birth plan.  i mentioned that i want to wear my own clothes and she felt it necessary to remind me that birth is messy.  no shit?  it's not like i want to wear a designer suit, lady.  i told her we don't want the vitamin K shot, hep B vaccine, etc. and she said to be prepared to fight them on it.  i'm not fighting anyone on anything.  it's my baby and she doesn't need anyone sticking her with needles or putting chemicals in her eyes within hours of being born, and that's all there is to it.  the worst news is that i only get to hold her immediately after delivery for one hour and then they take her for 2 hours!  the reasoning is that once they bathe and weigh her she has to stay in the nursery to warm up.  it's pretty common knowledge (not to mention amazing science) that the best way to warm up a newborn baby is on her mother's chest, so i'm not happy about this at all.  at least colby gets to go to the nursery and keep an eye on her the whole time, and then she stays with me in my room until we check out.

the most exciting part of our day was going to k-mart and buying our first box of diapers!  we ate lunch at wendy's and watched cruise ship people walk by, and later went to mcdonalds for mcflurries.  i've had enough junk food for a week, but i justify it because we have zero fast food on st. john so i haven't had wendy's or mcdonald's in months.  going to st. thomas is exhausting for some reason, so we're going to get to bed early tonight and take it easy tomorrow on our second day off together in a row.  it's almost like we're normal people.

Tuesday 23 October 2012

i'm struggling today with words to express how much my heart is breaking for my cousin mary.  one of her newborn twins, sophia, passed away yesterday at 5 weeks old and i can't imagine what she is going through.  i've had this feeling that once our kitten gets here she'll be safe and we'll be able to protect her, but clearly that's not how it works.  we're signed up for a lifetime of risk and worry.  i just don't understand how something so beautiful and perfect can be taken away so quickly.




Saturday 20 October 2012

32 week pics

we walked next door to enighed pond where the car barge comes in for pics this week since it's so close.  considering we only spent 10 minutes over there, i think we got some really cute pictures.

Wednesday 17 October 2012

so, i'm crazy

since i first found out i was pregnant, i have known that i was meant to have babies.  my body is designed for this and i have no fear of pregnancy, labor, or raising children.  at least once a day i have a "wow this is a freaking miracle" moment, even though i know that it's purely biology -- crazy, weird biology, but when it's all said and done it's just science and all mammals do it.  i have a very high pain tolerance and a strong mental ability to talk myself into or out of anything.  when i told my midwife i was considering a natural birth she said "if you think you can do it, you can."  it's really that simple.

since making that decision, i've been told by just about every woman i've met to get the epidural, don't be crazy, you won't feel it, and it will be such a wonderful experience.  but, i've read the statistics and i know that epidurals can slow progression which can drag labor out longer and lead to emergency c-sections.  epidurals can also mask the urge to push, leading to doctor-lead pushing which can result in a higher risk of tearing or needing assistance getting the baby out.  that, to me, is scary, unlike the prospect of doing something my body was made for.

i was sort of planning on just going on instinct, but i was at the used book store/coffee shop the other day and i saw a book called hypnobirthing.  i had heard about it on babycenter, but the name is a little off-putting and granola.  it was $10 so i figured what the hell.  if i don't go in with a solid idea of what's going on, i might end up getting pushed around by the staff at the hospital and unhappy with my birth experience.  this book is informative so far, but also interspersed with stories of successful (not to mention uneventful) natural births.  the methods are nice, but the stories truly inspire me because we so often hear of dramatic 36 hour long labor complete with screaming and misery that end in c-section or stitched up episiotomies.

i'm also open to the idea that regardless of my mental and physical preparation i could have a narrow pelvic opening and a hard labor like all the women in my family.  i'm not looking to refuse any medical intervention if my baby is truly in danger, but i am trying to avoid the downward spiral that can happen when one goes in with full trust of doctors and nurses who don't always have our best interests in mind.

don't worry, i got this!

