parenthood comes on little square feet

I had my first full-scale freak-out the other night after Lauren and I casually applied some crib measurements she'd found online to our tiny home. "You've got to be kidding me," I said as the measuring tape spanned half the room. "That can't be right. It just can't be that big. I've seen babies. They're very small." But she was right, and suddenly the challenge of fitting crib, dresser, changing table, etc. into the small, crowded room that serves as my office hit me like a ton of diapers. Lauren recognized as much and wisely went to bed. I stood scratching my head, muttering, and staring down the walls until late.

The next day, with the house to myself, I waged war with the office. It was ugly. The air was thick with my curses. At one point I furiously threw every article of clothing I own from the closet into the office just to make a point. By the end of the day, I had put everything I don't use on a daily basis into the attic, added a few "accent pieces" of furniture to our now even cozier living room, and, yes, cleared out nearly half of the office. In other words, readers, I prepared the nursery.

Small though it may be, it occurred to me that at approximately sixty square feet, the nursery will provide the baby with a living space that is just about sixty times its size. That would be like me living in a 700-800 square foot house! Which I do. Amazing how they inherit your traits!

Baby's First A, Bright Lights, Beer Guts

We have recently had a series of (noninvasive) tests, including a First Trimester Screen and an AFP, both performed by blood screening and/or ultrasound evaluation to identify risk for specific chromosomal abnormalities, disorders, etc. I am pleased to report that Critter Lynn aced them all.

I hit the 15-week mark this past Sunday. Supposedly, Critter Lynn is now measuring about 4 inches long and is about the size of an apple. Although his/her eyelids are still fused shut, s/he can sense light. We may have to break out some Glo Sticks and/or disco balls this weekend to see if that's really true (we keep both aforementioned items on hand at all times for a variety of occasions).

In other news, it appears as though I've been sucking down a six-pack of Budweiser every night. I have three pairs of pants that I can still wear, and two are brown pants, so my outfits are pretty boring these days. I ventured into a few maternity stores on our recent trip to Chicago, but found the experience rather unpleasant, so am waiting until the situation becomes more urgent before returning. Perhaps it's time to lead the charge in resurrecting the toga??

Out and Proud

As Seth & Anne say, we're now officially out of the closet with our baby news. I got to tell the P-House ladies in person at the reunion in Charlotteville this past weekend and was able to tell work last week, so all the VIPs are now in the know. There are currently two working names for the baby in utero: one is Bruce Brogan, who was to be the main character in Papa's detective novel should he ever decide to write it. The other (which is currently predominant in usage) is Critter Lynn. The name Critter was also suggested by Papa and then heartily embraced by Bums and Doyle with the addition of Lynn (Bumsey's middle name) to complete the double name. A haiku and rap have already been written by Doyle and Bums honoring Critter Lynn. (Of course two out of three of the baby's grandmothers are also Lynn(e)s, so the name's roots run deep.)

I hit the 13-week mark yesterday, and the clothes are starting to get a bit tight although it's hard to tell whether that's the baby or all of the Bodo's egg and cheeses, Bel Air sandwiches, and Arch's frozen yogurt with gooey brownies (all C'ville staples that we lived off of in college) I had this past weekend. (It seemed only fair that I have enough for both myself and Critter Lynn.)

Sicky and Happy

This morning, I had my first pregnancy puke (Heba likes to refer to this as a "sicky"). Not only did this feel like some sort of rite of passage, I found the experience to be highly preferable to the typical ongoing nausea that I have been experiencing for the past several weeks. I felt so much better that I was actually rather giddy afterwards! (Alas, the relief was short-lived, as a few hours later I was in the bathroom at work thinking I would have another round.)

Similar to hangover recovery, I feel my best when I'm eating. Time for a mid-afternoon snack!

Welcome!

With the cat now peeking out of the bag and ready to pounce, the time has come to bring our baby experience into the information age, or so the missus and I decided over our heavy post-ultrasound Indian buffet lunch today. And how better to inaugurate the baby-blogging process than by sharing these new 2-D and 3-D ultrasound photos?

Here you can see the baby's right arm, hand, and fingers.



Here the baby presents the heel of his/her right foot, as if making a prediction about the outcome of the NCAA tournament.





The baby currently measures 48.6 mm from crown to rump -- just shy of two inches.