It's a Girl.......Most Likely.

I had my 20 week check up and ultrasound last Thursday.  Baby Para seems to be right on track with her growth.  Her heartbeat is good and she was throwing punches in the womb.  I still can't feel when she moves around or kicks but the doctor said I should anytime now.  The OB that performed the ultrasound (I really love her) found three lines indicating a cervix and a lack of a penis, so she believes Baby Para is a girl.  However she wouldn't commit fully to this opinion due to limited equipment.  Her best guess is its a girl but we go for a formal ultrasound March 1st.  I will post pictures as I get them. 

 Daddious and I are very thrilled as we both want a girl, but of course will still be very happy with a boy.  The pregnancy has progressed as expected.  I feel as big as a whale, have become an inferno, urinate ALL the time, and toss and turn at night.  I'm loving it!  Every time I look in the mirror at the growing baby belly I can't help but smile.  I can't wait to hold little Claire Elizabeth in my arms and have her wrap her little hand around my fingers.  Daddious has continued to be a champion expectant father.  He has adjusted to the windows being open and the fan on at night in the winter and me radiating heat in bed.  Even though I get up every 40 minutes or so to use the restroom he never complains about his frequent nightly wake ups.  I wouldn't ask for anything more from Daddious.  I love him and I am so very grateful to have him helping me through this pregnancy. 

-Anonymous Mommious

Breaking The Mold

Fruit of the Womb?

So... why is it that all of the stock photographs of pregnant women doesn't show the swollen footed, back pained, restless-legged hordes that one might see at the typical OB-GYN office? Is there some sort of pregnancy propoganda in the works?

Don't get me wrong. There's a lot of wonder and anticipation that goes along with Anonymous Mommious's pregnancy. There are sad but extremely wealthy people pay a lot of money and try really hard to do what we did by chance. Maybe it's my inner cynic at work, but maybe I'm just a little defensive of my baby's Mom. Her pregnancy reminds me to thank my own Mom for what she went through with me. It is magical, but not in a David Copperfield kind of way. Rather than making a 747 disappear, Mommious is making a little human appear. And rather than locking herself in ice, she's losing sleep with twitchy legs and an aching back. And this is just the beginning. I'd take the ice, myself... but I'm a guy.

I have a child and I did bond with her. Don't get me wrong. In fact, my experience has taught me that there is no substitute for a good Dad. I get the way a Dad feels for his children, but when I see a woman quietly accept all that she has to and face everything including the changes her body goes through, with this quiet determination, it never fails to impress me. It's something that's worth encouraging and standing behind rather than marketing to. I was plenty fond of her before this. I'm certain more will be revealed.

Baby Para's First Thanksgiving........Sort of

Ok, so I know that it wasn't really Baby Para's first Thanksgiving seeing as she is still a tiny parasite feeding off her Mommy.  However, I couldn't help thinking about how different our Thanksgiving is going to be next year with a little 4 month old baby amongst us.  This Thanksgiving was wonderful!  Anonymous Daddious and I spent it with my parents, older sister and brother-in-law.  It was a relaxing, joyous day.  We even got some great frisbee time in with my sister and brother-in-law.  We all helped in the preparation of the food and of course in the devouring of it also.   Daddious made a scrumptious turkey and rice soup using the turkey carcass for the broth.  There were no uh-oh or oh shit moments.  I imagine next year may be somewhat different.  Having a baby around will definitely dominate Anonymous Mommious' time and energy.  I am not sure where we are going to be next year for Thanksgiving.  We will probably not travel as it can be difficult with a new baby and Anonymous Daddious will be using his vacation time to be home right after Baby Para is born to help me out.  We would love to have our family come to us to visit and help make Baby Para's first Thanksgiving as wonderful as possible. 
  I hope everyone had as fantastic and stress free a Thanksgiving.  Time to put up the tree and get ready for Christmas.  I can't wait to get a baby's first Christmas ornament with a picture of Baby Para on it. 

-Anonymous Mommious

And The Beat Goes On....

