The Lisbon-Slack Year in Review

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Merry Christmas

May you find peace, love and your own bundle of joy this year!

Merry Christmas from Adventures in Babymaking.

A few bumps in the road

"Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and he weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds him, but that volume will decrease as he gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. His eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after he's born, he'll keep his eyes closed for a good part of the day. When he does open them, he'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means he can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20,)" babycenter.com.

"Your baby's face looks much like it will when he's born. He still needs to fill out more to get the characteristic chubby infant cheeks, but he's on his way. He can move his head, open his eyes, and make breathing movements through his open nostrils (although no air comes in).

If your little one were born today, he'd have a good chance for survival at about three pounds," babyzone.com.

This entry is late for this week. A lot has changed for the birth mommy-to-be health wise. Last week she got the diagnosis of gestational diabetes. We went in Friday morning and she was given a glucose monitor and educated on what to eat to keep mommy and baby safe. Mommy monitored her sugars over the weekend and reported on Monday. Tuesday we got the call that we needed to come in because she was being put on insulin before bed. We went in and were trained on that yesterday. We met with a dietician, who was a lot more helpful than the nurse we first saw. She explained Wen's diet better and gave her some good tricks of the trade.

Then today Wen got a call from our doctor. She was also tested this week for preeclampsia to be cautious because she had had one high blood pressure reading and a small amount of protein in her urine. Because of the alarm Wen was tested on Monday and today found out she has mild preeclampsia. Obviously these are all reasons to stress and be upset. We have really good prenatal care so I know everything will be fine, but it is still discouraging. I want my wife to be healthy and I wish there was something I could do to take care of her. Right now the doctor has said if Wen has a headache that won't go away, blurred vision, is swelling more than normal or has a pain on her right side to call immediately. In her 34th week we will go in twice a week for the baby to be monitored. Most likely Wen will have to take insulin after meals because as her hormones rise so will her sugar levels. It is a lot to take in, but we believe in a Higher power who will keep mommy and baby safe. We just know that we will not deliver beyond 40 weeks and we may get an early present.

The good news is we were approved today for our new home. It is exactly what we were looking for. We get the keys January 8th, when we're gone for a retreat, so we'll begin moving in January 11th. We'll get settled with that, have a couple baby showers, celebrate Valentine's Day and then be waiting on baby. He will be here soon and his two mommies and two daddies couldn't be anymore excited. Please keep birth mommy and baby in your prayers.

Bugaboo, 85 days and counting...

"Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain (babycenter.com)."

"Your baby is filling out this week. He's adding fat to insulate his body for the day he leaves his cozy home. You can probably distinguish between feet and hands, head and bottom when your baby-to-be moves inside you. He takes practice breaths but won't breathe air until delivery.

Your baby's growth has begun to slow down now, but he will still gain approximately four pounds between now and birth. If he were born now, he would be able to breathe, but might tire easily and need assistance. His little eyes are sensitive to light (babyzone.com)."

This week Bugaboo has been hiccuping a lot, which concerned Wendy at first because she thought she was having some sort of muscle spasm in her belly. He remains very active and on some occasions you can catch a glimpse of his kicks, but only when he thinks you're not looking. Wendy's belly is popping out a little more. It is nowhere near the basketball size I thought it would be by now so I think she may be carrying him mostly in her back.

Mom is very healthy. She is tired though and looking forward to her Christmas break at the end of the week. It's been a long stretch and she needs some R & R. Tuesday we have our monthly check up. We will get the results of Wendy's glucose test, have our first real baby measuring, and possibly sign up for some birthing classes. I found out our hospital is about the same price as our doc's and we'd rather go somewhere where we know we are already accepted as a couple. Unfortunately that is one of those things we always have to consider when planning new things. Wen keeps getting the craving question. She really doesn't have any "I must go and buy this right now" cravings per-se, but if she's walking by something she may decide she has to have it. I have noticed she's wanted more chocolate than ever before though.

