22 Weeks/22 Months

This week begins the "monthly produce" instead of the weekly...

"It's a Papaya!  Watch what you say -- baby is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb. Studies show that baby finds gentle music and your own voice most soothing. Nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. And, baby's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. It shouldn't be hard to figure out when -- just pay attention to those kicks as they start and stop." 

Week 22 Belly Picture - taken Friday

Regan is also 22 Months old today!  Where does the time go?  In just two more months I will be the mother of a two year old!


Regan has been developing in leaps and bounds, with her words, letters and now colors too.  Somehow she has managed to memorize the word lists at the back of her Elmo books, and loves to show off her skills of "reading" them.  She loves to play with her little laptop that she got for Christmas from Aunt LuAnn and Uncle  Mark.  She will say the name of the letter, and the sound it makes before she pushes the letter on the keyboard.  This in turn makes her want to play with out laptop too, and match the letters from her keyboard to ours. 

She also loves to do her ABC flashcards, and can almost correctly identify all of the words, and some of the letters.  The next big hurdle has been colors.  These seem to be a little trickier for her to figure out, and she seems to get attached to a color for the day, so when I ask her to name the color of something, its always the same.  For example, yesterday she liked green, so everything she pointed to was "green", whether it was for real or not.


This morning Regan was coloring at her table, and she came over to me and said "I drew a sun!".  Usually she takes the yellow crayon and asks me to draw a sun, so when I went over to look, lo and behold:

I'm not sure if you can tell on here, but she drew a yellow circle with yellow & green rays.  This is one of the most convincing things I've seen her draw!  She was very proud, and then asked me to draw a moon next to it.

Here are some other pictures from this morning - she grabbed my camera and asked me to take a picture of her:

 I asked her to smile so I could see her teeth and I got this:

21 Weeks

"It's a Banana!  Baby gulps down several ounces every day of the amniotic fluid for hydration and nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, those taste buds actually work! Studies show that after birth, babies are most interested in tastes they've already experienced through amniotic fluid. Meaning, think about what you want your future child to eat as you prepare your own lunch."


I had a doctors appointment last week Tuesday, and everything went well.  Baby's heartbeat was about 140, and I have officially gained 9 pounds.  They expect me to gain about a pound a week from here on out, which is just about exactly the same as I gained with Regan.

"Big Girl" Status

Yesterday was a big day for Regan.  We had plans to move her into her big girl room, and we were planning on moving the crib in there so she could be comfortable while she got used to the room.  On a whim I asked her if she wanted to take a nap in the "big-girl" bed, and she said yes.  Without so much as a whimper, she crawled into bed and took a 2 hour nap in her new bed, in a new room.  I cried.  It was both joy and sadness.  When did my little baby get to be so big?

 So last night was her first night in that room and that bed.  She did just fine, barely even walked into her old room today.

 Also lately, she's been loving her leapfrog Tag pen.  She sits on the couch and "reads" for long periods of time.  Usually she wants us to read her a book, but now that she can do it "herself" she prefers this.

 Another favorite toy lately was her tea set from Grandma and Papa

 Minnie and Mickey were enjoying their experience at "Cafe Regan"

Of course she still likes her time before bed when Mommy and Daddy read to her.  When this ritual goes, then it will really be time to mourn the loss of my "baby girl".

Half Way There!

"It's a Cantaloupe! Baby's digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And, speaking of the diaper situation... baby's genitals are now fully formed!"

Baby boy is halfway cooked as of today!  140 days down, less than 140 days to go!  It seems to be going by so fast this time.  I remember that after 30 weeks with Regan, the pregnancy just flew by.

I know I have been slaking with the belly pictures this time around, so here is one that I took last week:

Big Day - In More Ways Than One

Well today was a big day, and we had our big ultrasound.  Regan also had a big milestone today, first haircut.

