Happy Thanksgiving!

It's hard to believe another holiday season is upon us. I'm wondering how we'll do this next year with Nugg... I've got two families and then add Linda's family into the mix and we have 3 to 4 Thanksgiving dinners to attend. Linda already had Thanksgiving at her aunt's house last Sunday. Today we are going to my dad and his fiance's and her family's dinner about 30 minutes away; then over to Lawrence, about an hour away, for my other family's dinner...and will actually make it in time for dessert. Tomorrow we are going over to Linda's mom's to celebrate with just her immediate family... Years ago, Linda & I would end Thanksgiving night at the Plaza Lighting Ceremony - a big event in Kansas City - then find a spot in some bar and drink the night away. The past few years we've skipped that and just head home...plus it's no fun for Linda to hang in a bar when she can't drink.

This past week has been a busy one! On Saturday, after we found out Nugg's gender, Linda & I decided to knock out some of the baby registry at Babies R Us. Some of Linda's friends from college came with us as well...since they were jazzed up about us having a baby, but more so they really, really wanted to use the scanner registry gun. They are easily entertained and easily excited, I guess? Anyhow, Linda & I spent about 2 ½ hours at Babies R Us, and of that time I think we spent an hour just looking over strollers. My dilemma was the ease and convenience of the strollers. Working for an airline and boarding many families with strollers, I can't begin to count how many times I've wasted several minutes trying to figure out how to fold down a stroller because the parents failed to collapse their strollers at the bottom of a jetway after being asked to do so before boarding. We ended up registering for two strollers. One that is part of a set that matches the car seat, and the other that's a like an all-terrain stroller. Linda said she wanted something nice to take on a walk, or if we visit somewhere that requires a lot of walking. I told her that traveling is gonna be a whole new adventure with a baby and we'd want to make it as easy as possible. A huge all-terrain stroller is gonna impede our travels - a simple umbrella stroller will be much more convenient. We cut the registry day short though because Linda was starving and will continue another day... It's a daunting task! I never knew how much is required to have a baby! But it's fun!

I think Linda has been going through a nesting phase. She took a few vacation days from work and has been working away on getting the house in order. We've already bought our crib for Nugg, but instead of buying a new chest of drawers and changing table, we are using my grandma's old dresser drawers from the 1940s as a combo dresser and changing table. But we need to refurbish it...and Linda decided to get to work on that with sanding the old stain and scuffs off it. Yesterday she spent most of the afternoon rearranging our closets. She's been very busy!

Seems the hot question of the week now is, "What's the name gonna be?", and "Can we please call him something else besides McNugget (or Nugg or Nugget)?" Linda said she isn't ready to commit to a name just yet and will probably make her mind up in February or March. He's gonna be here in April! It's the age old debate between husband and wife. We have decided that Nugg's middle name will be William, which is my middle name and my dad's first name. But we haven't come to a decision yet about the first name. My list includes Evan, Kyler, Caleb, Elijah, Nicholas, Rylan, Ethan, Owen, Cole, Zachary, Asher, Connor, Landon, Abe, Carter, Keaton, Nash, Case and Grayson. Linda hates most of these. Evan was an early favorite and there's a story behind that name... But Linda's not ready to confirm that name yet. She said she does like Evan, Owen and Zachary. She's thinking of more Irish names. Her maternal grandparents immigrated from Ireland in the 1940s, and she still has cousins there and she was thinking along those lines... She emailed me a short list of Irish names she doesn't hate which included; Finian, Ronan, Owen and Teague. I like Teague and Owen...but Finian and Ronan? She said we could call him Finn or Rowe for short. Ummm, no. I like Finn...but just Finn. Not Finian.

