It Starts...

First, a note from friends at WebMD...

Congratulations, Holly! You're 27 weeks pregnant. Your baby measures about 9.6 inches from crown to rump, and weighs a little more than 2 pounds. Hands are active and muscle coordination is such that he can get his thumb into his mouth. Thumb-sucking calms the baby and strengthens his cheek and jaw muscles. Your baby can cry now, too.

OK, thumb-sucking jokes aside here, how wrong is it that kids can start crying when we can't even HEAR them?!? Is it not enough that Tyler will spend the majority of his first few months engaged in this very activity (when he's not eating, sleeping, or pooping, that is)? No, no...gotta' have some in-utero crying to go along with it, too. WOW!

Even funnier in this? That's it's just sort of thrown in there as some sort of after thought! "Oh, and by the way...you know that sound that's going to keep you to a maximum of two hours of sleep for the first three months of your baby's life? He's making it NOW...and he's PISSED about it!"

For whatever reason, this post totally me think of the Family Guy episode where the family is celebrating Stewie's first birthday. Stewie has a flashback to his in-utero days, and it's priceless. Enjoy!



Family Guy - Stewie's Birthday
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More Dancing Babies...or Ooga Chaka, Ooga Chaka!

First, this note from our friends at WebMD...

Congratulations, Holly! You're 26 weeks pregnant. Your baby measures about 9.2 inches from crown to rump and weighs almost 2 pounds now. Its hearing is full developed. As the fetus reacts to sounds, its pulse increases. Your baby will even move in rhythm to music. Lungs are growing but are not yet mature. Patterns of your baby's brain waves appear like a full-term newborn. It also has patterns of sleeping and waking. The baby's constant movements should be reassuring. You'll be putting on weight at the rate of about 1 pound per week now. You may be feeling some rib pain as your baby grows and pushes upward on your rib cage.

OK...so admittedly I've already blogged about dancing babies. In restrospect, I now feel sort of ripped off that I went that route so early. So, if you want to see a dancing baby video, please feel free to click here to see my earlier post.

In the meantime, I find it hard to believe that:
A. Tyler will have rhythm at all given his parents, and
B. That his moving "in rhythm to music" would look anything unlike the following...

And Now Here's Something We Hope You'll Really Like...

Sorry for the Rocky and Bullwinkle theme...something got me going on that earlier today, and now it's just stuck in my head.

And now here's something I hope you'll really like...an update from our friends at WebMD!

Congratulations, Holly! You're 25 Weeks Pregnant. Your developing baby now measures about 8.8 inches from crown to rump and weighs 1.5 pounds. Skin now becomes opaque instead of transparent. Its body is still covered with folds of skin like a puppy that need to grow into its skin. The heartbeat can be heard through a stethoscope or, depending on the position of the baby, by others putting an ear against your belly. Besides your uterus growing upward, it may be getting bigger on the sides of your abdomen.

24-Week Update (It's late, I'm tired, and I can't think of a creative title!)

And now this note from our friends at WebMD:

Congratulations, Holly! You're 24 Weeks Pregnant. Your baby measures around 8.4 inches from crown to rump and weighs about 1.2 pounds. He is starting to produce white blood cells, an important component of blood that is responsible for combating disease and infection, and may respond to your touch or sounds. Your uterus is about 1.5 to 2 inches above your navel. Expect to gain about a pound per week this month. Tests for detecting gestational diabetes are given between now and 28 weeks.

I'm not sure if it's just because it's late (a little after midnight) or if I'm just insane, but the idea that Tyler can hear things going on around him is just awesome to me...and totally makes me think of Stewie Griffin's iPod commercial on Family Guy. :-)

Wrinkled Old Bag Lookin' Like A Sharpei

First, this note from our friends at WebMD...

You're 23 Weeks Pregnant. Your baby measures about 8 inches from crown to rump and weighs almost 1 pound. His body is starting to look more like a newborn, but his skin is still wrinkled as more weight is to be gained. By now, there is no mistaking that you are pregnant and you have likely gained about 12 to 15 pounds. If you have aches in the small of your back, consider treating yourself to a pregnancy massage or apply a warm (not hot) heating pad or hot water bottle for a short period of time to the area.

Let me first say that I think it's a bit presumptuous of the WebMD folks to assume that all husbands are kind enough to provide their loving wives with a trip to the spa for a pregnancy massage. Maybe they've got some sort of arrangement with the Spa Sidell folks or something. Hmmm....

Second, I think it's hilarious that Tyler has essentially not grown into his own skin yet. For whatever reason, all I can picture when I think of this is one of those wrinkly little sharpeis...

And why the bizarre title to this post? It's a shout out to our good friend, Will "The Fresh Prince" Smith, from his classic 1991 ode to old drivers, "You Saw My Blinker!"

