It's (Going To Be...) a BOY!

It's official -- Wee is a He Wee! So he can be Cooper's best friend and Delaney's boyfriend, and Chris can have a few more years off from worrying about who his daughter is out with.

Our appointment was Friday afternoon, and I came prepared with both Chris (so that I could stop having to imitate the sound of Wee's heartbeat) and a Coke (so we could rudely stir Wee into action in case he was being modest). We told the sonographer (that should be a word, if it isn't...) that we did want to know if Wee was a boy or a girl but that we didn't want to find out right then. At the end of the sonogram, she had us close our eyes so she could take a picture and put it in an envelope for us to open later. Fortunately, she labelled it "Boy!" because even when we looked at the picture at dinner that night, there was still no telling to our untrained eyes. Knowing that it was a boy made us say, "Maybe that's it?" about lots of parts of the picture.

I thought we might get some action out of Wee during the photo shoot since he was poking me in the waiting room, but the boy sleeps like his father and was passed out again 5 minutes later in the sonogram room. He started out on his back and curled into a little ball, which was cute but not making it easy for the sonogram lady to find any of the stuff she was looking for (organs, not just "parts"), so she took the sonogram wand and bounced my stomach around to get him to wake up! It worked but also made me feel nauseous and gave Wee the hiccups, poor little guy... Once he was up and moving, she could find what she needed -- the little chambers of his heart and his little brain and his stomach and some other stuff. She took several cute / non-medical pictures for us, which we've scanned and added in the Photos section. She said Wee looked like a healthy baby -- had all the stuff he should have at that point (even bones -- because I eat so much cheese, no?). He measured a few days smaller than they thought he would be, but they don't adjust due dates unless the change is more than 2 weeks -- plus, he might always catch up later.

To tell the grandparents-to-be, we bought Wee his first "obviously a boy" outfit over the weekend and layed the clothes out when we saw everyone over Christmas. I guess I should have taken a picture of that, too, but forgot!

What's Wee Up To This Month? Installment Six

Month Six -- Weeks 21-24

Size -- Completely done with the fruit bowl, so you'll have to find a ruler to keep up now. Wee starts this month at 9 ounces / 7 inches ("crown to rump") and finishes off at 1 pound / 8 inches, so we're working on bulk rather than length for the next few weeks. Not sure how long Wee's legs are, but they don't count towards his size just yet.

Development -- Although Wee's legs don't count in his length, he will start stretching them out this month. His brain is working on nerve cells that will make his senses work, so he'll start responding to sounds and practicing his sense of touch. Wee's liver and pancreas are both working. and his tongue is in place.

Appearance -- Wee pretty much looks like a baby now. He has baby teeth in his gums, and his eyes are ready but still colorless (meaning they don't have color, not that they don't see color). Fingernails and toenails are complete, too!

So not too, too many changes for Wee this month. I think most of the changes will be for me -- apparently, first time moms usually start showing in their sixth month. It's about time! I have had enough of the "Oh, but you're not even showing" comments! If only I could pull my shirt up and show you how I am showing (but I'm at work or the grocery or a neighbor's house -- it's okay to post your belly on the internet, just don't do it in real life...).

Rachel's belly at 20 weeks

Contact

I've been waiting to feel Wee for about 2 weeks now (knowing that that might happen around this time) and have thought that I've felt Wee several times this week, although it wasn't ever what I'd been expecting (what I'd read that it feels like and what my pregnant friends have said it feels like). So finally this morning, after feeling the same thing 3-4 times a day every day this week, I called the doctor's office and described what I felt. The lady said, "Yup -- that's your baby!" Just to be sure ("trust but verify" -- the CPA's motto), I told her again what it felt like and how it felt different from what I was expecting, and she said, "That's definitely it!" So we celebrated together. :)

For the men, the women who have not been pregnant, and the women who have been pregnant but whose babies followed the rules and did what the books said (which is a light, feather-y, brushing to tell Mom you're awake and changing positions), my "quickening" (not sure why it's called that -- maybe because the mom's heart quickens as she realizes what that feeling is) feels like little pokes from the inside, just below my belly button. If you put your hand up to your neck and press down to feel one heart beat, you'll know what Wee feels like to me (only now imagine it in your guts). It's not a surprising feeling (maybe since I've been concentrating so hard on feeling it) -- just a nice little "Oh, there you are again" feeling. And as happy as I am about knowing what I'm feeling, Chris might be happier -- now I'll stop all the speculating! Also, I am already a bit of a talker to things that won't answer (animals, plants, cars, a baby the size of a lentil), and now this has really sent me out of control because I answer Wee every time (s)he pokes. "Good morning, Wee." "Not now, Wee, Mama's on the phone." "Yeah, I'm hungry, too." "You're right -- I'm never wearing these pants again." "Good night, Wee."

