Week # 11

Welcome to Week # 11…

As I write this, Rachel is lounging in a shwanky hotel in Houston, Texas, lying in a king-sized bed, watching television, enjoying room service, and definitely fulfilling those wacky food cravings! I, on the other hand, am working my tail feathers off (working 40+ hrs. in 4 days), pulling the house back together from Riley’s independent evening alone in the house from 7:45pm – 11:20pm (she flexed her Great Dane power by refusing to go back into her crate following play time with my mom), packing my belongings and prepping our house for the wonderful dog-care savior, Julia. I’ll fly out of Bradley at 7:15am on Friday (10.17.2008) to meet Rachel in Dallas, Texas. We’ll spend a night in Dallas visiting one of my best friends from high school, Heather (Breshers) O’Connor, and then we’ll drive over to Austin for the remainder of our visit (until Thursday) to spend time with Cruce, Rachel, and their baby dinosaur (Crucie). I’ve never been to Texas and I haven’t seen Heather since graduation day in 1994, and spending time with Cruce & Rachel is always a BLAST! This is going to be a wonderful and well-deserved break from the monotony of our daily routines here in the spastic weather of New England. My only concern while I’m away is being able to follow my New England sports teams- the Red Sox and their lousy, unenthusiastic quest for the World Series, and the dying dynasty of the New England Patriots… ughhh… maybe I need a break from both of them, too. Regardless, I am in desperate need of a vacation!

We’ve entered week # 11 of Rachel’s pregnancy. I’m not sure if she’ll kill me for sharing her wacky food craving story or not, but she’s in Texas, and a delayed death is the best way to go! Hee hee hee! Last Saturday, we were hanging out at the house with my niece and nephew. The weather was beautiful, it was the most perfect autumn day in Greenfield, and we had plans to go apple picking followed by a fund raiser at Landmark College called “Empty Bowls.” Originally, we planned to take the kids for just one evening (Friday to Saturday), but we always have this mushy-gushy feeling when we wake up the morning that we’re supposed to return them; we call their parents and arrange to keep them for an additional night. Generally, we regret this phone call towards nap time that afternoon or by the end of the weekend when we’re absolutely exhausted, accomplished nothing all weekend, and realize that we have to return to work in a few short hours. Anyways… back to my story… Rachel had been “craving” cinnamon rolls and decided that she wanted to try her hand at making them from scratch. She left me with the kids and took a road-trip to our favorite "mom and pops" operated grocery store, Foster’s, for the missing ingredients. She came home with one bag. I looked into the back and saw the ingredients which made perfect sense to her craving and the necessity for cooking. However, she then says to me “What you don’t see is my impulse buy.” Now, if I was Grace (our puppy), I would’ve looked at her with a cocked-to-the-side head and ears perked, and a huge imaginary question mark in a bubble above my head. She then said “I love you.” And of course, I became more suspicious. Rachel then launched into a story about how the seafood department manager at Foster’s told her that he hadn’t seen lobster prices so inexpensive in the fourteen years that he had worked there, and thus, Rachel purchased two one & ½ pound lobsters for $5.99/ lb. The seafood department would have our “afternoon snack” steamed and ready for pick-up at 3pm. Being a HUGE lobster connoisseur, I feel that I “lucked out” in the wake of Rachel’s “wacky” food craving and I didn’t have much room for complaining. Needless to say, the cinnamon buns were not created on that day, but Rachel prepped the dough for the 24 hour “rising” period and proceeded to make delicious cinnamon buns on Sunday morning.

Now, onto the facts and figures that I have learned this week regarding our little piece of fruit in Rachel’s belly. Wait, has anybody else out there noticed that every time a resource describes the size of the fetus, they compare it to a fruit, nut, or vegetable? Anyways… I’ve been scouring two websites daily to keep me apprised of necessary knowledge, facts & trivia: http://www.visembryo.com/ and http://www.whattoexpect.com/. The visible embryo website self describes as visual guide through fetal development from fertilization through pregnancy to birth. In my opinion, it is much more factual-based and scientific, rather than “What to expect” and their educational approach to both pregnancy and parenting.

