October 03, 2008
29 weeks and 5 days
almost 75% of the way there... can you believe it? the last couple of weeks there's been a couple of serious growth spurts. i'm not terribly uncomfortable yet, but my hips have been sore the last few nights.
I'm a little bummed because now that it's finally cool enough to wear this jazzy sweater from jen vv, my belly's almost to big to wear it without hanging out below.
your host for this episode : carrie; 06:45 PM | Comments (1)
October 01, 2008
Registries and Showers
Let me remind you that I do Not like to be the center of attention, huh? My mom tells me that as kids my brother and I were polar opposites (like we're any more similar now than we were then, right?) and he'd pull his toys out to the center of the crowd to play and i'd be off in our playroom sitting quietly with my halo on playing with my toys. Ok, maybe no halo, but i'd be off quietly anyway and Not demanding to be the center of attention. But I know that some would be cross if I didn't tell you how to send us a gift for Tiger. So then, in case you Are dying to send us a gift for Tiger, we are registered at Babies R Us and Target, as well as USA Baby and Hop Scotch in Grand Rapids.
View registries at
www.babiesrus.com or www.target.com
and type in my name and select Michigan. Our registry will pop up.
For USA Baby, you'll have to actually go to the store off 28th St by Centerpoint Mall, but the main thing we've registered for there is a high chair by Svan. I also really like the bouncy seat by Svan but can't locate it anywhere but the Svan site.
For Hop Scotch, you'll have to call or stop in to their store on Cherry/Lake and they've got some things in a basket for us. You can either pay for shipping or they'll call us to come get it. 616.233.4008 is their number. Rachel, the owner, will be happy to help you out... she's been very helpful for me so far! They also have a website.
Showers
There will be one in Ellsworth on the 18th of October, and one in Grand Rapids sometime in November. If you'd like to attend and haven't received an invite yet, it's because I don't have an address for you! Please identify yourselves :) and give me your address so I can pass it on to the hostesses.
If you would like to order off the registry and ship something for me to open at a shower, it can be sent to
6323 East Jordan Road
Ellsworth, MI 49729
or
O-1673 Parkland Trail
Grand Rapids, MI 49544
Gender specifics
Just because we don't know whether we're having a boy or girl, it doesn't mean you can't buy cute clothes of a certain gender persuasion. Feel free! But please include a gift receipt so I can exchange it if Tiger comes out the other gender ;)
And don't bother with diapers - we now have a really big pile of cloth ones. But if you're inclined to get some wipes, I wouldn't say no.
Here's a pic of the bedding set we've chosen.
your host for this episode : carrie; 10:51 AM | Comments (1)
September 13, 2008
Tiger Pics
many of you are demanding pictures of "the bump", so here are a few. there are certainly dozens more that could be added from our trip to alaska, but we haven't gotten through all of them yet... but these should keep you from breaking down my doors!
18 weeks and 3 days - 16 July, at home
20 weeks - 27 July, at home in the Brickyard for a pizza party
22 weeks - 10 August, at Kirk Park on Lake Michigan with friends
24 weeks - 24 August, at "Angel Rocks" and then Chena Hot Springs not far from Fairbanks, Alaska
24 weeks and 1 day - 25 August, at the Large Animal Research Station in Fairbanks
24 weeks and 3 days - 27 August, at Polychrome Pass inside Denali
24 weeks and 6 days - 30 August, at Reflection Pond beneath Denali
25 weeks and 5 days - 5 Sept, on Lake Hood, hours before takeoff to return to GR
your host for this episode : carrie; 10:22 PM | Comments (3)
July 28, 2008
we're halfway there!
20 weeks and counting. amazing. since 15 weeks, I've been feeling a few mambo moves going on in the nether regions and last wednesday as i was laying awake at 5:30 am because them, i had my hand on my belly and felt a poke from the outside! so amazing, so precious.
i'm sure in a few months i'll be tired of having my bladder stomped on and my ribs punched, but for now it is just precious.
we had an ultrasound on friday, the "20 week baseline" where most people find out the sex. and we found out...
that we're having a...
healthy...
baby...
with ten fingers...
and ten toes! 
and while Tiger was not shy, dan and i could not make out on the screen whether he's a she or she's a he. and so we don't know. and neither do you. doc did say they "got to see all the anatomy they needed and everything looks good" but i couldn't tell if that was "we saw it and noted it but because you don't want to know we'll not tell you" or if it was "we took all the measurements (of bones, heart, brain, etc) that we need to and gender is not a needed part of the anatomy for us to see". either way i'm glad we don't know.
we have some Beautiful snapshots from the ultrasound. profile, feet, hand over face and a few others. it's really amazing to see the bones and stomach and heart and tongue and jaws and... well you get the idea. it's amazing. a.ma.zing. seriously.
