Greetings From 20 Weeks

Murray has had a big week. First, we had the 20 week ultrasound on Thursday, timed specifically so that my parents could be there to see it. We were all in awe of how big Murray is, and yes, we learned the Big News: Murray is a Murrita. A girl. A girl who's measuring perfectly on time, not too big not too small.

We took that opportunity to go and look at baby gear -- strollers and dressers. Andrea beat the crap out of a few strollers, much to my mom's great amusement. Eventually she figured them all out, even as a bunch of studly-acting guys came by and gave up in frustration. She perservered and got them all working well enough to make her decision about which model she wants (we're getting 1 for each car, just seems easier).

We picked out a dresser/changing table we liked (and I dutifully noted that every single changing pad came with FREE WASHCLOTHS, yes,I pointed this out EVERY TIME, much to my own great amusement) and my mom was nice enough to spring for it. I also had the chance to see that the carseat I'd wanted is actually hideous in real life. Good to know now!

It seems both more and less real every day that soon, less than 20 weeks from now, we'll be having this baby. That means I'll be going through labor. Ugh. But using a bidet. Woot! And then bringing home our daughter after all that fun. Wow.

Moving Right Along

A couple of really cool things happened this weekend: -- Andrea felt Murray move. Yes, it required me saying, put two fingers right here, immediately after she'd kicked me, then me coughing to get her moving, but yep, Andrea felt that ripple, that inexplicable movement of our kid who is growing like a weed.

The other cool thing was calling home from Phoenix, putting the phone up to my belly and feeling Murray go apeshit at the sound of Andrea's voice -- over the phone. Murray absolutely knows her voice and responds to it.

That, my friends, is about as cool as it gets. Until we do the Great Gender Revealing next Thursday.

Welcome to Week 17

Where your oldest dog gets his ear bitten through and you have fake contractions for a day that scare the crap out of you. Well, at least that's how my Week 17 is going.

Yesterday, I had a bit of drama that apparently got my uterus in a bit of a tizzy, inspiring the first sets of cramp-like things I've felt since the beginning of all of this stuff. It went on for most of the day and through the night. That got me back in the doctors office, where everything checked out fine, including a very active baby who wouldn't stay still long enough for us to find the heartbeat for too long. Then s/he had to move on, going about her business in the womb. I respect that.

Turned out that I have a UTI, which is totally fixable and in no way impacts the Murrito. Phew. Phew twice.

Where We Are Now

Almost 17 weeks. That's almost halfway. We're a little over 7 weeks from viability, meaning that if the sky fell and Something Horrible Happened where the Murrito arrived really early, he'd have a chance at making it. So far there's nothing that indicates that could remotely be the case, but still, in the back of our heads there's this countdown.

I guess around that time we should start getting Murray's room ready and thinking about what to name this kid. I don't think 'Hey, you!' is a very effective name, long-term. But that's just me, and I mean no offense to the Hey, you!'s of the world.

I'm also getting fatter. I cannot remember a time when I didn't wear some form of elastic on my waist. Murray is kicking a fair bit, and though some books say that only people who have had kids before or who are very skinny (neither of which applies to me) can tell, I assure you most emphatically: I can tell when I'm being kicked. And the kid is getting stronger and bigger every day. Which means I'm getting kicked in new places. Cool.

I've added a link to Murray's piddly registry. The thing is, thanks to Susan (who we still need to pay, sorry!) we have most of the baby equipment we're going to need. So we're not registering for that much, at this point.

I'm feeling a shitload better. Thank you thank you thank you Murray for removing the nausea from my life.