fashion dailymotion

Again, some may appreciate these baby clothes posts more than others, but whatevs. If you are noticing that these are boyish clothes, please note we still don't know what we're having, but I feel so drawn to the boy clothes! Perhaps that's motherly instinct? Who knows. If we have a girl, she will either look like a boy for some of the time or our friends with boys will be getting some nice new clothes!

Well here I am at 24 weeks, or 6 whole months! I can't believe it. He or she is moving around so much now, and Chris can even feel it. We have also seen my stomach move! It's a crazy feeling and it makes the whole experience more real. The first time Chris felt it was when we were about to go to bed one evening. The baby had been moving around but when Chris went to feel him/her they stopped moving, of course. So we decided to jostle my stomach around and Chris started making noises at my stomach ("WAKE UP, BABY!") and it worked! Chris put his hand on my stomach and felt a little knock. He looked up at me with a big smile on his face and I was so happy he could finally feel what I have been feeling for the past few weeks. It was definitely a 'moment'!

So what else is happening? Well, apparently the baby is almost a foot long (like at Subway) and over a pound. Some great news is that I haven't seen any stretch marks yet...and I'm looking often...so I kind of hope it stays that way. (And all the girls who have given birth are probably rolling their eyes and saying, "Honey just you wait"...but a girl can hope, right?!) Apparenty the baby has no pigment in their skin or hair, so basically I am carrying Powder, minus the special powers. I'm also suspecting that my feet have grown a half size...I no longer fit a 6 at Aldo. I bought my first bottle of Tums today, as I've been feeling that slight acidic sensation in my throat. Ugh! What else will be in store for me? Time will tell...

There's a stereotype out there of hormone-driven, cry-at-the-drop-of-a-hat, war-path trodding pregnant women. Yesterday, I fit the bill. And it was over something so trivial...cookies and spilled water!

I had a glorious day off after an awesome women's conference at our church, and I was quite enjoying my day of grocery shopping in the morning and hanging out at home. At some point in the afternoon, I decided to bake my Cookie Monster husband some tantalizing chocolate chip cookies, using a new recipe deemed to be 'The Best'. It got four and a half stars on AllRecipes.com, so it had to be good. I followed the directions pretty much to the tee and the first batch came out hard as rocks. Not burnt, but I could probably have used them as a defense (ninja-star style) if we were to run in to those Surrey punks again. Next batch, I put them in for less time. Still hard. Next batch, hard. Finally on the last batch they were satisfactory (not great) but the emotional damage was done and my mood was sour like the old yogurt in our fridge.

After much encouragement from Chris and reassurement he would eat them all, I decided to tackle dinner. Spaghetti was an easy choice. I still had a grudge against these crap crisps that masqueraded themselves as cookies, but I knew I had to move on with my life. I asked Chris to fill a pot of water for the noodles, which he did wonderfully, but I wanted a tad more so I filled it up just a bit more. Turning from the sink to stove I knocked the pot on the edge of the counter and the water waved to and fro, spilling water on the stove, counter, floor and my socks. That was the breaking point. Tears spilled forth. I ripped off my wet socks, threw them across the room and bent down to sop up the water, all the while weeping. For some reason I didn't want Chris to know I was crying over spilt water so I collected myself in the bathroom, but he got 'mad' I didn't ask for help. He's a good guy. After that, I was okay. All is now well in my world.

Here is the first of many things we have bought for our baby. Well, I bought it. Chris just went, 'Oh, neat!'. The last one "Born to Rock" was our very first thing we ever got, and it was given to us by our good pals Travis and Jessica. I just noticed that they are all something to do with cookies or music...are there are any 'graphic designer baby' onesies out there? Hm? No? Shoot. And yes, I know they all look like boy clothes, but OH WELL. We have no idea what we're having, but the clothes were too cute to pass up.

Today I am 21 weeks along, or for those that don't like counting by weeks, 5 months and 1 week. My tummy is definitely growing, and I mostly really like it for various reasons: first of all, people can kind of stop wondering if I've just put on a few pounds. I actually look pregnant.

As you can see from the banana, that's what size our little one is...about 10.5 inches. (I was so confused why the baby jumped from being 6.5 inches last week to 10.5 inches...apparently they measure from crown to feet now, and not crown to rump. Something I learned...) He or she has little fingernails and hair, and they are able to taste the amniotic fluid in which it lives in! Tasty. Apparently what I eat affects the flavour of said fluid: Studies show that after birth, babies are most interested in tastes they've already experienced through amniotic fluid (thebump.com). So I guess I should start eating more veggies.

We also had our second appointment with our midwife, and Chris was able to come! Nothing crazy to report, but basically she checked my heart beat, lungs, kidneys and all that jazz by poking me and listening with a stethoscope. She measured my uterus (again by poking around on my tummy). We also got to hear baby's heartbeat which sounded like galloping horses. It's in the 150's, which we're told is also good. So basically, our baby is doing really well and is healthy! Thumbs up for our little Douce.

We have now hit the half way mark! I am now 20 weeks (or 5 months). Also, our baby is apparently the size of a small cantaloupe. I like that they measure children to the size of produce.

In other news, I am feeling more little kicks and flutters, mostly in the evening when I go to bed. Also, sometimes when I'm sitting at my desk at work. And sometimes he or she will rest somewhere in my bladder region and I tell him or her to do something else. Sometimes he or she listens, sometimes not.

Naming a human being is probably one of the most important choices in the whole parenting process. This name will be this person's 'label' for the rest of their lives, even after they are old and gone...so it better be a good one. Talk about pressure! As a kid I didn't know any other Brandi-Lee's, and not many with a hyphen in their name. I wanted to blend in with my friends and have a name like Crystal or Laura, but now I'm cool having a name not many others have. (Even though the vast majority of the population can not spell it...thank you mother. This we will take in to consideration when naming our baby!)

There are other factors to take in to consideration. For instance:

• What nicknames can come from this? ('Harry' or 'Dick' pretty much leaves that one wide open)
  
• What people are attached with this name? (I doubt there have been many little Adolph's running around in the past 60 years)
• Do the first and last name sound good when said together? (I went to school with a 'Harry Wong'...)
  
• Will this name still be good in 50 years? (there's a reason why nobody names their baby Gaylord anymore)
• What kind of words rhyme with that name? (eg: Regina. Think about it.)
• Is it easy to spell? (Try to get a five year child old to spell Betelgeuse. Also try to get other five year olds not to make fun of that child.)
• Does it make other people go, "What?" (eg: Bono's child, Elijah Bob Patricus Guggi Q Hewson. I also met a kid named 'Blade Steele')
• Do the initials spell something? Mine used to be B.O. (Again, thanks mom. I blame it on your youth...wink.)
  

Chris and I have a few floating around in our heads and on our 'list', but I think it would be fun to see what you think would be a good name for our baby girl or boy! Any suggestions?