Daddy's Little Boy

Sorry about no pictures - I forgot I don't have essential software installed on my computer at home and we have to find the disks.

Today Gummi is being "daddy's little boy" for certain. My Viking genes may make him robust and powerful, a true warrior on the frozen battlefield, but right now he's being a little poo-head just like his dad.... (hehe)

Kicking, squirming, boxing, back flips, you name it. I'm trying to have a conversation and he's knockin on the door. Holy mackerel! I'm accidentally lethal (elbows in particular) but this is out of control. I'm not the one who accidentally cuts open his leg with a box cutter while installing stereo speakers... sheesh!

Settle down in there, chummy.

Oh by the way, Mark suggested "Guiness" for a name. What do you think? Guiness Harwood. Or maybe Fintan Guiness Moon Harwood? Is that a little too much? :P I actually like Guiness for a name, too bad I can't stand to drink it.

It's a.... SURPRISE!

Well, that was fun. I'm writing this while Mark scans the ultrasounds so we can show you what the baby's sex is. Yes, you can see it... which is why it's kind of obvious it's ...

A BOY!

Yes, that's right folks... we're having a boy, heir to the Harwood millions as Mark's mother likes to joke. Don't worry, Omi & Grandma, we'll have all girls after this one. If I get twin girls next round, it will confirm my all my spiritual and religious beliefs, and certainly my belief in mind over matter (and body). But in any case, we're happy either way, and there is only love for all children!

The placenta has moved away from my cervix so there's no more partial previa, so I should be clear to have a vaginal birth if all goes well. That, of course, means I have to watch my weight and keep on exercising. Yes, Dr. Porter "yelled" at me but in the most friendly way such that it was not "yelling" by any stretch, just him reminding me that I have gained a few pounds too much and I really must stop eating other people's wedding cakes, birthday cakes, etc. And Binky & I need to do our prenatal yoga soon...

Anyway, back to our little Fintan. We're not 100% decided on that name but close enough that I will be able to continue my mental construct.

So here are the pictures of the baby, cute as a button. Then I have to dash out of here and get to work in time for a meeting at 1:00... egads!!!

UGH! I guess I'll post pics shortly.

16 hours to identification...

Well, the hours are floating by like years. I can't say I've looked forward to a Monday so much as this. Tomorrow we should HOPE to find the baby's sex.

Mark felt his first kick last night. It takes some patience because the minute Dad gets involved the kid stops moving. However, we finally got a good one. "Was that it?!" he asked, his eyes wide with a kind of terrified excitment. "Yes," I said. "Oh my gawd, there's an alien in there!" he said, or something along those lines. A precious moment, too precious to remember details because my memory is more in my feelings.

I went skating with Mini-Goon this afternoon (friends' daughter, she's almost 6). She is so cute, convinced it's a girl, talking about "her" and "she" the way I refer to Gummi as a "he" or "him" naturally. As I've said before, if it's a girl, I hope she's as cute, sharp, and sports-oriented as our little miss pink & sparkles! After we took our hockey skates off, she wanted to put her dress on to show me... she'd be the perfect combo of what Mom wants and what Omi wants :)

I fell down twice, both times on my left knee. Ouch. No biggy, but I think I'm already incontinent... so much for that theory! It can happen to anyone!

I will post tomorrow afternoon, stay tuned!!!

Counting down to Gender Day

Well, my computer is still on the fritz so I have to cheat and do these posts from work. I meant to do one last night but internet was restored yesterday so I figured I could do it from home - but then i couldn't boot and Mark had to re-install XP again. I'm about ready to throw the whole thing out the friggin window and buy myself a really nice portable Alienware or something.

This is what they say about my little defenseman this week (beginning Week 19! almost half way there!):

"Your little action figure is able to choreograph Matrix-like moves by now. Arms and legs are finally in proportion, neurons are now connected between the brain and muscles, and cartilage throughout the body is turning to bone. All these upgrades combine to give your baby more control over limb movements. Which explains all that kicking, stretching, and bodysurfing (or rather bellysurfing) you've possibly started feeling by now."

