Nifty Fifty: A Note To The Unborn Vol. 7

Hey Little Man!

It's been a while!

You are currently beating the daylights out of my ribs! At this point in time you're supposed to be simmering down since you're running out of room. But not my little dude. If you're anything like me, which I think you are, you're going to do things at your own pace, in your own style. Clearly, you still want to get rowdy so GET ROWDY! When you groove like that, it lets me know you're OK and eases my  crazy brain. Monday night, your dad woke me up to tell me that you were going coo-coo nutty in my guts. He could feel you pressed up against his back. It was a cute middle-of-the-night moment.

50 days until you're scheduled to be in my lovin' arms. I can't believe it.

We had a party for you on Sunday and now have pretty much everything you need! You are going to love your room! It is officially my favorite room in the house so I hope you don't mind if I camp out in there sometimes. Anyway, all these awesome chicks came out to celebrate you and help Daddy and I get ready for your arrival. Everybody loves you already and can't wait to meet you. And you're going to be one well-read and well-dressed little fella. Uncle John Jackson got you a fedora, just like his! Ha!

It was really amazing to see what everyone did for you, a baby boy they've never met. I can't wait to wrap you up in Aunt Jen May's robot blanket and put you in Aunt Bizzle's Ramones t-shirts and read you all the books Aunt Sherry and Aunt Wendy got you in the glider from Grandma Honey. Aunt Potsie came over last night because she missed your party...she gave me the coolest sparkly blue heart necklace...blue for my baby boy. And Aunt Lisa had a tree planted in your honor at Redwood National Park (which is WAY cooler than the Bob Segar autograph she wanted to get you). I'm so glad all these crazy ladies are going to be a part of your life and am so glad you're a part of mine.

I think I've been doing a better job at remaining calm and stressing less recently. I hope you can feel that in your temporary housing. You have a check-up next week so hopefully all is good and you'll stay put for another 2 weeks...not that I wouldn't love to see you! I just want you to grow as big and strong and awesome as you can before you come into this crazy world. I've waited 230 days already...I can wait 50 more! Maybe!!!

I love you more than you could ever know, my boy.

Love,
Mommy

Baby Shower: The First Party In Spencer's Honor.

Sunday was Spencer's baby shower and we were surrounded by friends and family, truly awesome people who were cool enough to come out and celebrate our little man. We can't thank everyone enough for the effort they put in, especially my mom and my aunt who did a bulk of planning and preparing. It was a beautiful day out and the whole affair was quick and painless for all! And man, was this kid spoiled rotten! It gave me the warm-n-fuzzies to see the lengths to which people went for us. We're lucky ducks.

We spent the rest of Sunday and all day yesterday (I took a personal day so I didn't totally wreck myself) opening and organizing his loot and getting the Spencer Dome ready for his arrival. That's one major task off our To-Do list so my brain feels slightly lighter. If he shows up early, his room is ready and waiting for him...and it is officially my favorite room in the house. But more about the Dome another time! It's picture time, for posterity!

Aunt Little Jen made the delicious and beautiful cupcakes...strawberry, key lime, vanilla (with ROBOTS!) and hot cocoa. When I'm nervous, I can't really eat so I have one of each waiting for me at home.

I can't figure out why these are sideways. I've tried uploading them a gazillion times. Regardless, these are the favors that my sister made! Robot bookmarks with Spencer's name and chocolate-covered graham crackers that said "Lacey's Baby Shower" with the date and an adorable picture of Bender as a baby with Spencer's name on the bottle. LOVE THEM! I frames one of each of the Spencer Dome and put one of each in his save box.

Everyone was asked to write a message to Spencer (or me and Todd) and then a puzzle was put together. My favorite message would be from Aunt Alyse and it read, "When you can stand, we'll teach you to do The Robot!" There were definitely plenty of gems.

Aunt Becky and moi. I was asked where I was hiding the baby. I like being pregnant and I like my bump, even if I just looked like I add a little basketball. Maybe he'll be just the right size and spare my junk any major destruction!

