Kirsten and Mark

Britton is so cute! We had our “stuctural” ultrasound today and after a whole bunch of waiting, the procedure took about 8 minutes…but it was great. He was very cooperative and showed the doctor everything he needed to see. Brit has all his fingers and toes, his spine is very healthy and his heart is pumping very well. His hands and feet are soooooo cute! And, it was again confirmed that it is a boy…it was about the first thing he saw when he started.

It was great to see him moving his hands around and towards the end he was wiggling all over the place. His face is pretty adorable too–from what we can tell from a 2-D, black and white shot. Apparently the doc could see his lips and they’re perfect too. I had a hard time seeing what he was talking about for a lot of the shots, but others were pretty clear.

So, after that appointment we had our regular check up, and had to wait there forever too. That’s the frustrating part–waiting for more time than you’re seen. Oh well. Next time I have the glucose/diabetes test where they have to take my blood again. I guess my birthday is in 4 weeks from today, ’cause that’s when the appt. was supposed to be, but they didn’t want to take my blood on my birthday, so I go the day before.

This past week has been pretty busy–we had our trip to Scottsdale, AZ with friends, and that was fun. Who knew it would be 90+ degrees at the end of October? Then Mark and I spent Monday searching for an entertainment center and a smaller desk for him. At last success–at Ikea! The entertainment center is actually a buffet/sideboard for a dining room, but we liked it and it will work.

I can’t believe Halloween came up so fast. Last night we made sugar cookies–the first time I’ve baked in about 4 months, and I was bummed because my pumpkin cutter is missing. Tonight we’re making “Pumpkin Stew” and carving our pumpkin. We doubt we’ll get any trick-or-treaters, but we’re prepared just in case.

We did get a picture of Brit today….I’ll post it later when I get home and get the scanner hooked up.

Happy Halloween!

We’re moved! Well, mostly. We still have a car load and a little bit of cleaning to do, but it’s almost there. We’ve been sleeping at our new place since Saturday. The move went pretty well. The truck was smaller than I thought, so it took a few trips to get all the furniture. And, our refridgerator was a bigger challenge than we thought, but all in all it was a success. Thank you so much to everyone who helped!

Since messes drive me crazy, it’s been hard resting and taking a break with an apartment full of boxes. I just want to get it done, but I’m also tired when I get home from work, so it’s not going as quickly as I’d like. It will get there though. We’ll put up some pictures of it soon. The nice thing about not having the baby yet is that if we don’t know where to put something it goes in “Britton’s room.” Without a dishwasher, it’s taken a while to get the kitchen put together since I have to wash everything by hand.

I’m excited for our trip to Scottsdale this weekend. There aren’t tons of things to see there, so we’ll just be able to relax–and I won’t be able to see the mess of my apartment, so it’s different from relaxing at home.

I’ve started to feel Britton kick more. They’re little pops here and there. Since he can hear by this week we’ve started “story time.” Mark reads since his voice is lower; it’s easier for Brit to hear. He either hates or likes Curious George because he was kicking while Mark was reading. It’s fun being able to feel him moving now.

This week he has developed the waxy substance that also helps protect his skin from the amniotic fluid. And his brain is developing a lot this week, making neurons and pathways for seeing, hearing, touch and taste.

By the way, we’re kind of in the middle of all the fires here. They’re to the  north, east and south. All we get where we are is the smoky skies. We’re really hoping that they’re able to get them under control soon though, since so many people have been evacuated and lost their homes already.

Here’s a picture of what Brit might look like this week:

Well, Britton is 18 weeks now (technically he’s 16 and I’m 18 weeks along, but whatever) and he’s been to Disneyland twice. Will this signal something in his growing brain and create a huge Disney fanatic for the rest of his life?

My family was in town and I went with them both times. First, my 9 year-old sister likes it understandably. My mom is from Anaheim, so she has fond memories of Disneyland and likes it a lot too. I’ve been there a lot in my life–at least once every year or two growing up. Come to think of it, maybe I went in-utero, and I turned out just fine.

