naval orange!

Time for a baby update! I thought I would include another informative diagram in addition to the fruit this week and also include what my baby newsletter says about our progress... Now that we're fifteen weeks along (hard to believe I'm nearly four months pregnant), "Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces. She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl!" These newsletters alternate between the he/she pronoun so no one get excited yet - three more weeks until we find that out.

Since I know people are keeping tabs on this child by the fruit comparisons, "Continuing the march towards normal proportions, baby's legs now outmeasure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Make no bones about it, baby's making bones … She’s the size of a naval orange! Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably still can't feel the movements." When I uploaded the photo to the left, I peeked ahead at all the other fruits/veggies I had saved for the duration of the pregnancy... this baby's going to get really big - really fast!

Steve was the world's best husband yesterday. We had initially planned on going to Buy Buy Baby in Springfield to check out the stroller I want in person (great success - the stroller is awesome). Before we ever made it to the baby store I'd convinced him to drive me to Krispy Kreme in Alexandria and then to make a stop at Robek's for a smoothie on the way back to BBB. The donuts I probably could have done without but the smoothie is another story. When I'm asked "what are you craving?" we've decided that I can't say "nothing, really!" anymore. The answer is simple: McDonald's french fries (warm salty goodness) and fruit. Lots of fruit. I buy a ridiculous amount of fresh fruit... juices that we've never bought before... my blender has never seen so much action as I try to cram as much fruity goodness into a smoothie as possible... It's a pretty healthy craving as long as I watch my sugar intake, but it's pretty bizarre.

I would venture to say we're getting into full baby mode now. Our conversations are sprinkled with "the baby" and "when the baby comes" and, even though we can't pick out the paint color for the nursery yet, we're already planning the chair rails we'll put in. We're talking names in bed at night (don't ask - it's a secret!) and are counting down the days until the ultrasound. It's baby time!

P.S. My bracket's probably not winning much considering I have Kansas beating UCLA in the championship game, but at least the 'Hawks are in it. I wish the game wasn't at 9:21 Monday night - I'll never be able to stay up for that!