Let me start by saying that this was an unplanned haircut.  She was happily eating her pancakes smothered in syrup this morning, when she put a big gob in her hair and smeared it all around...creating a giant sticky knot of curls and syrup.  After numerous attempts to clean and brush it out, it was still a giant knot, and Regan was screaming for me to stop trying to brush her hair.

So I had to cut it out of her hair.  She was really excited to get her hair cut, because she sees me cut Kevin and my Dads hair all the time.  She got out the stool that Kevin sits on and put it in the middle of the kitchen.  I cut about an inch off the bottom of her hair in the back, so it falls even with the hair on the side now.

I was sad that this is the way she got her first haircut - but I did save the little curls for her baby book, and she doesn't look "chopped" up, so I think it went as well as it could.  Here are some "after" shots:

So after work Kevin met me at the doctors office for our anatomy scan.  We were both really excited to see if the prediction from out 12 week scan was going be to true.  We had both been feeling girl from the beginning.  The tech asked us if we wanted to know, and we said yes.  We got our answer fairly quickly because the first shot she took we saw this:

 It's a BOY!  We were both shocked!  Even though we both knew that there was a good chance it could still be a boy, to actually hear those words was really surprising.  We are so excited at the prospect of a son, and I am excited to go shopping for baby clothes!  Here are some other shots of the baby:

 He was moving around like crazy, and at one point was all balled up in this picture

What a crazy day!  On Monday this baby boy will be half way cooked!

19 Weeks

"It's a Mango! Vernix caseosa, a greasy white substance made of lanugo, oil and dead skin cells (yum) now coats baby's skin, shielding it from the amniotic fluid. (Picture yourself after a nine-month bath, and the need for protection makes sense.) You might actually get to see the vernix at birth, especially if baby is premature."

We had an exciting weekend this past week to ring in the new year.  On Friday Kevin and I headed to Syracuse for his college roommate Rocky's wedding.  We stayed with his other roommate Kyle and his wife Sharon, who is also pregnant (about 6 weeks ahead of me).  It was so great to visit with everyone and we had a great time at the wedding.  It was hard to be "bean free" for the overnight, but we all survived, and Regan had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa Gannon.

We also took down the Christmas tree so that we could put up a very exciting gift from Santa... 

Her new tree tent!

 Even Daddy and Mommy can fit in there too!

Crazy Hair

We also had a nice visit from Rachel, Mike, Giulianna, and baby Rhyon.  I forgot to take any pictures, but I think Rachel managed to take a few, so hopefully I can post those soon!

Less than three days till our ultrasound!!

18 Weeks/21 Months/Christmas!

So today I am 18 weeks along, on Friday Regan turned 21 months old, and we had yet another eventful Christmas this year!

On the 23rd, Regan woke up with a fever... just like she did last year!  He temperature got up to 103 overnight, and we feared a repeat performance of an unhappy baby at all the holiday parties.  However, with the help of our good friend Tylenol, and lots of extra fluids, Regan managed to have a great time at Grandma and Papa's on Christmas Eve, and made out like a bandit with presents from the family. (Pitcures to follow when I get some, I forgot my camera!  Bad Mommy)

Christmas morning the fever had subsided, and all that was left was a cough and a runny nose, which we could handle.  

 Little miss sicky reading her favorite Charlie Brown book

 The stockings were filled...

... with Doozers! 

 Santa was here!

 The aftermath of opening gifts

 Hugs for the Doozer

 Helping de-fuzz Daddy's new sweater

Cousin Picture 2010, with all the new family members!

Regan is currently obsessed with her new "cousin-to-be" Kyle

Only one more week, and a few days until our big ultrasound!  It can't come soon enough, but we have so many things planned between now and then!  Hopefully if I have between now and then I will update once more.  Here is the info on this weeks produce:

"It's a Sweet Potato!  Your baby has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that you'll be able to feel those movements soon."

