Rocking My Baby To Sleep

Jack Ethan was having a tough time with hiccups again today. It had been going on for about 10 minutes and he was just getting more and more worked up/frustrated. I felt so bad for my poor guy, I decided I would try to calm him down - might help and certainly couldn't hurt, right?

So I sat down on the couch and started rocking slowly side to side with my hands on my stomach while singing "Goodnight My Angel" to him. And it worked! I officially feel like a mommy. His hiccups stopped along with his storming around and I honestly think he's asleep now!

If it feels this great to rock my baby to sleep while he's still in the womb, I really can't wait to hold him in my arms!

Jack Ethan at 32 Weeks

I know this is not the most appropriate subject matter for a blog, but I really just needed to vent about this.

At the beginning of any prenatal appointment I go to, the German nurse hands me a plastic dixie cup with my name written in highlighter on the side. You know what that means - time to pee in the cup. They do this to test for infections, protein levels, etc. - I get it - I know it's important. It was fine with me up until about month six of pregnancy.

I will not go into exquisite detail here, but leave the following question to your imagination: Have you ever tried to pee in a cup when you can no longer see the cup?

I know.... I know.... ew. Vent over.

In happier news, our little boy is doing great! He weighed in at a whopping 4.1 pounds today! Cody thinks that 4 lbs. is a good birth weight, and I would be happy to agree and have Jack Ethan here with us tomorrow, but the doctor says we need to wait at least another 4 weeks before we can start hoping for labor pains.

We also got some good pictures of him! Check it out:

Above is Jack Ethan sucking his thumb - I took the liberty of outlining it below for those of us who have trouble seeing it without the help of a doctor pointing at the screen:

And below, Jack took a break from his thumb-sucking to look at the camera head-on.

And so, all is well in Baby News! Our next appointment is November 17th - we will keep you posted until then!

Perspective and Pregnancy

Please understand that I really do appreciate it when people tell me I look great for being 8 months pregnant - that I'm really not that big - that I'm all baby. I appreciate the compliments, but here it is from my perspective:

Above is what I've looked like all my life - now look at the pictures below and tell me
I'm really not that big.

I just feel huge!

And below, just to freak you all out is a video of Jack Ethan on the move - he's such an active baby now that I worry about how much energy he'll have outside the belly!

Next appointment is tomorrow - we'll let you know how everything goes!

Hiccups

I am sitting here dealing with yet another bout of the hiccups - not mine... that's right - Jack Ethan is a chronic hiccup-er.

It feels strange in the first place to have my belly bouncing along rhythmically to my unborn child's hiccups, but that's not the worst of it. Apparently my sweet little boy has a bit of a temper. He gets frustrated and upset about a minute-and-a-half into his hiccuping and starts kicking and storming around in there. He'll storm around, wait, get another hiccup and then thrash around again, trying to rid himself of the annoyance.

I think it's hilarious right now... once he has the full use of his lungs and other crying muscles.... probably not so much :).

The Growing Belly

My, oh my - the changes a month can make!! Just observe - the first picture is at 28 weeks pregnant - the second was taken today at 31 weeks.

28 weeks pregnant

31 weeks pregnant

Needless to say, I feel enormous! I suppose I can expect to get even bigger as the "big" day approaches. (*waddles away shaking her head)