We are in the midst of our 21st week! One of my friends, Deb, put it into perspective - the earliest Nugg could be born in as early as 16 weeks (when we hit our 37th week). In comparison, Linda took the pregnancy test just 16 short weeks ago! Good God! On average, Nugg would weigh about 12 ounces, but he's a bit ahead of the game. At our ultrasound they said he weighs about 14 ounces now! We forgot to ask how long he was, but he'd be about 10 ½ inches long, or about the length of a carrot. Linda is feeling him kick and punch more and more...and you can see him punching away in the ultrasound video. I actually got to feel a pretty good kick the other night...and there was no doubt about it! Such an amazing feeling! In other developments, Nugg's eyebrows and lids are now present. Fingerprints are now fully formed and loud noised can wake him up. In fact, we've already experienced that. Truman dropped his bone on our hardwood floors the other day and Nugg jumped and kicked in response! His circulatory system is completely functional now... The umbilical cord system continues to grow and thicken as blood travels with considerable force through the body to nurture him. He already has a high number of red and white blood cells too. The placenta is now about the size of Nugg. In fact at our last appointment, Nugg's heart rate measured 145 beats per minute! Nugg could be swallowing as much as 17 ounces a day of amniotic fluid now. It's so cool to be able to call him HIM!!

Happy Turkey Day everyone!!

It's a ...

So, today was the big day. Today we found out the answer to the boy/girl question. Brian, my mom and I all went to the doctor together and we went to the ultrasound room. The ultra sound tech said she had to do her business first.

She measured the head, looked at the brain, spinal chord, heart, diaphragm, feet, legs, arms. Then she went back and tried to get photos of the face, but Nugg was in a position where all we could see was a profile, but from that profile, I pretty confident to say that Nugg will have Brian's nose!

Then, she finally (like this post) got to the point that we were waiting for. She was trying to get the angle when Brian said, "I think I see something." The ultrasound tech said, "How could you miss it?"

It's a official and absolutely no question. Nugg is a boy! So if you voted boy in our little poll, you have the joy of being right. Congratulations!

Halfway There

I've slacked on updating the blog. Linda told me that I needed to post something! I guess I've just had writer's block.

There's been a lot of developments over the past week! Linda has been feeling Nugg kick more and more strongly everyday. In fact, she started to feel Nugg kick from the outside of the womb. She woke me up a few mornings ago to see if I could feel Nugg...but no luck. The next night, I was at work and Linda was home with Truman. Truman loves to snuggle and had his head resting on Linda's belly...when Nugg decided to give a strong kick...probably because Tru's big head was crushing them! But Linda said that Tru jolted up and looked at her like she had done it on purpose. I was bummed that the dog got to feel Nugg before me! But then, the other night, I had my hand on Linda's belly and felt the slightest, faintest little kick. When I felt it, I had figured it was just Linda tightening a muscle or she had a muscle twitch...but she said that was Nugg kicking...and that from her perspective it was a pretty strong kick...

The day I've waited for since we've found out we were pregnant has finally arrived! Kind of appropriate it's scheduled right smack in the middle of pregnancy. I think today and the day Nugg arrives will be the most exciting of the entire pregnancy! We get to find out if our first born will be our son or our daughter! We go in for the big ultrasound appointment today at 3:30...and it can't get here soon enough! Our poll shows an exact 50/50 split for what our friends, family and blog readers think Nugg might be. So much for a strong lead one way or another. Me, personally, from all the wives tales and myths, I'm expecting a girl...but hoping for a boy. It really doesn't matter either way really, as long as Nugg is healthy, that's all that matters to me.

This week we are in the exact smack-dab middle of pregnancy! Twenty weeks behind us, and twenty more weeks to go! (Even though at the moment, technically, we're closer to 21 weeks...) Nugg would weigh about 10 ½ ounces and is about 6 ½ inches long from crown-to-rump. This is the last week the baby is measured from crown-to-rump, due to the first 20 weeks the baby's legs are curled up against the torso and are hard to measure length. Nugg's length from head-to-heel is about 10 inches, which is about the length of a banana. Nugg is gulping down amniotic fluid for both nutrition and the practice of swallowing, which is good for the digestive system. The taste buds actually work too... Anything that Linda would eat, Nugg can taste! Supposedly tests have been done and studies show that babies respond to tastes they've already had via the amniotic fluid. Meconium is being produced in the bowels, which will be deposited into the first dirty diaper. If it turns out that Nugg is a girl, her uterus is now fully formed and her ovaries are holding about 7 million primitive eggs of her own! If Nugg turns out to be a boy, his testicles have begun their descent from the abdomen to the scrotum. Nugg's skin should also have begun to thicken this week and will develop into four layers.

Here's hoping the next 20 weeks fly by!! I'll be sure to update the blog with a video of the ultrasound!

Snack Time

During the first trimester, sweets were not for me. Eating in general was a painful process because of the "morning" sickness. Now, I don't have that problem. I'm hungry pretty much all the time.