Feeling it - you bet!

I have a black soft stretch tee on today, over maternity jeans. I look good in black. It's so slimming. I figure I better wear this on Monday so Dr. Porter sees how slim I really am, and when I'm 15lbs up and he freaks out I can say, but look! Do I look fat? No! And I'm barely showing, see?

I do have to wonder, though: Where could all that weight be?!? My swollen ankles? :)

Mama's Little Soccer Star

Gummi is going to be a soccer star just like it's mama. And s/he's going to be a little hockey star just because. Maybe Gummi will be one of those rare athletic gems who is the captain of the team and MVP and a genius to boot! Okay, a mother can dream.

Gummi is kicking away in there. Very athletic, I'd say. I can feel movement every 2 hours or so, sometimes very actively, sometimes more mellow. I like to announce "Gummi's awake" to people around me, who probably couldn't give a rat's butt, and when Gummi is sleeping and people walk by and go "how's...?" (rubbing their bellies) I say "Gummi is sleeping."

Gummi is about 9" now, according to some sources. About half it's body length... well... knowing my family, and Mark's height, that's probably about a third its total birth length. I find out on Monday whether Gummi is a he or a she... and I can't wait!

Meanwhile, my computer is totally down and our Internet is totally down, and I have no way to share my belly pics with you at this time. However, I will get them posted asap! :)

Wonderful Weekend

Well I had another wonderful weekend. Mostly spent it with Mark driving around Silverlake going to open houses for homes we couldn't begin to afford. We found a great 4-br + den, no garage, lots of lighting, very modern... only $936,000! :)

Also saw my friend Lynn at her baby shower, as well as some other hockey friends. Lynn looks good, she's going back to Colorado (wah!) and her husband Alan will hopefully make it back from Iraq in time for the birth.

I'm huge, and feel the baby moving all the time.

My computer completely crashed. I lost all my personal files - scripts, pictures, ultrasounds, web sites, saved game files, everything. Plus our internet's been down all weekend. What a pain. Anyway, hopefully soon I'll have that image of my belly up... soon... soon...

Week 18 - Innerbody Adventures

Hey, apparently I have entered into Week 18. Who knew!

I get updates from an online service. Unfortunately, most of the interesting stuff has passed and now it's just "grow baby grow." And a lot of thinking ahead - planning, etc.

In fact, this whole pregnancy is turning into a scientific expedition into my body, and little more. And, to my amazement, I am discovering... nothing new.

Sure my belly is popping out (sorry, Mark took pics, I'll try to get them off his camera soon) and my body is changing a bit. But, for the most part, the bleeding could very well have been abnormal menstruation and the fluttering could be nerves, and the rest could be gas. Who'd really know I was pregnant?

In fact, everything seems...well... normal. I eat, and three hours later I'm hungry. Okay... that's how I've always been. In fact I think a lot of people are like that. It's more a blood sugar thing. And I can clear my plate. "Of course, you're eating for two!" How does a comment like that make me feel when, in fact, I have always cleared my plate, eating to the point of stuffed-ness where I get home and have to lie down sometimes? And I'm not eating for two. The other guy is only 5 oz. - the weight of a chicken breast and the size of a burrito. A can of Coke is bigger and weighs more. I still have gas, allergies, burps. I may urinate a little more, or did, and now I can go almost all day again. It's almost become... mundane!

Well, anyway, I suppose I focus a lot more on my belly now, unconsciously rubbing it, thinking aloud to Gummi, and really hoping to feel movement, something solid and sure. But these are the 'good times' and I should cherish them, because the really big fat time is yet to come!

Week 17

Oooh, fun update (click here).

I know you all want to see pictures of my poppage (as I officially popped last week) so I'll get some soon.

