I am sure I felt it move... well, maybe... wait, what is it supposed to feel like, again? Maybe not....

So, many women have begun asking, "Have you felt it move?" Well, to be honest, I'm not sure. I mean, Baby D is in the same area as the intestines, and it's a little hard to judge... is it movement, or is it gas? (sorry if I'm grossing anyone out.)

But, sitting here on my laptop, watching Top Chef and reading up on some pregnancy forums online, I THINK I finally felt real movement. It's kind of like there's a little fish in there!! Just a teeny little thing, like those cheap rainbow fish that were like 5 cents each and didn't last long in the pet tank.... but I digress. Seriously, movement!!

In other news, I think I finally "popped." Last week, I looked more pregnant after I ate... yesterday and today, I notice that I am big all day long!! It may be time to make the jump to maternity wear over the weekend....

For my colleagues: I have my next doctor's appointment a week from tomorrow (Mar. 6). If no students have figured it out by then (so far, they haven't said a single thing!), then I will break the news the following Monday. Any suggestions for what/how to do it??

And finally, Gram and Pop Knotek are coming to visit for the weekend and apparently they need to rent a U-Haul for the booty they are bringing... I heard the local Babies R Us is closed, awaiting their next shipments to replenish the stocks...

What size is baby D-lish this week?

An onion! Stinky! From thebump:
"Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints."

So, bone-making and finger-printing. And fat. Ew. Not one of the more smile-inducing weeks, but still interesting!

I. Am. Ill.

Not the best way to spend a birthday. It started out well - my sister came up for the day on Saturday and we spent the day shopping - pretty nice, except I think that is how my immune system got weakened (it was quite cold and windy).

Sunday was normal, did some errands. When Gian and I got home, we started to clean the house, and I just felt tired. Not pregnant tired (now that I know the difference!). I said to myself, "Uh-oh. This could be bad."

I went to school Monday. It started out fine, regular Monday (the dread and gloom of a five-day week, with no snow in sight to shorten it). Plus, I forgot I had a workshop after school, so I wasn't on the path home until 6:00. On the way home, I was really cold, a little achy, and my head was pounding. I took a shower, and Gian felt my glands - totally swollen. Oh boy. I ate my home-made birthday pizza (thanks honey!) and early to bed. Asleep (not just in bed, but actually passed out) by ten. Figured I would judge a sick day when I woke up.

This morning, I expect the aches, the chills, the swollen glands, the general malaise that tells me to call the subline and stay in bed all day. But I didn't have any of these symptoms!! Yippee, no sick day (I know, I am one of the only teachers who thinks this). Went to work. Well, I was good until lunchtime, when the sore throat kicked in. Then my head started pounding and just wouldn't let up. And then, on the way home again, the chills!! I didn't take my coat off for half an hour!! I put on two sweaters, sat on a heating pad, and wore my winter hat in the house!!

And all I can take is Tylenol. Oh Advil LiquiGels, I miss you. Darn flu-y kids and germs in general.

It has been thus far a tough couple days. We'll see what happens tomorrow. Hope it goes better than this evening.

Another odd comparison

Last night I was reading "Great Expectations"- another pregnancy book- and instead of comparing baby D to a piece of fruit, it said that our darling developing baby was the size of.... a gerbil. I laughed and had to share with Gian, who commented that we are having a gerbil baby now, not an alien (as we had been saying since the last ultrasound).

Just had to share.

What size is baby D-lish this week?

According to the Bump, I'm up to week 16:
"Watch what you say... tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean the little one can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming. And, if you're interested, an ultrasound might be able to determine gender."

We're not finding out the gender.

Valentine's Day has changed.

What did we do yesterday, for the Hallmark Holiday? Well, we went to Babies R Us. Yes, that's right, supposedly the most romantic day of the year and we headed off to the one store that kills the mood.

It was time to dive right in and start thinking about cribs, bedding, and pack-n-plays. Fun.

Being the savvy shopper that I am, I had picked up a copy of Baby Bargains a couple of weeks ago and brought that in, armed and ready to get a well-priced, safe, wonderful item for Baby D.

It's overwhelming!! There are so many makes and models. The one simple, "Jenny Lind" style crib there did not get good ratings, thus, we had to blanket the whole place and scope out everywhere model that looked half-way decent. There are so many! As of right now, we settled on a Graco model that converts - we had gone in thinking we didn't really need a convertible, but it turned out to be a well-priced, safe, wonderful option.

In the meantime, you can't look at the cribs without looking at bedding, because every crib is done up all perdy-like with a beautiful set of sheets and un-necessities. Like a diaper holder. Why do I need a diaper holder? Isn't the top drawer of the dresser a diaper holder? But I think we found a set that we like. Now, bumpers or no bumpers? The jury is still out on this one - some experts say they cause SIDS, others worry about the baby bumping it's head.

On to the Pack-n-Play - ours will also be doubling as a bassinet for our room, so our options here were (thankfully and immediately) more limited. Graco again won out. That part wasn't so bad - everything was pretty much condensed to one aisle.

We ventured into stroller land, but quickly retreated - we were not prepared to face that!

On the way out, I asked Gian if it was really "that bad." He said no, it wasn't that bad, but it made the baby that much more real - and made him that much more scared. Aw.

On to dinner, which was a bit more romantic than BRU- a more traditional end to the day.

What size is baby D-lish this week?

It's an orange! From thebump.com:

"Continuing the march towards normal proportions, baby's legs now out-measure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably still can't feel the movements."