A One Pound Package of Oreos

This week the little guy weighs a whole pound and is as long as a package of oreos!  I can't believe how much he has grown in the past 23 weeks.  In all my baby research, I found an article that said that babies born at 23 weeks have a 10-70% chance of survival.  That seems like a pretty big range to me.  Once the baby makes it to 26 weeks he has an 80-90% chance.  It's crazy to think that some people have a baby that soon...we are definitely not ready...but it's nice to know that we're getting close to the safe zone. 

We went on a "Babymoon" last weekend...one last get-away before the baby comes.  Jared surprised me with train tickets to San Antonio for my birthday, so we went down for a long weekend.  Neither of us had been on a train before so it was definitely a neat experience.  Since it was my birthday, Jared went all out and got the sleeper car tickets.  It was nice to have our own little area.  We also got to eat in the dining car which was fun.  The train ride took about 12 hours with all the stops, so by the time we got there we were ready to be on solid ground. 

 We went to the San Antonio zoo which we had heard was a really good zoo.  We were kind of proud of ourselves because we figured out the public transportation system all by ourselves.  The zoo was definitely nice.  It was little, but all the animals were out.  In the past when I have gone to the OKC zoo there are usually a ton of empty cages, so this was a pleasant surprise. 

 Here is my 22-week baby bump...and also a huge snake.

 We ate at a lot of neat restaurants, saw the Alamo, and shopped on the River Walk.  I don't have all my energy back, but I definitely have a lot more than I had during the first trimester.  When we walked long distances, I could tell that my center-of-balance has shifted and I am carrying a lot more weight.  By the end of the trip, my whole body was so tired. 

 It was weird that the temperature got up to about 65 each day, but they already had the huge Christmas tree up on the River Walk.

This weekend Tabatha came up from Texas to visit and we really enjoyed seeing her.  She brought us a basket of baby stuff and a loaf of homemade pumpkin bread, so obviously it was a successful visit.  I was feeling a little overwhelmed with all of the nursery planning so it was great to go shopping with her and get things planned out.  She has the best decorating sense.  She had a lot of ideas for pretty easy things I could make for the nursery so that it would have some personal touches.  I'm definitely not the craftiest or most artistic person in the world, but I really want to try them! 

~Caitlynne

The Name Game

I'm not sure that I've gone a day since we found out the sex of someone not asking what his name is going to be.    We've considered our celebrity name which is Caired, or some cool one syllable name like Cage or Tex.

People are getting pretty persistent about asking, but we just don't know.  We may or may not have it narrowed down to a few.  I'm not telling.  In fact, if we do tell you a couple that we are choosing from, chances are that we are giving you decoys, not serious considerations.

So who knows where we will go.  Will it be something out of left field like Pep, or it could be after a president.  It could be after some city, or Stoops after Coach Bob.  Who knows, because we sure don't.  Looks like everyone's going to have to wait until after its born, except us.  Maybe... who knows, we sure don't.

-Jared

More than Half-way!! This is Bananas!

We are officially more than half-way through this pregnancy!  Twenty-one weeks down and 19 to go.  To be honest, I am a little overwhelmed by everything we have left to do...we have been baby shopping several times but all we really have is a closet-full of diapers and some onesies.  We found a crib we really like but haven't made the commitment yet.

Little Baby Miller is the size of a banana this week and weighs about 11 ounces.  He's almost up to a full pound, and I am feeling it!  He moves around all the time, especially during the music at church and during loud parts of movies.  The first time I knew for sure I was feeling him move was last weekend.  Jared and I went and saw the Social Network and there's one part where some of the characters are at a club.  There was loud music and I guess it woke the little guy up.  He kept moving the whole time they were in the club.  I think I had felt him move a couple times before, but I wasn't sure.  Now I can definitely tell when he's moving around in there.

Jared had to go to North Carolina for work this week.  It was definitely rough having him gone, but as soon as he got in the car at the airport and started talking, the baby started moving around.  It was crazy!  I think he missed his daddy as much as I did.  And he got a souvenir:

Hopefully this is the last time he will have to travel for awhile.

~Caitlynne

IT'S A BOY!!!

Well we went to the doctor on Tuesday for our gender revealing ultra-sound.  Regardless of what we said, we were both hoping for a boy...Jared even more than I was.  IT IS A BOY! 

We were so anxious in the days leading up to the ultra-sound...not just for the gender but also for the health of the baby.  I think we slept for about an hour on Monday night.  Good thing we took the day off on Tuesday.  Here we are right before we went in:

Last few minutes of having an "it" instead of a son.

We were grateful to have so much support at the appointment.  Jared's mom, my mom, Teighynne, Maesynne, and Bevynne all took off of work/school to be there for the big reveal.  

The ultra-sound tech definitely took her time.  She spent quite a bit of time showing us the face and the profile and his little tummy.

She also zoomed in on the heart and it looked perfect!  We could see all four chambers pumping.  That was a relief.  Finally, she moved down south.  We spent a few minutes admiring the sweet little feet...the little buger kept kicking his mama:  

And then it was time for the big reveal.  The tech got in position but the legs were crossed!!  She kept poking at him but he just wouldn't open his legs.  I almost made a comment about how lady-like it was...that would have been awkward.  Before we went in, Jared had been telling a story about a girl at work whose baby wouldn't move for the ultra-sound and she had to come back the next day to find out what it was.  Well, after the night Jared and I had, we needed to know now.  She moved away from the legs and back up to the head and appeased us with another sweet head shot.  By this time, I was squeezing Jared's hand so hard that I think I left a bruise.  After what seemed like hours she moved back down.  This time she got right in there.  She said "Looks like there's a stem on that apple...It's a BOY!!"  Jared and I just broke out into the biggest smiles (and tears), and just like that it was over.  The whole thing took about 12 minutes. 