Energy & Stuff

I should mention I think I am starting to get some energy back. I do feel like sleeping a lot, but I think now that school is over I can actually rest between days. I am not sleeping well (can't get comfy, have to pee a lot) but I am certainly doing much better. I actually have a desire to exercise and bowflex and skate.... finally!!! :)

Since Giant Gummi Goon will probably gain me 35-40 lbs, I am goign to try to net 20-25 lbs. I was 15 lbs. overweight when I got preggo - all school weight, I might add - and I figure I'm eating less and eating better than ever (amazing, eating LESS, I know it sounds weird, I'm eating PLENTY just not PORKING OUT as usual, and it's all more healthy, well, except maybe the soy ice cream) and if I actually exercise more than once every two weeks, I might actually balance out!

Just because I'm preggers doesn't mean I have to be fat. It doesn't mean I have to gain more. I can turn that fat into muscle again, get my Marion Jones legs back, feel and look better than ever, with a gigantic bubble growing out of my belly... and it will REALLY help with childbirth, and as I'm so desperate not to have a c-section and to avoid any assistance, if being lean and strong and healthy can help push that monster out faster and with less pain and effort, all the merrier I say!!!

Boob Fat for Sale

I've gone from a 36 B+ to a 40 D+. Whoever says the # is for your ribcage circumference is insane. I have never fit in any bra of any number that actually fit around my rib cage (I could wear a 50 B+ and it would still be too small). Anyway, I expect they're only going to get bigger, so I am going to sell off some of my organically grown, steroid-free, tenderly loved, all-natural boob fat on eBay.

Yesterday I went ice skating. I'm out of shape but it felt sooooo good. SOOO much better than walking. I need to go more often, it just feels so natural. However, now that my legs are atrophying, turning thigh muscle into "flabbalanche," there is much interference in my crossovers in the upper thigh region... Backward, however, I was doing great, which is usually my weakness. Maybe all that Defense is paying off.

I think I'll do stick-time, too. Keep my shooting strength and stuff. Stick-time is safe, nobody's going to knock me down and I'll just pick my piece of the ice and practice stickhandling and shooting against the boards. When the boys turn it into pick-up I'll politely decline, go to the other end of the ice, and practice some more.

I really want to play - it's REALLY hard to watch your husband and friends play without you! But I am also enjoying sitting in the stands in "pregnant row" as a bunch of the wives are pregnant just a little ahead or behind me, and Jane wants to get pregnant, and Pam's not allowed but she already has two fantastic kids and will be more than welcome to share in ours.

Feeling better!

I'm feeling better for lots of reasons.

1. I feel a little more energy. Even though the past two days at work were 10+ hours, there is less stress after graduation. I'm not sleeping great, but I'm able to do a lot and think a little more clearly.

2. My bleeding seems to have subsided. Hopefully that means things are going uphill and that I haven't jinxed myself by mentioning it.

3. I've officially "popped" as my friends put it. No going back now... In fact my favorite pants, which are "transitional phase" maternity pants (stretch, a little broader waistband), soooooo comfy... well sitting here now i have to unbutton them.

4. Annie and I are going to go hit Old Navy - the nearest one has a maternity section in the store so I can try on pants. Also I need a skirt or dress... I have a friend's baby shower and another friend's wedding to attend in the next few weeks.

I want to go visit Omi this weekend but I should really clean house and catch up after school and try to get more rest.

Oh and it was really cute, I made Mark talk to Gummi this morning and he was silly, like he didn't know what to say. So cute! :)

Oh by the way....

By the way, here's me graduating yesterday. Gummi & I have a Master's degree. How scary.

The Harry Potter costume sort of hides the Gummi Bulge...

Flutters!

Happy birthday, Mom! (aka Omi-t0-be) I love you. I hope I can be as wonderful a mother as you were, able to make the sacrifices necessary to ensure that our family has everything it needs, including love, encouragement, a positive attitude, and the basic necessities. (And I hope I can give more than you were able to, given our circumstances.) I love and appreciate you always!

Flutters!

Let us celebrate Omi's birthday with the announcement of the first official flutters. I've felt things in there from time to time, but only this morning was I ever absolutely positively certain that that fluttering was not a muscle spasm, gas pocket, or surge of ... something in my guts.

We were lying in bed, Mark draped half over me, both of us mostly asleep, me on my back. The alarm clock was playing the usual quiet Sunday morning classical, and Mark was trying to transition from dream land to reality so he could get up and go walk cougars, and I was trying to transition from reality back to dream land because I don't have to go to school any more.

