Away in a Manger No Crib for a Bed...

I know it's not Christmas time, but that song has been sung quite a bit around these parts lately. Why? Well because until this morning, Monkey didn't have a crib. Not only did he not have a crib, he had no hope of his parents deciding on a crib prior to his June arrival.

We are researchers. Sometimes to a fault. We also tend to have expensive taste, without the ability to actually afford the items we like. Combine these character traits with a trend towards disposable baby furniture and you see our problem.

The good news is after a few false starts, including a trip to Babies R Us where I scratched the cherry finish off a crib with my fingernail and a close call where we almost ordered a crib involved in a recall, we have decided and ordered Monkey's home base for when he decides the womb just isn't cutting it anymore. (Which better not happen any time soon, kid! I said we ordered the crib, I didn't say the furniture was assembled or anything! Stay put for another 18 weeks or so if you wouldn't mind.)

So without further ado, a peek at what Monkey's room will look like soon.

Behold, the crib. The finish is called Espresso, which I think translates into dark brown that sometimes passes for black. Not the cherry we initally planned on, but I think this will look really clean.

The dresser that we will also use as a changing table during the diaper stage. The room is not huge, so we opted not to go with a separate changer.

And our bedding. Just picture it with the dark furniture and minus that yellow rug. The walls will be Whisper Yellow, which I hope will look nice and pale on the walls and not too sunshiney.

Once we get these items set up, we'll be shopping for a book shelf and a rocker to finish the set. What a relief to finally have that part taken care of! I can now stop worrying that the kid will refuse to come out.

Baby Homburg at (almost) 22 weeks

Today we had what is fondly referred to as "the big ultrasound." Big, because for those that don't want to wait, the ultrasound tech can normally see if the baby is boy or girl flavored. But, we've already established that we won't be finding out early in the Homburg household, so no money shot for us.

What we did get picture wise from today's scan is....not much. You have to see the humor in the fact that the unborn child of two photographers is already refusing to pose for his/her close up. Much like our 14 week ultrasound, Monkey spent most of the scan curled up in a tight little ball, hands dramatically thrown in front of the face and legs tucked up so tight I think he/she could have sucked on toes if the thumbs got boring.

Here's the three shots we came home with:

Our curled up little monkey, showing of his/her spine and not much else.

Those two little blobs are the feet that have recently started poking me from behind my bellybutton.

And finally, our one attempt at a 3d image. What you should be seeing is a nice close up of Monkey's face. What you are actually seeing is the dramatic "I'm putting my hand and arm in front of my face so you can't see me. Now go away!" shot. Nice, huh?

So, a little disappointing on the picture front, but otherwise a great appointment. A few highlights:

• Everything measured just as it should. Kidneys and stomach functioning properly and all four chambers of the heart visible.
• We're currently measuring about 5 days ahead of the due date.
  
• Dr. K. is happy with my gestational diabetes management thus far. No changes to my diet or my medications.
• I'm cleared to start back up in my yoga class next month (the prenatal version anyway).

Because of the diabetes, we'll be seeing more of Monkey than we would if this was a "normal" pregnancy. I have another scan in 6 weeks, and a meeting with the perinatologist who works with my dr. I'll have at least one more scan to check on growth at around 36 weeks and my regular office visits will be more frequent. If Monkey keeps growing we may be meeting him/her earlier than our June 18th due date!

That about wraps it up on this front. I'll be back later this week to share the growing pile of cool stuff the baby has aquired from friends and family. And if we ever decide on furniture, I'll post pictures of our future nursery.

Oh Monkey

Who needs ultrasound? Monkey continues to send boy vibes from the womb.

Today's example: We failed the 3 hour glucose test. The next 20 weeks will be full of blood sugar monitoring, a new diet, and probably some grumbling on my part.

I maintain that if Monkey were a girl, she would understand the power of carbs to comfort, the power of chocolate to lift moods, and the danger of a craving that goes unfulfilled.

Yup, definitely a boy.

At least the diagnosis comes *after* our big trip to Disney World. :)

Baby Homburg at almost 14 weeks

Last appointment, Baby Homburg was a show off. This week, he apparently was feeling a little shy, or stubborn depending on how you look at it. The u/s tech needed a very specific view of the baby to get the measurement she was after. Guess who didn't want to cooperate.

I had to do lots of shifting and moving around and I'm pretty sure I may have bruises for how hard she had to poke to get baby's attention, but we finally got what we were after. And as a reward for our patience, we got sent hom with some pretty cool pictures!

We won't get to see Monkey again until sometime in February so these shots will have to las us a while.

Here he is deep in thought with fist to chin.


3d profile shot with fist visible.

Alien baby!!! We got to see the baby already has both hemispheres of the brain!


Another 3d image, this time a full body shot. The Monkey currently has a very bony butt!

Another cool profile.

Alien baby chilling in the womb.

S/he was doing all sorts of aerobics in there, complete with backflips and jumping jacks. The heart rate this time around was 173, which is faster than we've ever heard before. The old wive's tales say this means girl. I say the jury is still out.

Our Baby is a Show Off

A few observations from today's appointment:

• Apparently I send people into labor. I came to this conclusion while sitting in an exam room waiting for Dr K. this morning. After the nurse checked my bp and weight, she informed me that I would hopefully see Dr K. soon. Hopefully, because he had just been called upstairs to deliver a baby. Add this to the time Karl and I had to wait almost an hour in an exam room while Dr K. performed an emergency Csection, and the time we were called in for a weekend procedure only to find out we had to wait on the on call dr who was off delivering a baby, and you get my conclusion. I send people into labor. Now I just wonder what will send me into labor in 27 or so weeks.
• I apparently have monkeys on the brain. When Dr K finally did arrive, I took one look at his tie and said, "You're wearing a Curious George tie!" Um, no. His tie had skiers on it. In my defense, the tie was yellow, the skiers were brown, and they were wearing red ski jackets. Skiers...monkeys....whatever.
• And finally, the title of this entry. Monkey is a show off. At the end of the appointment Dr K had me hop up on the table to listen to Monkey's heartbeat. He warned me, of course, that it's possible we might not hear it, or that it might take a while to find it, since Monkey is still so little. But Monkey proved the doctor wrong. As soon as the doppler was on my belly you could hear his little heart beating away. We were at 160 beats a minute this week, up a bit from 154 the first time.

Next week Monkey will get a chance to show off once again, this time at our ultrasound appointment. Can't wait!

Tough Choice...

As I sit here waiting for the Gators to take the field against Alabama for the SEC title and a ticket to the BCS championship, I'm very tempted to do a little shopping for the Monkey. We all know he has no choice. He will be a Gator fan, he will watch SEC football, and when he grows up, he'll make his home in Gainesville for at least 4 years..maybe more if he decides he wants to be a doctor. :)

12 down, 28 to go

This week we reached the big 12 week milestone! I think I was kind of hoping I'd wake up on the morning of week 12 suddenly feeling awesome, with no morning sickness, no heartburn, and no "so tired I can barely keep my eyes open exhaustion"

No such luck. At least not yet, anyway. But I'm holding out hope!

It seems Monkey enjoyed thanksgiving in utero, judging by the fact that he let me keep both dinner and pie afterwards down. Monkey once again affirmed my guess that he's a boy by making me terribly sick during Black Friday. Boys are genetically predisposed to hate shopping!

But male or female, Monkey still came home with a little present to put under the tree.

Our next doctors appointment is next Wednesday, with another ultrasound the week after.

I'll post new pictures when we get them!