It’s different going to Disneyland while pregnant. The first time, I was definitely not showing at 6 weeks, so it was strange for me. I didn’t feel pregnant and didn’t feel like I shouldn’t go on rides. This time I’m still not obviously pregnant, but feel like it a lot more and knew that with tight belts digging into my stomach neither Britton nor I would be very happy.  It was fun though. The whole park is decorated for Halloween. The Haunted Mansion is all re-done like “Nightmare Before Christmas” and the CALIFORNIA sign for California Adventure looks like candy corn. Mark had fun going on rides that he hadn’t been on before too. For me there are actually only like 6-7 rides that are restricted–the roller coasters of course, and Autopia, the one where you drive cars. We didn’t know that until we got to the front of the line and saw the caution. Apparently it’s bumpy.

Anyway, this week Britton is developing his white, waxy covering that will protect his skin from all the amniotic fluid he’ll be in for another 5 months. Also, his vocal chords are forming, so he can practice his voice in there. And, this week his lung sacs begin forming.

Here’s what someone elses baby looked like at 18 weeks….Britton probably vaguely looks the same.

Also…should his nickname be Britt, or Brit?

Britton. Yes, it’s a boy! I know, totally shocking. Well, a bit unexpected. I’d been telling myself over the past week that it really could be a boy. I mean–I haven’t gained weight anywhere but my stomach; I now love cheese, dairy and red meat; sweets make me ill, but sour foods are great; and the ring test said BOY. So, it wasn’t a complete shock.

Now that it’s been a couple of days, I can say I’m really excited. It will be an adventure learning about boys and how they work. It’s new territory for me and my family, but boys are cute too!

We got a bunch of pictures from the ultrasound. Though, she did get a lot of the same ones, and not really some we wanted, but that’s ok. I went a little earlier than they recommend for 4-D procedures, and now I see why–he looks very skeletal still. If we blew up one of the pictures and framed it we could use it as a Halloween decoration because it’s kind of orange colored with black, and in a few of the shots he looks like a little jack-o-lantern/skeleton face.

But, there are other ones, like this one where we can see he does have a nose, and eyes and even a cute little hand that he’s resting on his forehead in an oh so dramatic way–or maybe he’s waving to Mom and Dad.

Interestingly, I found some bedding on Friday with turtles (his room is going to be a “sea” theme with turtles and waves and things) that is perfect for a boy–blue, green and yellow.

Now we’re just excited that we can start buying him things, and it’s much more fun to say “he” than “it.” We can call him by name now too, which is also fun.

According to the measurements, he’s a little big for his age. He measured 17 weeks 3 days when I was 16 weeks 4 days. He weighs 6 ounces and is about 5 inches long, head to bum. His bones are starting to harden and his hearing is also developing.

Here’s another shot of him from the side….

The baby will no longer relegated to a playpen…it will have its own room with a crib and everything! Yes, that does mean we’re moving. Though, kind of unfortunately it’s not out of California.  It’s down the street a mile or so, and also unfortunately about 50 feet outside of Beverly Hills. Yep, we’re back to living in Los Angeles, which is definitely not as cool.

Mark found our incredible deal of $1500 for a 2 bed 1 1/2 bath in a decent area. We didn’t really believe it could be that great, but when we went to check it out we were very pleasantly surprised. There is new carpet and paint, a large closet with shelves, a walk-in closet in our bedroom (no more stupid doors) and a balcony. There is no dishwasher, but we have room to put one at least. We were decided as soon as we saw the whole thing. Luckily the manager seemed to like us too and chose us to live there.

We’re really excited…though not totally looking forward to packing and moving. It will be nice to have a few weeks of overlap so we can move slowly in the evenings, and then get our furniture in a truck one day. We’ll definitely post photos when we’re a bit settled.

And, even though I’m excited, I’m a little….um….unsure too. Before, we just had to get the playpen since we didn’t have room for anything else. Now we have a crib, bassinett, dresser, decorations etc. to get and we’ll be here at least another year instead of moving sooner. But, this will be great too, and maybe we’re supposed to stay for a while longer.

I’m pretty sure baby is doing well since I started getting sick again on Saturday. It’s not too fun, but not as bad as last time. I’ve also gained a bit of weight this week. My stomach sticks out pretty far sometimes, but unfortunately it’s not the baby, it’s the rest of my stomach. I can’t say I’ve “popped” yet, though I definitely do look fatter.

We find out on Saturday afternoon if it’s a boy or girl, so it will no longer be “baby.” YAY! It’s also getting bigger–about 5 inches long from head to bum, and weighs 3-4 ounces. I can hardly wait to see it….we might make an unscheduled post just to spread the news.