Tessa is my oldest friend (we met in Kindergarten) and Spencer's godmother. He bought her a Pandora charm bracelet (expensive taste my boy has) and will add charms for special occasions in her life. To start, she got a T for Tessa for being his godmother and a ghost (as in "Holy Ghost") for the baptism. The black-n-white spacer was just to add a little flash. I look forward to them having this bond through jewelry. Though he better get a job ASAP!

My sisters loaded him up with books and an awesome bookshelf! Wendy (in the middle), her husband and her 2 kids each picked their favorite book and wrote a message to Spencer inside. My brother-in-law gave him a Little Black Book and wrote "I hope you get a lot of numbers" inside. Awesome!

I addition to a KICK-ASS hand-made robot blanket, Aunt Jen May made him this bib which reminds me both of the Chung Wah sign she helped me win at an auction AND the cooking class we took at Stir Crazy. She is so talented, I could just die.

Aunt April and Uncle DAB got him, among other awesomeness, his first pair of shoes. Guess my mom's dream for him to be a normal baby went out the window!

Probably my favorite gift, my mom hand-made my skeleton family: me, Spencer, Aiden and Todd. The veil I'm wearing was made out of my mom's 1968 wedding cake topper. When she told me that, I almost cried. ALMOST. We appreciated everything but the hand-made stuff was really chock full of love. I must be buried with these.

I told you he was spoiled rotten! My car was stuffed to the gills!

And this is just a FRACTION of the clothes he received...which included 3, count 'em, 3 Ramones shirts in various sizes so he never grows out. Aunt Phoebe is grooming him to be a proper hooligan, ADIDAS footies and all.

So those are the pictures I have for now. There may end up being a Baby Shower blog, part 2 as pictures people took filter in. I was just really touched and am super relieved that he has what he needs. Anything he doesn't have, we can surely live without for now. His baby monitor, sounds machine, glider, etc., are all on their way thanks to gift cards and such. I was really nervous because, believe it or not, I get shy, but it was great and my mind was blown. Spencer is the luckiest little boy on the planet, without a doubt.

A huge thanks to everyone who made his day so kick-ass. I love all y'all!!!

And so will Spencer!

Getting Comfy: Trying To Clock Some Hours In Dream Land.

Last week, I had no idea what fruit/veggie/food stuff Spencer was the size of. But I've been informed by another preggo chick's blog that at 31 weeks, he was the size of 4 oranges. Are they small, are they large...I can't tell you. But allegedly, that's how big my little bruiser was.

This week, 32 weeks to be exact, he is the size of jicama, which is really coincidental. My pal John Jackson and I were just discussing jicama. Neither of us knew what it was so I did some research and learned it's kind of like a water chestnut or a radish...therefore, it is disgusting, and the furthest thing from Spencer. Regardless, this week he is about the size of one of these nasty...vegetables? It doesn't really seem to be bigger than 4 oranges though.

At 32 weeks, my boy is pretty much at his birth length which should at least be around 19 inches and he's weighing in at around 4.5 pounds which is awesome. I want him to be as big and healthy as he can be!  "They" say he can even double in size between now and birth...my mom DID predict a 9 pound bundle of joy! This week, his Immune System is all in place...unless he's like his mommy, then he's doomed. And amniotic fluid is at it's maximum now so they're less juice to cushion his ninja activities.

And in the land of ME, it's said that insomnia affects about 75% of moms during the third trimester but it's not really insomnia that's my problem. Even my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome hasn't been an issue...I've actually had MORE energy during my pregnancy, including now. I'm just uncomfortable and FUSSY! Then there are frequent bathroom trips and then trying to get back into a comfy spot when the Round Ligament Pains and (I think) contraction cramping hits at night. Once I find that comfy spot, I'm out like a light again. There's just a lot of hunting going on during the night. The pillow between the knees is helping.

An additional help to my night time troubles has been the adjustment in my work schedule. I cut my days down by an hour and half, which may not sound like much (but it's IS when I was clocking 10.5 hour days). But it's been 2 days and I can already feel the difference. By the time I start feeling irrationally fussy at work, it's time to hit the road. And I have some extra time while I'm there to relax, settle, and empty my mind in order to get some quality snoozing in. I feel really good about it...even if it makes me feel incredibly lazy. I'm going to embrace the laziness because in no time...it'll vanish!