32 weeks

mini-kitty is 32 weeks!  she's really starting to get crowded in there.  babycenter says she's the weight of a jicama, but let's be honest, these vegetable comparisons are getting pretty ridiculous.  kitten has toenails, fingernails, and hair and i'm sure every bit of it is beautiful.  she's rolling around like crazy and i have no idea where her various parts are at any given time, but i can tell she's head down when i feel hiccups.  she seems to be mostly smooshed over on my left side because i'm still having trouble sleeping on that side, and that's where the most alien movement comes from when i'm watching my belly morph.

it's official, my mom booked her flight here!   hopefully this cat comes a couple days early or right on time so i have a full 2 weeks of grandma help.  i can probably figure it out, but she's kind of awesome at the mom thing so i'd rather not do it alone.

i have to say that i absolutely love being pregnant.  i'm so excited to meet our baby girl, but i'm going to miss carrying her in my belly everywhere i go.  i discovered this week that she doesn't really enjoy ryan adams when he's wailing and crying about his broken heart, but she loves celine dion.  i feel great except for a little hip pain when i sleep and some random knee and ankle aches but nothing even worth complaining about.  still no swelling, waddling, cramping, stretch marks, or peeing myself, and i can easily pick things up off the ground.  colby and i walked to the resort yesterday and i felt good.  i also did some squats while watching tv and need to remember to do that every day.

here's a picture of sebastian wearing one of kitten's outfits we got from janet, just because...




Monday 15 October 2012

how spoiled is our cat?

packages have been flowing in on a daily basis now and we are so excited and thankful!  it's like a long distance baby shower every time i check the mail!

so far we've received a huge care package from janet full of baby basics in various sizes.  we're especially excited about all the turtles and puppies all over everything and the fact that most of the stuff is gender neutral. how cute is that cherry sweater?
we also got a package from uncle pat and aunt sara which includes teething rattles, beanie babies, hair clips, and my favorite - kitten paw socks!
kitten's nana sent us a whole SUITCASE full of stuff!  super cute north carolina onesies, christmas outfits, a pink cat hooded towel, the most adorable overalls you've ever seen....
i created a new photo album just for pictures of gifts we've gotten.  click here to see it all.
we also received a breast pump from the registry and have no idea who it's from.  i very very very much appreciate it!!!  thanks to everyone!  <3

xoxo
colby, nellie, and kitten catherine

Wednesday 10 October 2012

31 weeks

kitty long-legs is 31 weeks!  there isn't a whole lot of exciting development going on; she's just packing on the pounds and making me uncomfortable.  i feel lucky to still be sleeping very well and physically capable of doing everything i want to do, but not without some aches and pains.  my left hip is frequently numb and painful at the same time, as it feels like my leg is falling out of the socket, but if these already wide birthing hips have to spread more to accommodate baby girl i'm all about it.  this should work in my favor toward my goal of getting her out in 6 hours start to finish.

i experienced my first rib kicks the other day while checking out at the grocery store.  it's more painful than i thought it would be!  luckily she moved off of that spot and is instead kicking me square in between my ribs where it appears that a bruise has developed.  she's keeping my posture good because she absolutely hates when i slouch and my bra underwires push against the top of my belly. 

i was reading on babycenter today story after story of babies born at 35-36 weeks that did not even have a NICU stay and went home in 1-2 days.  that is absolutely terrifying as we are really not ready to have kitten home in 4 weeks.  she doesn't have a car seat or a place to sleep yet!  i've been holding off on washing her clothes because i haven't gotten the storage units in that i need to hold all her tiny cute stuff and i don't want things to get dusty before she even arrives.  what i'm saying is, we are completely unprepared.  maybe this will kick in my nesting instinct.

Friday 5 October 2012

weird pregnant dreams

lately i've been noticing a theme in my dreams where i'm a total badass.  the first dream i had like this involved a man attacking me and, using my jiu-jitsu and kickboxing training, i fought back and choked him unconscious.  then i had another dream where someone in a white minivan was trying to hit me so i jumped up in the air, kicked them in the face through the open window and they drove off a dock into the water.  last night's dream was a little different, but it involved my whole family and colby's family in a house where there was a tornado warning.  no one was concerned, but i convinced everyone to get in the basement just in time before a tornado destroyed the entire house.  i'm basically a hero.

i like to think that i'm having these dreams as a reflection of how i view childbirth and parenting.  i am completely convinced that i will attack labor, kick it in the face, choke it out and walk out of the hospital in a blaze of glory with baby in my arms and colby by my side as the hospital is sucked up by a tornado.

Thursday 4 October 2012

30 week pictures

by some miracle, we both had the day off today.  we were too lazy to go to the beach early enough for the good light, so we waited until late afternoon and hoped for some sunset luck.  i'm loving my round belly and still can't believe how little time is left.