As I write this, my stomach is growling and I am polishing off what was - 20 seconds ago - a Hershey's bar with almonds. Now I am reaching for my banana and wondering what is for dinner.

I don't want a lot of sweets. Just a little candy bar here or there, or a piece of cake, or a fudge round, or a Kit Kat (I searched every single vending machine in my building- 15 total - and no Kit Kats!), or a bite of Ben & Jerry's Magic Brownie ice cream (a pint will last me at least 2-4 days), and I'm good.

However, if I don't get my sweet fix, watch out. I could cut someone.

Well...it's not exactly a piece of crap...

...but close. My car has decided to be temperamental. Yesterday, I was leaving for work and got in my car, turned the key...and nothing. The radio came on, but the engine wouldn't even turn. Just the radio came on. I tried again. Nothing. And tried again a few more times. And nothing. Crap!

Luckily, I try to give myself enough time to get to work (it usually takes me about 25-30 minutes) and I leave about 1 ½ hours before I need to be there. This is mainly due to the fact that I work at the airport and have to park about 2 miles away from the terminal in the employee lot and are shuttled over to the terminal. Since the employee shuttle schedule isn't all that reliable, I choose to leave for work early. Fortunately, Linda had left work early - she went to Houston last night for a work thing. Thankfully, due to construction on I-435, I called her in enough time for her to divert back home to pick me up and we rode together to the airport. But it sucks having one car. And fortunately for me, my brother-in-law, Jeff, is an expert in repairing cars. He owns his own business in Kearney, fixing and repairing cars...and he's nice enough to offer me a 'family discount'. It also helps that I give him some of my buddy passes for free travel...so the repair won't cost me anything. My car, a 2003 Pontiac Grand Am, is 7 years old and out of the extended warranty, so this repair, according to Jeff, is probably pretty costly. Funny thing is, after Jeff got my car towed to his shop...it worked fine. Go figure! He thinks there's something wrong with the computer system. He said he might have it figured out and ready by this Wednesday or Thursday. So until then, we have to depend on one car. Linda's flying back from Houston tonight around 6:30...however I'm off work at 8:00. Then tomorrow, I'll have to take her to work. Then when I have to get to work, I'll have to go pick her up, she'll spend her lunch break driving me up to the airport...and then go back to her work. Then she'll have to come get me tomorrow night when I'm off work. Hopefully it'll just be one day of juggling, since I have Thursdays and Fridays off...but it's still a pain in the ass.

Linda & I got my car paid off a few years ago...and I'd like to keep that car for as long as we can, at least until we get her car paid off. That'll be a few more years though. My car isn't the most ideal "family" car though...it's a two-door. All my friends who have kids have told me that will change very soon and I will need a four-door. Linda has a crossover SUV though...a Dodge Caliber...so we have the convenience of a four-door car.

I just hope we don't have these problems after Nugg arrives! I know we should probably invest in getting me a new car...but it's nice only having one car payment for the moment.

So we are now in our 19th week!! Man, we're almost halfway through this pregnancy! Nugg weighs about 8 ½ ounces and is about 6 inches measured from crown-to-rump (head-to-bottom), which is about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Some of these grocery store produce analogies baffle me. I've never heard of heirloom tomatoes. When I was at HyVee last week, I checked the produce section to get an idea, but found nothing of the sort. Anyhow, the kidneys continue to make urine and Nugg's scalp is sprouting more hair. A waxy protective coating, vernix caseosa is forming on the skin to protect Nugg from pickling in the amniotic fluid. Nugg's sensory development is exploding! The brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. It's apparent that Nugg can hear now too! Linda said that as she was watching last Sunday's Chiefs game, she was screaming at the TV and Nugg was kicking up a storm. Yesterday, as she was driving us to the airport and cursing at the idiot jackass drivers (Linda suffers from road rage a bit), Nugg was also kicking up a bit. I have reminded her that she's got little ears listening to her now.

I'm anxious for our next doctors appointment to get here...only a 1 ½ weeks now until we find out if we are having a son or a daughter! It seems like that's the topic of debate. Seems like everyday at work, my coworkers ask me if I know yet. In fact, I had one coworker tell me she was waiting on pins and needles in anticipation. Her and I aren't even that close, but she said the whole station was eager to find out what we are having. That seems funny to me for some reason...especially given that her and I aren't that close. But I welcome the eagerness of my colleagues...just shows you how much encouragement and well-wishes you get from everyone!