Here's Tiger at 10 weeks and a day: 
but now, 10 weeks later, we see Tiger opening her mouth and rubbing her eyes...
and rubbing his torso...
just like grandpa dave after a good meal... 
i've also been doing lots of research on diapering and a friend in ypsilanti has been watching craiglist (a.k.a. crack list bc it's so addictive) for cloth diapers for me. she emailed me this morning that i'm the proud new owner of 5 dozen cloth diapers of various sizes. hooray!
go ahead, jibe me for wanting to do cloth. i've heard it all before. but i'm not too keen on filling a landfill with plastic that will never biodegrade. and besides, it's cheaper. i like cheaper.
and the first belly shot was taken yesterday, at 20 weeks. if tiger is measuring to weigh 14 ounces (according to the ultrasound), which is 3 1/2 above average, it would explain why i'm feeling as "fat and sassy" as i am! we had a patio party yesterday and so this picture was taken in our backyard, a.k.a. the brickyard. :)
your host for this episode : carrie; 11:59 AM | Comments (2)
June 28, 2008
the Tiger widget
i just figured out how to get the widget to work - and so now you can see our progress. you can click there on the link to the side and read all about the pregnancy, week by week. there's a different 3D graphic each week and the weekly news gets delivered to my inbox on Thursday for the next week (which starts on Sunday for us). the widget updates automatically.
and no we don't know if we're having a boy or a girl. we don't mind either way and hope that you don't either. and even if the ultrasound tech doesn't heed our wishes to not know and she waves the wand over the parts that would let us know - we're not gonna tell you! so there ;-) if you see something really cute that's gender specific, you can buy it for us, but please get a receipt so it can be exchanged if it's the "wrong" gender. and remember we like orange...
i'm happy to report that all queasiness has ceased, the extreme exhaustion has subsided, and i'm in maternity clothes almost all the time. i have one pair of (low-rise) jeans that still fit, and a couple of non-maternity shirts that i can still pull off, but the belly is starting to peak out. i suppose soon we should start taking pictures of it, what do you think?
next on the docket is to write an entry about this past week: my mom and dad came down monday and were here until friday morning, slaving away on our back entrance and bathroom... stay tuned.
your host for this episode : carrie; 09:52 AM | Comments (3)
June 01, 2008
there's a new star of our show...
we've been on pins and needles for weeks to tell you... we are pregnant!!!
God has blessed us with another child - Tiger is our third, if you count the two that we've lost.
today marks twelve weeks and it was completely unaided. we had just started investigating fertility treatments and trying to figure out "what's wrong with us", gotten the test back that, while possible, our chances of a natural conception were low, and then three days later i ovulated and we conceived. praise God! we know so many people were in prayer for us for this, and we really feel like He has answered. i must say, the last year had been quite hard on me and i wasn't owning up to the grief that i was going through over the first two losses. when i started to own up to it and process through it, things really started to get better. we find it kind of amusing that our conception occurred on Easter, the day celebrated as Jesus' resurrection and triumph over death and sin. maybe "amusing" isn't the right word... fitting? ironic? such a blessing anyway.
12 weeks is the furthest we've made it, and this time we've had 2 ultrasounds already, one at 7 weeks and 1 day, and we saw the tiniest little fluttering heartbeat and already little nubs of arms and legs, and the second at 10w1d and those little nubs had turned into full-on arms and legs with hands and feet and even fingers waving :) doc says everything looks great, baby is healthy and well, and we have "no reason to not believe that this is the one!" yippee!! i'm so giddy.
from what i'm reading 12 weeks is when you can determine by ultrasound whether it's a boy or girl - but i don't want to know!!! we've taken to calling him Tiger, so as to avoid the "it" that so many use. and frankly with the english language, the gender neutral is "he" but if i do that people will start to suspect that i know! and i don't... i'm suspecting that this one is a boy. but i'll be happy with a boy Or a girl. as long as he (or she) comes out breathing. healthy and well would be good too...
based on the doctor's read of the situation, coupled with the fact that this is the furthest we've made it, we are now confident that by Christmas we will be cradling our little Tiger in our arms. and no, Tiger will not be his (or her) name but i refuse to call my child an "It"! so, for now - and maybe always - his nickname is Tiger.
please continue in prayer with us that Tiger will indeed be born healthy and well, and that i would regain some level of energy (the first trimester has been really difficult), and that daddy dan would be able to handle all my emotional, hormonal swings!
check this out, from babycenter.com
12 Weeks:
Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.
Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over two inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.
your host for this episode : carrie; 08:09 AM | Comments (9)