Wednesday 3 October 2012

30 weeks!!!!!

kitten love is 30 weeks!  i love a good round number, so i'm overly excited to make it to 30.  she should be somewhere around a foot and a half long now, and weigh over 3 pounds.  she's being compared to the weight of a head of cabbage.  i'm pretty sure each of my boobs weighs about as much as a cabbage too.  kitten's swimming around in a pint and a half of amniotic fluid and her vision is starting to develop more.  hopefully she'll have perfect vision like her mom and dad, and stay away from bb guns to keep it that way.

now that she has abandoned her awkward transverse position, i've started to finally look undoubtedly  pregnant, just in time to enter my 8th month next week.  yesterday was the first time i've spotted my reflection and thought there was no way a stranger could mistake me for fat.  i absolutely love my pregnant body!  i could do without the fat face, but it's a small price to pay.

Monday 1 October 2012

stubborn kitten finally moved out of her awful transverse position, and i'm pretty sure she's head down!  all the action is a couple inches over my belly button now, and when she gets hiccups i feel it down really low.  at the beach today, i crunched up and everything was dead center in my belly up and down.  it looked SO WEIRD.  in other great news, i slept through the night without any kicks or pee breaks last night.  she let me sleep on my sides comfortably and didn't kickbox my bladder.  we're now on much better terms!

Sunday 30 September 2012

island fever

as the baseball post-season draws closer and all my friends start talking about cooler temperatures and pumpkin flavored food, i can't help but feel sad about missing fall for the first time in my life.  tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of the day colby and i had our first date, AKA the best day in history ever of all time.  along with the excitement of reaching this milestone, however, is a bit of sadness about the life we left behind.  we've never been to a braves or falcons game together.  in fact, we only lived in atlanta for a month before we jumped ship and moved to paradise.  i wish we could celebrate our anniversary at a braves game or oktoberfest, drinking beer and cuddling up in hoodies.  i know in my heart as well as logically that our life here is incredible and better in so many ways, and i wouldn't change any of our decisions for the world, but there's still a part of me that wants to break down and cry because i won't see any changing leaves or wear a sweater dress to starbucks to get a (triple grande non-fat with whip) white chocolate mocha.
i'm so jealous that the braves are going to the wildcard play-off and i won't be there to see it, or chipper's last game.  sam adams octoberfest is out and i can't drink it.  halloween is coming up and we probably won't be dressing up, and definitely won't be decorating our apartment.  college football season is in full swing and i can't watch any of the games i want to see.  i tried to bake a pumpkin pie and there's no canned pumpkin to be found on this island.  i want to wear cute maternity jeans and sweaters with riding boots and take maternity photos with colorful leaves.  and now that i got that out of my system, it's time to remind myself that i live here:

Saturday 29 September 2012

29 week pics


unfortunately the pictures suck this week!  with our car being worked on, some cloudy weather, and incompatible work schedules, we only had time to run to gibney for a minute this afternoon and then the camera battery was dead.  we had to use my phone for this week's pics, so colby has promised me epic ones next week :)

my belly is ROUND for the first time!

    
this child is wearing out her welcome over the past few days!  she's still transverse and it's gone beyond minor stress on my abs to constant pain and discomfort.  you would think that if she doesn't like when i'm laying on my side she would just get out of the way.   normally at this point, babies are vertical - either breech or head-down, but usually not still transverse in the third trimester.  i just hope our long-legged feline has enough room to get her head down ASAP so i can go back to loving every minute of this pregnancy.

i've been getting a good bit of exercise lately while our island car is in the shop getting some pretty major body work.  we had no idea the frame was so rusty and rotted, but we found out when colby got into a minor accident and the passenger side of the car imploded.  we had to get a new door, windshield, and parts of the frame welded on.  i'm disappointed that we didn't take a picture, but we were pretty upset at the time.  we get the car back today and i'm honestly going to miss being forced to walk.  i was doing at least a mile every day this week and it felt great, but i don't see myself taking that initiative when i can drive to and from work.

a couple nights ago i noticed white lines all over my belly and i panicked.  it didn't feel like stretch marks, but i just figured it was the very beginning of them.  last night i took a shower and when i got out i realized that the skin on my belly was shedding like a freaking snake!  all my tan skin is peeling off and being replaced with new white skin, and so far no stretch marks.  i'm so very happy about this!  i'm not out of the woods yet, but the longer i put it off, the less horrific they will be, right?