In my dreams

Weird and/or awful things happen! Last night, I had a dream that Brian and I were walking down a street and we came across a daycare facility. We decided to check it out. We just walked in and started asking questions. Then my dream switched over to the basement of this daycare facility where an older woman was just sitting on a stool when these four big thugs came in. They looked like someone cast to play a Russian Mafia boss in the movies. They stole a paperbox full of cocaine. Why was there cocaine in the basement of a child daycare? I don't know. But the lady started screaming and carrying on that they were stealing her coke. Then my dream flashed back to Brian and I and we just looked at each other and said, "maybe we should look at other places."

End of dream.

The night after an appointment where our doctor told us about Edwards Syndrome and Down Syndrome and how to test for those, I had a dream that my baby was born with an elbow sticking out of its head - which, for some reason, never showed up on an earlier ultrasound. I didn't know what Edwards Syndrome was before that doctor's appointment. Our doctor just said it's basically a chromosonal disorder that results in the baby being put together all wrong - hence the dream about the elbow coming out of its head - and the baby usually doesn't survive too long after birth.

I've had dreams that the crazy lady behind us - the one that once ran through the parking lot screaming with nothing on but high heels and a bath robe - tries to steal my baby. In some she is successful, in others I totally kick her butt or am able to grab a 12-gauge that I do not yet own and fend her off.

In none of my dreams do I recall a specific gender being assigned to McNugget. I guess we'll find out for sure soon enough.

When Hormones Attack: Part II

I'm writing this post part embarrassed and part giddy because men in white uniforms haven't shown up to drag me to the loony bin yet.

Last night, I'm sure Brian thought I completely lost my mind. Let's paint the picture ...

On Brian's days off, a typical evening involves eating dinner and then sitting on the couch together with Truman. Only Truman wouldn't sit still. He was up, he was down. He would chew his bone, he would go bark at some noise, but mostly he was PACING. Non stop all night.

Finally, Brian pulled Truman up on his lap and the dog just went to sleep. That's what he wanted, to sit on "daddy's lap." About an hour past and I started teasing Brian about his snuggling with Truman and we were both having a pretty good laugh.

Then, inexplicably, I start to cry. Not just cry. I was bawling my eyes, inconsolable SOBBING.

Why? Because Brian was snuggling with the dog instead of me. For 5 hours we sat on our own side of the couch without issue, so why it was all of a sudden, I don't know. Like I said, I'm just grateful he hasn't had me committed yet.

And in case you missed it, you can read the first ATTACK OF THE HORMONES

Revenge of the Morning Sickness

Linda hasn't had the nausea that plagued her during her first trimester for a few weeks now. As she mentioned, she switched her prenatal vitamins from Women's One-A-Day (which in fact were two vitamins for the prenatal formula) to Flintstones Complete. This seemed to have taken care of her morning sickness. She still takes the same Nature Made Folic Acid, which had no effect on her feeling sick. This seemed to do the trick. However, on Sunday, Linda thought chicken tacos from Chipotle would hit the spot. I worked Sunday night and received the following texts from her:

Linda:

"Ugh...went to Chipotle. Thought chicken tacos would be good. Halfway through last taco, had to run to the bathrooom. PROJECTILE vomit. No chicken for me."

Me:

"Yuck! I'm sorry honey!! Guess Nugg doesn't like chicken tacos! Hope you start feeling better!! Love you!"

Linda:

"I feel fine now. I didn't feel bad before. It was just a sudden, "oh crap I'm gonna barf!" I'm just glad I made it to the bathroom."

So, Nugg made their message very clear, no chicken tacos anymore! Linda still didn't feel up to speed the rest of that night and yesterday. She told me that she barely made it to the toilet, and that she literally had to run to the bathroom. I feel so bad for her. I'm hoping it's not a reaction to the flu shot we got on Thursday. Linda is positive it was just Nugg's way of telling her not to eat that again...

Linda's poll she posted to the blog has gotten some good guesses, but as of right now, we are even-steven. Those that thought Nugg is a boy was in the lead, but yesterday, the girl guesses caught up and we are exactly 50/50 now. So...if you haven't voted on what you think we're having...please do so at the top right of the window! We're both anxious for November 20th to get here. Only 2 ½ weeks left!

