Eversmashing

William hit his one-month mark this week -- yay!  He also had his one-month doctor's appointment, at which we discovered not only that we don't like going to the doctor's office, but also that William is now 9 lbs 13 oz!  That's a gain of over 1.5lbs since he was born!  The rest of the appointment went fairly well, and we were assured that we have a very healthy baby boy.

William has been smiling a lot more this week, usually when we make funny noises or laugh for him.  He's gotten very good at tracking faces and objects, and has even shown a tiny bit of interest in some pictures in books.  Really short books, anyways (he still doesn't have much of an attention span!).  This week we also experienced a LOT of snow, which brought with it the added bonus of Jon getting some "snow days," which meant that we got to spend more time with him throughout the week, and he got to be on the receiving end of a lot of William's smiles and laughs.

Our little guy has also been becoming more expert in his vocal expressions.  He now has begun to "coo" and make other playtime noises in an attempt to imitate us.  We've even discovered him awake in his crib "talking" to his stuffed animals!  What a cute kid!

It’s hard to believe William is already three weeks old! 

One of William’s big accomplishments this week is developing a sleep pattern that’s mutually agreeable for everyone in the household.  The little guy has been doing a great job sleeping 3+ hour stretches during the nighttime hours, even sleeping as many as five or more hours at a time on occasion! We’re keeping our fingers crossed that this stays consistent!  We all seem to be adjusting pretty well now, as we’ve gotten better at figuring out what he’s trying to communicate with us!

This week William had the opportunity to do all sorts of new things.  We went to church again Wednesday night for Thanksgiving Eve, and William did a very good job sleeping through most of it.  On Thanksgiving, weall visited Jon’s associate and his family, which was an exciting outing for William.  He enjoyed looking at the new surroundings and observing the new people. This weekend, in celebration of his baptism, William also got to see his grandmas again, as well as meet his Grandpa, Auntie Carla & cousin Linzy, Auntie Laurie & Uncle Adam.

Today William had another big adventure.  We woke up early (for him, “early” seems to be anything before noon) and went to the zoo with Auntie Carla & cousin Linzy.  We did some shopping with them as well.  William slept through the entire zoo experience, and most of the shopping afterward.  I guess we’ll just have to visit the penguinsagain some other time!

Other tidbits:

- He’s discovered the family pictures on the wall in his bedroom and likes looking at the people’s faces

- He no longer screams every time his diaper is changed!

- Though he still hates baths, William did not cry when the baptismal water was poured over his head!

- At his appointment on Tuesday, William weighed 8.6 lbs

- He still falls asleep in his car seat, though when we tried to utilize thatat bedtime, he woke up as soon as he arrived back home

On Monday, William turned two weeks old.  These first two weeks of his life have beenfull of eating, sleeping, crying, and having his diaper changed (which alwaysseemed to lead to more crying… nothing more miserable than having your diaperchanged, apparently).

Overall, we’ve been getting to know him better and he’sgetting to know us and this crazy world around us better.  He’s also been developing, re-developing, andchanging his mind about his preferences. For instance, last week he hated his bouncy chair, but this week he’sdecided that it’s actually not so bad! 

One of our major endeavors this week was figuring out whatthis whole “sleep” thing was about.  We’restill working on it, but have a few “good nights” under our belt already (a “goodnight” being one that he sleeps in large chunks and falls back asleep soonafter his nighttime feedings.

William took his first outside adventure this week, taking acar ride to church!  He hated the carseat, but fell asleep in it before we were out of the driveway… so apparentlyit wasn’t quite as bad as he thought.  Heslept through most the service up until the offering, when he needed a diaperchange… crying ensued, of course.  Heenjoyed meeting everyone, though.  Infact, when we made an appearance later that evening at the Youth Center, hespent much of the time just looking around at people’s faces and listeningcontently to their conversations. Everyone was excited to see him, of course.

Check out more pictures of our little guy HERE.

Our little guy loves being rocked, hearing our voices, looking around thoughtfully at the world, and going on walks around the house.  He likes dancing with his daddy and hearing me tell him stories.  William also loves being rolled up in his"snuggle ball" position, where he gets in one of his sleep sack outfitsand tucks his feet in tight and snuggles against his daddy or me, allcurled up in a tiny ball.  He often smacks his lips if he's happy, and he likes sucking his thumb, and has been known to wiggle his hands out of many outfits and swaddles in order to get to them.  He does like being wrapped up in his Moby wrap, which looks a bit like a Jedi costume, but keeps him tucked in close to me while I walk around (or sit and type this!)

Other tidbits about William --

- When awake, he seems deep in thought; his idea of "playing" is watching someone talk to him or walking around with someone as they talk

- He doesn't believe that newborns have weak necks and likes to hold his up to see what's going on

- He has the softest skin ever!
- Once he is comfy, he does NOT like to be moved!