Baby Shower is this weekend which is a milestone we need to hit! I'm in such a panic about him coming early and us being unprepared but things are looking MORE than good that I won't be dropping any bombs before Sunday. I'm keeping everything crossed that this is the case...especially my legs. To my girlfriends out there, I really can't WAIT to see your sexy faces! It's been far, far too long!

Time for morning meds and the countdown until my long weekend begins!



Dirty Thirty: 10 Weeks Until We Meet Our Son.

He may be as big as one, but don't call him a cabbage patch kid! A typical baby at 30 weeks is around 3 pounds and 16 inches. Todd and I were talking about our measurements when we were born and it was eerily close. He was 7 lbs. 7 ounces and 19 inches long. I was 7 lbs. 8 ounces and 20 inches long. "Twinsies", according to Todd. My mom predicts Spencer will be 9 pounds. God help my vagina.

At this point in time, my boy is 75% done cooking. Time has flown in a way that I can barely describe. It's been amazing. Pregnancy in general is fascinating, am I right moms out there? One day, there was nothing, and today, there's an ever-developing baby boy in there. I'm not getting hippie on you but it truly is something! I've created a human being out of thin air! From scratch! I'm like a MAGICIAN! Ha!

He's still just feeding and growing pretty much. His vision is developing though it will still be fuzzy when he's born (perfect...gives me time to get my face on). Other than that, he's just rocking and rolling in there. As for me, while the rest of my body may have remained the same, I'm for SURE rockin' a bump...and I love it. My back doesn't love it. Neither does my tailbone. That's become a daily struggle, but I need to remember not to complain because I've breezed through this and we're in the home stretch. 

*I had just woken up and therefore I am covered in sleep lines, ha*

Oh, you know what else is fascinating? Braxton-Hicks! Yep. It's on. They're prepping my uterus for the big event. I wouldn't say they HURT exactly but they're also not boatloads of fun. I can pretty much walk them off or rub them out (that shouldn't sound as dirty as it does). I'm actually having them right now. Bizzaro!

So, yeah. Not much to say really. The last piece of furniture for his nursery came and we got our first pack of diapers. The baby shower is in 2 weeks and while I may get really shy in large crowds, I'm excited to have everyone around to celebrate Spencer. He deserves a good time since he's been so good to me. And with Aunt Jenny Penny making cupcakes...I'm sure my little sugar monster with be having a blast in his cushy water bed!

And that about does it for being 30 weeks along!!!

Lucky Seven: The Clock Begins To Wind Down With 2 Months To Go.

Today I am officially 7 months (29 weeks) pregnant. The finish line is visible.

According to books/the interwebs/phone apps, Spencer is (or could/should be) close to 3 pounds and a little over 16 inches long. Muscles, lungs, head-n-brain are trucking along developmentally. The brain is even starting to get it's wrinkled maze shape. Luckily, I get more calcium then any one person should be allowed because he needs it right now, along with vitamin C and protein. What baby wants, baby gets. And baby is getting more fat so he doesn't look like a weathered old man when he's born (in approximately 11 weeeeeeks).

And fat = energy so Spencer is stronger and therefore...beating the bejesus out of me with more intensity and less randomness, lots of knees and elbows, or so they say. And "they" are right! He is moving far more than before and in a far different manner and he responds to EVERYTHING. I had some Skittles and the monster was all kinds of jacked up (even if Todd said if was his way of telling me he doesn't want to watch Project Runway). And speaking of Skittles, his permanent teeth are forming in his gums this week. So creepy. There weren't teeth and now...there are. Out of no where. Pregnancy is so insane.

As for me, the mom-to-be, I'm still dodging a lot of bullets. I haven't fallen into a 3rd trimester slump (though there are still plenty of weeks for that), my energy is up, my moodiness is low, my belly button remains in place, and I can see my feet...they don't look swollen at all! I AM, however, struggling in some areas. Still wrestling with constant back pain. It's not the end of the world but it's not at all awesome either. Realizing that my body can't physically do some things that I want it to...bend over, stand for long periods, etc. And I'm having trouble with heat, but heat and I never really meshed. The air conditioning is on and the pool is full so hopefully this discomfort can be altered.

