Playtime with Dad

This weekend, Peanut had his/her first real playtime with Dad. Since Peanut now responds to Dad's voice, Jourdan made up the new "Kick Mommy" game. Peanut is of course a natural and whenever Jourdan gets near my tummy and says "Kick Mommy, Peanut" our little kicking bundle of joy responds by moving and kicking. Since Jourdan can't quite feel Peanut's kicks yet, I get the fun job of pushing Jourdan to let him know Peanut's responding. Daddy then cheers on Peanut which in turn causes Peanut to once again kick or move. 

Watching and feeling the two of them play together is one of the sweetest things I've ever seen. I get a bit misty-eyed every time we play the game.

Red Car Factor

I call it the 'red car' factor: after you buy a red car suddenly you notice everyone has a red car. I had my 'red car' moment this week when I received an invitation to my friend Emma's baby shower. All of a sudden I've realized that being pregnant isn't a perpetual state of being in only a short few months I'll have a baby. A real baby.

I want to think the reason I haven't really clued into this obvious detail is simply without a big bumpy presence at my waist the whole 'baby' idea is more of a wishful thought instead of an excited reality. It's quite a mind shift but one that is very, very exciting! 

Also the invitation alerted me to the fact I need to register for baby things.

Every Mother Feels This Way..

I knew I was a mother when..

This morning I told Jourdan that I just knew Peanut was super smart and seriously advanced because Peanut started reacting to sounds from Daddy last week. And my weekly baby update email said that Peanut "might" be responding to sound this week or next. Yes, I knew I was a mother when.. I started bragging about how smart my lil Peanut is before he/she was even out of the womb. ((Peanut just kicked me to confirm this.))

TV with Peanut

Maybe watching TV with Peanut won't be too bad. I recall making my brother and dad watch Pinwheel, Today's Special and all sorts of things when I was a kid. But I think I would happily watch this with the Peanut.

Ideas & Things for the Baby's Room

So I've been saving links and looking at nursery stuff for a while now. And we've finally come up with a theme, JUNGLE. It'll work for either a girl or a boy. Though I think husband wants it to be an all monkey jungle so I'm working to properly represent elephants and giraffes.

Below are a few of my current favorites.

We Start School in September!

Living in Davis, honestly in California, means a midwestern/southern girl like myself has to be "open-minded" and try not to be so quick to dismiss. I knew I needed to take Lamaze classes or something in order to get a little heads up on what to expect during labor; but the idea of sitting on the ground panting with other women and their spouses doesn't really appeal to me. It's sort of like me and yoga, I know it's beneficial for me to do but that doesn't always mean I'm going to go to class.

So after my co-worker, my flooring guy and my new nurse practitioner recommended these classes from Mother and Baby Source, I decided to look into it. On Sunday, I talked to the class leader and I was instantly reassured. She seemed incredibly down to earth and since she's a midwife at my hospital I figured she might offer some inside info for me and Jourdan.

So long story short; Jourdan and I are starting our "Open-Minded" Childbirth Education Classes this September with quite a few other couples who are expecting their babies around the same time as ours. I'm really excited about the class reunion that happens after all the babies are delivered and we get to meet all the new additions. 

Peanut Says Hello!

Today Jourdan and I went it for our first ultrasound during the second trimester. I've been so blessed/spoiled by the number of ultrasounds we've had that waiting for an entire month to see Peanut again, felt like an eternity. But it was so worth it! Peanut has really grown and looks much less peanutty now and much more baby like.

As usual Peanut was moving so much that it was hard for the ultrasound tech to get a clear shot, but she did get a classic! Peanut showed us his/her face and waved or more accurately, Peanut's hand was above her/his head when the ultrasound caught this shot.

We also got to watch Peanut swallowing, which is a new trick according to the baby books I'm reading. Peanut has a healthy spine which is instrumental in kicking and flipping around, two of Peanut's favorite hobbies.  We checked out the feet, seen below.

And we got some more face time as Peanut held still for a moment to stare straight on at the 'camera' but just for a moment. This baby is a firm believer in exercising and doing flips.

And we also got a lovely shot of Peanut's profile which was nice to see. I can't wait to actually see this sweet little baby and hold him or her in my arms.

And since I know people will ask, no we did not find out if Peanut is a boy or girl. We firmly stated before the ultrasound began that we didn't want to know and Peanut moved so much that the ultrasound tech couldn't find Peanut's stomach let alone anything else.

Like Mother, Like Peanut

In the spirit of the Olympics, Peanut has been working out and preparing for his/her life as a soccer star. Yes, according to my father, karma does exist and Peanut is kicking proof of that. Apparently when I was a baby I kicked up a storm and Peanut is just following in my footsteps.

Yesterday we met with Lynn, our nurse practitioner at the  new hospital and she used a special doppler microphone to listen to Peanut's heartbeat. All is good and healthy and Peanut's heart is very strong and very fast. But apparently Peanut wasn't in the mood to be interviewed so he/she kicked the microphone just to let us know, we weren't allowed to eavesdrop. 

Other than that, the appointment went quite well; more blood tests, gestational diabetes test (ew! orange soda!), etc. I'm really excited about this new hospital and loved our 5 minute commute from work to the appointment. Our next ultrasound has been scheduled for Monday! I'm so ready for some more Peanut pics!

Things that go BUMP in the night

It is the oddest feeling to go to bed with one body and wake up the next morning with another. Jourdan and I decided that I look quite a bit more pregnant today as the bump is working hard to make itself known. New bump pictures soon!

We've Moved In!

This weekend thanks to lots of friends and family, we moved from the apartment to the new house! Jourdan also went with our friend Hari to pick up the crib, bedding, mattress and baby monitor from our friend Jackie. She has been so wonderful to keep it for us for so long. Now we just need to put it together.

But before we start that project, we still have to finish the baseboards. We installed all the baseboards in the master bedroom and cut all the boards for the rest of the house (still need to do the hallway) but we're going to rent a nail gun to finish them. We got a huge help from Paul who measured the walls while I nailed in the boards and Jourdan miter cut them in the garage.

It feels so nice to wake up in our new house. And yet so weird to see all our furniture fit in the living room of our new place.

More Names We Are Not Giving Our Child

1. Shoe
2. Jennifer
3. Fing Fang Foom
4. Tobey Maguire Jr.

Names We Don't Like/Can't Stop Mocking

We bought a baby name book last night and started searching websites. Below are a few of the names Peanut can thank us for not picking:

1. Og
2. Fagin 
3. Bilbo "Baggins"
4. "It'sa me," Mario

The Benefits of Being A Regular

My cravings for Greek food are still quite strong and while I have my favorite places to go in Sacramento and Davis. I'm branching out and eating Greekish food at other establishments, e.g. the falafel pita at the Pita Pit. And while the falafels and greek salads from non-Greek restaurants are tasty I still have my preferences. So last night when we went out for Greek food for the umpteenth time this month, it was a pleasant surprise when the waitress knew our drink order beforehand. Since I've practically got the menu memorized it's easy to order and the food is always delicious. Last night was no exception, in fact we tried a new pizza that was by far better than any we'd had before. At the end of the meal, the waitress drops off the bill and I don't even look at the price (again, I know this place pretty well) because I anticipate it being about $30ish. Our waitress brings back my credit card receipt and I was surprised to see the bill at $13 (with a charge only for the pizza and not the drinks and salad)! I went to the counter to talk to the waitress and let her know the mistake and she smiled and said "It's not a problem; don't worry!" So I thanked her, gave her a big tip and said "See you next time!" Maybe I should have said.."See you on Thursday!" but she probably already knows that. ;)