According to the visible embryo, the fetus length, from crown-to-rump, is about 1.25 to 1.68 inches (31 to 42mm). The major areas of growth include: head and neck, thorax, abdomen, pelvis, limbs, and skin. One of the most exciting facts that I found is that the face has developed a human appearance. Apparently, sockets for all twenty teeth are formed in the gum lines, the nasolacrimal groove forms on the upper lip, separate folds of the mouth fuse together to form the palate, and early facial hair follicles begin to develop. Our fetus is becoming a little person! Previously, we noted that there is a possibility that we would be able to recognize a gender during our next ultrasound on Monday October 27th, 2008. The information notes that genitalia begin to show female characteristics (labium minus, urogenital groove, labium majoris) and male characteristics (glans penis, urethral groove, scrotum). However, neither male nor female genitalia are fully formed. I think the ultrasound will be “We have a good suspicion that your baby will be a ______ (fill-in the blank with a gender). For some odd reason, both Rachel and Stephen believe that we’re having a girl. Jeremy and I are more skeptical of their rationale since they formed their opinions prior to insemination!

“What to Expect” makes the fetus more human-like, rather than a science experiment and/ or an alien that has implanted itself inside Rachel’s uterus. They say that Rachel will continue to feel tired and they explain the cause nicely. It’s a relief to read about the woman’s experience because it allows for both of our anxieties to rest, especially to note that what Rachel is experiencing IS, in fact, normal. Here’s what they say:

Are your two favorite positions these days sitting and lying down? Pregnancy fatique is normal, especially at this stage. That's because you're running a baby-making factory that's in business 24/7 (and since you're the only employee, you're on the clock around the clock), causing your pregnant body to work harder at rest than your nonpregnant body did on the run. And for the next few weeks, a baby's not the only thing in production — so is the placenta, the magnificently complex mission control that will serve as your baby's life support system until delivery. The result? You feel tired and overworked, even when you're not doing a darn thing. Your energy should pick up once the placenta's up and running and your system adjusts (as best as it can) to the hormonal changes of pregnancy — probably early in the second trimester. In the meantime, keep your blood sugar level up with frequent snacks of complex carbs. and protein (cheese and crackers; nuts and dried fruit), try a little exercise (which can actually give you an energy boost), and most of all — listen to your body. When it calls for a break, take one.

Not only does this website speak to the emotional aspect of the changes (i.e. exhaustion), but they also speak to the bodily changes, and the fetus development (similar to the visible embryo). They note that it is common during this time for the woman’s lower abdomen starting to protrude now. The woman’s body begins to produce the hormone progesterone which can cause an increase in bloating, burping, and passing gas. For us “gastric girls” these are actually common occurrences because our digestive tracts have been surgically altered. During pregnancy (according to "What to Expect"),

the production of progesterone relaxes smooth muscle tissue in your body — including the gastrointestinal tract — slowing down digestion to allow more time for the nutrients from food to be absorbed into the bloodstream and passed to your baby. But what's good for baby isn't always good for mom. The uncomfortable fullness you feel in your abdomen, especially after eating, might only get worse for some women. As your uterus grows, it'll crowd the stomach and intestines, putting more pressure on the digestive tract, and causing you to feel even more bloated during pregnancy. But here's some consolation: your baby won't feel your pain. In fact, your baby is oblivious to all your intestinal distress, and may even be soothed by the gurgling of your gastric symphony.

This concludes my educational information section regarding our baby’s development. What are some fun things to talk about and to begin conversations? Some open-ended questions for people to ponder: How do we accommodate two large families and many, many friends for a fun-filled baby shower –or- do we have more than one? What have others done? Also, we’re always in search of the “BEST” products on the market for the baby – we’ve begun to register for items, but I don’t know much about this stuff. Does anybody out there have experiences with the video baby monitors? What are the items that we may forget to register for, but should be “must-haves?” Has anybody out there (besides Kim & Rachel + Cruce- we’ve already picked their brains) used cloth diapers? If so, what brands and what was your experience? Are there any tips or tricks that people have used to combat mood swings, cravings, or gas?


We will definitely post information following our phase II ultrasound on October 27th, 2008, but until then, I will (most likely) have sporadic e-mail access because we’ll be road-tripping through Texas. Oh wait… anybody have suggestions about places I MUST visit while in Dallas, Austin, or San Antonio? Since I've shared intimate details of Rachel's pregnancy, I will share a guilty fact about myself... While in Austin, I really want to check-out the "Coyote Ugly Saloon." Yeah, yeah, yeah… I know… no need for comments… I’m still young & crazy after all these years of pretending to be an adult!