The Baby Update

Wow, it's been almost 2 months since my last post! Wookie has been growing and developing by leaps and bounds.

We have made it into the second trimester and we are both doing fine. However, I seem to get sick more now than I did in the first trimester--brushing my teeth does not seem to be a favored activity for Wookie. At the beginning of December Daddy and Mommy heard our little one's heartbeat which was music to our ears. 150 beats per minute!! Daddy's first question to the doctor was, "So, there's only one heartbeat, right?" Mommy would love to have twins, but Daddy is on the fence :)

Wookie is now as big as an avacado and his/her ear bones are developed enough to hear our voices. We spent the Christmas holiday at Granny and Papa's and Wookie enjoyed hearing their voices as well. Cousin Alex (Phil's nephew), age 13, asked if he could listen to the baby on Sunday and had a huge smile on his face when I let him put his ear up to my belly.

Speaking of the belly, Mommy now has a baby bump! Goodbye pre-maternity jeans and hello stretchy-top pants, which I actually find more comfortable anyway. My students and coworkers enjoy coming up and commenting on the baby belly :)

In exactly one month, on January 26th, Mommy and Daddy will find out if our Wookie is going to be Michael Phillip or Charlotte Jean!!! We can't wait to find out. Keep your eyes peeled for the news--we will be proudly posting our little one's identity at the end of January.

Marmie Came to Visit

My mom got to meet her grandbaby for the first time Wednesday night. She was attending an early seminar in Buffalo Thursday morning and wanted to crash on our floor the night before. We enjoyed a nice dinner (late) together and spent a little while chatting. It was good to be able to spend some time with her this early on in pregnancy and she was able to share the story of my birth with Phil. (My birth involved spewing carrot cake all over the nurse during the wee hours of the morning.) Even though it was late when she arrived, Wookie and Mommy enjoyed a short visit with Marmie.

Names

Phillip and I have talked about a number of different baby names over the years we've been together, and this week we've picked up the pace. We've agreed that if we have a girl, I get to choose the name, and if we have a boy, Phil gets to choose the name. However, we reserve the right to veto names the other doesn't like.

There is a tradition that my maternal grandmother started with my mother, and my mother used for me, and I want to carry on. My mother was the only daughter and received her great-grandmother's first name as her middle name, Adell. I was also an only daughter and received my great-grandmother's first name as my middle name, Jessie. I have always wanted to keep this tradition going, even if I have more than one daughter; I have 3 grandmothers so I have three middle names :) My grandmother's first name was Jean, and so Jean is a MUST for our daughter's middle name (if our little Wookie is a girl, that is.) It's perfect because Jean also happens to be Phillip's mother's middle name, so we would be honoring both sides of our families by using it.

So here are the names that I like if we have a daughter:

Laura Jean (after my aunt and Phil's sister)
Charlotte Jean (after Phil's aunt)

Alanna Jean (which we both really like)

Aurora Jean (which Phil veto'd--no Disney princesses)

Elizabeth Jean

Phil suggested Blue Jean, Cut-off Jean, Skinny Jean, and Stone-washed Jean. He got evil looks. His coworkers were having fun coming up with more.

I've had a long list of boys names for years, some of which Phil liked too. We've talked about using the name Robert, probably as a middle name, in honor of my maternal grandfather and his father. He also really likes the name Phillip, he was named after his uncle who passed away last year and wants to honor his uncle's memory.

Names I like for a boy: (none of which Phil likes)
Robert
Stephen

Michael
Leroy

William

Names Phil Likes for a boy:
Alan Phillip (I vetoed this one)

Patrick Phillip

he needs to come up with some more because I'm not thrilled with these....

If you have a name suggestion, let us hear it!! When we tell my preschoolers we will let them suggest some names too, although the likelihood of them being used is nil...our fish got named Rojo. I don't want a child named Azul.

Morning, Afternoon, and Evening Sickness

According to my What to Expect book, 75% of pregnant woman experience morning sickness. Since I am now almost 5 weeks pregnant and hadn't had any bouts of running to the bathroom (except to pee, which I have to do every 30 minutes), I thought I might luck out and be part of that 25% who don't experience it. NOPE!

This evening I walked into the kitchen to pop a bag of popcorn when I got a whiff of some stale bacon grease left over from cooking breakfast this morning. Wookie was not pleased and I went running. Thankfully, Phil immediately began washing out the offending pan and bagged up the garbage which had some remnants inside.

One incident in 5 weeks isn't too bad, so I am still considering myself lucky. The only other smell-aversions that I have had has been old garbage and sharpies. Yes, sharpies, one of my favorite writing tools at work. Thankfully, Phil is being really diligent about bagging up the garbage every day or so, and my work spouse, Kaitlin (My co-teacher), has graciously set aside the sharpies for the time being.

We are having a baby!

For those of you who haven't heard yet, Phillip and I are expecting! This unexpected miracle made him or herself known to us on Sunday on a home pregnancy test. (Daddy made Mommy take 4 of them to be sure!) Monday afternoon I went to the doctor to have a blood test to confirm. When we called back on Tuesday the receptionist confirmed what we already knew-We Are Going To Be Parents!

Tuesday evening Phillip and I spent many hours on the phone calling our parents, siblings, and dearest friends. Emails were sent out to families at large. Our families couldn't be happier, and our friends have showered us with screams of joy. The only two people happier are Mama and Daddy!