month 8.5

This is NOT our little baby, because we are too cheap to pay the $85 for a 4D ultrasound when we are within a month or so of meeting her face to face. But I just loved this picture when I saw it on a internet forum for women who are equally preg. I don't have a latest pic of me. Just imagine the last picture and add an inch. I've been feeling the stretch and enjoying the surreal realizations that HOLY CRAP this whole thing is BIGGER than me, deeper than I can imagine, and happening right now. It's been very emotional - in equal parts terrified stress and blissful happiness.

These last two weeks have been about trying to decide if we can afford to continue to live in Los Angeles once Zoe arrives, or if we have to move to somewhere with a lesser cost of living index. I think this has been one of the harder decisions we've had to make. We both love it here so much, it's hard to be objective. I can't say we are final on it. But we're close, I think.

We're keeping an eye on how low the placenta has shifted. I think the baby dropped today at 2:34 pm based on how painful and urgent that particular trip to the restroom was. I've had a few contractions now. The first one was last week. This week, I have gotten one or two when I lay down for bed here and there. I would like to labor naturally as long as I can, so I am doing a lot each day to prepare myself for that - as if preparing is even possible.

Mark realized that poop gets all over the babies butt and you have to wipe it off every time.

I played a poke each other game with Zoe's foot - I think she was responding because if I changed where I poked, she poked back in that spot. It was pretty amazing. Everything about this is pretty amazing.

month five

We made it to the half-way point and we're hanging in there.

I am now sleeping only on my left side, and hobbling in the popular Christensen fashion. I have really enjoyed me some (eg: my body weight in) potato salad & greek salad. I'm past the "craving" point where I-know-what-I-want-and-I-want-it-now and into the I-don't-know-what-I-want-but-I-want-it-now point.

I have read my 1 billionth baby/pregnancy book. I have freaked out on people. I have cried at nearly everything sweet. I have gotten really nuts about random things - like pet dander (don't you think we should shampoo the carpets RIGHT NOW at two in the morning?) and skin changes (see this red patch on my knee that looks like a rug rash? do you think it's cancer that can be passed to the baby?) And I hung up a sign at my desk to remind myself to breathe, because it is all so much to take in that I really need to periodically re-evaluate, take a nice long breath, and relax.

I have gained 16 pounds so far, which puts me on track to gain about 35. I am eating a lot of healthy smaller meals and walking a good distance two or three times a day. I haven't cancelled my gym membership, but I think it might be a good time to. I don't see myself really hitting the gym for another 10 months at this rate of exhaustion. I get winded after the first quarter mile of walking (okay, waddling -- slowly.) I can tell that some of that weight gain is definitely going to the baby, based on the strength of the kicks. They sort of feel more like kicks now and less like flutters. I have also reintroduced a single cup of coffee to my mornings. It hasn't hurt my bedtime, which is now 8:30 pm.

The straight-on face shot in an ultrasound looks like an alien monster. Somehow, we will love this klingon skeleton.

More ultrasounds confirm we are now 100% sure we are having a GIRL! Today we had the ultrasound where the doctor went through to check every detail & vital part of the baby's body. He pointed out the various parts of the brain, the four chambers of the heart, the aeorta, mitrochondrial valve, kidneys, belly button where the umbilical cord comes out, etc. It was really something. We thought it would be 3-D & show the blood flow, but it didn't. It was very reassuring, though. The doctor ruled out spina bifida, cleft palate, and a few other things. He thought that there was plenty of fluid around the baby. The placenta was placed well (in front of the baby) and my cervix was long & closed. I know this part must be important because he repeated it three times.