24 weeks: Soccer Mom

I hit the 6 month mark this week!  And according to the experts, my baby belly is the size of a soccer ball! Wow!  Baby Mildren is also kicking like a soccer star, so that's a good thing!

Also, my mom celebrated her 60th birthday this week.  

The next grandma to have a birthday will be James' mom on January 14th....I'm due that day, too!

Also, James got to practice holding a baby when we met our nephew Connor this weekend.  He looks like a natural at this!  I also changed my first diaper to the best of my memory, so there was that milestone.

Here's my sister's baby Connor at 7 1/2 weeks!  Pretty cute, huh? :)  

23 Weeks and Growing!

There's not a lot to report on this week, other than a healthy doctor's visit, in which I was informed I'm measuring exactly where I should be (whew!), and that everything else looks and sounds good.

Baby Mildren also attended his first rock concert!  James and I went to see the Foo Fighters in KC, and they were GREAT live, playing for nearly three solid hours.  Of course, going to bed at 1 am for me (me pregnant, no less...) is the equivalent of pulling an all-nighter, so Saturday was a bit rough and slow going.  Oh well, it was worth it!

22 weeks: 5 1/2 Months

22 weeks

Wow!  I feel like this week I went from 'Baby What?' to 'Baby BUMP!'  

Baby Mildren has hit a major milestone according to this week's growth projection.  He now weighs a pound! I think he gained most of it this week....  :)

21 Weeks: Hooked on a Feelin'

... maybe the baby bump looks bigger in plain clothes?

This week had a VERY exciting development for James and I! We got to feel Baby Mildren's kicks for sure!  James could feel him, too, which was awesome (and confirmed to me that yes, there is a growing baby boy inside).  Feeling that for the first time was one of those cheesy moments that we will never forget, and it has made us that much more excited for Baby Mildren's arrival come January!  I've been addicted to putting my hand on my stomach when I am resting at home, so I can feel his movements.  

Prediction:  If he takes after me, his movements are probably very uncoordinated and awkward....if he takes after James, his movements are probably fluid and athletic.  Ha!  

20 Weeks: Halfway There

5 weeks

20 weeks

This week marks the halfway point of my pregnancy with Baby Boy Mildren!  Hooray!  While there are detractors who do not think I look very pregnant, by looking at the comparison photos from 5 weeks to 20 weeks, it's clear there's been some growth on the baby front.  Just to make things clear, from here on out I'll also be posting a picture of myself in 'real' clothes.  They actually make me look more pregnant than loungewear! ha!

Things have been going pretty great lately, and we are praying that the next 5 months bring the same level of enthusiasm, enjoyment, and anticipation as the first five months have brought us.  Keep those prayers coming, please!

I am pretty sure I have been feeling Baby Mildren move around a bit during the last few weeks, but I'm not completely sure, since I don't know what to feel for, but it seems like something different than digestion.

We're still narrowing down a name for our little boy, and we have it down to two.  For middle names, we are wanting to do something family related, but nothing has been decided yet.


This week, our sweet friend and former Spanish tutor in Guatemala, Patricia, sent us a gift for "Bebé Mildren" since soon we are going to be "papis" (PAH-pees, slang for parents).  

Our own little niño guatemalteco indígeno!

(indigenous Guatemalan baby)

*This may be the cutest thing we ever get as a baby gift, and you can guarantee it will make for some great future photo ops!  

19 Weeks

Well, other than growing a bit more in the belly, this has thankfully been a pretty uneventful week of pregnancy!

James and I have started the daunting task of a baby registry (via amazon.com, seems easiest with the best deals, too).

Also, we've pretty much decided on a Jungle theme for the nursery.  Baby animal stuff is adorable!

And (as I've said for a long time) babies dressed up like animals are hilarious!  Here are some examples of creative costuming that cracks me up!

A giraffe

...maybe a skunk! 

(no, I don't plan on setting our child down in the middle of a road--ever!)

A little lamb

Monkey!

Or a Halloween cat!

18 Weeks: 4 1/2 Months Fun

This has been a very exciting week!  Earlier in the week, James and I went in for the much-anticipated sonogram.  We found out that the baby is healthy and doing well (weighing a whopping 8 ounces), with a good heartbeat, and everything else in the Normal range you'd want normal.  Of course, this is the most important point of the sonogram - does it have 2 arms? 2 legs?  Good blood flow? Good development?

Can you see his profile?  

We're already proud parents!

The other important part of this sonogram is getting to find out the gender!  

It's a BOY!!!!!!!!!

We had no desire to wait and find out; both of us wanted to enjoy planning and anticipating whichever gender our baby was going to be.  Also, I have a bad habit of referring to all babies (even once born) as 'it,' so I want James and I to get used to saying "he" to bond with it more ahead of time.  Ha!  Once we learned it was a boy, we were thrilled, and I did nothing but daydream for the rest of the day.   :)

In other news, the Kenny grandparents made their first visit to Baby Mildren's future cousin, Connor Morgan, born Aug. 3, 2011!

Grandma Kenny and Connor Morgan

Parents Scott and Robin, Connor Morgan, and Kenny Grandparents

My sister Robin and brother-in-law Scott are proud parents of their new baby boy Connor Scott Morgan, and I know the Kenny grandparents had a blast visiting their new family.  It was fun to hear about it all week, what it's like having a newborn baby at home for the first time.  They started a baby blog for Connor, too.

The only baby book I read this week was The New Contented Little Baby Book, by Gina Ford, a long-time British nanny, sharing her non-medical but very experienced advice.  The book was a good read, but I had more fun with the English terms for baby stuff, and some of it I couldn't even figure out.

The New Contented Little Baby Book

crib = cot
dummy = pacifier "Parents end up with a very demanding baby...just because they do not want to give him a dummy."
teat = nipple (on a bottle or pacifier) "Once feeding, make sure...to ensure that the teat is always filled with milk."
swaddling blanket = shawl
onsie - vest
stroller - pram
burping/gas = wind  "It is important to follow your baby's lead regarding when to stop and wind him."
top-up = ???????

Our first couples' preggo photo....should we send this in to awkwardfamilyphotos.com?