  I had my very first sonogram Wednesday.  It was indescribable.  I am very familiar with ultrasounds as I used to perform then on animals all the time at my old job.  However, it iswas completely different when it was done to me.  I feel bad for all those dogs and cats that didn't get warm ultrasound lube because man that was some cold stuff.  Baby Para is still sort of low in my body.  She is in a yolk sac that provides her with nutrients.  She is a little bigger than the size of a dime and looks sort of like a kidney bean.  I LOVE HER. 
  I got to see her little heart just beating away.  It was good and strong.  A normal heartbeat at 6-7 weeks would be 90-110 beats per minute. The presence of an embryonic heartbeat is an assuring sign of the health of the pregnancy. Once a heartbeat is detected, the chance of the pregnancy continuing ranges from 70-90%.  I was definitely nervous about seeing a heartbeat as I always imagine the worst case scenario.  However, Baby Para is strong just like her daddy.  I wish her daddy was there, but he got to see the picture of her.  My next sonogram scheduled on Daddious' day off so he will get to come along!  I will try to get the sonogram picture on the blog soon. 
  I was hopeful that I had almost made it through my first trimester with much ease, but I have three extra weeks to go and I am definitely feeling more morning sickness than before.  That's ok though, it just means Baby Para is growing and needs the extra hormones to allow that to happen.  I have heard that the worse the morning sickness, the more likely the baby is a girl?  Urban myth?  Whatever the case is Baby Para's Mommy and Daddy are going to love her/him with all of our hearts.



-Anynomous Mommious

Time to Fall Back... about 3 weeks.

The latest news from Operation Occupy Mommious' Womb:

So, today was the first time they bounced sound waves off my unborn child in a new style of "Radar Love" which hopefully won't cause her to listen to Michael Bolton records or that auditory quailude of a musician,  Kenny G.

Guess what? We were wrong. Baby Para has only been with us for 7 weeks and three days. I'm sure her anonymous Mommious will want to comment on it, as she saw it go down in person. I had to work. Kind of a drag, but I'd rather be a "yes man"- to that extent- than be a "I need a job, Man..." times are rough out there.

So I have to downgrade baby Para's status to "smaller, more globular, but still cute". Don't believe me? Check this out: She's got eyelids, a beating heart, a functioning liver and pancreas, and two hemispheres to her brain. Nothing's cuter than two hemispheres of the brain, is there? 

Every fetus thinks she wishes she were baby Para.



The Joys of Being Sick

  I'm loving my experiences with morning sickness.  I get to feel nauseous and tired.  I am always fatigued and can't seem to get enough sleep.  Thank goodness I have a great man to cuddle up with during naps.  I finally have an excuse for farting!  I can just let them rip.  Its just a symptom of being pregnant.  I also get to spend a lot of my time in the bathroom.  I have to urinate every hour.  I am definitely seeing all different decorating styles and it helps me get an idea of how to decorate our bathroom when we get a place.  Another great advantage to being pregnant is my sense of smell is very strong.  I get to smell everything from food to shampoo to farts.  No one can hide what they ate from me as I will be able to smell it on their breath.  As for my breast, I finally have them!  They are tender all the time and every time they get bumped I am reminded that Baby Para will be nursing on them. 

   Overall all of the annoyances of being sick I can deal with.  My body is dealing with being pregnant and increase in hormones.  As long as Baby Para is well, I will put up with anything!  So bring it on pregnancy symptoms, I can take it!

-Anynomous Mommious

Anticipation is Making Me Wait, and I Keep On Wayayayayaitin.

Week nine, and there's a baby bump on Anonymous Mommious's belly. She's a small thing, so any difference in her body, is going to show. I had my hand there last night wishing to feel a kick. Of course, it's too soon for that. Baby Para's not very big.

So there she or he is. According to what I read, Anonymous Mommious is going to experiece a lot of changes and challenges, such as increased sense of smell, constipation, bloating, flatulence (Wow, huh? Para is making her mom fart) , heartburn and indigestion, excessive saliva, breast tenderness and change (I'm not going to comment on that) fatigue, and frequent urination.

So I've got to treat her well... my experience is that kids usually don't thank their Moms enough for everything that they endured in order to bring them into this world. I'm guilty of that, too... I think that I've thanked my Mom for enduring my dumb decisions and mistakes in life, but not enough. Moms are awesome. There's a level of love that they put into their kids in order to give them the best advantage in life. Their love endures all kind of things, and the pain they go through, they live with it becuase of the determination to bring their child into the world and give them the best advantage.  

So thank you Mom, for hauling me around in your womb. Thank you for the pain you endured with my 10.6 pound self when you were giving birth. Thanks for the quiet love you gave to me when I was a baby. Thank you for all of the conversations that we've had. Thank you for teaching me. Thank you for loving me through every mistake and blunder. Thank you Mom, for saving my life and supporting me though the really dark times... I really do appreciate you and I'd give you a huge hug if you weren't so far away. I love you Mom,

And you are the best!

PS: Can I borrow the car? (Just kidding)