Starting Fandom Early!

As a Pastor's Kid, the Bean is fairly accustomed to being in houses of worship. But this week was a real treat, as we went to one of Boston's most sacred sites.

And yes, we lost... giving up five runs in the first inning really hurt. But the Bean kicked and bounced and danced through nine whole innings, only very rarely giving Mommy a break. And if you listened very carefully through Mommy's belly button, you heard these tiny little cheers:

"Go 'Tek!"

"Yooooooouk!"

And even, in a surprise appearance, "Pa-pi! Pa-pi!"

It's okay, Poppy - just pretend the Bean was cheering for you! (We certainly were. I'm still over the moon. You rock.)

YAY!

Cat toys for Baby?

Okay, so one of our "how your baby is developing in utero" books said that at about this time, the baby would react to a light shining on Mommy's belly, and either roll away from it or punch at it.

But not so much. Tricks that work for cats do not, it seems, necessarily work for babies.

Tickling, on the other hand... now *that* gets a reaction!

Why we love our church

Among so very many other reasons, of course - we have made friendships there that will last for a very long time, I have no doubt.

But they do throw a good party, and they turn out in force for a baby shower! With unbelievable generosity, might I add. It was a wonderful day of hanging out with great people, eating yummy pot-luck food (church lady food! yay!) and playing a fun shower game at intervals during the present opening. Indeed, we are delighted to announce that we're renouncing Hepzibah and Obadiah for the names suggested during today's festivities. The list is a little longer now, but then, there were four categories.

So in about seven weeks, we hope to announce the birth of:
Paloma Buchakjian-Tweedy or Rainbow Crayon Buchakjian-Tweedy (winners of "most artistic name")
*or*
Lincoln Roosevelt Buchakjian-Tweedy or Barney Franken Buchakjian-Tweedy (winners of "most political name")
*or*
Danica Patrick Buchakjian-Tweedy or Rocky Buchakjian-Tweedy (winners of "most athletic name")
*or*
Queen Nefertiti Buchakjian-Tweedy or Nicholas Copernicus Buchakjian-Tweedy (winners of "most historical name")

Anyone care to help us whittle these eight down to a final two?

Another fascinating aspect of today's shower was our first-ever glimpse at a diaper cake. Given that we're planning on using mostly cloth diapers, we're figuring these should last us... well, quite a while. Or until the Bean sprouts too far.

Not just diapers, but washcloths, onesies, pants, a cup-bowl-bib set, and baby lotions and potions. And yes, each individual diaper, onesie, washcloth, and pant is individually tied.

Just to give some size perspective, here's Luna checking things out:

Wow.

Best Aunties Ever!! (second edition)

Today, we set up the nursery. Why, then is this a picture of the living room? Well, because up until now, the nursery has been our guest room, and the home of our futon. But the futon and the crib will not both fit, so a little rearranging was in order in the living room before anything else could happen.

Without the futon, the nursery seems so spacious!

Then the crib had to get cleaned off, hosed down, and allowed to dry in the sun before it could be brought inside and assembled.

And by "assembled", of course, I mean that the Red Sox mobile had to be installed.

Mommy in what will surely become a frequent hang-out: the rocking chair.

The rock-star Aunties, admiring a job well done...

...And maybe, just maybe, getting a little punchy.

Thank you, Jen and Sarah! We love you!

Recent Lessons Learned

Just a few things we've learned recently, as we await the birth of our Bean:

Lesson 1: The laundry may be smaller, but it takes twice as long to dry.

Lesson 2: Tom and Jerry, and other 60s cartoons in the same vein, were not all wrong. Pregnancy apparently inspires knitting, even during the hottest and most humid days of the summer so far. (the following is actually M.'s first-ever sweater. awesome, no?)

Lesson 3: Said hot-and-humid days inspire creative cooling off. Kiddie pools: not just for kiddies.

Lesson 4: The people who write instructions for putting strollers together are sadistic. Now we know where the folks who write the directions for Ikea are trained. The kind who create illustrations that are designed to make it so much harder than necessary to actually assemble the object at hand.

Lesson 5: Sometimes bears need baths, but they don't dry easily. Squeezing their ears does help, however.

Latest Glimpse

As of this past Friday, we know that we no longer have a schmoo, or King Tut, or a Bog Man. Hello, Baby!