Wednesday 26 September 2012

29 weeks

baby cat is 29 weeks today and i seriously can't even believe how fast it's going!  her muscles and lungs are maturing and her head is getting bigger (yikes!) to make room for her awesomely large and superior brain.  i've been craving chocolate milk every night, and as it turns out, our kitten's bones are hardening and taking a lot of calcium from me.  she's still in a mostly transverse position and making it hard for me to fall asleep with her nudges when i try to lie on my sides.  fortunately i can still sleep on my back so i'm sleeping like a rock. 

i had a little growth spurt over the past couple days and i now feel like i look clearly pregnant to anyone i see in public.  my abs are still refusing to let go and i'm proud of them for hanging in there.  i tried to pop up out of bed quickly yesterday and got a stern reminder from my belly that i was overdoing it.

i took a picture of all the tiny baby clothes we've gotten in the mail so far from old navy and walmart.  it's a crappy camera phone pic, but look at how cute it is!!!!


Thursday 20 September 2012

healthy kitten

went to see our midwife today and everything is perfect!  she's measuring the right size and her heartbeat is strong.  we confirmed that she is laying transverse, and a little bit oblique, which is why i feel all her little bumps on my sides and nothing near my ribs yet.  i'm glad i can still breathe easily, but she's putting a lot of stress on my abs. i've only gained 6 lbs so far and i'm pretty proud of that considering my terrible sweet tooth. 

our work schedules are the absolute worst this week with 3 days off each but none of them together!  we decided to go out to hawksnest tonight after colby got off work to catch the sunset and we went ahead and took 28 week belly pics.  the water was calmer than we've ever seen it and the sunset was gorgeous and pink.  sometimes we still can't believe we live here.



Wednesday 19 September 2012

28 weeks

our sweet kitten is now the size of an eggplant.  she should be somewhere around 15 inches long at this point, but the most exciting development this week is that she has eyelashes!  she can also blink and see light and her brain is developing like crazy.  somehow, the eyelash part is what excites me the most, though.

my belly button remains deeper than most people's pre-pregnancy navels, but it's spread out and wrinkly.  i know i have a long way to go but so far i still haven't gotten any stretch marks.  when i lie on my back and crunch up, i get this weird bump in between my formerly awesome upper abs.  colby made a horrified face when he saw it and i was equally weirded out.  i hope that all goes back to normal!

in other news, my grandma's health and desire to live have taken a turn for the worse.  she misses grandpa so much and one can only read the harry potter series so many times and watch every episode of rizzoli and isles before it becomes pointless to get out of bed and struggle to the living room every day.  when i was there a few months ago she said to come back with the baby, but i don't think she'll make it that long, and i'm not sure she intended to when she said it.  i love that the middle name we've chosen honors grandpa and grandma's names (emery and mary) and it also contains "amor" which means love.  colby didn't even choose it for that reason, but it's perfect.

Tuesday 18 September 2012

meow

we've been calling baby girl a kitten since pretty much the beginning even before we knew she was going to be a girl named catherine.  just last night it occurred to us for the first time how funny it is that colby's nickname is colby cat and i used to think i was a cat and made everyone call me kitty.  we're just two big cats having a litter of one tiny kitten :)

so, i bought her this:

Sunday 16 September 2012

27 week pics

we hiked to salomon beach early this morning and had it all to ourselves for a couple hours.  when we first moved here last november, we lived in the national park employee housing at the top of the trail for two weeks and that was our go-to beach.  we haven't been there since january when our friend darius sailed us over on a hobie cat for my birthday.  i had forgotten how beautiful the water is, even for this island!


Saturday 15 September 2012

where's my bump?

i woke up this morning and my big ol' belly i had last night is gone!  kitten kicked and punched me all night in whatever side i tried to lay on, so unless she has super long arms (not out of the question, really) she's definitely transverse.  and a champion kickboxer.  but seriously, where'd my bump go today?  so weird.

my abs are still killing me from stretching, but i'm going to keep using them as much as possible.  i keep reading about all the other women due in december who feel like turtles on their backs and can't get off the couch or out of bed or their cars and i'm determined to avoid that as long as possible.  i think it's common nowadays to let yourself go, eat whatever you want, stop exercising, and then mistakenly believe you will "lose the baby weight" afterwards.  back in the day, women kept working on the farm and maintaining the home and taking care of their other children up until they gave birth.  they didn't sit around boo-hooing and eating ice cream and blaming it on their hormones.  i'm certainly nowhere near perfect -- i've been making pies and not exercising enough, but i eat fruit like it's going out of style and take the stairs when given the option.  tomorrow, we're going to wake up super early and hike to salomon beach.  i'd like to hike the reef bay trail again before my feet start swelling.  i like the idea of being somewhere miles away from my car where i have to exercise because i have no choice.  on thursday, we went to oppenheimer beach in the morning and i got my fat butt into this tiny tire swing.  it was NOT easy, but i felt accomplished!