Aunt Teighynne had a precious blue and brown onesie waiting when the lights came back on...his first gender-specific outfit:

We went out for a celebratory lunch and then hit Babies R Us.  I was pretty excited to park in Expectant Mothers Parking:

We are so excited to be having a little boy!!  We haven't picked out any names yet, but we sure are excited to meet the little guy!
~Caitlynne

I was surprised that it's a boy.  I pretty much had myself convinced that it was going to be a girl.  I would have been happy either way, but I am so excited that it's a boy. 

The ultrasound was a crazy experience.   It only took about 15 minutes, but the gender isn't revealed until the very end.  So, I was very anxious for most of it.  My favorite part of the ultrasound (besides when they tell you what it is) was the closeup of the heart.  You could see all 4 chambers pumping away.  The baby only weighs 1/2 of a pound right now, so you can imagine how small the heart is.

The little guy was moving around a lot.  It's so real to watch him squirm around on the screen.  We are just about halfway there.  From 1/2 pound and 6 inches tall to 7+ pounds and 21 inches is just around the corner.  I am so excited!

-Jared

The Other Man

A few weeks ago we watched and the Back-up Plan and there was this pillow that Jennifer Lopez (and real pregnant people) use to help keep them on their sides while they sleep.  It’s the length of a body pillow, but it curls on the top and bottom like a candy cane.  

I have now been replaced.  This pillow is softer than me, it doesn’t snore and it never smells bad.  It never moves around, or steals the covers.  This pillow does everything right that I do wrong.  So, thanks Jenny from the block.  If it wasn’t for your movie…

I am really lucky that it doesn’t so my part of the housework or I would be fighting Scarlett for the other bed in the spare room.  And believe it or not, Scarlett snores louder and smells worse than I do.  

So for now, I am safe (as safe as I can be).  But, I'm not going to lie, it is one comfortable pillow.  What Caitlynne doesn't know is the it helps keep me on my side when she gets up to take a shower in the morning.  Hopefully the pillow will move out after the baby comes.  Tuesday is a big day.  We find out the sex.  We should have a blog post about that soon afterward, so keep your eyes peeled.

Jared

Wrapped Christmas Present

This whole not knowing if it's a boy or a girl thing is pretty rough.  It's weird to think that it already has all the parts that decide it....they're already formed and they're right inside me...it's like carrying around a wrapped Christmas present.  I can't peek...and that is not easy.

We are starting with a new doctor tomorrow at Mercy and his receptionist said that we should be able to find out between 18 and 20 weeks which could be as early as next week!!  So I think we can make it that long.  It's hard to go look at all the baby stuff and not know which color schemes will work for us. 

We took a tour of the Mercy Birth Place on Saturday afternoon after a visit to Granny Pat.  I think it made Jared feel a lot better about everything.  The rooms are really nice and much bigger than we expected.  Mercy also has a rooming-in policy with the new babies so we were really excited about that.  The nurse that gave us the tour was great--he told us everything about the entire process from deciding if the contractions are real all the way to strapping the baby in the car and leaving.  It was really nice to hear...but a little TMI for me.  At one point he went over what happens if I lose too much blood during delivery....yeah I actually don't want to think about that at all. 

I guess our next step is picking a pediatrician....seems early to do that but I guess that's what people do. 

Meanwhile, Jared and I are enjoying our last fall as a family of two.  I keep telling Jared that this is his last chance to scream at Bob Stoops at the top of his lungs...at least for a little while. 

 This year we have to settle for dressing these two up in OU clothes. 

Boys Rule and Girls Drool, and Vice Versa

We are rapidly approaching the time frame of when we are able to find out if it’s a boy or girl.  I have no feeling of what it’s going to be.  Of course, gut instincts don’t matter because they come from your gut, and nothing good ever comes from that region. 

I was thinking about which I prefer.  So, I began thinking about what the pros and cons are.  Girls cause drama.  They need it. It starts very young, and around first grade they come home saying they are not Emily’s friend because Emily looked at her.  By 12 they are on Facebook declaring their love for some guy and by age 16 you have to be concerned that they may be dating a 21-year-old behind your back.

Boys are naughty.  By first grade they are pulling kids chairs out from underneath them and saying inappropriate words in class because they don’t know what it means.  By middle school they are either the boy stuffed in the locker, or the boys stuffing someone in the locker.  And at age 21 they are dating someone’s 16-year-old daughter.  (For those of you saying this doesn’t happen, it’s because your kids haven’t told you about it)

Girls are sweet.  At a young age they know how to nurture other when in need.  Typically a little girl’s smile has the capability to melt anyone’s heart at first glance.  A little girl is the perfect example of unconditional love, but the best thing about a girl is that she resembles her mother.

Boys are funny.  Right from the start they are situation inappropriate.  They are constantly getting dirty, causing trouble and making a comment that is either completely bizarre or bad enough to be wrong, but funny enough to force holding back laughter. 

I suppose they all even out, so it’s a coin flip for me.  

-Jared