Then Gummi did a somersault plancha, or a hurricane-rana, or something equally acrobatic in there. I was surprised to feel it, but all else was so still and peaceful, and it was so obviously and clearly not digestion, and a little to the lower left where Gummi has been situated. I told Mark and he sleepily told me it must be gas. :)

I was shopping a bit later at Ross in search of cheap maternity clothes, when Gummi fluttered some more. It is so cute, the flutters... much simpler and stranger than the kicking will be, I suppose. Anyway, that's all I've heard from Gummi today.

Now, however, it's time for us all to sleep :)

Our Genetic Possibilities

Let's have some fun with high-school genetics.

First, let me say that I am not carrying the Fragile X "extra" genes so I am confident this kid is going to be A-OK. Now it's a question of what genes we do know about.

First, let me clarify something. A person's "phenotype" is what genetic traits are visible or appear in their obvious make-up. Eye color, hair color, etc. A person's "genotype" is what is in their genes, some of which are not apparent.

1. Mark's mom is Burmese. She has all genes of the Southeast Asian types: dark hair, dark eyes. These are dominant genes, I believe, as Mark displays them as well (phenotype).

2. However, Mark's dad is Caucasian. He is of British descent (English/Irish/Scottish/Welsh - I'm not sure exactly which). There may be some others in there - we'll have to ask. He has green eyes and I believe blond or light brown hair. Although hair doesn't usually have dominant/recessive-ness, it seems that Mark's mom's hair genes took over.

THUS Mark's genotype is 1 Brown eye, 1 green eye; 1 Brown hair, 1 fair hair. He is capable of passing on either the Brown eye or the green eye, as well as the Brown hair or the fair hair to his offspring. Thus, there is a 50% chance I could have a fair-haired kid, and 50% chance he could have green eyes.

(Not that I have anything against dark features - after all, I fell in love with them.)

3. My mom is blue-eyed and brunette. I believe she is carrying one green-eye gene and one Blue eye gene. She passed the green-eye gene on to me, as well as the brunette.

4. My dad is blue-eyed and, well, it's hard to say. He started out very blond, and is now brunette (well, gray...). As with myself and Erik, we both started out fair and darkened over time. Erik was really blond for a long time. My hair darkened around high school/college. Dad has one green-eye gene and one Blue-eye gene, and he passed the green eye on to me.

THUS I am carrying two green-eye genes (assuming green is recessive to Blue) and one brunette hair and one fair-to-darker hair gene. Thus there is a 100% chance that I will pass on a green-eyed gene to my offspring, and a 50% chance of passing along the fair-to-darker gene.

PUT THIS TOGETHER and you get:

• a 50% chance our child will have brown eyes
• a 50% chance our child will have green eyes
• a 25% chance our child will have dark brown hair (Mark's)
• a 25% chance our child will have my brunette hair
• a 25% chance our child will have fair hair
• a 25% chance our child will start with fair hair and it will darken with age

ALL IN ALL that's a 50% chance for a green-eyed, "starting out fair-haired" child!!!]

Will we still name him Fintan if he is dark? Sure, why not. We still love the name.

Quick Update

HI ALL!

First, Sarah, stop worrying. You know I'm not like that.

Second, I went to the doctor today. He was harried because he was on his way to a delivery, but he still makes sure he takes the time he needs to with everyone.

We heard the baby's heart beat again. It's so nice to hear it. Given all the bleeding and spotting it's just nice to know it's still getting his nutrients and blood and oxygen and all.

I graduate in less than a week... holy crap I can't wait to have some time to myself again, to be lazy or exercise or read or do whatever I want to do! I only get 6 more months of that.

According to some calendars, I'm 15 weeks. I never can be sure any more... it's all a blur. Here's the 15-week update. If you can't get to the linked page, email me. Meanwhile, here's a cute illustration. (I see my bladder and why it's shrinking... where are my intestines? LOL)



Keep posting, love to hear from you all!