We both pulled off on the side of the road

I was hot ready to explode

The only thing stopping me from breaking her nose

Was I was 21 and she was ninety years old

Then the police came turned the lights off

The lady started crying and the cop got soft

The cop said oh it'll be okay

Wrinkled old bag looking like a sharpei...

Graduation!!

Chris graduated from Pre-K last week. HOORAY! I'll post more information on this later, but I thought I'd post the video for now. Enjoy! :-)

Do A Little Dance...Get Down Tonight!

First, this note from our friends at WebMD...

You're 22 Weeks Pregnant. Your baby measures about 7.6 inches and weighs about 12.3 ounces. His muscles are getting stronger, and his eyelids and eyebrows have developed. Your baby's acrobatics are pretty constant, and since he responds to sound, rhythm and melody, you can try singing and talking to him. After he's born, the same sounds may soothe him. Your uterus is continuing to grow, but you're probably feeling pretty good -- no more morning sickness, and your abdomen isn't so large that it's getting in the way very much. But many women experience leg and foot cramps, as well as mild swelling of ankles and feet, around this time.

I think it's absolutely incredible that Tyler is already forming a love for music. On the other hand, the image that keeps popping into my head is that crazy dancing baby from Ally McBeal! :-)

Mah Name's Tahler...But Y'all Can Call Me Bubba!

First, this note from our friends at WebMD...

You're 21 Weeks Pregnant. Your baby measures about 7.2 inches from crown to rump and weighs about 10.5 ounces. He is steadily gaining fat to keep warm. Growth rate is slowing down but organ systems, like digestion, are continuing to mature. A waxy film, called the vernix caseosa, is being produced by your baby's oil glands and covers the skin to keep it supple in the amniotic fluid. Buds for permanent teeth are beginning to form. Friends, relatives, and even strangers can probably tell you're pregnant by now. Your uterus is starting to extend above your navel. You've likely gained between 10 and 14 pounds.

Before continuing on, I think it's important to note Holly's response to this post. She's generally felt like everyone on Earth (and maybe even NASA astronauts thanks to the Hubble telescope) can tell that she's pregnant for the past several weeks. To say that she was shocked to hear that people might (just now) be able to tell that she's pregnant is perhaps the understatement of the century!

Anyway...I love the idea that Tyler's beginning to develop "buds for permanent teeth." That sort of makes it sound like he's growing some of those Hillbilly Teeth that you can buy in gas station gumball machines. :-)

Note to family members who are reading this...be sure to ask Ann about the teeth she wore the first time she met Holly's mom. Hilarious!!

20-Week Update

From our good friends at WebMD...

You're 20 Weeks Pregnant. You're at about the midpoint of your pregnancy. Your
baby measures about 5.6 to 6.4 inches from crown to rump and weighs about 9
ounces. He can hear sounds by now - so talk to your baby often. Baby will even
cover his ears with his hands if a loud sound is made near you, and he may even
become startled and "jump." Your baby is moving often, too -- twisting, turning,
wiggling, punching and kicking. Can you feel him? Your uterus is just about even
with your navel and your waistline has pretty much disappeared. But don't worry,
it is only temporary!

I'm lazy today, so there's nothing clever about this post. As they say, "just the facts, ma'am!" Until next time...

I Just Have Too Many Interesting Things to Say!

So a couple of weeks ago, Chris had notes on his daily reports that said he was "chatty" at nap time, meaning that he was probably keeping some poor kid from getting his or her daily ration of sleep (and - more importantly - keeping his teacher from getting her daily ration of sanity!). This went on for two or three days, and when I finally asked him why he kept being so chatty he replied, "I just have too many important things to say, and I have to get them out!"

How hilarious is that?!?

X-Men?

First, this (slightly belated) note from our friends at WebMD...

You're 19 Weeks Pregnant. Your baby measures about 5.2 to 6 inches from crown to
rump and weighs about 7 ounces. The baby's skin is developing and is transparent, appearing red because of the visible blood vessels. A creamy white protective coating, called vernix, is also developing. As your baby continues to grow, you may be feeling some mid-pregnancy aches and pains -- lower abdominal achiness, dizziness, heartburn, leg cramps, mild swelling of ankles and feet, and a backache are all normal. Dilated blood vessels might cause tiny, temporary red marks (called spider nevi) on your face, shoulders and arms.

Admittedly, I'm a little creeped out by the "creamy white protective coating." It sounds like someone slathered Tyler in suntan lotion or something. Who knows? Maybe ultrasound waves can give you a nasty burn...

Regardless, the idea that Tyler's skin is still transparent and a little red reminded me of the scene in the first X-Men movie where Senator Kelly gets turned into a mutant by Magneto, only to have the mutation fail completely, ultimately resulting in his disintegration into a gelatinous mass on Dr. Grey's table. NASTY stuff, but a VERY cool effect!