17 Weeks

"It's an Onion!  Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints. "


I'm starting to feel the baby kick everyday now, which is pretty exciting!  We are busy getting ready for the holidays, all the shopping is done, the cookies are made, now we just wait for the big guys arrival.  Regan is really excited about Santa this year!

Ultrasound Scheduled!

Went to the doctor today and everything is going great!  We scheduled the anatomy ultrasound for January 6th, so we will be able to officially find out if this baby is indeed a girl or not.  Let the countdown begin!



Pregnancy-Countdowns

16 Weeks - 4 Months!

"It's an Avocado!  Watch what you say... tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean the little one can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming. And, if you're interested, an ultrasound might be able to determine gender."

Rachel sent me a cute article from American Baby Magazines July issue the other day.  It was a woman complaining about how all these experts try to equate your babies size to produce, when they should be using more real world comparisons, and some that men can comprehend better.   For Moms she equates the Week 13 fetus to the size of the Hostess cupcake you want to devour.  For the men, by week 24 your little bundle of joy is the size of a regulation football.  It continues on like this, and some are really  funny.  I sorta have to agree with that opinion too, because next week is an onion...that has to be a pretty big onion to be bigger than an avocado.  Also, I think some of the fruits are subliminally telling me to eat better, because this past week I have been craving and eating oranges!

My next doctors appointment is Tuesday, so I will post an update if I learn anything exciting.

Seeing Santa/15 Weeks

This week we are all trying to survive the snow left to us by last weeks storm, with reports of more on the way soon!  Yesterday we went to a family Christmas party given by Kevin's work.  Regan got to meet Santa for the first time, though we weren't sure how she would react.  Lately she has been obsessed with Santa, reading books about him, saying "HO, HO, HO" etc.  So I thought maybe she would do well.

 This is as close to Santa as she ever got by herself.  She was saying "Hi Santa!" and waving, but didn't want to get any closer

 So we let daddy hold her while she rang Santa's bell

We took a family photo, got our gift, and parted ways with a more enthusiastic "bye, bye Santa!"

I'm just glad there wasn't a meltdown

Here's Regan walking around in mommy's slippers

Making snowballs when the snow storm started last week, back when we only had 6 inches or so...

"It's an Orange! Continuing the march towards normal proportions, baby's legs now out-measure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your baby is wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably still can't feel the movements. "

I took a belly picture myself the other day, because I feel like I'm starting to look a little more pregnant.  it's a little fuzzy, but you can definitely make out a bump.

This week is a "lay low and hope it doesn't snow" week for us.  My next doctors appointment is next week Tuesday so I will update after that.

Winter Wonderland!

West Seneca made all the national news stations tonight for the immense amount of snow we got over a 24hr period.  So far we have 3 feet since 8am yesterday!  So we've been having a wonderful time playing snow blower roulette and digging out neighbors cars, while they shovel us out...  it's been fun.

 Kevin shoveling for the third time last night,
after the first two feet fell

 This is 4 hours of accumulation

 11:30 pm... snowing since 8am

 Regan ready to tackle the snow today

 Regan would almost disappear if we actually put her in the snow,
so we had to stick to the porch while dad blew the driveway

"hot" chocolate and a cookie when the job was done

Here's a little video of our adventure in the snow

14 Weeks

"It's a lemon! Your adorable little fetus is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, and (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over the body for warmth."

Happy Thanksgiving! 20 Months/13 Weeks

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  This update is just a smidge late, but on Monday Bean 2.0 was 13 weeks along, and yesterday Regan turned 20 months old!  Where is the time going?!

"It's a Peach!  Your fetus is forming teeth and vocal cords... savor this, their non-functional phase. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with a head now only one third the size of the body. Intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy. (Much more convenient.)"

This means I am officially in my second trimester - and I can really tell.  The nausea and exhaustion are starting to greatly subside, and I hope to feel back to normal soon!

Here's a picture of Regan the other day, when Grandma thought it would be funny if she wore a visor around her waist to carry her little people around in.  Thanks Grandma!

More to come!