Wednesday 12 September 2012

27 weeks

kitty kate is the size of a rutabaga.  what the crap is a rutabaga?  she weighs at least 2 lbs and is ~14.5 inches long.  she can open and close her eyes and has developed a sleeping pattern.  according to babycenter, i should be having leg cramps and problems with balance, but so far so good!  i had calf cramps in the 1st trimester, but none since then.  my hips are still going numb when i sleep, but i've had problems with that my whole life and i still sleep like a rock with a few breaks to change position and pee once or twice at night.  she'll be getting hiccups more regularly from here on out and colby got to feel them last night.  it's so weird having this alien in my belly!  the last time we checked she was breech, but if i had to guess she's transverse right now, because i feel all the bumps and nudges on the far sides of my belly, the hardest ones being on my left.  she has plenty of time and space to move head down so i'm not worrying about it.

depending on which chart you use, i am starting the third trimester today, but some go by 28 weeks.  i'm far from nesting, but we did go ahead and buy a couple things from walmart.com.  i'd love to stock up on diapers and wipes but i'm afraid she'll be sensitive and we'll have a million things we can't use, so i'm trying not to go overboard.  we're going to use a cloth diaper service that lets you try out different kinds to see what works best, so we don't invest $200 into fancy diapers that leak.  we have wipes and receiving blankets on the way, and a friend from high school has sent me a bunch of her daughter's clothes.  once we get that stuff, i have no idea where we'll put it, but we'll just have to cross that bridge when we get there.

and now, we're off to the beach to maximize our dwindling opportunities to do whatever we want on our days off!

Sunday 9 September 2012

hiccups

i'm feeling baby hiccups for the first time ever and it is super weird!  she spent a good portion of last night stomping my bladder and now i guess she has flipped around again because i feel her little nudges above my belly button.  she is having way too much fun in there and i'm loving it!

Wednesday 5 September 2012

i had my first official pregnancy meltdown last night.  it was amazing boyfriend colby's 30th birthday and i failed to order him the gift he wanted in time to get it here for the 4th.  we don't go out drinking for obvious reasons, can't spend money going out to eat, and his nfl fantasy draft was 45 mins after he got home from work.  the only gift i could give him was to cook/bake anything he wanted.  neither of us realized how ridiculously difficult it is to make homemade cheesecake when he asked for it.  i assumed that since i had most standard baking supplies on hand, i could just get a pie shell and some cream cheese and whip something up.  wrong!  it turns out there is a very long (6 hours!), part science, part witchcraft process to real cheesecake.  i don't own a springform pan and wouldn't be able to get one on this island, so i opted for an "easy cheesecake" recipe i found online.  after three trips to the grocery store, i finally got the faux-cheesecake in the oven.

colby asked for pizza for dinner, so i called every pizza place on the island and they are all closed for the down season.  trip #4 to the grocery store to get pizza supplies is where the full meltdown occurred.  i took colby's debit card to the ATM to withdraw $200.  the ATM made a long, drawn out money counting sound and then said please take your cash but never gave me any cash.  then it ate his card.  with two people standing in line behind me, i dissolved into tears assuming i had just lost money with no recourse, colby's debit card from north carolina, and still had no cash or card to buy dinner.  the banks here are notorious for terrible customer service and money going missing from accounts, etc. so i just got overwhelmed with the absolute certainty that we lost all that money and could not be convinced it would all work itself out.  i went back a 5th time, got the stuff and made us some awesome pizzas.  and of course, colby went to the bank this morning and got it all straightened out, but it sure seemed like the end of the world at the time.

26 weeks

our sweet kitten is now comparable to a lettuce or an english hothouse cucumber, whatever the hell that is!  babycenter says she's 14 inches long and weighs 1 and 2/3 lbs, but she was already 1lb 1oz at the last ultrasound and had crazy long legs like her dad, so i have a sneaking suspicion that our tiny cat is bigger than other 26 week babies, although my belly wouldn't lead you to that conclusion at all.  i have no idea where i'm keeping something that big, but i'm not complaining.  i do feel a little stretching and expect stretch marks any day now, but i'm going to keep drinking water like there's no tomorrow and applying cocoa butter every chance i get and maybe i'll grow slowly enough that i'll escape unscathed.

