No Much Happening Around Here

I haven't written much in August as there hasn't been much going on.  I totally predicted this would happen.  We tore through all of our baby prep, and now we're twiddling our thumbs and stalking the calendar.  I'm so thankful (and a little surprised) that we stuck to our "get it done early" goal.  I can't imagine trying to finish projects at this point.  It would all fall on Husband's shoulders (and he's already taken over the following duties: picking-up things off the floor, pulling me out of the laying position in bed, carrying the laundry basket EVERYWHERE, and even getting my phone when it rings if I'm propped-up on the couch - seriously, how lucky am I?).   


I had my 37 (and 4 days... but who's counting) appointment last Friday.  All is well in Liamland!  My BP is normal.  My urine looks good (and no, we're not talking aesthetically).  L Bean's heart rate is good.  I was sent-home with another 4D picture of his adorable little mug.  Oh my goodness. THAT FACE.  His cheeks look chubbier than last week.  And he has the cutest chin - to whom in the family it belongs, we have no clue.  Full lips (mom).  Cute little ears and button nose (dad).  And what look like big eyes (mom).   It was the shortest appointment yet.  Maybe five minutes.  Doc came in and gave me a big hug hello.  Have I told you how much I love my doctor?  I could put him in my pocket and take him home.  If nothing happens before next Friday, he'll check me (we're talking internals, people) to see if I've dilated.  Holy cowsers. 


I can't believe I'm sharing this, but I promised honesty.  Saturday I noticed some stretch marks.  Not on my belly (thankfully).  I won't tell you the exact spot because I'm still in denial.  There's one in particular that looks pretty angry - I call it Murphy.  Luckily, they're not really visible to the general public.  Hopefully with time (and body shrinkage) they'll get smaller and less angry.  I have no one to blame but myself.  I've mentioned this before, but I'll tell you again.  I've gained some serious poundage during this pregnancy.  It may not look like it to you, but trust me - there is at least 40 extra pounds on my frame (I don't know the exact number.  I literally cover my eyes when I get weighed).  I was a smidge underweight for my age and height when I got pregnant, so some of the weight gain was needed for a healthy pregnancy and baby.  But certainly not all of it.  I've pretty much consumed whatever I felt like whenever I felt like it.  Especially these past few weeks.  This is my only regret throughout this entire pregnancy.  I wasn't active.  My food self control was non-existent.  Thankfully I'm at the end, so it can't get much worse.  I will tell you - this weekend was an all-time pregnant self-esteem low. 


We met baby Jax (Jack for long) last week!  He was a week and a half old and so cute you could eat him.  We took the family dinner, and in exchange we got to snuggle their sweet boy for a bit.  Husband was swoonworthy.  He cradled Jax so naturally, and he kept stroking his little arm with a single finger.  His face told the story of what was going through his mind - he's SO ready to hold his own son.  My heart reached the near explosion level.  Jax's mommy looked AMAZING.  She has just given birth a week or so before, and she was just glowing.  I wasn't expecting her to look rough, but I wasn't expecting her to look THAT great.  She wears motherhood so well.   It was so fun spending an hour in that kind of emotional climate.  We couldn't help but feel the love.


This past weekend Josh had a soccer tournament.  His team won!  I baked cookies and banana bread.  I cleaned and did laundry.  I napped and rested.  The weekend passed by WAY too quickly.  I went to Target and got my "after birth" goodies (the ice packs are already in the freezer).

I figured it wouldn't be very nice of me to send Husband to the store to buy HUGE maxi-pads and hemorrhoids pads.  Hopefully I won't need the hemi pads, but I'd rather be over-prepared than under-prepared (Who, me?! NEVER).  I also got some big 'ol cotton undies.  I'm not much for regular underwear, so it'll be interesting wearing those pad-hammocks for a few weeks.  When I brought them home and showed them to Husband, he said, "Sometimes full underwear is really sexy.  You know, like boy shorts."  To which I said, "Honey, these are NOT boy shorts.  They're sole purpose is to hold a pad in place.  Think granny-pantie."  He stopped smiling after that. 

Today my feet are swollen.  Husband even noticed.  We're keeping an eye on them to make sure it's not happening really quickly, as that's usually not a good thing.   I've definitely noticed an up-tick in activity this week.  More contractions.  More uncomfortable contractions.  Longer contractions.  A general dull ache in my lower belly from time to time.  I'm exhausted; although I think this has more to do with work than anything.  I plan to stop working when I pop or until my due date, whichever comes first (that's nine more workdays, max, but who's counting).  As each day passes, I realize that working until my due date will be tough.  But we have a big deadline coming-up, and it's too important that I contribute.  At least it's a desk job.

My dad booked his flights to come visit right after L Bean is born.  I can't even tell you how excited I am.  I can't wait to see the tears :)

Just for fun, here are two pictures of our oldest kids:

They're ready to be the best big brother and big sister to L Bean!