The ultrasound tech kept trying to get a profile shot, but Bean was hamming it up, looking right into the "camera". There were occasional brief glimpses of the profile, as the Bean rolled all the way over, and then all the way back... just like Mommy.

On Friday, Bean was 3lbs, 6oz, and about 16 inches. About the 40th percentile, we understand, which made Mommy breathe a huuuuuuge sigh of relief.

But mostly, we loved the pudgy cheeks.

New Game

It started last night. The Bean was kicking, visibly, so I poked back... and got kicked. From there, the conversation went something like this:

Me: (walking two fingers along M.'s belly, right under the baby's feet) "Who's my wiggle worm? Wiggle wiggle wiggle!"

Bean: Kick. Kick kick.

Me: "Wiggle wiggle wiggle!"

Bean: Kick. Kick.

And so on.

Tonight, it was a similar game, played to Pete Seeger singing "I Know an Old Lady".

Mommy may not have swallowed a spider, but something is wriggling and jiggling and tickling inside her!

How Sweet it is...even low-carb!

One of the more unexpected twists on this pregnancy: a gestational diabetes diagnosis.
Turns out, the little bean's creation is counter to my insulin's ability to process sugars, so Mommy is now quickly getting over her fear of needles. In the last 2 weeks, I've been stuck at least 5 times for glucose blood draws by nurses, and now have to inflict the quick (and ALMOST painless) sting of the glucometer lancet on my fingers four times a day.
This diagnosis happens more than I'd thought - about 1 in 15 mamas-to-be become temporarily diabetic with their little ones. So, here's what I've learned:

1. I will never underestimate the courage of my Type 1 diabetic kids, ever.
2. Plain, lowfat yogurt with fresh summer blueberries is almost as amazing as ice cream. Almost.
3. Animal crackers are good blood sugar stabilizers in hypoglycemic moments.
4. Low-carb can be delicious, especially when there's a grill involved, and cheeses!

We're at 30 weeks now, the home stretch - I can still see my feet, but have to straddle a chair to lace up my sneakers. The baby kicks, rolls, pats, and flutters all the time now. It especially moves to music and the sound of our voices after dinner. Often, you can visibly see the kicking from across the room, if you're paying close attention.

It's awesome, really, glucometer and all. :)

Fourth of July!

(disclaimer: not my best photos. We brought the film camera, not the digital for this trip, so all of these were taken on my cell phone.)

We got a real treat this weekend: some time with Grampa, Aunt Jessica, Uncle Mike, and three out of four cousins. Bean was pretty ambivalent about the parade, but swimming! Well, now, that's something else entirely!

Mommy and Aunt Jessica braved the rain-chilled shores of New England, egging each other on into the water.

one, two, three, lean back together and.... aaaah....

Once you're in, they said, the water's fine... I don't believe them. M. said it was really surreal to feel the Bean kicking underwater.

We finally had to leave, because I had to preach this morning. We aimed for the 8pm boat, figuring that would get us home around 10p. But as the nephews drove us into the ferry parking lot at 7:30... the ferry was leaving. Full to capacity, they left quite early. Fortunately, the next arrived soon thereafter, so we could sit on the boat, rather than standing in line, until it left at 9pm. At least we had a lovely sunset to watch!

And a bagpiper to play us nearly all the way back to Point Judith. Of course, after a while, I think he began to run out of the good ol' Scottish airs, because he started in with "Jesus Christ Superstar". A little disconcerting, hearing that one on the bagpipe!

The best of the ride home was seeing the fireworks from several towns in Rhode Island, as well as some very low down, just barely clearing the horizon, that seemed to be from the south coast of MA and Martha's Vinyard. Really an amazing ride home.

Happy Fourth!

Obedient Child

M. had an appointment today with the OB/Gyn. She didn't see "our" doctor, but one of the partners, whom everyone seems to agree is about the sweetest doctor around. He felt the belly, and then told M. exactly where the head, shoulders, butt and feet were positioned... and we were both glad to hear that the Bean is already head-down, and likely to stay that way. It does explain the "sweet spot", just to the left of M.'s sternum (if you're facing her) where the majority of the kicks seem to end up.

So apparently, we have a very good little baby, doing precisely what s/he is supposed to do. Let's hope that lasts, shall we?