The Pink Explosion

This past weekend my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, threw me a baby shower in Utah County and it was really fun! We got so many cute girl clothes that really and truly, Baby Hot Pocket will be the cutest baby on the block. Take a look at all the loot she received!



As I start to look at photos from over the last couple of weeks, I notice that Hot Pocket seems to be absolutely glowing in every photo. he has a sparkle in eyes that I don't think I've ever seen before. He will wake up in the morning and talk to the baby and it sounds crazy, but she starts moving all around when he talks to her.

An interesting side note, I love the tv show Cops. I love cops in general and I would be lying if I didn't say that on more than one occasion I have gone out of my way to watch real cops in action. If Hot Pocket ever bought me a police scanner, i think i might turn into the crazy house-bound lady with all the pets who sits in a dark room glued to her scanner. So you can imagine my absolute delight when we were spending a quiet Saturday night sitting on the couch watching tv, and Hot Pocket started singing the theme song to "Cops" to my tummy. And I swear, she kicked.

ANYways, I digress. My whole point was to point out the juxtaposition between photos of my dear husband and myself. He looks all exuberant and I look...tired, worn out, and pale.Take this photo for example:




I thought I'd throw in a couple more pictures of the baby room. It's starting to come together and thought I'd show you guys what it looks like as of late.



And yes, that is our black cat, ernie, laying over the heater vent. What a turd.

28 weeks - The Countryman Nose

I have officially reached my 3rd trimester and I'm 28 weeks pregnant (7 Months). All is well and Baby Hot Pocket is growing like you wouldn't believe. Her favorite food is copious amounts of gummy bears. Needless to say, I'm gaining weight at a phenomenal speed but I think it's more the gummy bears than the baby.


I had an ultrasound this morning and they reconfirmed that yes, indeed, it is still a little girl. and the fun thing? Apparently she has a full head of hair already! the little fuzzy stuff around the top of her head is hair and the ultrasound tech said she rarely sees babies with this much at her age. and it's apparent to me, that her little nose is just like mine. She has been branded with the "Countryman Nose" which has been in my maternal grandma's side of the family for many generations. it's a proud bumpy nose. Hot Pocket claims he can't see it in the above picture but when I squint really hard, spin around, and look upside down, i can totally see it. and am I kidding? yes just a little. It IS weird to already see a similarity between the two of us though.

The other fun thing? Baby has attitude. As I was watching the ultrasound screen, she waved her middle finger high and proud and flipped us the birdie. Hot Pocket and I are in trouble if this is any indication of what her personality will be like in the future...

Never been so motivated to see nether regions in all my life!

I'm convinced that pregnancy is simply a bunch of worrying and nervousness that is punctuated by momentous and touching, heart-felt moments. I work in a field where I see babies born with serious complications and I think this plays into my nearly constant state of worry.

When I went in for my viability ultrasound so long ago it seems, it was to make sure there was truly a baby inside. I had been spotting the day before which made me think I was having a miscarriage. And then we saw a little flicker of a heart beat and my world was turned upside down. A couple of months ago we went in for another ultrasound just to help rule out any 1st trimester genetic anomalies and again I sat there petrified that perhaps something would be amiss. And we saw a little half sea monkey/half human moving around, with a nose and hands (!) and again, we were speechless.

Yesterday was the "big" ultrasound where they make sure that the baby doesn't have any major complications. They check for everything: heart, lungs, amniotic fluid, fetal anomalies, and as I sat there in the waiting room, my hands were clammy and my heart nearly stopped. I hadn't for certain felt the baby move yet and I was hoping that everything was normal.

When the tech started the ultrasound, there the little kiddo was! moving around and so big! It took about 30 minutes for the tech to check everything and Baby was 100% normal. We told her we wanted to know the sex of the baby and she swung her little ultrasound wand around and said without missing a beat,

"Looks like you guys are having a GIRL!"

And then the room went black. And my heart grew 10 times bigger and the tears started to come. "Baby" isn't just a "baby" anymore. It took me a good 10-20 minutes to really grasp what she said because i was CERTAIN we were having a boy. I argued with the tech, "Now are you SURE? Like POSITIVELY? Like, WITHOUT A DOUBT THIS IS A GIRL?" while Pocket sat in the corner gloating over his victory. And yes, without a shadow of a doubt, we are having a little girl. and you know what? That afternoon, Pocket had his had on my stomach and she kicked. And I felt it. And he felt it. And everything was perfect.

I can't wait to meet you, kiddo.

Me. Age 2.

Manipulation at its finest!

Provided that the baby decides to spread its legs this afternoon, today we will find out if we are having a boy or girl. And even though I have had 2 very clear dreams that we are having a boy, Pocket and my mom are dead set that we are having a little girl.

Anyways, the u/s is scheduled for 3:00pm today and then we are checking into one of our favorite hotels for one night so that we can enjoy the news before sharing it with friends and family.

So here is where the manipulation plays into this. When we get back tomorrow afternoon, my first priority is to announce the sex of our baby here on my blog before telling anyone else. We might break down and call our parents tomorrow before I post but my intention is to make all of you sing for your supper. If you are interested in finding out, check my blog tomorrow afternoon. I want to get an idea of just how many people tune in to this blog and that is why I'm asking you to visit the site for the news. and leave a comment if you are so inclined.

Worst case scenario, baby doesn't cooperate and we don't get to find out. I'll let you know either way. but rest assured, if this baby has it's own stubborn plans, we will be sure to get a follow up ultrasound soon in the hopes of getting to the bottom of this mystery.

KABOOM!

So it appears that I have expanded literally over night! Saturday I had a fat day where I moped around the house and beat myself up for eating nearly an entire bag of potato chips (BUT THE SALT TASTED SO GOOD!)

Yesterday I tried to eat better (that didn't last long) and I found myself eyeing the maternity section of Target after my capris had a hard time buttoning up. Still though, while things were getting tighter, my tummy looked more like i had a hamburger combo baby than a real life baby growing inside.

And then this morning KAPOW! There is no hiding it now! I was walking around the hallways at work when I noticed that the people coming the opposite direction would briefly look at my face and then quickly down to my tummy...something I'm sure I have been guilty of doing to other pregnant women over the years. but But BUT now it's ME! This is so strange!

Technically I can find out the sex of baby as soon as Thursday of this week but I don't have my doctor appointment until August 12th when I'm 17 weeks along. I'm sure soon after that I will have the ultrasound that will determine if our baby will be named Phinneaus Joe or Bethia Maria.

I'm kidding, mom.

Kiddo McHotPocket

Moving into the neighborhood (around) January 17th, 2009

I had this ultrasound taken before I left for California about 3 weeks ago but I've known for quite some time now. I'm about 10 weeks along but figured that since we have heard and seen the heart beat, we are (hopefully) pretty safe in telling everyone.