A historical note for you... I learned this yesterday when I Googled "quickening" to see if anyone else reported little pokes instead of little brushes. Way long ago before there were sonograms or other ways to confirm a pregnancy before the mom felt the baby, laws defined the quickening as the official beginning of a baby's life. If a woman was hit or poisoned (presumably to abort a baby -- not just random attacks?) after the quickening, then the attacker was guilty of homicide. And now you know!

Wee just gave me another little poke to say, "That's enough now. Post it already and let's have second breakfast."

What's Wee Up To This Month? Installment Five

Month Five -- Weeks 17-20

Size -- Wee transitions from fruit-sized to vegetable-sized and then back to fruit-sized this month as (s)he goes from pear to avocado to baking potato to watermelon slice.

Development -- Wee's cartilage will harden to bone this month (which is why Wee encourages me to eat so much cheese!). Of course, eating all that cheese will also be useful as Wee starts collecting some fat -- that's my baby!! Gonna be a fat, fat baby. By the end of the month, the bones and nerve endings in Wee's ears will be developed enough for Wee to hear my voice and heartbeat, which means Wee will be able to hear your voices, too, but that's no reason to bend down and address my stomach when you have something to say since I can't promise that my kickboxing training won't make itself known. Another reason not to get too close to my stomach with your face is that Wee might try to kick you him/herself, but I won't feel Wee's kicks for another few weeks. Also, Wee grows some vocal cords this month but won't be making any use of them until there's some air available. Wee's brain might be the busiest part of Wee this month as it develops millions of motor neurons.

Appearance -- Wee will be growing finger/toenails this month and already has a fully formed nose (hopefully Wee is not a prenatal nose-picker). If you do disregard my advice from above and choose to bend down and talk to my belly, I will instruct Wee to raise his/her eyebrows in disapproval since (s)he will be able to do that soon. Overall, Wee probably looks pretty well rested this month since (s)he is sleeping 18 hours per day. Again -- that's my baby!!

Stay tuned! This month we'll find out if Wee is a He Wee or a She Wee -- ultrasound on December 21.

Rachel's belly at 16 weeks

Maternity Pants

Well, the come-and-go belly ended last week when I realized that more coming than going was taking place and that I had button imprints on my stomach no matter what pants I was wearing. I got my first few pairs of maternity pants last night and am loving the pair I have on today. A girl I work with had her second baby earlier this year, and she said to go for the maternity pants as soon as your regular pants stop feeling good. She said she waited a while and suffered through her regular pants with the first baby but switched over to maternity pants much sooner with the second baby (since she already had them) and was so much more comfortable. Odd that I look more pregnant with pants that fit than I did with pants that didn't fit, but thus ends the constant debate about whether to unfasten the button or keep it hooked.

One funny story about the shopping... Chris and I just went to Target to see how maternity clothes even work (turns out, at Target anyway, that they're still numbered the way non-maternity pants are so they sort-of fit your butt and legs and then just add elastic to the waistband). Some of the pants I tried on still had buttons/zippers in the front and then elastic on the sides, and some were nothing but elastic -- just 6 inches of stretchiness at the top of my pants, plus some faux zipper covers so it's not so obvious that I have no real zipper. They're awesome, and Chris is a little worried that I'll never go back to regular pants even after the baby is born and I'm normal sized again. :) When I was trying my pants on, there was a lady in there trying on jeans. After we passed each other a few times (her on her way to the 3-sided mirror, me on my way to get Chris' input), she finally asked my opinion on her jeans. She wanted to know if they were too small, so I weighed in and helped her decide. I was back out modeling for Chris (who laughed the first time I came out and showed him my waistband, but then stopped when he saw that the fitting room attendant lady was about to smack him for laughing at the woman carrying his child -- don't worry -- it didn't hurt my feelings because they really are funny looking) when the jeans lady walked out with her choice. I happened to be showing off some maternity jeans (which I got -- oh, yeah!) and she said, "Those are cute!" Chris and I both thought that she was about to ask where I found them (to which I would have replied, "Not anywhere in the section where you were shopping"), but then she changed her mind and went with her original choice.

So now I have pants that I don't want to unbutton when I sit down. I tried a few shirts, too, but it's too early for them -- just focusing on shirts that are long enough to cover all my elastic for now.

What's Wee Up To This Month? Installment Four

Month Four -- Weeks 13-16

Size -- Still growing -- now from a lime to a lemon to a really big lemon to a pear. Wee will be a dense little pear, though, because (s)he will weigh about as much as a grapefruit at the end of this month.

Development -- Wee will finish off his/her intestines, kidneys, liver, and pacreas this month (not as cute as hearts and brains, but just as vital).

