A Poetry Journey

Tag: Baby

  • . . . and so the nursery begins part one

    Well I started on it, but it isn’t nowhere close to finished.

    Earlier today I retreated down to the lower parts of the house because our air conditioner was broken.  It was too hot upstairs, the job search was done, the blogs were updated, too hot to work on my latest novel.  I thought, why not go downstairs and try to work on the crib and changing table.

    Here’s the reason why that last part of the statement is so odd.  If you know me.  I’m no handy man.  I’m a buyer not a builder.

    However, I just felt like today I wanted to work on the three boxes we’ve had sitting in the nursery for a few weeks now.

    I opened the box (the crib and changing table came in two – the glider in one) and thought if the instructions were too much I would stop there.  I honestly looked at it and thought, this doesn’t look too bad.  I dove into it and what I found surprised me.  I actually enjoyed doing this and what I thought would be a stress inducing nightmare, wasn’t.  It actually took my mind off of the broken air conditioner and the other things floating around inside my brain.

    I still have some work to do on it as you see, but the bulk of it is done.  The rest of it looks a little more challenging and the glider is going to have its own share of difficulties, but it will get done.

    By the way – the air conditioner is now fixed and we are enjoying some sweet cool air.  Refreshing – ahhhhhhhhh!

  • Week 21

    Happy Mother’s Day to all mother’s reading this post.  Here’s a little poem I wrote to help celebrate the day.

    +++

    How to describe a mom?

    Well,

    it may be too hard to do,

    without leaving out,

    too many things,

    that are true.

    For a mom is a blessing,

    a true gift from God,

    her patience and virtue,

    is something,

    you could never prod?

    +++

    We are up to Week 21 on this side of the screen.  That is just over half way.  I can’t believe it.

    There hasn’t been a lot to comment on this week when it comes to mom to be and baby.   The biggest thing has to be the movement.  Mom to be is starting feel the baby moving around a lot more inside.  It seems like humus of all things is a big catalyst to get him moving.  We found out pizza does it as well.  That’s my boy.  Not even out of the womb and he already loves pizza.

    All in all things are getting back to a sense of normal around here.  I think now it is time for growing and showing with the occasional doctor’s check up to make sure everything is okay.

    Your Baby

    Chances are good you’re feeling someone performing a round-off back handspring in your uterus by now. Is there any other feeling this cool? Other highlights this week:

    By now your baby looks like a mini-version of what she’ll look like when she’s born. All her facial features are formed and hair is growing on her head. She’s even acting like a baby and will occasionally suck her thumb or yawn. Aww …

    Baby’s heartbeat is getting stronger and can be heard using a good old-fashioned stethoscope. Ask for a listen at your next prenatal visit! By 21 weeks, fetal bone marrow starts making blood cells—previously done by the liver and spleen. This may not sound that exciting, but it’s good news.

    The amniotic fluid that has been cushioning your little bean now serves another purpose: Your baby uses it to “practice” chowing down. Yes, it sounds gross (as many aspects of pregnancy do), but it’s an important step for your baby toward being able to chow down in the real world. Your baby has been swallowing amniotic fluid for a while now, but now the intestines are finally developed enough that she’s absorbing small amounts of sugars from it. And let’s face it, being able to effectively digest sugar is important at every stage of life.

    Your baby now weighs between 10 and 11 ounces and is approximately 7 inches long—the size of a delicious, cold, frothy bottle of root beer. Float anyone?

    via 21 Weeks Pregnant – 3D Pregnancy Calendar

  • Week 19

    Tuesday is going to be a big day for us.  That is the day we learn the sex of our baby.  So in honor of that day I want to post this poem because we both need some prayers for that day.

    The Lord’s Poem

    Love and sorrow,

    you will partake,

    faith in the Lord,

    you must not forsake.

    For life is short,

    each day is dear,

    but within his heart,

    you’re always near.

    I wrote that some time ago and I thought it might be best to post it now.  It’s nice to read that when you have something big coming up in your life.

    How are mom to be and baby?

    They are both doing well.  Mom to be is starting to get back to a normal schedule when it comes to food and sleep.  Gone are the 1st trimester symptoms.  The headaches have also started to pass as well.

    I have been thinking about this since she got pregnant – nobody seems to talk much about the pregnancy itself.  What it will be like?  Maybe I’m out of the loop since I don’t read as much as mom to be.  I read the dad stuff, sure, but not the stuff that women read.

    Did anyone know you can’t have honey or cold cuts when you are pregnant?  I had no idea until mom to be told me about it.  It’s those kinds of little things you have to be on your game about during this time.

    There are all kinds of little things like that you got to be aware of before the baby even gets here.  Then that is another set of things you got to think about.  It can be overwhelming if you let it get to you.

    Anyway, all is well over here.  We are all hanging in there.