what we do know for sure is that her hearing is becoming more developed and she's inhaling amniotic fluid to practice breathing.  she's hearing a lot of colby's voice, sebastian's barks, and waves hitting the beach. she's also hearing a little too much CNN, but we have plenty of time to correct that.  the fact that so little new development is happening this week is actually very exciting because it means she's almost reached the point where she just bakes for a few more months putting on fat and then we get to meet her and love her more than anyone has ever been loved!

we're pretty settled on the name catherine amory.  i liked the other spellings originally, but i do agree with colby that the C is a smidge classier than the K spellings.  after all, the duchess of cambridge is named catherine and she might be the queen some day.  there were a lot of names we didn't get to use, but this isn't our last baby, so i feel confident i'll get my little mary elizabeth or at least my super pro athlete nolan emery some day soon.  although colby really had his heart set on d'qwell.

Monday 3 September 2012

countdown

as of today, we have exactly 100 days until kitty cat thompson's 12/12/12 due date!

i spent yesterday finishing up our wal-mart registry and amazon wishlist.  we're not going to have a nursery so we are instantly saving a ton of money and all we desperately need is the playard (that's what she'll be sleeping in indefinitely) and a carseat.  we tried so hard to pick out non-pink things because we don't want to drown her in girliness, but the best pack n' play and cutest boppy were pink!  as long as nothing says "diva" a little pink is ok, but she's going to be rocking a lot of braves gear and gender neutral things for sure, and probably some actual boy clothes.

we plan to cloth diaper to save money, but decided we're going to use disposables for the first few weeks while i recover, get the hang of breastfeeding, and generally figure out how to take care of a baby human.  colby has to go back to work right away since it's going to be peak season, so i'd like to keep things simple at first.

Wednesday 29 August 2012

25 weeks

kitten is a cauliflower!  she's putting on baby fat and starting to look more like a newborn.  her hair is growing and if we could see it we'd know what color it's going to be.  supposedly my hair is growing more too, but it seems to still be falling out at the same rate as always, so i'm having a hard time believing that.  if the heartburn old wives tale is true, this kid is going to have a full on afro by the time she's born.  i can't even eat a bowl of cereal without acid coming up in my mouth! 

other than the reflux and the non-stop peeing, i'm actually feeling really great.  no back problems, no peeing myself, and i'm sleeping like a rock.  i'm still wearing my regular clothes and haven't gotten bigger anywhere but my belly.  thanks to the dumb tropical storm, it's been gloomy here for weeks, so no beautiful beach belly photos unfortunately.  we did take 24 week pics in the house and at frank bay, but they look like crap:





Thursday 23 August 2012

isaac

lamest tropical storm ever!  my pool noodles didn't even fly away from the balcony.  colby's at work today, but our sales office was closed so i'm at home being bored with little bastian.  we are, of course, safe and sound.

i think kitten flipped back to breech because she's kickboxing my bladder again today.  i'm about to make a grilled cheese and eat it with pickles.  is that a weird pregnancy thing or just a weird nellie thing?

Wednesday 22 August 2012

24 weeks

petite kitten is now the size of a canteloupe, and around a foot long!  our little $5 footlong has almost reached the gestational age of viability, meaning if she were born now she would potentially be able to survive.  babycenter says my uterus is the size of a soccer ball, but i'm just not sure how that's possible or where it all fits in there.  i felt a weird movement across my belly yesterday right below my belly button, and then started getting a lot of bumps much higher up than usual, so i'm wondering if she flipped over and is no longer breech.

our little family is about to go through our first tropical storm/hurricane together.  isaac is closing in this afternoon and is projected to become a category 1 hurricane over us or just after it passes by us.  we stocked up on water, bread, peanut butter, jelly, pretzels, and flashlights -- all the essentials!  we're going to go pick up some sandbags this afternoon when i leave work just in case it rains into our apartment, which i have a feeling it will based on the odd design.  the building is solid concrete new construction, so i'm not worried about the wind, just the rain.  i'm kind of excited but a little nervous, mainly about losing power and being miserably hot.  i already sweat enough with the A/C running constantly!  if our internet still works, i'll try to update on how things are going.

xoxo

Monday 20 August 2012

healthy baby girl!

we had a midwife appointment today and our little kitkat is healthy as can be.  all the blood tests were good, sonogram was flawless, and measurements are right on time.  she said my weight is fine as long as baby continues to measure correctly and i feel good.  i'm slightly anemic, but that's normal and my iron and b12 are fine, so she said not to change anything.  she also said that i have strong abs that are keeping baby in, and likely won't get too big but there's no way to say for sure.  one thing is for sure:  we're making a superbaby!