On my end I'm happy that we have found a consideration for our big move. It is hard when you want to nest and you know you will be packing everything up and moving within the next month. If this place works out we should be in by mid-January and then we can start setting up everything for baby. I have been real anxious and stressed and I think a lot of it has to do with being unsettled. I want to have everything in order for baby, which is impossible when you're moving.

I will give you an update on Tuesday. In the meantime to all my ttc friends I'm sending out an extra Christmas wish for your baby dreams to come true this year. Hugs.

And so we begin the final stage...

"By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels. He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world (babycenter.com)."

"Your unborn baby's survival rate outside the womb increases as each week passes. If he didn't open his eyes last week, chances are he'll take his first peek this week. Your baby-to-be's skeleton and muscles are maturing quickly. This week he can turn his head from side to side.

Most of the lanugo has disappeared at this point and your baby may have a full head of hair by now (babyzone.com)."

This is a big week for Bugaboo and Wen. Together they enter into the third trimester, which means technically he will be here in three months, but that could be give or take a few days or even weeks. Last Christmas Eve Wendy was having surgery and being told she only had an 8% chance of getting pregnant. It is amazing to know that a year later we are in the final stage of waiting for our little guy to arrive.

Preparations are being made for our baby showers, and invitations will be going out soon I'm sure. Wendy's sister, with help from my mom and Wen's mom, will be throwing us a shower for our family and some of our Visalia friends and my BFF will be throwing one for all of our friends and the dad's friends and family.

This past week Wendy had her glucose tolerance test. We have our monthly appointment next week and will get the results, but we think everything went fine. She didn't have any adverse reaction to the glucose, or the fasting, other than being hungry.

This coming week I am going to look into labor and delivery classes. Our doctor's office offers one and I hear the hospital may also offer them. I'm also going to try and work on a light exercise plan for me. I know I am really out of shape and I need to get my act into gear to be ready to care for a newborn.

It seems like everything is happening so quickly now and there is no time to put anything off. Any and all loose ends need to be tied up so we are prepared for our life to be turned upside down. This is a little daunting to an O.C.D., control freak, but I'm learning meditation and doing some writing for me to keep me centered.

That's my week 28 report other than Bugaboo and mom are doing really well. The baby moves around a lot, and it's obvious that he is running out of room. Wen is doing fine other than dealing with the pregnancy rash that I talked about last week. It really itches, but luckily it mostly affects her in the evening so she isn't having to deal with it at work. Mom and baby are healthy and we couldn't ask for more.

Your Mission If You Choose To Accept...

You may remember my short lived love affair with pomegranate 7 up last year. I blogged about it here.

Well a couple of weeks ago we found it again at our local Save Mart. This was well before Thanksgiving and pay day so we only purchased one bottle. We figured there would be plenty of time to get more, but yet again we jinxed ourselves. Pomegranate 7 up is nowhere to be found. We've looked at every grocery store, drug store, and at Target. Was this a fluke? Is it not being made this year and Save Mart only teased us with leftover bottles from last season?

I am enlisting you my readers. This challenge is yours. Help me locate a stockpile of my most treasured sparkly beverage, which goes great with a little Malibu rum, and in turn I will provide you with a holiday gift of equal value.

Now to the rules and regulations and yada, yada, ya:

You must be of Pomegranate 7 up drinking age (who are we kidding, anyone can drink this stuff) and able to understand the true value of this soda. You must be able to provide me with the location of the largest display of aforementioned beverage so that I may stockpile for the next year (suggesting I go to 7 up headquarters does not count, this must be a a store in Fresno CA). Family members and friends are free to enter. I don't care who finds my syrupy red drink as long as I get it. The Grand Prize Winner (and only winner) goes to the first one to provide me with the name and location where I can purchase the most bottles. Grand Prize Winner will receive one holiday goody from me. All entries can be left as a comment on this post. There is Pomegranate 7 up to be found and recovered! Happy hunting.