- He has a way of making 8 lbs 4 oz look absolutely itty-bitty, and seems to be two sizes too small for most of his "newborn" sized clothes

Check out more pictures of our cute little snuggle-bug HERE: http://picasaweb.google.com/wnk1029/WilliamNOVEMBER?authkey=Gv1sRgCPPH__e1oLH9qwE&feat=directlink

Well, Baby and I had our "40-week" appointment (a bit early, albeit!) today.  Baby's still doing great, and has seemed to drop even further than last week.  I'm feeling hesitantly optimistic that Baby will be here within a week or so... keeping my fingers crossed anyway.

Towards the end of last week I did end up coming down with a nasty head cold, but I'm feeling tons better now, thanks to lots of vitamin C, rest, and tea.  I've been having some discomfort and achiness, but no major complaints!

We're feeling excited (and somewhat impatient!) for Baby's arrival... we'll be keeping everyone updated as we get more Baby news!

Baby and I had our "39 week" appointment today.  Baby had an excellent appointment -- measuring right on track, showing off his/her strong, healthy heartbeat, staying in the most optimal positioning, and -- we discovered today -- Baby even has his/her head engaged already!  Looks like someone's getting good and ready to come out into the world in the next few weeks!

Earlier this week, Baby was VERY wiggly, with lots of very strong kicks and movements that seemed to bruise me from the inside, particularly in the ribs.  After our busy weekend, though, it seems that Baby has needed some time to recuperate, and has been pretty quiet the past few days... until Jon comes home, anyways.  Baby really likes hearing his voice and tends to wiggle up a storm when he comes home for lunch and in the evenings.  Baby's been getting hiccups pretty frequently, too, which tends to feel quite ticklish to me!

And the question eveyone's been asking -- how do I feel?  Well, I can honestly say that I'm feeling quite well, though I've definitely been starting to feel more aches and pains... my hips and ribs have felt rather sore this week, and it doesn't help much that I've been waking up with a sore throat and stuffy nose.  I've been "cocooning" a lot, staying in to avoid all the germs and sicknesses that have been going around, and taking vitamin C and drinking lots of tea to try to stay healthy. 

We now have the car seats installed, the nursery mostly ready, and everything else seems pretty set to go... we'll be sure to keep everyone updated in these next few weeks as we wait patiently for Baby's arrival!

Another week, another appointment for Baby and me!

Baby and I both did very well at our appointmnet today.  It seems that the cold I was fighting has nearly gone away (yay!), and my glucose hasn't given me any more issues.  Huzzah!  My uterus is measuring right on, and Baby even cooperated while the midwife listened to his or her heartbeat.  Baby's heartbeat has been in the 120-130 range for the past few weeks, which according to the Old Wives' Tale means that Baby is a boy... I wouldn't count on it yet, though... I could definitely see us having a mischeivious little girl who just wanted to throw us a red herring!  Baby also has wiggled around in the womb so that s/he is now positioned head-down, facing my back, with his/her back on the left side of my belly -- the optimal positioning for birthing!  S/He also has dropped since last week, though his/her head is not completely engaged yet, so s/he still is able to wiggle around quite a bit.

Baby has been VERY active this past week, and has been enjoying playing video games with us (s/he almost always wakes up as soon as s/he hears the theme music of our most recent game!), and has gone back to doing the wave on my belly while I'm sitting still for a long time.  Baby has gotten hiccups a couple of times this week, and thinks it's fun to kick and nudge Jon at bedtime.

As for me... I'm still feeling great!  We had some wonderful visitors this weekend (thanks, Kurt & Christi!), and enjoyed having something to take my mind off of the waiting!  Not too much longer now!

Christi 27wks / Wendy 37wks

Baby and I had our "37wk" appointment yesterday.  Baby was very well-behaved and let my midwife find his/her heartbeat and didn't kick around the doppler like s/he has been doing the past few weeks.  Maybe we just caught Baby at a quiet time this week!

37 weeks is officially "full term," so Baby is almost ready to be born!  Baby's found a snuggly place in the womb, which is good news for me since I no longer have feet being jabbed in my ribs as often.  Baby is now just working on gaining weight and getting ready to be born.  Baby's had a pretty quiet week, probably due to me being busier and running around like a chicken with my head cut off.  When I finally do have a chance to lay down or relax a bit, Baby tends to kick it up a notch, particularly if s/he hears that Jon is home, too.  This weekend we had fun watching the Nationwide NASCAR race together, and Baby picked the winner for the week (I asked him/her pick which driver to cheer for by reading off the names of the drivers and seeing when s/he would kick )

I've been feeling quite great, though emotionally I'm feeling more and more ready for Baby to be born.  I've had some minor discomfort when I've sat for too long in one position, and have had some random nausea throughout the past few days, but nothing major to report.  I've been sleeping a lot better over the past week or so (probably just due to being so tired!)

Otherwise, I've just been trying to keep myself busy in case this turns out to be a long wait... though I may go a bit crazy if Baby decides to wait another 4 or 5 weeks!