    19 Weeks Pregnant

    Your Baby

    This week your baby starts bulking up and packing on the grossly named “brown fat” he’ll need to keep warm when he gets evicted from his comfortable uterine home. Other highlights this week:

    Vernix, a milky white coating that protects your baby’s skin, appears all over your baby’s body to keep his skin from getting pickled in the amniotic fluid. Think of it as if your baby has been dipped in yogurt, like those delicious but fake-healthy yogurt-covered raisins and pretzels. Ooh, we feel another craving comin’ on. … Under the vernix, a fuzzy layer of hair called lanugo now covers baby’s body. Don’t worry, your Mini won’t look like Cousin It when he’s born. Most of the fuzz will fall off before baby makes his grand entrance.

    Good news: Your baby’s kidneys are fully functioning and producing urine this week. Bad news: That means there will be lots of diapers in your future. But so far you’re safe—at the moment the pee just passes into the amniotic fluid.

    He or she now weighs about 8½ ounces and measures 6 inches, as long as a turkey sub from Subway on warm, delicious Italian Herbs and Cheese bread (or Honey Oat bread, or Oregano bread or …)

    via 19 Weeks Pregnant – 3D Pregnancy Calendar.

  • Week 15

     
    Week 15 and still going strong.
     
    I added a little bit of stuff to the description this week because it was so fascinating.
     
    Mom to be is hanging in there.
     
    She is still getting the headaches, but they are not as severe.
     
    I can tell things are starting to subside.
     
    She’s still getting wiped out at the end of the day, but who wouldn’t.  Carrying a child and working a full-time job.  It’s tough.
     
    15 Weeks Pregnant

    Your Body

    Your energy may have returned but that doesn’t mean you should be hitting the clubs until 4:00 AM every night. With a baby growing inside you, sleep is one thing that you can’t go without. Try these tricks to ensure you beat up the sheets.

    If your growing belly is getting in the way of a good night’s sleep, surround yourself with pillows to make for an extra-comfy nest effect. Sometimes room temperature can affect sleep, so make sure that your air conditioner is cranked up if you’re feeling too hot.

    Some sleeping positions are more comfortable than others for pregnant woman, like the “I’m just going to pass out on the La-Z-Boy” position. And get comfy sleeping on your left side while you’re preggers: It’s what the docs recommend to keep the blood flowing full steam ahead between you and the tadpole.

    Your Baby

    Although many women don’t start feeling the baby move until the 17th week (or later), your baby has been having his own party in the amniotic sac he calls home. If you feel a little flutter in your belly this week, don’t discount it as gas or hunger. It could be your babe banging around. Here’s more to look forward to:

    Baby’s head is now resting on his well-formed neck instead of directly on his shoulders like Igor. He’s beginning to grow eyebrows and eyelashes this week. (All the better to give you that “Mom, you’re crazy” look when he’s a teenager.) The hair on the head also begins to grow and, with some creative styling, you’ll be able to turn those locks into a Maddox Jolie-Pitt faux-hawk some day.

    Although baby’s eyes are sealed shut, he’s now able to sense light. His eyes and ears finally look like real baby features now. As your baby practices sucking and swallowing actions, he may actually hiccup. You’ll know he’s had one too many shots of amniotic fluid by the steady thump-thump you feel.

    Over the next month, baby will grow faster than ever, so make sure you load up on enough nutritious food and fluids to support his growth. Your baby now measures nearly 4 inches, about the size of a Kit Kat “finger” (regular-size, not the Big one you get at the movies), and weighs almost 2 ounces.

  • Week 14

    14 Weeks in.  Still going strong.

    It has been a pretty decent week this week.

    Mom to be is still having the headaches which according to her is normal.  Most women get either those or morning sickness.  Headaches are not so bad when you think about it that way.

    Heard the heartbeat earlier in the week.  I think all of that was in my last post.

    All in all things are moving right along.

    Your Baby: 

    Think of it this way: You’re a third of the way through and baby’s a third of the way cooked. Now that the “big stuff” (like skeletal and organ development) is taken care of, your baby starts a period of rapid brain growth, fat buildup and detail work. Highlights this week include:

    Your baby now has fingerprints! Book ’em, Danno! Believe it or not, he actually created them himself while swimming around in the amniotic fluid. As he moved his hands, the skin on the tips of his fingers formed unique ridges and folds. That’s why no one on earth has the same fingerprints, not even identical twins! Cool, right? Baby’s arms are now in proportion to his tiny body, but his legs are still on the short size in comparison.

    Meconium, that tar-like, sticky first baby poop, is now loading up your baby’s intestines, which means you might want to set aside a bottle of olive oil, one of the few things that will get the gooey poop off of baby’s bottom.

    Your baby continues to gain new and impressive skills such as practicing and controlling voluntary muscle movements (this will help him fling food across the room later in life). Your tiny dancer’s movements are no longer the jerky, uncontrollable twitches of yore—he now moves with graceful control.

    Your baby is now weighs about an ounce and is the length of a flip phone, or roughly 3.5 inches—he’s tripled in size from a mere three weeks ago! Luckily, you haven’t done the same.

    via 14 Weeks Pregnant – 3D Pregnancy Calendar.