This week, Nugg is about 5 ½ inches long, about the size of a bell pepper, and weighs almost 7 ounces. Nugg continues to flex their arms and legs, blood vessels are visible now through their thin skin, and the ears are now finally in their final position. In the brain, areas that specialize in the senses; taste, smell, touch, sight and hearing are maturing. The bones in the ears have hardened now, and Nugg should be able to hear sounds from life outside the womb...so that means they will be able to hear our voices! Guess it's time to start reading and talking to Nugg! In fact, if a loud noise happens, Nugg would be startled! Nugg is passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. In Nugg's digestive system, meconium is collecting, which will be passed in Nugg's first dirty diaper. A protective covering of myelin is now forming around nerve endings, a process that will continue through Nugg's first year of life. The heart begins to build up muscle cells and is pumping between 25 to 30 quarts of blood per day. If Nugg is a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If Nugg is a boy, his penis and testes are now noticeable and the prostate gland will begin to form this week.

Happy Halloween! (And worries...)

So, I'm about an hour late... Linda & I went with her mom to Columbia to visit Linda's sister, Bridgett (who is also due a couple days before us) and our niece, Olivia. For Halloween, Olivia was going as Ariel from "The Little Mermaid". What blows my mind, is the next Halloween we are gonna celebrate, we'll have an about 6 month old in tow...dressed as a pumpkin, bumble bee or something along those lines. However, with us living in the city, I don't foresee us making rounds for trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. Linda's brother and his family still live in our hometown (about a 45 minute drive for us), and in fact bought a house a few years ago, in the same neighborhood I grew up in. I told Linda that maybe we can take Nugg trick-or-treating there with our nephew, Brayden, next year. Plus, it would be kinda cool to stop by my old house. The same house I spent from age 2 months to 22 years in, and the same house my parents lived in for 31 years until they sold it in 2004. I miss that house.

Linda and I have been in our condo for 3 ½ years. We bought it at the start of the housing market crisis, but no one ever thought it would have gotten this bad. We probably could not sell this place for what we bought it for, and both of us are losing our minds here. It suited our needs as a newlywed couple, but now we've got a growing family to think about, and noisy neighbors and constant police sirens are not going to benefit us once Nugg arrives. Case in point, the recent college grad-frat boy that is renting the unit above us. All units were converted from apartments to condos, and the buildings themselves were built in the 1920s, one of the reasons we loved it when we bought it...lots of character. Well, all the units have the original wood flooring. You cannot take more than 2 steps before the floorboards creak and squeak. Our original neighbor upstairs when we moved in was a very very quiet guy...we NEVER heard him move. He had that unit on the market for a good year, then decided to rent it out. The guy that just moved in, threw some kind of kegger for Halloween and I was about to go insane from the noise.

I just wonder how that's gonna go when we have a newborn that is trying to sleep? Hence the reason why we'd really really like to move. Move to the 'burbs. I'm tired of the city-life. But how can you sell a condo in this market? Linda & I have fretted over this for months, even before we found out we were gonna have a baby. We liked the city-life, but it's grown stale. We're ready for a real house, with a real yard and a real garage.

Linda & I have had the thinking that we need to get the condo up to speed with some minor home improvements and get it listed. We figured have a good 4 or 5 years before we really need to be somewhere else, when Nugg hits school age. This thought has ravaged my mind tonight. So much so that I googled what I could find about the school district we are in. Kansas City is known for it's magnet schooling, which is less than stellar...and the designated public elementary school for where we live is John T. Hartman Elementary Magnet School...so I guess this is where Nugg would go if we are living here then. Which completely freaks me out. Looking at some of the test scores for this school has got my mind swimming. I really am not familiar with how to read the scores, so I don't know if I'm looking at them correctly. Then I looked at the public high school Nugg would go to...Westport High, which is just a few blocks from us. That school's state scores are even scarier! I then researched private schools near us, the closest is just a few blocks away - Notre Dame de Sion. While this seems like a fit for what I want for Nugg - I can't believe the tuition!! My God, I have no idea what to do.

I really don't want to raise Nugg in the inner city. The inner city is no place for a child. My head is swimming. I need to go to bed...