But how do I alter a baby who MIGHT have an appendage of some sort up under my ribs? That is one theory of why I'm having a seriously bizarre and unwelcome pain on the left side of my "bump" that's not like anything I've ever felt before. Another theory is that it's one of those Braxton-Hicks practice contraction thing-a-ma-jigs. I don't know. I can't say for sure. I can just say that the days of being able to breathe normally are ka-put. But I'll take some skewed breathing and an annoying pain over some of the pregnancy horror stories I've heard. No doubt.

At least I was able to build his changing table before I became semi-useless!

So that's where we're at right now. 2 months/11 weeks to go and a lot on the agenda, including the baby shower. I can't wait to see my girlfriends and celebrate this dude that I am dying to meet! I'm not so much dying to go to my 1 hour glucose test tomorrow (checks for gestational diabetes and required me to drink a disgusting sugary solution within 5 minutes, followed by a blood draw an hour later). If we're in a text relationship, expect to get some because I will need to be entertained during this weirdness.

Did I mention that pregnancy is weird?

Third Trimester: The Final Leg Of This Crazy Race.

 Official business: android or monster for the Spencer Dome? Both, right?

This is my 50th post at 1313 Mockingbird Lane, my 27th week of pregnancy, and the official kick-off of the 3rd trimester! It's hard to believe that I am 2/3 of the way done cooking this little turkey that I am insanely in love with and madly over-the-moon about. Even if he did just punch me in the back of the belly button. That's his new skill, hitting the target.

Friday afternoon, my guy was ROCKING OUT. Keep your eyes to the left:

Cuteness To Remember
On Friday night, Todd was giving my belly a good rub when Spencer gave him a swift kick (or punch). So Todd nudged back...and Spencer nudged back. It was like they were fist pounding or something. Todd was so funny and excited and wanted me to feel the hand...or foot...or elbow...whatever...but I let it be their little moment. I have all kinds of one-on-one bonding time with him, it's got to be a little harder for the dads. With Todd's work schedule, I'm worried that Spencer's newly-hearing ears with mistake Detective Elliot Stabler as his father. HA!

On Saturday, we went to a wedding and I was told that I'm cute pregnant : )

Moving on. At 27 weeks down and (lucky) 13 to go, Spencer is STILL the size of a tasty eggplant. I'm guessing they're tasty, even though I've never had one. Everything revolving this little dude is delicious, so says his mother. He's no longer measured crown-to-rump. At our appointment next week, it'll be all head-to-toe! And in that big head, is a big and developing brain. Eyes are opening, ears are hearing, mouth may be jammed full of fingers, and taste buds are tasting. Last night we had some ice-cream and he had a strong reaction to it! Let's hope those were squirms of approval!

The shower invitations are on their way and THEY HAVE ROBOTS ON THEM.

And what else is awesome? The crib came AND Todd surprised me with a picture this morning of it all assembled and waiting for it's tenant. The changing table gets put together tomorrow. Sure, it's a table that will eventually be filled with baby bodily fluids, but I love all things Spencer-related so...I'm psyched! *It's black though it appears brown*

And I'm psyched that a lot is going on in the next 13 weeks that will hopefully make time fly. Take a sneak peek at my ever-growing (no, not belly - I'm still on the small side as websites and books say I should have gained around 16-20 lbs by now, but I'm still hovering around 10) calendar of events:

REMAINDER OF MAY
- next doc appointment
- Memorial Day

JUNE
- 2 doctor's appointments
- a family wedding and New Bomb Turks
- several birthday celebrations
- Father's Day cookout
- Lady Lead Foot's official debut show
- registering for delivery (still sounds so insane)
- Baby Shower

JULY
- 2 doctor's appointments
- 4th of July fun
- kids pool party
- packing the hospital bag
- Los Straitjackets (maybe my water will break there!!!)