Appearance -- Wee's eyes and ears will move into the right places. The eyes are off on the sides like a frog's, and there's no telling where the ears have been all this time. Wee also will gets some fingerprints, so Wee's life of crime can be well documented. Wee's arms will lengthen this month so they look proportionally "right" compared to the rest of Wee's body, and Wee's hands are now half an inch long, which is about the length of one of my fingernails from the cuticle to the end. Wee's legs are longer than his/her arms, and Wee will soon be able to move all of his/her joints (not necessarily as intended, but they will all move somehow). Big appearance news : Wee grows eyebrows this month!

Rachel's belly at 12 weeks

What's Wee Up To This Month? Installment Three

Month Three -- Weeks 9-12

Size -- This month Wee graduates from being compared to beans to being compared to fruits as (s)he grows from the size of a kidney bean to the size of a lime (passing through the grape, kumquate, and strawberry phases along the way).

Development -- Big developments this month -- lungs and brains and the heart are the new organs (Wee could fill all the roles from the "Wizard of Oz" now!). Also, Wee will end the month with all his/her joints.

Appearance -- Wee's tail will vanish (glad I didn't mention that until it was already gone?), which is fantastic news for Wee's cuteness. Arms/legs will lengthen and hands/feet will keep growing, too, but fingers/toes are webbed until the end of the month. Wee's head is still ridiculously oversized, but Wee's eyelids are developing this month, and Wee's ears almost look like ears. By the end of the month, Wee will even have little tooth buds!

Rachel's belly at 8 weeks

What's Wee Up To This Month? Installment Two

Month Two -- Weeks 5-8

Size -- In month two, Wee will grow from being a blastocyst (don't try to imagine how big that is -- I think that's a kind, scientific word for "too small to measure yet") to the size of a kidney bean, checking in as a sesame seed, a lentil, and a blueberry (almost fruit-sized!).

Development -- Wee's heart will start beating this month, and Wee will take all my energy to grow a brain and a spinal cord. I don't mind.

Appearance -- Eyes (dark spots for now), nostrils (more dark spots), ears (just holes for now), and arms/legs (including fingers and toes!) start growing this month, too.

Rachel's belly at 4 weeks

What's Wee Up To This Month? Installment One

Month One -- Weeks 1-4

I'm interested in what Wee's up to every week, but I'll consolidate from weeks to months for your sakes...

Honestly, Wee was up to nothing this month. A very easy month for both of us!

Baby Wee has a TotSite!

The front page from the TotSite (http://www.totsites.com/tot/babywee; password is "Baby Wee")...

Thanks for visiting Baby Wee's first website! We've been talking about "When we have a wee tot..." for a while now, so we're calling our little baby the "Wee Tot," naturally, which has been shortened to "Wee." We're going to call Wee "The Higlet" once (s)he debuts and might just put that on the birth certificate if we get asked "So have you chosen a name?" too many times. Consider yourselves warned...

Wee is due May 15, 2008. Our wedding anniversary is May 17, so we do realize that this little person will trump all romantic anniversary celebrations for the next 20 or so years. That's okay -- I'm sure that kiddie birthday parties are at least equally as fun as drinking rum drinks on Antigua, zip-lining in Panama, sun-bathing on Margarita Island (Venezuela), or touring Nicaragua. At least.

As you have time, read up on Wee's life in the Journal section. Please feel free to add comments to the journal entries or just general comments in the Guestbook section -- Wee would love to hear from you (that's Wee -- the baby, not We -- Chris and Rachel). I bet the first comment Wee gets is on how small the font size is, no? You can also see some pictures of the mom's expanding guts in the Photos section -- yes, Rachel's bare belly is now on the internet.

There's really no telling how often this site will be updated (at least once a month and probably more frequently once the "nesting" phase begins), so just bookmark it and check back occasionally. If you have any suggestions for info to include, please contact the "site administrator" at rachel.h.higgins@gmail.com. :)

I'm Pregnant!

Surprise! I don't like telling people (too much attention and too many questions!), but I want you all to know, so I thought I'd just lay it out there. :) I'm a bit over 3 months along now and due mid-May. We saw the sweet little blob on an ultrasound a few weeks ago and I heard his/her heartbeat earlier this week -- both are very difficult to recognize since they don't look or sound at all human. I don't look consistently pregnant yet (my belly tends to come and go -- sometimes we're surprised by it), but I did have to retire my favorite pair of work pants this morning -- tried to put them on and thought, "Did I pick out the right pair??" Sure did, just can't wear them anymore.

Please don't be sad that I didn't tell you all individually -- I'm awake for very limited hours these days -- growing a baby really wears a girl out!

**I really was 3 months along when I sent this message in mid-November, but I backdated it in the blog to make it more accurate!**