23 weeks 5 days

we tried so hard to get 23 week pictures every day since wednesday, but the weather would not cooperate.  every time we had a morning free from work, it was cloudy.  today we're both off, but it's hazy and cloudy.  oh well, i guess it can't be perfect in paradise every day :)

Sunday 19 August 2012

i wrote a comment on a post today on babycenter and then found myself reading it back a couple times and it brought tears to my eyes.  i thought it would be good to post here for safe keeping :)

of all my life aspirations, i have always said that the one thing i had to do and was meant to do was be a mother.  i was told i would not be able to conceive naturally after age 30 and that thought has tortured me for 8+ years as i struggled to find a worthy man and get to the point where we agreed to and could afford infertility treatments.  as it turns out, i found the man of my dreams AND got pregnant with a surprise baby at 31.  she wasn't planned per se, but she's all i've ever wanted!

Wednesday 15 August 2012

23 weeks

kitten thompson is now the size of a large mango.  two days ago, she was practicing muay thai in there and i could see her kicks next to my belly button!  it was one of the most awesome things that has ever happened to me, and i'm excited/scared for what's still to come.  she's getting so strong and it's crazy how fast she was moving when we watched her on the sonogram.  she's going to hate getting cramped up in there when she gets big and my ribs are going to pay for it.

i had those dreams about kitten being a girl and i was right, and last night i had a dream that i decided to go natural and skip the epidural.  i've decided to very seriously consider it and it's now on my list of things to discuss with my midwife at my next appointment.  if it gets labor over with faster and my body was designed to do it, i'm willing to give it a shot.  if i chicken out, that's OK.  and if i chicken out and it's too late to get the epidural, then i'll do what i have to do.

i don't have a scale, but i feel pretty confident that i haven't gained much weight.  i do let myself indulge in one snack a day, but i try to make sure i eat plenty of fruits and vegetables before that.  the day we went to st. thomas last week was the absolute worst, though and i'm still feeling guilty about it.  i had donuts and a latte for breakfast, wendy's spicy chicken combo for lunch and i think we had either tacos or pizza for dinner.  i will not be doing that again!  my appetite hasn't noticeably increased, and in fact i can't eat as much as i used to.  i get specific cravings and feel like i'm starving to death but then when i start to eat i fill up fast.  the massive quantity of water i drink might factor into that.

Sunday 12 August 2012

i look pregnant today!  i think by the time we do 23 week pictures we'll finally be able to see a noticeable difference.  i'm excited about going back to the doctor to see how much i weigh because i might have finally surpassed my pre-pregnancy (pre-morning-sickness) weight and baby girl will grow so fast from here on out.  she's already 1 lb 1 oz according to the ultrasound, and her head and belly are measuring just a couple days behind, but unsurprisingly her femur is measuring over a week ahead.  she's going to be a gorgeous, leggy heartbreaker, we just know it already!  with colby's height and my figure, she'll be a victoria's secret model without a doubt :)

we were pretty much settled on a boy name because we were so sure that's what we'd have, but now we're back to square one on girl names.  i'm still stuck on mary because of my grandmas sharing that name, but i really want to use katherine or kathryn so that i can use all the nicknames like kate, kat, kitty, katy, etc.  we've already been calling her "kitten" so it just works.  colby really likes katherine but is resisting mary.  it means "bitter" and it is an admittedly boring name, but it has all the qualities we like in that it is traditional, easy to spell, and everyone knows it but no one has it.  colby likes amory and my grandpa's name was emery, so that's where we are right now: katherine emery... katherine amory... i'll have to toss those around and see how it feels in a few days.

in other news, i'm starting to put together some pretty solid ideas on what needs to be on our registries.  i've registered on babies r us and amazon.  we don't have room for a nursery, we're cloth diapering, breastfeeding, and not using pacifiers, plus we live on an island so our needs are going to be a little different from most people i think.  is it tacky to ask for gift cards?  does that take the fun out of it?

Thursday 9 August 2012

we are SO excited about tomorrow's ultrasound i don't even know how we can sleep tonight!!!  we're hoping for a boy, but i've really settled into the idea that we're having a girl because of all the dreams i've been having.  my biggest fear is having 3 boys and no girl, and colby's is the opposite.  our ideal family is a boy and then a girl and then we're done, so that our little girl can have a big brother.  we will obviously love our kids no matter what order they come in or sex they are, but having big brothers was awesome and little brothers were so annoying!  on the other hand, my mom brought up the fact that having a big sister to help with the boys would be great too, so i'm sure there are a million different ways to look at things and you can't always get what you want.  we're just crazy pumped to be starting our family and hoping for a healthy, fat baby.