AUGUST
- weekly doctor's appointments
- DOING THE SPLITS ON A CRATE OF DYNAMITE!

Yeah...it'll be here in NO TIME! I'm going to rule you, 3rd trimester!!!

Baby Blather: I Do It On My Other Blog, Why Not Here?

1. 100 days until my due date as of today!!!

2. We are FINALLY ordering a crib today after weeks or decisions and debates and gift card nonsense. You're really making me hate you, Babies R Us. You AND your cutsie, backwards "R". Regardless, we'll have a place to put Spencer when we bring him home besides a cardboard box. Score one for the parents!

3. Cupcake flavors for the Spencer shower have been selected: vanilla, strawberry, hot cocoa, and key lime pie. Little Jen is making & decorating them and I will be inhaling them with gusto.

4. If I didn't know I was pregnant before, I do now. The bump my still be small but it's really screwing stuff up left and right where my back is concerned. The last 24 hours have been some of the most uncomfortable of my pregnancy so I'm rocking the support band thing Todd got for me, but it might be too late. I tossed, turned, and whimpered all night long. Rats.

5. We saw an awesome painting in a Sci-Fi themed nursery online and I'm going to do everything in my power to get one like it. I might need to ask my artistic friends to rally. Who is going to help us recreate (something like) this??

And I guess that's all my blather for now!

Slightly Emo: A Note To The Unborn Vol. 5

My dearest and squirmiest Spencer:

I haven't written you a note since we found out you were a boy! Out little man. I'll be honest, having two sisters, I always imagined I'd WANT a girl. But when the ultrasound broad asked if I had any feelings about what you were, I KNEW you were a boy and I couldn't be happier! I knew all along. My special little guy. We've named you Spencer Lee Gansert. Spencer was a name I really liked...I like last names as first names...and Lee is my father's middle name. I think it's a strong name and a cute name, a name that will transition from boy to man. Your daddy and I can't WAIT to meet you...and your arrival is coming so SOON!!!

We (and your big brother) went to two places yesterday and registered for everything we could possibly need to take care of you, entertain you, keep you safe, help you grow. It was an awesome yet draining experience. Again, I'll be honest, I got pretty overwhelmed and very emotional. I haven't really had uncontrollable preggo emotions these 22.5 weeks, give or take a few commercials or songs making me tear up here and there. I've been pretty solid!

But for whatever reason, picking out gifts for you knocked the wind out of me and daddy had to give me some special attention. Screaming or crying, it could've gone either way right there in the middle of the store. But a little snuggle and squeeze, and a raspberry lemonade mellowed me out and we got the job done. You're going to have an AWESOME room, little dude. And I plan to do everything I possible can to give you an awesome life. You have my word on that.

I've learned your routines and am enjoying feeling all your twists-n-turning-n-kicks-n-flips! In fact, you're squirming right now! It doesn't last very long in the morning. I like to think it's you saying "Good Morning, mommy" and then drifting back to sleep. Daddy spends time rubbing my belly and gets to share in feeling you spazz out. We both love it. We both love YOU. I'm starting to "puff up", according to your big brother (who gives you a pat from time to time and says Hello to you), so it's starting to be more evident that you're in there. I love it.

I didn't especially love when daddy called me "fatty". I called him "tubs" in return. And I'm not really loving the return of Round Ligmanet Pain or the stiff back that just appeared yesterday. It's all making me fussy. But believe me, I know how lucky I've been this whole pregnancy. I'm tough. You're tough. We can deal with a little pain here and there, am I right??

Anyway, I just wanted to pop in and record a little of what's going on these days as we await your arrival. I hope you're OK in there and that we're doing a decent jog of keeping you comfortable and comforted. It broke my heart when you got the hiccups last week...I wanted to soothe you but didn't know how. Just know we're thinking about you constantly and everyone is dying to meet you. You are WAY loved! For reals. And I'll do my best not to get emo and stress you out.

I love you, baby monster.

Love,
Your Crazy Mommy

Blue and Gray: Breaking Ground On the Spencer-Dome!

