Thursday, December 3, 2009

A Wink & A Smile

The 29-week ultrasound was so fun! Our boss let Ricky go to this one (he hasn't seen her on the screen in several months). She weighs about 3 pounds now and is about 16 inches long, from head to toe. She is such a wiggle-worm! Ricky has gotten into the habit of pressing his ear to my belly at nights so he can hear her and feel her kick him in the head! She's learning quickly :)

Turn your head to the right, and you will see her smiling :) She stuck her tongue out at us, too!
The ultrasound technician said that she already has chubby cheeks (that's from Aidan)! Her cousin has chubby cheeks, too.
She had one leg up by her head and the other behind her back (still sounds weird to me... can't figure that one out). They officially termed her the "gymnast."

We are going to get another echocardiogram of my heart later this month. My pulse is so strong that you can see my heartbeat moving papers when I hold them in my hand! Aolani is scheduled for her pediatric echocardiogram in a couple weeks. We have a routine check-up on Monday with my regular OB/GYN.
My belly is starting to reveal that brown, vertical line (linea nigra) down the center. So, I am in the 75% that get this mysterious, harmless mark. Since my winter boots no longer fit the swelling blimps (feet), we went to K-Mart on a mission. We came away with three different kinds of black slippers that will both fit over my hunting socks and allow my feet room to get fatter during the course of the day. Ricky affectionately calls one pair my "bear feet."
My hips are starting to spread apart and get wider. Good news: My body is getting ready for childbirth! Bad news: My legs are spreading apart, which means nothing fits beside me in my wheelchair or on my lap (as it falls right through the gap onto the floor). AND THEY HURT! My hips are out of socket, and I cannot straighten up on my own. So, I make Ricky shove my hips back into place when he transfers me. I feel exactly like the rusty ol' Tin Man, except my oil can is missing!

Obviously, we returned home from our trip to Cincinnati. It was an exhausting trip, with over 28 hours in the car! I sat on a donut (the butt cushion with a hole in the middle) the whole time. But, we had a great time. We watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy extended editions, which was over 12 hours of hobbits! Also, Ricky ran his first 10K (6.2 mi) race, with a time of 1 hr, 1 min, 25 sec. His younger brother, Robby, ran with him, and Ricky said that made all the difference. His brother pushed him on, kept his spirits high, and helped him stay focused. Next on the list: 15k!

I absolutely must post the link to an article that is very important and infuriating about miscarriages caused by the H1N1 vaccine.