20-Week Ultrasound Pictures

20 weeks, spine

20 weeks, foot

20 weeks, face


20 weeks, litte boy bits

20 weeks, arm

20-Week Ultrasound

We had our 20-week ultrasound last night at 7:30 pm.

Side note: When the nurse said the earliest time available on that Tuesday was 7:30 PM, the first thing I thought was, "That will keep us out past bed time (we're in bed by 9:00 pm most nights)!!" and I panicked a little. I really hope Liam inherits his parents' need and affinity for sleep. Otherwise, Josh and I are in trouble (thank goodness I married someone with the same sleep habits - i.e. a lot).

Back to the ultrasound... I have to admit, I get a little anxious before every appointment. No matter how much faith you have, it's hard not to let a little fear creep in. I was especially anxious because the ultrasound tech (who, btw, is AWESOME) was going to take a really close look at Liam (by close, I mean she measured his diaphragm, stomach, and cerebellum, just to name a few). After she did her measurements, she took a few minutes to point-out, label, and print some Liam highlights (pictures to come soon). Apparently, Liam is not shy about showing-off his little boy bits. I'm predicting that our kid will be THAT kid that refuses to keep his clothes on. The tech also showed us his face, which at this point looks A LOT like this: Liam's face. We got a really good look at his feet (and yes, I tried counting the toes), his limbs, and his spine. The spine picture is probably the coolest of the lot. The tech said, "His skin is so thin that the sound bounces off his bones really easily, so we can see great detail." A comment that TOTALLY would have thrown me off, except for the fact that I was told a week and a half earlier that Liam didn't really have "skin" yet. I'll take really thin skin over no skin! She estimated his weight to be about 14 ounces. At the end of the appointment, we got the confirmation we were looking for: everything looks good with Liam.

I've noticed a reoccuring theme with our ultrasounds: Liam is really active. Each time the doctor or tech comments on how much he's moving around, to which I reply, "Tell me about it!" He kicks and punches all day long, usually targeting my bladder (our impending plane rides are going to be soooo much).

Utlrasound Pictures

6 weeks, 3 days

10 weeks, 2 days

12 weeks, 0 days


14 weeks, 2 days

18 weeks, 3 days - It's a BOY

(I spy with my little eye... in 3-D!)

He's gonna grab it!

I created this blog months ago, and then I let it marinade out there in web-space. I suppose I was waiting for inspiration. Writing was my outlet during a particularly difficult period of my life; unfortunately, when I emerged as a happier, healed person, I felt like I had lost my voice. Well, inspiration = found.

When you get pregnant, it seems that people want to know about, well, everything. I've never been much of a phone talker, and I rarely participate in "spill sessions." And Josh is a boy - most are wired without the chit-chat gene. Josh and I figured this would be a great way to keep everyone up-to-date on the pregnancy and all things baby.

In case you didn't know, we're having a boy, and we've named him Liam (hence the name, Letters to Liam). Liam Axel Hastings, to be exact. With a rock star name like that, this kid is bound to have some cool, right? He'll just have to work hard to shed the quirkiness of his parents. My grandpa had four girls and SURVIVED. I'm a girl, and I still think that's a lot of girl. He never got a boy to carry-on the Axel name, so we thought it'd be a pretty cool thing to name our first kid, girl or boy, Something Axel Hastings. Lucky for us, finding that Something part of the name was a synch. I just wanted a short first name, as Elizabeth wasn't a gem to bubble-in on scantron sheets. We found out on April 16th (a glorious day for more than one reason) that it would be Liam, and not Zoey.

A funny story about our sexing (that's what they call it when they separate baby chickens) appointment: Our doctor, Dr. Shaban, put the probe on my stomach and said, "You guys want to know what it is, right?" I was too anxious-excited to say anything other than, "YES," but Josh managed to assume he'd seen a boy part. And then WHAM!, Liam closed his legs and started showing hamburger (http://pregnancy.about.com/od/boyorgirl/ss/genderus_3.htm). After jiggling my stomach, and my love handles, a few times, Dr. Shaban flipped a switch and there was our baby in 3-D (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_ultrasound). Usually you don't do a 3-D ultrasound until around 28 weeks, as an 18 week-old baby look a little alien-like... And I quote, "It'll look a lot more normal when it has SKIN." [Aside: I LOVE our doctor - he says the things that you think but don't say out loud because there's a doctor (i.e. an adult) around]. After I was done assessing Liam's weirdness, I said, "Hey, is that a penis?" I am proud to say that Liam's is the first 18-week old penis our doctor has seen in 3-D. Seconds later, Liam grabbed it, and our doctor exclaimed, "Oh look, he's gonna grab it!" We have the BEST, and quite possibly the earliest, blackmail picture of our son. We're already plotting the embarrassement factor of meeting that first date...

This week, Liam is the size of a heirloom tomato... 6 inches long head to bottom and 8 1/2 ounces (http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-19-weeks_1108.bc).