HALFWAY!!!!

On Tuesday the 15th of February I hit the halfway mark:  WOO HOO!


It also made me realize we have not done half the things we need to get done. YIKES!  Note to self, I must get more organized over the next few weeks. 


The Ultrasound was great and it was amazing how much you can actually see.  During the 16 week scan you could see the heart beating, but this time (with the help of some color imaging) you got to see the oxygenated and deoxygenated blood flowing through the chambers of the heart and through the umbilical cord.  It was also incredible as to how much you can see: internal organs, skeletal structure and the sex. However, we were good and averted our eyes when the screen showed the gender of the baby, which means the sex is still a surprise.  I will add a poll to the website so everyone can have a guess.   Here are several pictures from the ultra sounds. 

For the fruit comparison of the week, the baby is the length of the banana (for the first 20 weeks the baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, so measurements are taken from the top of their head to their bottom, the "crown to rump" measurement and after 20 weeks, they are measured from head to toe.)  The baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces (298 grams) now and is around 6 1/2 inches (16.5 centimeters) long from head to bottom and about 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) from head to heel.


We also had some sad news with week as both Arthur’s Grandmother and a close family Friend, Jeffery Miller passed away.  They will forever remain in our hearts.

Week Eighteen & Nineteen

The last few weeks have flown by and so I'm playing a bit of catch-up with the blog.  I know I am currently in week 21, but week 20 deserved its own post so they will be posted shortly.

Things have been going very well the past few weeks.  The most exciting news is I have felt a few fluttering baby movements, but it isn’t every day and sometimes I am not 100% sure if it is the baby moving or just gas!  

My biggest noticeable difference this week has been hunger.  The books say the baby is going through a growth spurt, which makes the elevated hunger pains normal.  I try to make the snacks healthy foods such as carrots, apples and oranges, but every now and then I might sneak a cookie or brownie.

During week eighteen Cookie-Dough is now about the size of a sweet potato or bell pepper: approximately 5.6 inches (14.2 centimeters) and weighs 6.7 ounces (190 grams).  Cookie-D is yawning, swallowing, hiccupping, and sucking.

If we were to have a scan of the baby this week, it might appear that Cookie-D is taking a martial arts course inside of me; what with all the twisting, rolling, punching and kicking, the excitement of feeling the baby now, may well become short-lived as the kicks get ever more forceful.

During week eighteen Cookie-Dough is now about the size of a mango or Heirloom tomato: approximately 6 inches (14.2 centimeters) and weighs 8 1/2 ounces (190 grams).  Cookie-D is working on all five senses.  Nerve cells for the sense of taste, hearing, sight and smell are all developing in the brain.  Also a waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

Week 18

During week 20 we have a scan so I will tell you all about it in the next post.  

In the outside World, we had a huge storm in Denver from the night of February 2^nd through the morning of February 4^th.  We got approximately 24 inches of snow in this time and, while I got to work from home, I also got to gloat as Arthur battled the snow while shoveling the driveway a number of times!  

Week 19

By Saturday the 4^th I had cabin fever and had to get out, so two pregnant ladies (Rachel and I) headed to Evergreen to go snowshoeing.  While we only got 24 inches of snow, Evergreen got closer to 40 inches making for excellent conditions.  Most of the park we were in had some trails that had already been packed down by other snowshoers or skiers, but in a few areas we were having to forge our own trails. 

On Sunday we had a few people over to watch the super bowl, but to be honest I didn’t really watch much of the game.  Then on Monday the 6^th we celebrated our 4-year dating anniversary with dinner out at the Grand Lux Cafe.

The following week we didn’t get up to much as we were preparing for my sister-in-law, Fran, to come visit us in Denver and for my cousin Shannon’s baby to arrive. 

Shannon and Mike also let the gender of the baby be a surprise and for whatever reason everyone got it into their heads that she was having a boy.  Like everyone else, I was wrong.  Elin Anna Glunk was born on Friday morning at 11:47am weighing 6 lbs 11 oz and was 20 ¾ inches in length.  Both Arthur and I went to the hospital Friday afternoon to visit a beautiful and very alert newborn. 

Arthur and I both got to hold her.  I would love to say Arthur was instantly a natural when holding Elin, but he didn’t spend his youth babysitting, although he did liken it to holding newborn lambs (which he is more practiced in): he will be getting a lot more practice soon!