Wednesday 8 August 2012

22 weeks

island kitten is 22 weeks, ~11 inches, and 12-20 ounces.  he's the size of a papaya -- how appropriate!  the internet says he's sleeping 12-14 hours a day, but i'm already certain this kid is all colby because it seems like he's awake and kicking me pretty much non-stop, especially when i lie down to sleep at night.  sebastian has felt him kick more than colby has, i think.  basty likes to get up next to me and put his head right across the middle of my belly which kitten either loves or hates and starts going nuts in there.  it's so stinkin' cute.

i have no stretch marks yet and my cavernous belly button is still at least a half inch deep, so i'm starting to feel like it might never come out.  i would like for someone to tell me that if i'm not showing much now that i won't be huge by the end, but people instead tell me they weren't showing much at this stage either.  i choose not to believe them.

right now my biggest problem is round ligament pain.  every time i stand up, i have to hunch over until the pain subsides and then i can stand up straight.  it's annoying but nothing i haven't gone through before with endometriosis pain.  i'm starting to wonder if labor contractions are going to feel much different from the contractions i've felt in the past.  i remember some so bad i couldn't stand up or drive myself home from work.  if that's as bad as it gets, been there done that, i'm going to win pregnancy.

i had yet another dream where i already have the baby and it's a girl.  she was sooooo pretty, but she wouldn't grasp the concept of breastfeeding so i had to keep putting her back in to cook a little longer.  i love weird pregnancy dreams!

Friday 3 August 2012

ultrasound

we are officially scheduled for an anatomy scan on friday 8/10.  just one more week until we find out if we're having a colby jr or a mini nellie!


Thursday 2 August 2012

cruz bay-by belly


woke up this morning with a little extra bump! we're headed to dennis beach tomorrow morning to do more 21 week pics, so stay tuned :)

Wednesday 1 August 2012

21 weeks

kitten thompson is 21 weeks today!  he allegedly weighs 3/4 of a pound and is the length of a carrot.  i'm feeling him move every day, especially if i have caffeine, and some of the kicks and nudges are quite painful.  i woke up today feeling like i finally look pregnant at least to people who know me, but i'm still patiently waiting for the "baby bump" that tells strangers i'm not just fat.  my belly button scars are stretching painfully, but i still have a bottomless pit of a navel with no outtie anywhere in the near future.  our little kitten has been balled up on the left side of my belly for a couple days now i guess, because when i look down i'm noticeably lopsided.  i'm sleeping pretty well and still glowing so to speak, but i felt tired and cranky today for some reason.  hopefully i'll be back to feeling like myself tomorrow.  i don't want to be the whiny pregnant lady; i want to be the annoyingly upbeat there's-a-miracle-in-my-belly mama. 

colby and i don't have compatible work schedules this week, so the weekly photos might be a couple days late but we won't forget.  some time in the next 2 weeks we will find out the sex and then i can start shopping for ridiculously adorable christmas outfits!

Wednesday 25 July 2012

20 weeks

our tiny kitten is now half way cooked, ~10.5 ounces, and the length of a banana.  he's still tucked way up in there and barely showing unless i'm sitting down, but he moves all the time -- so much that sometimes i have to ask him to settle down.  colby hasn't been able to feel him moving since the first time, but there will be plenty of opportunity for that down the road.

i feel pretty great, definitely rocking that pregnancy glow.  i've been reading the december 2012 birth club forum on babycenter.com and counting my blessings every day.  the people on there are so much larger than i am, and many are having bladder control problems, trouble getting out of bed, waddling, swelling, etc.  i just look like i just ate an entire pizza and loved it.  i know that tougher times are down the road, but i'm thankful to be half way and having no embarrassing problems like that.  i'm even sleeping really well, still able to lie on my back and stomach with no protest from kitten.

my best friend sent me all of her maternity clothes and some extra from her friend as well, so i have TONS of stuff to wear and it looks like i'll make it through this entire process with only buying one maternity outfit (and a lot of huge new bras.)  if we have a girl, we also will have tons of baby stuff given to us, and this will be the world's cheapest pregnancy ever of all time.

i started a separate photo album for baby belly pics since there were too many i liked to post them all here:  kitten thompson


Saturday 21 July 2012

colby felt our little kitten move last night for the first time!