I'm still getting many comments about how un-pregnant I look. It doesn't really bother me because I wanted to BE pregnant, not necessarily LOOK pregnant. But my belly is definitely more round these days.  A perfectly round little pooch, housing a little boy who may be part octopus or squid. Here is an uncovered view from my POV that was sent to Todd at work (by unspoken request of Spencer, who had no intentions of sleeping).

This weekend we broke ground on the Spencer-Dome a.k.a. the nursery! We're almost done with our living room/dining room renovation so while buying our last supplies for THAT endeavor, we picked out colors for his room. Watching "Pregnant In Heels" with Rosie Pope made me NOT want to be the woman who had 4 weeks to go and no room or things for (or intentions of bonding with) her baby.

We decided to do 1 foot stripes in Hawaiian Blue and Ashes, otherwise known as light blue and light gray, despite Todd's best efforts to deck the room out in Browns' colors. Ick. I picked the blue, he picked the gray, and we were both super pumped when trying them out on the wall...and not just because blue and gray go really well with sharks. They're just nice, soft, boy colors that will look good with cool art work hanging over them...like robots and UFOs, which might be our theme. We're starting to see cool stuff everywhere we look and we've even registered for a handful of things.

And speaking of "stuff", I went through a container of stuff my mom had saved from my childhood and found my baby blanket, a blanket she hand-made for me, and several of my most favorite friends from my early years, including the bear my dad brought me when I was born and Buddy the rabbit who always looked a little depressed. (actually, both my rabbits looked depressed...what was with late 70s/early 80s toys??). I'm going to clean them up and put them on a shelf in the Spencer-Dome. Give them a second life.

Thursday I'll be 22 weeks which I GUESS (according to all these maternity websites I check into) puts me at 6 months preggo. So check back on a Thursday for a snapshot of what a 6 months pregnant me looks like. At Carol's request, I will try and get a full body shot with my face in it, just so you know I didn't hijack a pregnant woman (with the same belly tattoos) to pose for pictures on my behalf!

Viva Spencer!

Half-Time Show: 20 Weeks Down and 20 Weeks To Go.

Ladies and gents, we are OFFICIALLY half way done with this adventure they call "pregnancy". I'm not exaggerating (do I do that??) when I say it feels like just yesteray that we were jumping through a plethora of hoops trying to get a bun in the over. And now that bun is half way done cooking! It's mind-blowing, the whole damn thing.

Like how he started as nothing and is now cantaloupe size!

I am so crazy about my melon head (Todd hasn't given him his funny fruit name of the week yet but I think that might be the direction in which he goes). He's squirming around like crazy in there, my little monster. Todd says he has his boogie shoes on, which may be true. He's allegedly supposed to have regular "asleep and awake" patterns at this point, or so "they" say. My uterus will tell you differntly. I mean, I guess he DOES sleep when I'm working and rocks out when I'm resting 9 times out of 10. But when it comes right down to it, this baby does what he wants, when he wants, and I'm loving every second of it.

I'm even loving looking like this:

Because I'm a 13 year old boy at heart, I thought you should know that Spencer's testicles are starting to descend this week. as the scrotum grows (I totally had the urge to say "ball sack"...ugh). Way to go, my son.

And my family has started to plan our baby shower which I think will be in June. I can't WAIT to get his room set up. I went in there and laid on the guest bed that currently occupies the space. It was so odd to think, "Not too long from now, there's going to be this crazy being that's part me and part Todd in here, part of our family". Amazing. I'm so backwards bananas about him. I really didn't think I could ever feel like this.

My mom got us a book called "Rules For My Unborn Son" and I plan to get it for everyone I know who has a baby boy. Examples rules? A man with facial hair has something to hide. Never refuse a woman's invitation to dance. If you're going to wear a tie, commit and button your top button. Don't stare...people watch. It's a great book with some real gems.

Doctor's appointment on Tuesday to go over the ultrasound results which is exciting. And in the meantime, I think Spencer and I are going to go see Memphis Morticians tomorrow, despite how much I despise Garage Bar. I wonder if he'll be rockin-and-a-rollin' in there. I wonder a lot of things...

20 weeks to go!