I am now 24 weeks pregnant and feeling pretty good. I think Jack-boy is growing a lot because my abdominal muscles feel sore from stretching…

My last appointment was at 22 1/2 weeks and the results from our anatomy ultrasound were great.

I had gained 10 pounds according to the doc.

He still loves eating beef and drinking milk.

My belly button is getting flatter and I suspect it will pop out rather soon. Hott.

Mr. Baby moves and kicks all the time! I love it.

Our favorite thing to do these days is watch baby move in my belly and play “the poking game” with him.

We set up his cradle in our bedroom. We are grateful it has been loaned to us!

So far, Marceau does not get inside the cradle, but rather loves to sleep on the floor underneath it. Whew! He’ll make a good guard cat…

I had my last work trip and feel so relieved I no longer have to jet-set around unless I want to.

Now, I’m nesting. Big time. Cleaning everything. Making household project lists. Organizing closets. Donating excess.

We’re getting ready for you, sweet baby boy!
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So here I am at 19 weeks…

While I still don’t have what I would call a real “bump” I decided I am ready to begin taking belly photos.

Side note: sorry if you find it weird that I’m lifting my shirt, but otherwise it really doesn’t look like anything. I will put my shirt down once it becomes obvious under clothes.

I’ve gained 9 pounds.

I’m now wearing maternity jeans, but I’m still in all other normal clothes.

My sweet little passenger is now the size of a mango or a large heirloom tomato, depending on which website I look at. At the doctor this week Baby K’s heartbeat sounded strong and we learned that our prenatal screening tests were low-risk for the major genetic disorders and do not need to do an amnio. Hooray!

Baby K craves Beef, Milk and Watermelon the most.

Baby K is moving around and I’m pretty sure I can now differentiate between baby movement and gas or uterine growth. Sometimes it feels like soft little internal punches, sometimes it feels like s/he is balling up and sticking her/his little tush out and sometimes it feels like a rolling motion. I love this so much!

R and I have gone looking at baby items such as strollers, car seats and rocking chairs.

Baby K has already received a couple of presents and I purchased her/his first clothing…

First clothing purchase (I just couldn’t resist):

First present from “Grandma B” (she couldn’t resist either):

Second present from our friends Dan & Reagan (the diapers were addressed to “Dad”):

Things I’m thinking about are…
–Breastfeeding: to take a class or read a book instead?
–Infant Care: I’ve never lived with an infant, but R has lived with several, so he’s way ahead of me in terms of comfort and ease around small babies. We will probably take a class.
–Labor/Delivery: Get a doula? Take a class? I will definitely not make any kind of real birth plan but instead go with the flow and do what feels right in my body as labor progresses.

Our Anatomy/Gender ultrasound got moved up one week, so we’ll hopefully learn if Baby K is a boy (like we and most everyone else thinks) or a girl (which 2 people think) this coming Friday morning! Just 4.5 days 3 days until we get another glimpse of the passenger. I’m so excited I can hardly stand it!

My mantra leading up to this ultrasound is: Healthy Happy Baby, Healthy Happy Baby.

And that’s the word on the pregnancy street.
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